Dragon Miniature Railway
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Welcome to the DMR Website
Site last updated: 27/05/2002
Site last updated: 27/05/2002
History
The Dragon Miniature Railway has been around about three years now, and as such we have a long and fairly interesting history. This page deals only with the first few years of our existence, and I will place any new developments on our news page.
Many years ago, a car mechanic slumped in his chair and promptly exclaimed "I want to build a miniature railway locomotive." Then he went to sleep and forgot about it.
His wife was listening however, and she jogged his memory next christmas by buying him an engine. After parrying all the cries of "What's this for then?" she sent her husband off to their garage.
Several weeks later a rather more tired car mechanic dragged his entire family into the garage to see a Class 55 "Deltic" locomotive, named for his son, Andrew.
His wife happened to work at a local garden centre and heard that they were planning to build a 7¼" gauge railway line. So the luckless Deltic was sent off to the garden centre for many years of lots of kids saying "does it really work?"
Several class 47s and a 52 later, the tired railway engineer decided he was bored. They packed up the Deltic, the 52 and a 47 and ran off to another garden centre. The Wyevale Garden Centre in Marple.
Track laying was virtually completed in just five months, from August to December 1998. The railway was officially opened by the then Marple Community Council leader, Montague Burton, on Saturday 6th February 1999.
Since then, we have built a station, complete with waiting room (waiting for a carpet) and station canopy. The track has been remodelled over the years, and on Good Friday 2001 a new line extension was opened, bringing the total track length to nearly half a mile.
We have a working turntable, and a tunnel has nearly been completed. There is still plenty of work left however, with an enormous amount of gardening (of all things) needing doing to beautify the line extension and cover over all the mud. (Tonnes were shipped in for an embankment).
We have, over our brief existence, acquired several locomotives, including five steam and four diesel locomotives.
Continue to the News Page . . .
The Dragon Miniature Railway has been around about three years now, and as such we have a long and fairly interesting history. This page deals only with the first few years of our existence, and I will place any new developments on our news page.
Many years ago, a car mechanic slumped in his chair and promptly exclaimed "I want to build a miniature railway locomotive." Then he went to sleep and forgot about it.
His wife was listening however, and she jogged his memory next christmas by buying him an engine. After parrying all the cries of "What's this for then?" she sent her husband off to their garage.
Several weeks later a rather more tired car mechanic dragged his entire family into the garage to see a Class 55 "Deltic" locomotive, named for his son, Andrew.
His wife happened to work at a local garden centre and heard that they were planning to build a 7¼" gauge railway line. So the luckless Deltic was sent off to the garden centre for many years of lots of kids saying "does it really work?"
Several class 47s and a 52 later, the tired railway engineer decided he was bored. They packed up the Deltic, the 52 and a 47 and ran off to another garden centre. The Wyevale Garden Centre in Marple.
Track laying was virtually completed in just five months, from August to December 1998. The railway was officially opened by the then Marple Community Council leader, Montague Burton, on Saturday 6th February 1999.
Since then, we have built a station, complete with waiting room (waiting for a carpet) and station canopy. The track has been remodelled over the years, and on Good Friday 2001 a new line extension was opened, bringing the total track length to nearly half a mile.
We have a working turntable, and a tunnel has nearly been completed. There is still plenty of work left however, with an enormous amount of gardening (of all things) needing doing to beautify the line extension and cover over all the mud. (Tonnes were shipped in for an embankment).
We have, over our brief existence, acquired several locomotives, including five steam and four diesel locomotives.
Continue to the News Page . . .