THE original 10¼in gauge miniature railway opened at Ropley station on the Mid-Hants Railway in 2006. It was east of the station in what is now the top car park, off Bighton Hill, and was approximately 160 yards long with a single-platform station called Ropley High Level. On leaving the station, there was a curved approach to a 1-in-34 incline up to a two-road yard and container, in which the stock was located.
In March 2009, however, the operator withdrew from running the railway. Members of the current group of volunteers (the Mid-Hants Miniature Railway Group) were pleasantly surprised when approached by the then managing director of the ‘Watercress Line’, Colin Chambers, who invited them to take over the responsibility of running the line.
“You have two problems,” said Colin, “no loco and no carriages!” With just two weeks to go before the Easter 2009 Day Out With Thomas (DOWT) event, some hectic telephone calls resulted in the hire of a Curwen-designed and built ‘Western’ class diesel-hydraulic-type loco and two bogie coaches. And with these our first ever Miniature Railway DOWT event was run. It was a steep learning curve for all, but it went very well and certainly left us eager to continue.
The volunteers formed the Mid-Hants Miniature Railway
