RAILMUSEUMSTEAMSAHEAD
RAILMUSEUMSTEAMSAHEAD
One Essex farmer is
letting the train take
the strain in his novel
diversification. As the
business gears up for
its busy spring period,
Tim Relf climbs aboard
THIS is platform four at Ipswich station," says John Jolly, walking along a concrete platform. Except, were not at Ipswich – were in the middle of Johns Essex farm. And the platform, at which a train is standing, is part of Mangapps Railway Museum, a treasure-chest of railway-related memorabilia.
Here, youll find five steam and five diesel locomotives, more than 70 carriages and wagons and thousands of other items ranging from buildings and rolling stock to buttons and tickets. Even the station masters office, waiting room and signal box come from long-closed stations around East Anglia.
The collection is of serious historical interest, with items spanning well over a century. One of the steam locomotives dates back to 1876 while an underground car only recently came out of service on the London tube.
Here, also, youll find one of the countrys largest collec-
tions of signalling equipment – but perhaps the biggest surprise is the three-quarters of a mile of passenger-carrying line. It snakes out across the Jollys arable farm offering visitors to Mangapps at Burnham-on-Crouch a unique experience. And more than 20,000 visitors come every year – everyone from dyed-in-the-wool railway buffs to Thomas the Tank Engine loving toddlers.
"The turnover of the railway has overtaken the turnover of the farm," says John, who recently re-tired as chairman of Essex NFU. "Quite simply, the railway is profitable, at present the farm isnt."
Like many visitor attractions, Mangapps was hit hard by the foot-and-mouth crisis. It was closed for five weeks last year at what would have been one of the busiest periods. "Every time there was an outbreak, numbers dropped. The wet weather also had an affect on us."
The venture dates back to the mid-1980s when John came to this 160ha (400-acre) farm after a spell farming in Suffolk. His land agent, jokingly, said that the farms redundant barn would be somewhere to put his "junk", referring to his collection of memorabilia. At about the same time, John acquired a railway station building to use as a garden summer-house and was surprised by the interest it generated. "That sowed the seed," he remembers.
* No stopping
Farm incomes, meanwhile, were expected to fall and Johns son, James, had just left school so they were keen to find an additional enterprise. Soon after, they acquired a diesel locomotive. "From then on, there was no stopping us."
The origin of the collection, of course, dates back much further – to Johns childhood. To that small boy, everything about steam locomotives – their size, noise and power – was exciting. A train trip was an awe-inspiring experience in those days. "It would usually mean visiting an exciting place – the seaside or to see relatives or to a big town. It was quite different to anything else." The or-ganisation aspect of railways fascinated him, too. "People that worked in that environment were almost working in a secret world."
He remembers when, as a schoolboy, he acquired his first item. It was the late 1950s and the son of one of the farms tractor drivers – who was a fireman on the railway – took him to see some rusty steam engines waiting to be cut up. John took home a "gauge glass frame", a safety device to prevent scalding if the boilers water gauge burst. For the young enthusiast it was an ideal trophy. "Easy to remove, it would fit in my saddlebag and British Railways wouldnt miss it."
Little bits and pieces came into his possession in the years that followed and then, in the late 1970s, he actively started searching out items. Now, 40 years after getting that gauge glass frame, the fascination is as strong as ever. "Im still just as interested. If I go anywhere near a railway, Ive got to have a look."
Mangapps is a family-run business and, in addition to the dedicated band of volunteers, youll often see John, his wife June and son James all involved – one driving the train, one as guard and one selling tickets and running the shop. Nowadays, though, John spends most of his time running the train museum while James looks after the farm.
Getting visitors, meanwhile, has become an ever-more competitive business. John remembers when he first muted the idea, a neighbouring farmer said: All you have to do is open the gate, sit there and collect the money. "Well it doesnt quite work like that."
There is far more to do on a Sunday than there was in the mid-1980s, with Sunday shop opening having changed the publics weekend habits. While the original plan was for a "static" museum, they later realised that to attract and entertain, they had to have "movement". Hence the passenger-carrying line which was first laid in 1990 and is now being extended.
It hasnt, of course, all been plain sailing. There have been planning issues. "But weve been lucky compared with some of the horror stories that you hear about farmers diversifying."
* Unpredictable
Johns advice to other would-be diversifiers is to remember that such ventures always cost more than you think and that itll always take longer than you think to get your money back. What works may well not be what you expected, so youll not always get your money back from the direction you expect, he adds.
"This is a historical museum – but thats not what makes us the money – what does that is being a childrens entertainer."
Johns referring to his Thomas the Tank engine weekends, aimed at three to four-year-olds. "One of our volunteers – not me, I hasten to add – dresses up as The Fat Controller."
Its just as well, really, that he enjoys working with people and meeting the public. "It can be a little hard keeping a smile on your face sometimes. But you have to – its how youre earning your living.
"I thoroughly enjoy it. Mind you, I thoroughly enjoy farming as well. As a schoolboy, I could never make up my mind whether I wanted to be an engine driver or a farmer. Ive ended up as both."
• Mangapps Farm Railway Museum can be contacted on 01621-784898.
John Jolly (left) in the station-masters office and (above) a station building which came from north Suffolk.