The Far Tottering & Oyster Creek Railway

 at Lakeside Miniature Railway

 

The Far Tottering and Oyster Creek Railway was a mythical Railway written about by Roland Emett

 

Far Tottering Picture of the book.

 

 

Originally the Emett Festival Railway puffin series.  Roland Emett wrote a series of adventures set within the Far Tottering and Oyster Creek.

 

 

 

 

 

The Far Tottering and Oyster Creek Branch Railway was a pleasure railway in Battersea Pleasure Gardens. It was originally constructed in relation to Festival of Britain events on the South Bank.

The design of the railways locomotives , rolling stock and stations derived from cartoons in Punch which parodied a pre-beeching decript rurual branch line as well the [popular myth] surronding such lines. [Source Wikipedia]

 

Rowland Emett's first cartoons appeared in "Punch" in 1939 and his spindly locomotives, Nellie foremost amongst them, puffed into view shortly after. In 1951 the invitation to turn the drawings into an operating railway for the Festival of Britain resulted in a magical creation and a fundamental change of direction, Rowland Emett from then on increasingly being known for his animated machines, or "Things" as they should properly be called.

The Far Tottering and Oyster Creek Railway could be argued to be the most successful in the world, as it paid off all its initial costs in under three weeks! The locomotives were 15 inch gauge diesel-electric engines (from war-surplus searchlight generators), built by Harry Barlow of Stockport.

 

[Source: Chris Brown, Picturetrail.com]

There were Three main Locomotives

 

Nellie

 

A Drawing of the "Nellie" Locomotive A Photograph of the created "Nellie" Locomotive

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wildgoose

A Drawing of the "Wildgoose" LocomotveA Photograph of the created "Wildgoose" Locomotive

 

 

Neptune

A drawing of the "Neptune" LocomotiveA Photograph of the "Neptune" Locomotive

 

They were created into real life for the Festival of Britain in 1951 at Battersea Pleasure Gardens.

 

 

See a Film including the Far Tottering and Oyster Creek Railway in Action

 

Click the picture to see the film

The Film is from the National Archives, and was sponsored by the Central Office of Information for Commonwealth Relations Office.

[ http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/films/1945to1951/filmpage_fil.htm ]

 

 

A drawing of the Far Tottering RailwayA Photograph of the Far Tottering Station circa1951

 

 

©Lakeside Miniature Railway 2008, No reproduction without prior permission