A week on Sunday (15 October), Amberley Museum in West Sussex will host its annual Autumn Industrial Trains Day, showcasing its collection of trains.

Visitors will have the opportunity to ride on industrial passenger trains, including the Wickham petrol railcar. They will also be able to watch the Road Machines contractor’s monorail system in action.

The Amberley Museum is located in the South Downs National Park, and its Industrial Railway Collection is one of the most important collections of industrial railway equipment in the UK. The collection’s history goes back further than the museum, dating back to the Brockham collection and Narrow Gauge Railway Society acquisitions during the 1950s and 1960s.

The Brockham collection included two 2ft gauge steam locomotives, ‘Polar Bear’ and ‘Peter’, which were both in poor condition. Restorers returned both to working condition at Amberley. 105-year-old Peter will be in steam throughout the day.

Polar Bear was taken out of service on 29 October 2022 as its ten-year boiler certificate had expired. It needs a full mechanical and boiler overhaul, including retubing and restudding of the boiler and a new main steam pipe. The Museum is asking for donations to help fund this work, which can be made here.

At first, Amberley Museum planned to be a small operation, demonstrating typical industrial narrow gauge trains. The first locomotive to arrive at the Museum was the Motor Rail Hibberd 1980/1936, donated by Southern Water and previously used at the City of Chichester Sewage Works at Apuldram, to the south of the city.

In 1982, the nearby Thakeham Tiles company decided to replace its short narrow gauge railway in favour of a conveyor belt system. It donated the entire railway, track, wagons and locos to Amberley Museum on condition that the Museum removed everything over one weekend – which it did.

Amberley Museum is still using some of the track, one of the locomotives and the wagons today. Thakeham Tiles No.4 is Hudson Hunslet 3653/1946, with its rear end rebuilt by the company to enable the loco to enter a low building to access a wagon unloading hopper.

The collection also includes Hudson Hunslet 2208/1941 – Thakeham Tiles No.3, which originally worked at the Trevor Quarry Co in North Wales. Thakeham Tiles then bought it, and modified its cab in the same way as no.4.

In 1982, the collection of industrial and narrow gauge items kept at the Brockham Museum’s site near Dorking was brought to Amberley. The Brockham Museum Trust had decided that it could not develop further, so transferred to Amberley many interesting locomotives, rolling stock and related items.

As a result, Amberley a passenger-carrying line.

Visitors to Amberley Museum on Sunday 15 October will see these industrial trains in action alongside the Museum’s other attractions, which include nature trails, the South Down Bus collection, a working print shop, and historic craftworkers.

Tickets can be bought in advance here.

The Museum is located next to Amberley railway station, which is near Arundel and close to major access roads in West Sussex. The Museum is open to the public from Wednesday to Sunday 10am – 4:30pm all year round. Its Limeburners Café serves hot and cold food, and dogs are welcome on a lead.