Farm railway turns 100 but faces uncertain future

Tucked away on a watercress farm is a unique piece of history.

Dodding's Farm in Bere Regis, Dorset, is home to what is thought to be the last surviving agricultural railway in the UK.

Up until 2023, the miniature locomotive, called the Watercress Queen, had been going to-and-fro on a raised platform above the beds.

But as the railway turns 100 the future of the little machine is now uncertain.

The future of the railway features in the latest edition of Secret Dorset on BBC Radio Solent.

The train has featured in several books over the years and is seen here carrying a load of watercress in 1992

David Henshaw, a transport writer who wrote a book about the railway visited the farm in 2023 and said the line was still operational then.

But now the train's interior is full of cobwebs and it has been out of action for a while.

"Sadly it's not in it's best state at the moment," said Kelvin Dutton, the manager of the farm.

Farm manger Kelvin Dutton said they have fans trying to see the train once or twice a year

Mr Dutton has only been working on the farm for two years, but said other staff remember it working through the generations.

"As much as I'm aware it was [used for] trench trains - it would take ammunition into the trenches and bring people or supplies back out," he said.

After World War One, when the army had less use for the railway track, it became cheap to buy.

"Someone had a bright idea and thought, 'that would be pretty good for moving watercress around'," he said.

The train has a cult following online with fans trying to get a glimpse of it at least a few times a year.

But Mr Dutton said he thinks it has probably reached the end of its useful working life on the farm.

The Watercress Queen has been on the farm for around 100 years - but fell out of use in recent years

"I would like to get it up and running and maintained a bit better. Maybe give it a nice paint," said Mr Dutton.

"I think there's a lot more people out there who know a lot more about it than we do - we've just inherited this piece of history, really."

Transport writer Mr Henshaw said that he's recently been in touch with a volunteer society that maintains a preserved 18-inch railway about its future.

"They said 'find out what's going on! We want everything!'

"So it's not going to be scrapped ," he adds, "unless they manage to scrap it before anyone gets there."