The main locomotive on Lappa Valley's 7¼ inch gauge railway now operates exclusively on battery power, following a three-month conversion which took place at the Lynch Motor Company in Honiton, Devon.
The locomotive, Victoria, had a Kippor diesel generator when it joined the Lappa Valley railway in 2020. This generator powered two electric motors.
Now that Victoria is a fully electric locomotive, it has become much more efficient. Whereas it previously could manage half a day of running with one refuelling, it can now run for two full days from one single charge.
Moreover, the quieter method of power is making the ride more enjoyable for visitors.
We're really pleased with Victoria's performance
Ben Harding, Operations Manager for Lappa Valley
Lappa Valley says that visitors will now be able to better appreciate the natural sounds of the railway's environment.
In total, Lappa Valley boasts a fleet of 13 locomotives, seven of which operate on the Cornish railway's 15 inch gauge line between East Wheal Rose and Benny Rose. The popular attraction won Best Large Visitor Attraction in Cornwall in both 2022 and 2023.
The other six locomotives run on its two smaller gauge railways, the 10¼ inch gauge Newlyn Downs branch line and the 7¼ inch gauge Woodland Railway.
Both of these are located in the area around the now defunct East Wheal Rose Mine.
Victoria will feature in the railway's 50th birthday events, scheduled to take place from Friday, 14 June to Sunday, 16 June.
For each single charge of the batteries, Victoria will now do two days of summer running with a five coach train. This could be up to 400 laps of the Lakeside Railway. To put it into perspective, our old APT and HST powercars would have needed refuelling twice on each one of those days, and that's around 30 litres of petrol.
Victoria is now a lot more efficient for our operation, and will take a lot more passengers each time around our beautiful Lakeside Railway.
It was quite a challenge to ensure the equipment that would be used would be up to the job. Finding a battery electric locomotive in such a small gauge capable of doing what we require of one is nearly impossible, so to make it happen we had to work closely with The Lynch Motor Company to develop a package that would do the job.
We're really pleased with Victoria's performance so far, and the feedback we've had from passengers regarding the quieter ride has been excellent.
Ben Harding, Operations Manager for Lappa Valley
