MR.5297 "Fido"
MR.5297 "Fido" was built in 1931, and is a petrol engined Motor Rail, although this one is powered by a Dorman engine.
This locomotive is of local interest as it worked at the Weydon Lane sand pits in Farnham.
Currently out of service (July 09).
Weydon Hill sand pit
An Account by SYDNEY A. LELEUX
Weydon Hill sand pit lay to the west of Farnham, close to the Southern Railway carriage sheds. The 2ft 0in gauge railway connected a deep sand pit on the south side of Weydon Lane with loading docks for rail and road. The sand was dug by hand.
Temporary tracks were laid on the floor of the pit from the face to the foot of the "main line". This started in the centre of the pit and climbed up out of it on a long steep embankment. The ungated level crossing over Weydon Lane gave brief respite for the locomotive, the climb continuing on the other side of the road, where the railway entered an area of waste land covered with high grass and brambles.
Immediately beyond the level crossing a pair of sidings, forming, a loop were thrown off. They were very overgrown and used occasionally for wagon storage. The main line climbed on an embankment and then divided. One line continued straight and terminated on a simple wooden gantry spanning the SR siding. The other line curved away and led to a wood-and-concrete gantry beneath which lorries could be driven for loading. A short concrete road was provided for the lorries. Between the two branches was the locomotive shed, made of corrugated iron painted dark red, as was also the weighbridge hut beside the SR gantry.
The railway closed and was dismantled in 1950. In recent years the pit has been used as a refuse tip.
