Saltwood Miniature Railway - Later History

Later History

After World War II train services resumed and a steady pattern of service developed at Saltwood, seeing it outlive many of its contemporaries. Indeed, by the mid 1970s the available evidence suggested that the Saltwood line had become the oldest extant miniature railway in the world. The miniature railway author and engineer Tom Smith conducted world-wide research on this subject, and concluded that the Saltwood line was indeed the oldest miniature railway still operating. During the early 1970s the steam locomotives were replaced with electric engines, and newer coaches were added to the passenger stock. However, in 1987 the owner Alexander Schwab died, and his executors took the decision to sell the assets of the Saltwood Miniature Railway in lots, and to close the line. Certain earthworks, and sheds may still be seen at the site of the railway, as well as other tangible reminders of the line including a deep locomotive inspection pit and a lengthy, and elegant, brick tunnel; another survivor is the substantial locomotive air-raid shelter, designed to protect the engines from a direct hit by a German bomb. However, the track has all been lifted, stations demolished, signals and other equipment disposed of, and the rolling stock is now operating at a variety of new locations.