 Metropolitan Water Board |
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The Metropolitan Water Board Railway was a narrow gauge industrial railway built to serve the Metropolitan Water Board's pumping stations Kempton Park and Hampton near London. The line was opened in 1916 and closed shortly after the Second World War. It connected a wharf on the Thames at Hampton to a standard gauge siding off the Shepperton branch at the Kempton end and running via pumping stations and reservoirs on the way. It mainly transported coal but was also used for sand used in the filter beds. By having two inputs coal from the cheapest or most convenient source could be used.
The Metropolitan Water Board Railway Society was formed with a view to the complete restoration of the line, to provide a visitor attraction. A 300 yard section of the new railway in the form of a continuous loop, the Kempton Steam Railway, is open for rides, and is an extra attraction for visitors to the Kempton Great Engines. A steam locomotive, "Darent", (built by Andrew Barclay in 1903) is on generous loan, and two diesels has been purchased. A new bogie carriage body has been constructed on an underframe bought from the Devon Railway Centre and a 4-wheeled carriage from the same source is being rebuilt. Access to the three mile long old track is actively being negotiated, and in the meantime, the first section of track is open and giving rides to the public on summer Sundays and selected other dates
The website is [1]