Miniature railway back on track for families

Daniel Harrison has restored the railway back to operational condition with the help of a small group of volunteers.

A miniature railway line has reopened to the public after being closed for six years.

Volunteers restored the track at Wat Tyler Country Park in Pitsea, Essex, and the first passengers rode on the carriages on Sunday.

Daniel Harrison, 51, who owns the Basildon Miniature Railway company, hopes to run a service every day of the school holiday this summer.

"When I took it over, it was in a deplorable state, you could hardly see most of the track," explained Mr Harrison, who has spent about £50,000 on the refurbishment.

"It was overgrown and there were lots of rotten sleepers - there was quite a lot to do!"

Rolling stock for Wat Tyler Country Park has been borrowed from other miniature railways

Trains began running on the one mile (1.6km) railway in the 1980s, but the line was closed in 2019.

Thousands of hours of work have gone in to refurbishing the track between the main station area and the marina within the park.

More extensive work is needed before the northern loop line towards the main entrance can open.

The team have two locomotives and several carriages.

The railway at Wat Tyler Country Park was operational in the 1980s

Mr Harrison, who works in financial services, said being driven to the railway as a child was one of his earliest memories, and he went on to volunteer for the previous owners in 1986.

"I was originally involved in laying some of the track, and seeing it getting into a state and knowing it had been closed down - I just wanted to get involved in bringing it back to life," he said.

"I think there's been a lot of keen interest [in the railway].

"People who live around here will be very much aware it's been closed for quite some time and there's a level of excitement growing."