Could Exmouth's Miniature Railway return to the seafront?

An Exmouth train enthusiast has been hard at work while under the coronavirus lock down restoring the Exmouth Express, the pride and joy of the town's miniature railway, in the hopes of one day bringing it back to the seafront.

The town's miniature railway dates back to 1959 but only a few years ago the train made its last outing.

The last public journey on the 10 and 1/4 gauge railway took place in 2017, shortly before the council decided not to renew Exmouth Fun Park's lease. The Exmouth Express was then sold on, in 2019 Exmouth train enthusiast Henry Mock bought the train with the intention of one day returning the locomotive to the seafront.

Exmouth Nub News spoke with Henry today to find out more about his plans, what he has been up to under lock down and why he feels it is important to return this slice of Exmouth history to its rightful place.

"Our main goal is get to the railway back on the seafront where it belongs," Henry told Nub News.

"We are mainly running as a portable railway attraction at the moment but our 10 year plan is to get back on the seafront.

"I've been able, thanks to the coronavirus lock down, to give the locomotive a complete face lift.

"We plan on attending a couple of Christmas markets later on in the year and other events depending on the coronavirus situation.

"I've lived in Exmouth all my life and went on it as a kid and since then I have always wanted to buy it. In 2019 I met the chap who owned it and asked if I could. I had to twist his arm a little bit but he had not had the chance to do anything with it."

Since the coronavirus lock down came into force Henry and his partner Romy Langley have been hard at work on an 'intensive restoration'. Henry has stripped the Exmouth Express down and has been painstakingly restoring it so that it will be ready for its next public journey.

Henry has been exploring the options for getting the Exmouth Express back on track. He has consulted the local planning authority, East Devon District Council, and they have not ruled out the idea.

"My dream would be to have the railway back in some form on the seafront," said Henry.

"If the seafront is not possible I want it running permanently somewhere in Exmouth. I think that with everything that has changed on the seafront we have lost quite a bit of Exmouth's heritage.

"I've made some initial basic enquiries with local councils, it's not a no at this point but I need to figure out where it could be sited, put together a business plan and work out how to combine this piece of Exmouth history with the modern world.

"I know the town is behind me but I've got a lot of work to do to please the council."

Henry added: "It's been in Exmouth for more than 30 odd years. To have lost it in 2017 was a real shame."

Henry takes his role as custodian of the Exmouth Express very seriously and hopes to preserve this piece of Exmouth history, a history dating back to the '50s when the first miniature railway ran in the town.

If you would like to support Exmouth Miniature Railway and Henry the best way you can do that right now is to Like and follow his the Facebook page.