Fawley Museum
Welcome to the Fawley Museum website.
Fawley Museum is a private museum established in the 1960s by the late Sir William McAlpine at his estate near Henley on Thames. It hosts a fine collection of memorabilia and models relating to railways and other forms of transport together with a working standard gauge railway operating on the steepest gradient in the country.
Since its inception, the railway and museum have grown steadily with artefacts and buildings arriving from locations all around the the country. many buildings have been rescued and reassembled at Fawley Hill to save them from demolition, creating a unique urban landscape in a country estate. More detail of this can be found at our History of the Railway page.
The museum includes a wide range of interesting and unusual transport artefacts which will appeal to visitors of all ages. The park contains a variety of animals including rheas, peacocks, wallabies and many species of deer.
The museum and railway are open on a limited number of days during the year and admission is only by prior application and invitation. Capacity is limited and tickets are not available on the day. For more information, please visit our Events page.
Fawley Museum is run and staffed entirely by a group of friendly volunteers who undertake almost all of the necessary maintenance tasks associated with a working railway. If you would like to join our team and contribute to the day-to-day operation of the museum in a highly sociable environment, further information can be found on our Volunteering page. We have a need for a variety of skills so you don't have to be an expert on railways.
AUTUMN UPDATE:
Our season finished in a haze of activity with several events happening in quick succession.
On September 18th, the day after our annual members' barbecue, we again hosted the National Transport Trust Awards which were presented by Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal. We were delighted that she was able to look round the museum and take a ride on the railway after the Awards ceremony. Pictures of the day can be seen on our NTT Awards page and on the NTT web-site.
Unfortunately, our resident steam locomotive, No 31, suffered a failure the previous month and we were grateful that her sister locomotive, No 88, has able to travel from Tyneside to stand in. With slightly smaller cylinders, No 88 wasn't as adept at tackling the hill as her bigger sister but her efforts are appreciated and can be seen in the new Visiting Locomotives section on the Our Locomotives page.
On 7th and 8th October, we enjoyed a visit from Avonside 0-4-0 Saddle Tank No 1340, TROJAN which was making a flying visit on it's way to the Forest of Dean Railway. She entertained 150 volunteers and friends from Didcot Railway Centre by hauling our Shark brake van along the valley line. As with No 88, Trojan can be seen in action in the new Visiting Locomotives on the Our Locomotives page.
The railway is now closed for winter maintenance. We are delighted that several people have already contacted us about next year's Invitation Day dates. Please keep your requests coming through the web-site or e-mail addresses on the Events page.
Credit: Lucy Leo
Our enthusiastic and knowledgeable volunteers look forward to welcoming you to Fawley Museum soon.
Details about the Fawley Hill Estate can be found at www.fawleyhill.co.uk
We hope that you enjoy browsing the pages of the web-site. If you have any comments or questions, please get in touch using the contact form at the bottom of each web-page.
