Butlins Miniature Railways Back

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At one time or another seven of the Butlin's camps were home to passenger-carrying miniature railways, only Barry and Mosney being the odd ones out. Most of these lines were simple amusement rides, offering short trips around the camp grounds. The line at Filey criss-crossed the boating lake, the line at Ayr ran beside the beach and the line at Clacton gained fame for appearing in the credits of the BBC sitcom 'Hi-de-Hi'. The exception was at Pwllheli, where the line fulfilled a genuine transport need by running some 3/4 of a mile from the centre of the camp to the beach. Some of these lines remained pretty much the same for their entire lives, but others saw various changes, notably the Minehead railway which operated on three totally different sites within the camp. The locomotives used on each line were also subject to change and were often swapped around between the different sites.

The tables below gives brief details of these locomotives, including info on where they are now. The information comes from the excellent book by Peter Scott entitled "A History of the Butlin's Railways" which contains extensive information on the miniature railways, chairlifts, monorails, steam locomotives and general history of the camps themselves. Contact Peter direct at pe.scott@ukonline.co.uk

Ayr

Railway operated from 1956 to 1988

Locomotive Number/Name	First Season	Last Season	Where is it now?
No. D611 Princess Elizabeth	1956	1963	Midland Railway Centre Derbyshire
No. 31 C P Huntington	1964	1973	Clyde Valley Country Estate South Lanarkshire
No. 476106 Sue	1974	1976	Threlkeld Quarry Museum Cumbria
No. 145 C P Huntington	1977	1988	Glendale Forge Essex

Bognor

Railway operated from 1987 to 1991

Locomotive Number/Name	First Season	Last Season	Where is it now?
No. 1 Prince Edward	1987	1991	Privately owned Surrey

Clacton

Railway operated from 1939 to 1985

Locomotive Number/Name	First Season	Last Season	Where is it now?
No. D611 Princess Elizabeth	1939	1954	Midland Railway Centre Derbyshire
No. D612 Princess Margaret Rose	1939	1952	Midland Railway Centre Derbyshire
No. 3232	1959	1976	The Lynbarn Railway Devon
No. 148 C P Huntington	1977	1985	Sold abroad (Denmark)

Filey

Railway operated from 1953 to 1983

Locomotive Number/Name	First season	Last season	Where is it now?
No. 3235	1953	1975	Privately owned Lancashire
No. 141 C P Huntington	1976	1983	In storage Hereford & Worcester

Minehead

Railway operated from 1964 to 1989

Locomotive Number/Name	First season	Last season	Where is it now?
No. 30 C P Huntington	1964	1974	Sold abroad (USA)
No. 31 C P Huntington	1975	1985	Clyde Valley Country Estate South Lanarkshire
No. 30 C P Huntington	1985	1986	Sold abroad (USA)
No. 31 C P Huntington	1987	1988	Clyde Valley Country Estate South Lanarkshire
No. 7002/0967/6	1989	1989	??

Pwllheli

Railway operated from 1953 to 1996

Locomotive Number/Name	First season	Last season	Where is it now?
No. D612 Queen Elizabeth	1953	1970	Midland Railway Centre Derbyshire
No. 487963 Old Sparky	1971	1977	Derbyshire Dales Railway Derbyshire
No. 157 C P Huntington	1978	1996	Private Storage Oxfordshire

Skegness

Railway operated from 1962 to 1986

Locomotive Number/Name	First season	Last season	Where is it now?
Princess Anne	1962	1974	Windmill Farm Railway Lancashire
No. 30 C P Huntington	1975	1984	Sold abroad (USA)
No. 141 C P Huntington	1985	1986	In storage Hereford & Worcester