A fairly "small-time" thing; but, my interest has lately been piqued / tantalised by references -- rather meagre -- to this line. It was short in distance (2 / 3 miles) and short-lived (1936 to 1939: essentially, a victim of World War II -- ephemeral post-war return to life; see below).
All that I've been able to find out about the line, via search engines, is as follows. It ran from Clacton-on-Sea ("Crossways" terminus, not the national rail system's station) to Jaywick Sands; it was of 18-inch gauge, not the more common miniature 15 inches; its locomotives seem to have been -- I presume, deliberately on an archaic pattern, to attract interest -- 4-2-2 tender locos, reminiscent of Stirling's "Singles". As above, it ran in its original form, for three years: cut short permanently, by outbreak of WWII. A brief reopening took place in summer 1949, involving only a short intermediate section of the route. After this, the end: three coaches were acquired by the then New Brighton Miniature Railway; after the closure of which in 1965, they were in turn passed on to the Ravenglass & Eskdale, where they are still active today. (Wikipedia here, in its fairly minimal coverage of the line, perpetrates a splendid howler: tells of the coaches being, after the war, "sold to the New Brighton branch of the Wirral Line" -- i.e. present-day Merseyrail's sections running under the river to serve its western side.)
Wiki does mention a book or booklet on the line, published by the Narrow Gauge Railway Society; seeking to acquire which, is envisaged -- in meantime, I would be grateful for any additional information re this line, which anyone might have and be willing to furnish.
All that I've been able to find out about the line, via search engines, is as follows. It ran from Clacton-on-Sea ("Crossways" terminus, not the national rail system's station) to Jaywick Sands; it was of 18-inch gauge, not the more common miniature 15 inches; its locomotives seem to have been -- I presume, deliberately on an archaic pattern, to attract interest -- 4-2-2 tender locos, reminiscent of Stirling's "Singles". As above, it ran in its original form, for three years: cut short permanently, by outbreak of WWII. A brief reopening took place in summer 1949, involving only a short intermediate section of the route. After this, the end: three coaches were acquired by the then New Brighton Miniature Railway; after the closure of which in 1965, they were in turn passed on to the Ravenglass & Eskdale, where they are still active today. (Wikipedia here, in its fairly minimal coverage of the line, perpetrates a splendid howler: tells of the coaches being, after the war, "sold to the New Brighton branch of the Wirral Line" -- i.e. present-day Merseyrail's sections running under the river to serve its western side.)
Wiki does mention a book or booklet on the line, published by the Narrow Gauge Railway Society; seeking to acquire which, is envisaged -- in meantime, I would be grateful for any additional information re this line, which anyone might have and be willing to furnish.
