About the AMR

History & Construction | The Route | Signalling

 
 
 
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Top Left - The location of Depot Approach before tracklaying.
Top Right - Depot Approach loop, ballasted with track in place.
Middle Left - The location of Harrison's Crossing before tracklaying.
Middle Right - Michael Faraday passes over the finished crossing.
Bottom Left - The end of the first stage of the railway.
Bottom Right - Working on the track panels.
[Photos: C. Howard]

Opening and the first year

The railway opened to the public on Saturday 26th February 2005 during the Museum's 'London Transport in Miniature' open weekend.
Sam Mullins, Director of London's Transport Museum, cut the ribbon and shortly after, the Little Red Train operated the first passenger service.
Despite the sub-zero temperatures and a brief snow shower on the Sunday, the AMR's first weekend was very successful with a three train service in operation and 879 tickets sold over the course of the weekend.

 
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Left - Sam Mullins cuts the ribbon and opens the AMR.
Right - The AMR's first passenger, Mrs Elizabeth Velvick, with her souvenir ticket.
[Photos: A. Allum]

The June weekend saw the first temporary signals installed on the railway, to ensure that operation was as safe as possible. After the October open weekend, the railway had carried over 1,900 passengers.

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The Little Red Train backs into the spur at 'Depot Approach' during the February open weekend.
Before 2006, the Arrivals and Departures platforms were swapped over compared to the present arrangement. [Photo: J. Hill]

Winter 2005/6 work

The winter of 2005/6 saw much work taking place to extend the railway. This included:

A new siding was added off the Depot Approach loop, parallel to the departure track. This provided much needed storage capacity for spare stock or for static display.

 
 
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Top Left - Connecting one end of the new point
Top Right - Connecting the other end
Bottom Left - Connecting the first panel of track to the new point.
Bottom Right - The finished siding.
[Photos: C. Howard]

A locomotive servicing siding was added between Harrison's Crossing and the end of the line. This provided further stock storage space and a place to service steam locomotives away from the passengers.

 
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The point for the loco siding in place, awaiting connection. [Photos: C. Howard]

The line was also extended further towards what is now Wesley's Halt.

New Stock

In late 2005, the railway was donated a loco and two wagons, giving the railway its first resident stock. The loco could not have been more suitable, being a model of Metropolitan Railway 'Metrovick' electric loco No. 12 'Sarah Siddons'.
The prototype is preserved and has been used to run special trains on the London Underground network.
The loco and wagons were all built to 7½in gauge, rather than the AMR's 7¼in, but have since been regauged, with Sarah Siddons making her debut on passenger services in March 2008.

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Sarah Siddons on static display prior to re-gauging. [Photo: M. Scrutton]

2006

March 4/5 saw the first open weekend of the year, along with the first steam hauled trains on the Acton Miniature Railway.
The railway operated an intensive three train service and proved very popular, carrying over 1000 passengers during the weekend despite the cold weather.
On static display were Sarah Siddons, and a part-completed Metropolitan Railway 'A Class' loco.

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Frederick awaits the road in the Depot Approach loop. [Photo: H. Hill]

After the May open weekend, work began on the extension to Wesley's Halt.
Tracklaying occurred in August and the loop was brought into use for the October open weekend, albeit without being used for passing trains.
The new loop came into its own in March 2007 when, in combination with new signalling, it enabled the operation of a very efficient 3-train service.

 
 
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Top Left - Removing the current track panels on the site of the loop, the line had to be slewed over to accommodate both tracks.
Top Right - Connecting the first point.
Bottom Left - Laying track panels.
Bottom Right - The finished loop. The 4-wheel wagon was used to test the ride-quality of the new track.
[Photos: A. Allum]

The Future

The railway is now in a period of consolidation, however the eventual aim is to extend to Ealing End, which will be sited next to the gates visible in the background of the photos above.
There are also plenty of other jobs to be going on with, including the installation of permanent signalling and a permanent signal cabin, along with general maintenance on the existing line.
For the latest news from the railway, keep an eye on the News Page.

Get Involved

The AMR and the London Transport Museum Friends are always in need of volunteers. For more information about joining the Friends, please see the LT Museum Website.
If you are particularly interested in helping out on the AMR, please get in touch to find out more. No miniature railway experience necessary, just enthusiasm and willingness to learn.

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Diagram of the line - click for larger version

Passengers board the train at Depot Approach.

Michael Faraday waiting for passengers at Depot Approach [Photo: A. Allum]

On departure, the train runs through the loop track (pausing to wait for an arriving train to clear the single track section if necessary)

Michael Faraday passes the Little Red Train in the loop at Depot Approach. [Photo: S. Trower]

The train then heads onto the single line up to Wesley's Halt, passing over the level crossing to the picnic area at Harrison's Crossing.

Frederick passes Harrison's Crossing. [Photo: S. Trower]

The train runs through the loop at Wesley's Halt up to the end of the line.

 
Left - Michael Faraday at the end of the line. [Photo: D. Hill]
Right - The 'A' class passes Michael Faraday in the loop at Wesley's Halt. [Photo: D. Hill]

The train then reverses and re-traces the route, often waiting for a minute or two for a passing train at Wesley's Halt and arriving in the straight track at Depot Approach, where passengers alight.
Finally, the train shunts empty back to the departure track at Depot Approach to collect the next trainload of passengers.

In the future, the line will be extended to Ealing End, next to the Museum Depot yard and the gate to Ealing Common Depot.

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Click thumbnails for large images
Left - The starting signal at Depot Approach. This signal is a combined home/distant and, following London Underground practice, can display red (stop), green-over-yellow (proceed, next signal at stop) or green-over-green (proceed, next signal at proceed).
The sign beneath warns of 24,000 miliVolts, the voltage at which the battery-electric locos operate! [Photo: H. Hill]
Right - The switch panel that operates the signals, seen under test. The light indicates that a train has arrived in the passing loop. [Photo: A. Allum]

To ensure only one train at a time can be on the single track section between Depot Approach and Wesley's Halt, a token system is used.
There is only one token, and the driver of a train must possess it before being allowed to enter the single line from either Depot Approach, Wesley's Halt or the locomotive servicing siding.

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The signalman hands the driver the token authorising him to proceed on the single line to Wesley's Halt.

At present, all of the loop points are spring-operated, with points to sidings 'clipped-and-padlocked' into the correct position as necessary.

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The point-spring mechanism, - the spring holds the points the points in the correct position for facing moves, but allows vehicles to trail through it in either direction. [Photo: A. Allum]

The long term intention is for the railway to be fully signalled, with continuous train detection. The whole railway will be operated from a signal cabin near Harrison's Crossing.

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