The South Downs Light Railway is a gauge railway at Pulborough in West Sussex, England. The line opened in 2000, after the line was regauged to from , the gauge of the previous line that operated in the grounds of the garden centre before the South Downs Light Railway arrived. The line operates in the grounds of the Pulborough Garden Centre, operating most weekends between March and September throughout the year.

One of their two Exmoor Steam Locomotives will be in-charge of the service. Their two Exmoors are named ‘Pulborough’ and ‘Peggy’; these are the only Locomotives on the line, as it features a wide variety and collection of scaled-down miniature and narrow gauge engines.

The railway has their own engine shed which houses a large and impressive collection of Locomotives, with a workshop at the back of it. Just outside the engine shed there is a traverser to move the engines, and to the side of the shed is a turntable. There is also a covered drop-down pit so the engines can be inspected underneath. The old engine shed has now been converted to the railway's carriage shed, housing a large variety of operation stock, the carriage shed has had an additional extension to its eastern side to house more stock of the railway's collection.

The railway has two stations, Stopham Road Station, where people start their journey. The station has a canopy and the booking office. There is also Hardham Halt which is not regularly open, however is used during gala days and during Christmas as the North Pole.

2020 was the railway's 20th year of operating in its current location and they hoped to host a 20th Gala Weekend which would have hosted visiting engines plus special attractions. The railway announced that the gala weekend would happen in August, however it was cancelled by the COVID pandemic.

In 2025 the railway celebrated its 25th anniversary. Hosting a gala to celebrate, featuring all available Homefleet locos as long as visitors from the railways history, these being: A4 4498 "Sir Nigel Gresley", Atlantic ‘John Terrance’, Black 5 ‘Ayrshire Yeomary’ and a Class 35 Hymek. The Gala would run for 5 days throughout August with each day having a different theme. It would also feature a cavalcade of every Operational Engine and end with an impressive Lineup Shot.

The railway has developed a lot since they first opened including a extension, new tunnel, new engine shed, new workshop plus a new station (Hardham Halt), carriage shed expansion and much more!

Stations on the Line Source:

The railway has two stations: Stopham Road which is the main station and where passengers start their journey. The Station is on the site of the old station from the days, with the original structures (excluding the Signal Box) surviving until 2006, where it would then be demolished to make way for the new station, which was completed in 2007. This redevelopment include a new ticket office as well as impressive platform canopy. It has also since had the platform extended to accommodate ever growing trains on busy days.

The Line has one station at Hardham Halt. Constructed in 2014 and 2015, it was built to serve as a Grotto when Santa visits as well as space for Model Railway displays during Special Events and Glas, it is not regularly open to the public however.

Signalling In the days a signal box was constructed at the station, this structure still survives today, more or less looking as it did back then however in Southern Railway green and cream to match the rest of the station. The box houses an 16 lever Westinghouse mini frame, electronically controlling a series of signals and points around the line. In more recent years the box has had a new roof and new stairs, keeping this piece of kit going.

Locomotives Sources: +STEAM ENGINESBUILDERWHEEL CONFIGURATIONCLASSNUMBERNAMEBUILTNOTESPHOTOEXMOOR STEAM RAILWAY0-4-2EXMOOR "PULBOROUGH" CLASS319"PULBOROUGH"2004In service EXMOOR STEAM RAILWAY0-4-2EXMOOR "PULBOROUGH" CLASS334"PEGGY"2007In service GILES FAVELL0-4-2BAGNALL1"ALICE"2001In serviceGILES FAEVL / SOUTH DOWNS LIGHT RAILWAY2-4-2LYNTON & BARNSTABLE RAILWAY BALDWIN"THE PRIEST"UNDER CONSTRUCTIONNo progress DAVID CURWEN2-4-2HUNSLET LARGE QUARRY CLASS197"AGAPANTHUS"1997In service JESSE MOODY4-6-2SR MERCHANT NAVY CLASS21C1"CHANNEL PACKET"2011awaiting overhaul JESSE MOODY4-6-2SR MERCHANT NAVY CLASS35004"CUNARD WHITE STAR"2016In service JESSE MOODY4-6-0SR LORD NELSON CLASS850"LORD NELSON"2006In serviceCARLAND ENGINEERING4-6-0LMS ROYAL SCOT CLASS6100"ROYAL SCOT"1948In serviceERNEST DOVE4-6-0LMS CORONATION CLASS6220"CORONATION"1946In servicePETER HOWARD2-6-0LMS STANNIER MOGUL CLASS132451987In serviceST ROLLOX WORKS4-4-0CR DUNALISTAIR CLASS721"DUNALISTAIR"DAVID CURWEN4-4-2GNR C144331965In service J.J MAHONY4-6-2LNER A34472"FLYING SCOTSMAN"1934In service STARTED BY G&S LIGHT ENGINEERING FINISHED BY ERNEST DOVE4-6-0FREELANCE27"THE RAILWAY MISSION"1947Awaiting new wheelsJACK HUDELL0-6-0HOLMSIDE35"ARTHUR"1982Under overhaul0-4-2L&MR LUGGAGE ENGINE57"LION"In service 0-6-0FREELANCE625"LILY"2012DIESEL & ELECTRIC ENGINESBUILDERWHEEL CONFIGURATIONCLASSNUMBERNAMEBUILTNOTESPHOTOBUILT BY BOB DAVIES REBUILT BY MOUSE BOILER WORKSBO-BOFREELANCED113"GLEN AULDYN"BUILT 1986 - ONLY LOCO TO BE BUILT IN SCOTTISH HEBRIDEAN ISLANDS REBUILT 2000In service ROANOKE ENGINEERING0-4-0FREELANCE38"MERLIN"J.CHIVERS0-4-0FREELANCE2"ODDJOB"In serviceJ.CHIVERS0-6-0GER J70135"ANNA"In service BO-BOLMS 1000010000Out of service

Rolling stock The railway hosts a range of passenger rolling stock and the railway hosts a scale freight train which can be seen during most of their events. Their passenger rolling stock consists of three different types of coaches. On a regular running day, the train usually consists of two open-top carriages, an open carriage and then, depending on the weather and the date, either a covered brake coach or an open-top brake coach. There is also an SR Brake Van that is used sometimes. Their scale freight train is seen during their gala days and is worth looking at.

References

External links website Archive of the South Downs Light Railway website