Length 0.5 Miles | ||
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Name Kingdom of Fife Railway Preservation Society Original gauge 4 ft 8 ⁄2 in (1,435 mm) Owned by The Kingdom of Fife Railway Preservation Society 1994 Last of the rolling stock at Lochty is moved to the Methil Power station until a permanent home can be found 2001 The KFRPS acquires Kirkland Yard and the stock is moved to its new home | ||
A day at fife heritage railway
Fife Heritage Railway is a heritage railway run by the Kingdom of Fife Railway Preservation Society which aims to showcase the heritage of the railways of Fife, based at on Kirkland Sidings, Methil, Scotland.
Contents
Overview
The Society was formed in 1992 after the closure of the Lochty Private Railway due to falling guest numbers and increased public liability premiums. Following the closure of the line, in May of the same year, the Kingdom of Fife Railway Preservation Society was formed to take over the former Lochty fleet. In 1994, the last of the fleet was moved from Lochty and moved to the now defunct Methil Power Station until the society could find a permanent home for its collection.
Various locations around Fife were looked at which included the former Crail Aerodrome, Lochore Meadows, Bowhill Colliery, part of the former Auctertool branch line, the former Wemyss Private Railway site at Scott's Road and even the former Kilconquhar railway station, all of which proven unsuitable for various reasons. Finally in 2001, the society acquired Kirkland Yard, a former 21 acre railway marshalling yard on the outskirts of Leven and in 2003, the rolling stock was moved from the Power Station to their new home. Since then the KFRPS have since constructed half a mile of track plus substantial sidings, along with a two lane engine shed which is used for restoration work.
In 2016 the Fife Heritage Railway fired the first steam engine to run on a Fife heritage line since the closure of Lochty in 1992. Forth gained its boiler certificate in August which will run until 2020 when it is due for overhaul, after a brief "running in" period, Forth was brought into service during the last days of the 2016 working season. Over the winter, the painting will be completed in Wemyss Coal Company livery and a ceremony will be held for its re-naming.
Rolling Stock
With the society's purpose of preserving locomotives and rolling stock that either worked in Fife or have a Fife connection of some kind, the society uniquely, in its certain location, has the status of having its collection being based in a fifteen-mile radius of where they were first working during their early days in Fife.
Future Plans
The current object for the society is raise its profile by introducing steam trains on their current branch along with Kirkland built up as a museum for Fife's railway heritage which looks to include a second shed to be built in the not too distant future, along with a second steam locomotive. There is also a long term plan of taking a section of the nearby Leven Railway and running a heritage railway on it, though this depends on the ongoing Levenmouth rail link campaign who would like the line to be used as an Abellio ScotRail service linking on with the Fife Circle Line rather than that of a heritage line.