Eastbourne Miniature Steam Railway
By Mike Stella

The Welcoming Sign didn't lie, this WAS a Railway Adventure

A three week vacation to England turned into an eight week nightmare as my wife took ill and ended up in the Intensive Care Unit of the Eastbourne District General Hospital.

She recovered nicely but I had to find things to do for five unplanned weeks.

Stories about a few toy/train meets and shows and a few trips to London to railfan will follow in future months.

To start I want to share a visit to the Eastbourne Miniature Steam Railway that was located a very short walk from the hospital. Never mind that the sun really beat down on the hottest day EVER recorded in England, camera in hand I walked around shooting this terrific little railway and now want to share it with you.

A full train leaves the station and skirts a large lake filled with fish	Rounding the 1st curve on the 7 1/4" Railway
One of the longer straight-aways heading towards the tunnel	Heading into tunnel #1, there is NO #2
Out into the daylight once again	The scenery in this Wildlife Reserve is great
Still traveling towards the far end of the loop with a target signal indicating the crossing ahead	Lights flash to warn folks on the footpath a train is coming
Real trains on the way to London pass by the EMSR	You can see how close we are to the 4' 8 1/2" stuff
Rounding the far end of the loop and heading for home	A long bridge is necessary to cross the water feeding the lake
Telephoto shot does not do justice to the longest straightaway	Picnic area and station approach
The main car shed where cars are spotted each evening	Back at the station where a "new" load of passengers await
Stoking the fire with real coal for the next run	Passengers All Aboard and just about ready for another trip around the lake
Turntable and the roster of steam locomotives