Established 1983

Another railway that is no more The Thorne Moors Peat Railway. These were the views taken just over a year ago, the track has been lifted but where the peat tubs are and the locomotive we have yet to find out. The locomotive may well have now returned back to the Hatfield Moors Peat Railway, probably having completed its task of helping to move the last of the peat stacks from Thorne Moors.

September 2007 For the last year we have been short of a Junior Representative on the committee, so I am more than pleased to welcome Thomas Todd from Thorne to fill this post. Thomas is also a member of the Doncaster & District Model Engineering Society Ltd operators of the Thorne Memorial Park Miniature Railway. Thomas has also joined the team at the Thorne-Moorends Community Radio project. (Footnote Thomas is no longer of junior age so the postion is vacant at the moment (10th August 2008).

Trolleybuses on display in a purpose built Exhibition Hall. Properly tarmac roadways, and a miniature railway that would have been greatly expanded including signal boxes, new waiting rooms, and many other line side facilities.

Where is it? Its The Birmingham and Midlands Transport Museum at Wythall. Here the railway and the transport museum get along very productively side by side both helping each other to promote a high standard of exhibits and a miniature railway for the younger visitors. Above is a part of the magnificent museum's new Exhibition Hall whilst to the right is a building very similar to what we were to obtain for use as a signal box.

If you would like further information about the Birmingham & West Midlands Museum of Transport click onto this link
Or for the miniature railway Click here

In 1998 our member Harold Dyson built a chassis for the junior members of the Sandtoft Miniature Railway group. We paid £65 for materials such as bearings and steel for the chassis, £25 for wheels and axles and a further £25 for a Sinclair C5 electric motor.

Above: The SMR chassis built in 1999 by Harold Dyson and owned by the group being demonstrated to a group of  school children during their visit to the museum. In 2000 Keith fitted a body to the chassis and installed an electronic controller and named the locomotive "Bulwark". The locomotive bridged the operations between the Sandtoft Miniature Railway group and the new Sandtoft Transport Centre Miniature Railway group. Renamed "The Bug" it was to appear at the Thorne Memorial Park Miniature Railway in 2006. In July 2007 a tram type body fitted to the SMR chassis and renamed as "Antonia" after Keith's daughter.

Above left: "Bulwark" as seen at Sandtoft just prior to the closure of the operations by the Sandtoft Miniature Railway group.
Above Middle: We see the now modified locomotive body and renamed "The Bug" body repainted in a World War II matt black NE livery at the 2006 "40's Weekend" at Thorne Memorial Park.
Above Right: Keith with the locomotive as it reappears with a tram body and renamed "Antonia" when it was put on display in the model tent at the July 2007 Summer Festival Event.

Latest News 25th November: According to the notice board in the shed at Thorne the locomotive "The Bug" has now been scrapped by Keith. Although the locomotive on the notice board in the railway shed refers to the "The Bug" the name was not changed to "Antonia" when the tram engine body was fitted to the SMR chassis earlier this year (2007). Keith assures me that is only the body that has been scrapped. We look forward to the reappearance of the locomotive in its new body shape.
In 2000 the junior SMR members were looking at the possibility of fitting a tram type body to the chassis something similar to below complete with pantograph. 

Footnote the SMR chassis has had the former bodywork of the Bulwark era fitted back on but it is now renamed "Antonia". The locomotive is now in storage at another location. 

Saturday 24th November 2007

Harold Dyson (nearest to the camera) our SMR member and myself (Bob) went along to give Dr. Ian Weeks (to the right) a hand at the Christmas Event at the Hatfield/Woodhouse Gala. Santa's Grotto can be seen in the background. The children enjoyed their rides. Over £800 was raised by the village organisers by the sale of cakes, drinks, meals, Tombola stalls bric-a-brac etc. Dr Ian Weeks regularly attends events in the village with his locomotives and portable track helping to raise funds for many different charitable groups.

25th November 2007
Since this website was set up in 2000 a counter had been set up but has just recently failed so I have set up two new ones . The one on the "Home Page" has been set up so as to continue the numbers where the other failed. The one below is the same as I use on the Thorne Memorial Park Miniature Railway website and is being tried out on this page.