George and Charlotte Mine Railway 2012

The G&G is a 2ft gauge NG railway about 3/4 of a mile in total end to end. There is a single track from the station down to the mine portal then the track splits - that section is controlled by a token staff system. Passengers are taken in through the mine past several displays with talks etc then the track comes out of the mine at New Quay where there is a run round loop. The train reverses for the return trip outside the mine alongside the Tamar river back to the token box and then on to the station. The loco then runs round for the next trip. The trip usually takes around 40 mins. The locos are all 0-4-0 battery electric with 30 x 2 volt cells in the battery box supplying 2 x 60 volt DC motors underneath. They were made by a firm called Wingrove and Rogers under the trade name "British Electric Vehicles (BEV)". They were purchased some 30 years ago second hand from Taylor Woodrow and others where they were used on tunneling contracts and similar projects. They also not surprisingly made milk floats and also the electric delivery vehicles for Harrods in London. The G&C has 8 locos, 5 in working order. The "Robey" engine is an old vertical boilered portable steam engine. It was used to haul large buckets (kibbles) of copper ore to the surface. Originally taken to the place of work drawn by horses. Now in a very sorry state, it actually belongs to a firm of boiler repairers (Pridhams) based at the Buckfastleigh railway station on the Dart Valley Line to Totnes. Dated around 1890. Thanks to Ted Baker for the above information and for introducing me to this delightful Mine Railway.