This cute miniature railway in Poynton has been a popular destination for families for the past 40 years. But Brookside Miniature Railway looks even better than ever thanks to the dedication of a team of local volunteers who took it over when it was at risk of closing forever five years ago.
Now, a team of railway enthusiasts tend to the tracks and the steam engines, paint the gates, the mini railway station and signal boxes to keep it looking picture perfect when it opens every week. It opens every Thursday through to Sunday and costs just £2.50 to ride the train.
The engine heads out on a picturesque loop around the Brookside Garden Centre site in Poynton, taking in river views and weaving through tunnels and passing an original signal box that's almost 100 years old. And the new owners have even created an adorable "fairy wood" for passengers to look out for on the way.
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The magical section of the ride comes complete with a tiny fairy kingdom with castles and bridges. It leads on to a gnome garden with a wealth of cute mini statues that were all donated by local residents.
The train navigates its way over wooden bridges across the Norbury Brook as well - giving it a unique journey straddling the Cheshire and Stockport border. There's even a local celebrity as station manager - band leader Andy Prior who had his own entertainment show on the BBC in the 1990s.
The miniature railway was first opened back in 1984 by the former owner of the garden centre and has delighted families ever since. But in 2018 it appeared to be at risk of permanent closure, until a group of local railway enthusiasts teamed up to take it on.
Retired police officer Chris Mackenzie MBE and Lee Oxley joined forces as the directors of the railway back in 2018. Chris, 62, says: "I've always been a railway enthusiast so I always knew about it here, and when we had a young son he loved it, and of course we were there every weekend.
"When we heard it was closing down, there was a public outcry. We decided it was too good to close down, so we formed a local company, a lot of us got together and here's where we are now a few years later.
"We didn't realise how run down it was, so a lot of work has gone into it and without the volunteers we wouldn't be where we are now."
During lockdown the team took the opportunity to repaint it all, while the garden centre, now owned by Klondyke & Strikes, helped in providing materials too. Chris said: "The general community here have been brilliant. It's how to run a railway, with a lot of volunteers and not much money and a community behind you.
"One of the things we created to make it interesting all the way around was a magical fairy wood. People donated gnomes, we got a load of fairies and spent a lot of time making it. Wives will come along and "donate" their husbands to help out!
"Only a couple of months ago a widow donated a shed to us, so we transformed that into a siganl box and painted it in red and cream it looks lovely now."
Dozens of volunteers help out to maintain the railway and man the trains and generally make it a lovely time for all involved. Meanwhile the train station manager is popular local TV star Andy Prior.
Band leader Andy was famous for his own BBC show, The Andy Prior Big Band, in the 1990s and continues to bring smiles to the faces of young and old with his role at the miniature railway. He gamely dresses up for the themed events at the railway, which include special Santa trains at Christmas times and an Easter egg hunt over Easter.
Andy said: "People ask us what we sell at Brookside and I say we sell smiles. It's aimed at families and that's why we have the fairy wood and pirates and that sort of thing, just to make it that bit more magical.
"It was in a pretty derelict state when we took it on, I've always been involved in railways and trains all my life. A lot of kids know me as Andy the train manager now.
"I train all the drivers. Sometimes I'll be driving, sometimes I'm train guard taking the platform tickets - I'm pretty hands on."
On the train itself are newly-covered sit-in carriages, with each named after volunteer's family members and even Chris's beloved pet dog that sadly died Daisy. They've also just invested in a new loco called Graeme - with a naming ceremony set to take place for it in the next few weeks.
The station itself also features a shop - which boats a range of Thomas the Tank Engine toys and ice creams. And there's also the original signal box that came from a real station - Aughton Road near Southport.
Staff have worked hard to restore the historic building, although little of the signal works in the top floor survives. But downstairs has been converted into a staff room.
How to get there
Brookside Miniature Railway is at Brookside Garden Centre, London Rd N, Poynton, Stockport SK12 1BY. It's just at the junction of the A555.
The railway is ppen every week on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday and also on bank holidays. Opening times are 10.30am to 4pm.
Tickets are £2.50 for adults and children aged over 2. You can also buy 10 rides for £25.00 and get an extra 2 rides for free.
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