QUEEN ELIZABETH II COUNTRY PARK RAILWAY SOCIETY.

©
Our address is
Woodhorn
Northumberland Museum and Archives
QEII Country Park
Ashington
Northumberland
NE63 9YF.
Tel: (01670) 528080

E-Mail:. QEII Country Park Railway

PATRON:-His Grace the DUKE OF NORTHUMBERLAND

This is the OFFICIAL web site of the QEII COUNTRY PARK RAILWAY SOCIETY^©.

The QEII Country Park Railway Society was initially set up in the latter months of 1993, by a series of meetings between Wansbeck District Council and a group of local people interested in railways. Although at this stage a name for the group was not decided. The construction of the track started in April 1994 with the laying of the track bed by contractors . In May 1994 the group, all volunteers under the supervision of Ed Armstrong - Countryside Officer for Wansbeck District Council set about laying the track. This took 18 months to complete. The volunteers, some are ex-miners, others, enthusiasts who liked to get their hands dirty, which was true, as we have very little in the way of railway tools, so 1000 tons of ballast had to be laid by shovels, and we had to improvise for other tasks.

Volunteers now operate the Passenger Railway Service from the Woodhorn Museum to the North End of the Queen Elizabeth II Country Park, near the Woodhorn Grange Restaurant along 1 kilometre of track (5/8 of a mile). The trip takes approximately 20 minutes at a leisurely 7 to 10 miles per hour. Our locomotive has just been returned to us after being on loan to the Lynton & Barnstaple Railway Association while Woodhorn Colliery Museum is being redesigned. The locomotive was renamed "Exmoor Ranger" while it was on loan, but now it has been renamed ELIZABETH & VICTORIA (4w DH HE6348 of 1975, 65hp).  The "Man Riding" carriages were built by Allan's of Tipton to transport miners underground to the coal face, these were modified for our use.

With a grant of £15,000 from the Wansbeck Sustainable Communities Fund, the Society has acquired a second locomotive, which was build by the German company SCHOMA to ferry supplies and equipment for use in the construction of the Channel Tunnel.  Amazingly, it then saw service with the merchant navy, being used on a specially laid track on the deck of a ship reclaiming copper from a sunken vessel in the Irish sea.

The following images show some of the work involved in setting up the railway back in 1993.  

The Original Group - 1994 (left)              Cutting the Rail (right)
Copyright © 1993 - 2008 by QEII Country Park Railway Society. All rights reserved.


                    Using a Hydraulic Railbender (left)   Using brute force to move a rail (right)
Copyright © 1993 - 2008 by QEII Country Park Railway Society. All rights reserved.


Removing a dog spike (left)      Cutting up a coal tub (right)
Copyright © 1993 - 2008 by QEII Country Park Railway Society. All rights reserved.

The QEII Country Park Railway Society has set up an appeal to raise £15,000 to improve facilities for disabled passengers. This involves purchasing a specially adapted carriage that will carry wheelchairs and conform to Health & Safety requirements.  Any company or individual who would like to contribute to this appeal please click on the Money pot below to make a donation.  We can also be contacted by telephone (01670) 528080, or by E-mail: QEII Country Park Railway

HOW TO FIND US
Easy peasy! We’re halfway between Newcastle city centre and Alnwick Castle. Head for the A189 and the Northumberland Coastal Route to the east of Ashington, watch out for the brown and white directional signs and then Woodhorn’s large, bright entrance banners. There is a £2.50 charge for parking. 

  By public transport – Make your way to Ashington Bus Station. From here you can either take a 15 minute walk (via the A197 and the QEII Country Park) or take advantage of special taxi rates offered by Ashington Taxis on 01670 813315 or Colliers Taxis on 01670 817382.

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