Knebworth Park and Winter Green Railway

51.972°N 0.212°W / 51.972; -0.212

Knebworth and Winter Green Railway

Overview
Headquarters	Stevenage
Locale	England
Dates of operation	1971–1990
Successor	abandoned
Technical
Track gauge	1 ft 11+1⁄2 in (597 mm)
Length	1+1⁄2 miles (2.4 km)

The Knebworth and Winter Green Railway was a 1 ft 11+1⁄2 in (597 mm) narrow gauge railway built in the grounds of Knebworth House in 1972 as a tourist attraction.

The railway was built by Pleasurerail Ltd. a company set up to build and operate private tourist railways which included the Great Whipsnade Railway and also the line at Blenheim Palace. In 1971, they started construction on a railway in the grounds of Knebworth House near Stevenage.^[1] The initial line was an end-to-end layout running from the house to the adventure playground. In 1980, the track was extended to form a mile-long continuous loop.

During its existence, the line hosted a number of steam and diesel locomotives. The line continued to run until 1990 when it was lifted and the remaining stock transferred to other lines

Locomotives

These are the locomotives that stayed at Knebworth for extended periods. Not all ran there at the same time and the exact dates when they were present are not always known.

Name	Builder	Works No.	Built	Type	Operating period	Notes
Triassic	Peckett	1270	1911	0-6-0ST	on site 1979	Now at the Bala Lake Railway
Sezela No. 4	Avonside	1738	1915	0-4-0T	Arrived in 1972	Now at the Leighton Buzzard Light Railway
No. 1	Hunslet	1429	1922	0-4-0ST	Arrived in 1972	Now named Lady Joan and at the Bredgar and Wormshill Light Railway
Lilla	Hunslet	554	1891	0-4-0ST	Arrived in 1972	Now on the Ffestiniog Railway.
Sezela No. 2	Hunslet	1720	1915	0-4-0T		Now in the private collection of Nick Williams.[2]
Sao Domingos [3]	Orenstein & Koppel	11784	1925	0-6-0WT	on site 1979	Static display only at Knebworth. Moved to South Tynedale Railway in 1980. Now restored to working order at the Great Bush Railway[4]
Pedemoura	Orenstein & Koppel			0-6-0WT		Now at the Leighton Buzzard Light Railway after spending many years at the Welsh Highland Heritage Railway
[5]	Motor Rail	8717	1941	4wDM	On site 1987	Dismantled and converted into a brake van
No. 6 Horatio [5]	Ruston & Hornsby	217967	1942	4wDM	On site 1987	Moved first to the Stoke Place Railway in Buckinghamshire, then to the Devon Railway Centre.
[5]	Motor Rail	8995	1946	4wDM	On site 1987	Dismantled and converted into a brake van
No. 2 [5]	Motor Rail	21513	1955	4wDM	On site 1987
[5] Sir Tom [6]	Motor Rail	40S273	1966	4wDM	On site 1987	Moved first to the Stoke Place Railway in Buckinghamshire, then to the Devon Railway Centre.