The Northamptonshire Ironstone Railway Trust operates a 1+1/2 mi mile long heritage railway

Heritage railway

thumb|right|the Historical [[Khyber train safari|Khyber Railway]] goes through the [[Khyber Pass]], [[Pakistan]]A heritage railway , preserved railway , tourist railway , or tourist railroad is a railway that is run as a tourist attraction, in some cases by volunteers, and...

 line at Hunsbury Hill

Hunsbury Hill

Hunsbury Hill is an Iron Age hill fort two miles south-west of the centre of the town of Northampton in the county of Northamptonshire.It is probable that defences were built at Hunsbury Hill between the 7th and 4th centuries BC. The deep ditch excavated has survived to the present day...

, south-west of Northampton

Northampton

Northampton is a large market town and local government district in the East Midlands region of England. Situated about north-west of London and around south-east of Birmingham, Northampton lies on the River Nene and is the county town of Northamptonshire. The demonym of Northampton is...

. The line is mainly dedicated to freight working, featuring many sharp curves and steep gradients which were typical of the industrial railway, but rides are available in a variety of vehicles including a converted brake van.

In the last few years the site has undergone restoration with 1/4 mi mile of line being regraded and relaid in 113 lb/yd rail and concrete sleepers, along with the restoration of 2 locomotives and brake van to enable passenger carrying as well as other restoration projects being undertaken.

Operationally the railway has received full operating clearance from the HMRI to allow running on the relaid section of the 1st quarter of the mile of the route.

Locomotives

• Steam locomotives
  • "Belvedere" Sentinel
    Sentinel Waggon Works
    Sentinel Waggon Works Ltd was a British company based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire that made steam-powered lorries, railway locomotives, and later, diesel engined lorries and locomotives.-Alley & MacLellan, Sentinel Works, Jessie Street Glasgow:...
    
     geared
    Geared steam locomotive
    A geared steam locomotive is a type of steam locomotive which uses reduction gearing in the drivetrain, as opposed to the common directly driven design....
    
     vertical boilered tank engine. On static display.
  • "Musketeer" Sentinel geared vertical boilered tank engine. On static display.
  • "Vigilant" Hunslet Engine Company
    Hunslet Engine Company
    The Hunslet Engine Company is a British locomotive-building company founded in 1864 at Jack Lane, Hunslet, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England by John Towlerton Leather, a civil engineering contractor, who appointed James Campbell as his Works Manager.In 1871, James Campbell bought the company for...
    
     0-4-0
    0-4-0
    Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 0-4-0 represents one of the simplest possible types, that with two axles and four coupled wheels, all of which are driven...
    
     saddle tank. Awaiting restoration, should start once the Hudswell diesel is complete.

• Diesel locomotives
  • Planet
    F. C. Hibberd & Co Ltd
    F. C. Hibberd & Co Ltd was a British locomotive-building company founded in 1927 to build industrial petrol and diesel locomotives. In 1932 the company acquired the goodwill of James and Frederick Howard Ltd...
    
     4w diesel-hydraulic - no.3967 - Operational.
  • No. 16 Hunslet Engine Company
    Hunslet Engine Company
    The Hunslet Engine Company is a British locomotive-building company founded in 1864 at Jack Lane, Hunslet, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England by John Towlerton Leather, a civil engineering contractor, who appointed James Campbell as his Works Manager.In 1871, James Campbell bought the company for...
    
     0-4-0 diesel-mechanical. Dismantled and undergoing restoration, wheels planned to be sent away soon for renovation, the frames are currently being cleaned and painted.
  • Hudswell Clarke
    Hudswell Clarke
    Hudswell, Clarke and Company Limited was an engineering and locomotive building company in Jack Lane, Hunslet, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England.-History:...
    
     0-4-0 diesel no.D697. Awaiting the completion of its restoration, planned to be worked on once No. 16 is complete.
  • Ruston & Hornsby 88DS 4wDM
  • Fowler
    John Fowler & Co.
    thumb|right|John Fowler & Co. [[steam roller]] of 1923John Fowler & Co Engineers of Leathley Road, Hunslet, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England produced traction engines and ploughing implements and equipment, as well as railway equipment. Fowler also produced the Track Marshall tractor which was a...
    
     diesel 4220001 "Charles Wake" – Operational.

Other vehicles on site:

• B950061 20-ton LMS brake van – operational
• B490310 12-ton open wagon
• M407942 12-ton open wagon
• 321734 Ex Ruston "88" underframe
• No. 330 Nordberg trackmachine
• Grafton Steam Crane Ship Canal Side Tipper

• Diesel multiple units
  • BR
    British Rail
    British Railways , which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was the operator of most of the rail transport in Great Britain between 1948 and 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the "Big Four" British railway companies and lasted until the gradual privatisation of British Rail, in stages...
    
     Class 121
    British Rail Class 121
    Sixteen Class 121 single-car driving motor vehicles were built from 1960, numbered 55020–55035. These were supplemented by ten trailer vehicles, numbered 56280–56289 . They had a top speed of 70 mph, with slam-doors, and vacuum brakes...
    
     DTC no. 54285

• Electric multiple units
  • BR Class 411
    British Rail Class 411
    The British Rail Class 411 electrical multiple units were built at Eastleigh works from 1956-63 for the newly electrified main lines in Kent. These units were based on the earlier Southern Railway 4Cor design, built in 1937. They were replaced by Juniper units.-Description:A total of 133 units...
    
     TSO nos. 70284, 70296 and 70510
  • BR Class 415
    British Rail Class 415
    British Rail Class 415 was a suburban 750 V DC third rail electric multiple unit commissioned by the Southern Region of British Railways. Built between 1951 and 1957, it became the most numerous class on the region after the withdrawal of the 4Subs...
    
     unit 5176 (3 cars of the unit)
  • BR Class 422 TRSB 69304 unit 2260
  • BR Class 4DD
    SR Class 4DD
    Conceived by Oliver Bulleid for the Southern Railway's Dartford commuter route, the two 4DD electric multiple units were the only double-deck trains to run on the main line railway network in Britain. Whilst common in Europe and North America the restrictive railway loading gauge in the United...
    
     DMBS no. 13004 (formerly of unit 4002 later renumbered 4902 owing to the number 4002 being reallocated to the second British Rail Class 445
    British Rail Class 445
    The PEP Stock were prototype electric multiple units used on British Rail's Southern Region during the early 1970s. They were forerunners of the BR Second Generation electric multiple unit fleet. Three units were built, one two-car unit , and two four-car units...
    
    )

External links

• Northamptonshire Ironstone Railway Trust