Ruislip Lido Railway

A further Dougal related project undertaken by our volunteers has been the construction of a wood store at Woody Bay. Maintaining our rolling stock and infrastructure generates a lot of scrap wood, and this wood can be put to good use to start the fire on coal burning steam locomotives.

The project has utilised previously underused space alongside our permanent way shed, with new foundations cast, and a 200kg metal storage container and contents rehomed with great skill, to make full use of the available space.

Spare cladding from our water tower refurbishment has then been used on a frame created entirely from surplus / scrap wood, including many parts from our volunteers Mess Room, also recently refurbished. The frame is designed to allow air circulation under and through the rear of the wood store to assist with drying wood, and the roof directed into a gutter, running into an existing building drain located next to the store.

Our team have been hard at work gradually sorting through a mountain of stored scrap wood, processing this gradually to fill the store - a perfect chopping block from a recently fallen tree at two post curve has been installed to assist too.

As a final, slightly eccentric touch, interchangeable labels have been added to the store to assist the crew in their choice of wood when lighting up coal fired locomotives - visiting locomotives Christopher and Victoria put the wood store to good use over our May Steam Gala! Touches like the wood store make our volunteers days significantly easier, and all form a part in the smooth day - to - day running of the railway.

Work is progressing well with Dougal at John Fowler & Co. The boiler has recently had full non destructive testing completed as the first stage of putting a new 10 year ticket on it, with everything in good order.

The boiler dates from 2009, and has been extremely well cared for during its life. Dougal's previous home, the Evesham Vale Light Railway, operates with a treated water supply, meaning that the boiler has only ever run on treated water during its life - having only been off site twice very briefly, for visits to the 15" gauge railways at Cleethorpes and Perrygrove.

The chunky boiler operates at a maximum pressure of 150psi, and features a large firebox of 1.3 square ft - giving a grate:heating area ratio of 1:30, resulting in extremely effective steam production.

We look forward to sharing further Dougal progress soon!

Trains are now operating daily through to Sunday 31st May, for half term holidays.

Trains run every 20 minutes from 12:00 - 17:00.

Our steam locomotive Mad Bess will be out on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday & Sunday!

Head to https://tickets.ruisliplidorailway.org/ to book your tickets in advance.

A little over a week on from a fantastic steam gala weekend, and we are still recovering 😅 A great selection of photos here from member Phil, and Littlehampton volunteer Oliver.

A huge thank you to the teams at Littlehampton Miniature Railway & Statfold Barn Railway & Museum for making the event so special with two wonderful locomotives.

We will be sharing plenty more photos and videos from the event in the coming weeks. If you were able to join us and enjoy a ride, we'd love to see any photos from the weekend!

Our steam locomotive, Mad Bess, will be running on the following days during May:
- Sunday 10th May
- Sunday 17th May
- Sunday 24th May
- Monday 25th May
- Tuesday 26th May
- Wednesday 27th May
- Friday 29th May
- Sunday 31st May

Tickets are available to book now by visiting https://tickets.ruisliplidorailway.org

Please note that the railway is closed today on May 2nd for a private event. Our steam gala will take place on Sunday 3rd & Monday 4th, with trains every 15 minutes from 11:00 - 17:00.

If you are in the area and keen for a railway visit, we highly recommend the Ickenham Miniature Railway, open from 12:00 to 17:30 today. Admission is free, rides are £1. Access is via the Coach and Horses car park in Ickenham - UB10 8LJ. A real hidden gem!

Three extremely exciting arrivals this week, for our steam gala on Sunday & Monday.

The absolutely stunning Victoria was joined today by the equally splendid Christopher, and the 'in progress' but no less impressive, Tony.

Gauging and interface testing on Tony went extremely well - and above all, we are extremely excited to see Tony at the lido.

Trains will run every 15 minutes from 11:00 - 17:00 on Sunday & Monday. You can book your tickets in advance by visiting https://tickets.ruisliplidorailway.org

Delighted to share that 'Tony' will be joining us for our gala this Sunday & Monday.

Tony is heading towards the final stages of a top to bottom rebuild, as part of a collaboration between the RLR, Fairbourne Railway and Littlehampton Miniature Railway - while Tony will not be running in public service, the opportunity to see the locomotive up close and view the extensive overhaul works that have taken place so far is an opportunity not to be missed.

Tony will be on display in our workshop yard and available for visitors to try the cab(s!) for size, and learn more about the project. This is the first time Tony has been available to see in public for the best part of 10 years, and marks another exciting step towards returning this historic locomotive to service.

To learn more about the project, and donate to Fairbourne to assist them with the their share of the overhaul costs, please visit the link below: https://www.ruisliplidorailway.org/tonyproject