Pleasureland Miniature Railway, King's Gardens

Warning - The train horn of the Pleasureland Miniature Railway sounds very loudly at the end of this recording. Immersive as it is, it may be too loud for some. Please turn your headphones down in anticipation of it.

Lakeside Miniature Railway is the oldest continuously running 15-inch gauge railway in the world. Built in 1911 and originally conceived as a steam train, in 1945 it changed to a petrol-driven locomotive. It runs from next to Pleasureland all the way to Ocean Plaza from 10am-6pm (when the park is open). The small station is painted in chocolate box colours and stepping onto the platform feels as though you have stepped into a period film. The open carriages take you on a lovely, leisurely ride past the lake and under bridges whilst the engine toots its horn at slow moving seagulls.

Ada Hammond remembers her mother saving up for trips to Southport for her whole family. If she was very lucky, she would get a donkey ride and an ice-cream. This recording reminds us that coming to Southport was, and still is, an important ritual in a lot of people’s lives. One which the quality and variety of attractions here only serve to demonstrate.

Recording ref - UAP019/3 S1 (1998-3) – Ada Hammond - ©️ Lancashire Archives

Image ref - NSP7539 - Miniature Railway at Southport, c1930 - ©️ Sefton Libraries Information Services courtesy of Sefton Looking Back - Image Archive