Surrey Border & Camberley Railway
The Surrey Border & Camberley only operated for two years - 1938 and 1939 - but it went down in history as one of the most elaborate miniature railways ever built. It was the brainchild of wealthy London enthusiast Alexander Kinloch and had it's origins in the nearby Farnborough Miniature Railway.
Costing £16,000 to build (almost a million pounds today!) the 10 1/4" line offered a 12 minute ride along 1.5 miles of track between Frimley and Camberley. It was double track for the entire length and was operated by a fleet of 12 steam locomotives, many of which had been designed and built by local engineer H.C.S Bullock.
Unfortunately it was a bit of a white elephant financially and lost over £2,000 the first year (equivalent to over £100,000 today!). It carried on for another year but closed at the outbreak of war after Kinloch was called up for military service. The company was placed in receivership and most of the locos sold off.
The track and buildings, along with the remainder of the rolling stock, remained in situ throughout the war years, abandoned and neglected. Unfortunately it was never revived and everything was removed shortly after hostilities ended.
The route of the railway has since been mostly built over and no traces remain. The main station, Farnborough Green, was located where the Frimley4 Business Park is now situated, adjacent to the A325 Farnborough Rd. It then ran in a NW direction through the middle of what is now Junction 4 of the M3, through what is now Sainsbury's, through the Riverside Way business park and terminated somewhere south of the intersection of Vale Rd and Surrey Ave. Obviously back then the entire route was through open fields!
Surrey Border & Camberley Railway
The Surrey Border & Camberley only operated for two years - 1938 and 1939 - but it went down in history as one of the most elaborate miniature railways ever built. It was the brainchild of wealthy London enthusiast Alexander Kinloch and had it's origins in the nearby Farnborough Miniature Railway.
Costing £16,000 to build (almost a million pounds today!) the 10 1/4" line offered a 12 minute ride along 1.5 miles of track between Frimley and Camberley. It was double track for the entire length and was operated by a fleet of 12 steam locomotives, many of which had been designed and built by local engineer H.C.S Bullock.
Unfortunately it was a bit of a white elephant financially and lost over £2,000 the first year (equivalent to over £100,000 today!). It carried on for another year but closed at the outbreak of war after Kinloch was called up for military service. The company was placed in receivership and most of the locos sold off.
The track and buildings, along with the remainder of the rolling stock, remained in situ throughout the war years, abandoned and neglected. Unfortunately it was never revived and everything was removed shortly after hostilities ended.
The route of the railway has since been mostly built over and no traces remain. The main station, Farnborough Green, was located where the Frimley4 Business Park is now situated, adjacent to the A325 Farnborough Rd. It then ran in a NW direction through the middle of what is now Junction 4 of the M3, through what is now Sainsbury's, through the Riverside Way business park and terminated somewhere south of the intersection of Vale Rd and Surrey Ave. Obviously back then the entire route was through open fields!