Then, a young businessman named Russell Smith proposed a railway between Box End and the High Street. The idea was that farmers would take their cattle to Box End, and the railway could then take the farmers into the centre of town to visit the shops. The railway idea was liked by all (except a few grumpy farmers who claimed they would have a longer walk to Box End than the town centre) and quickly got the go-ahead. Construction, part-financed by the reward money, took place during the winter of 1905, ready for opening the following year.

It so happened that at this time, the Hunslet Engine Co. in Leeds had received an order for a 2' gauge 2-6-2T for the Portmadoc, Beddgelert and South Snowdon Railway. Smith had visited Hunslet and seen the drawings for this engine; he decided that the design would be suitable for the MVR, and also hoped to take advantage of economies of scale, so he placed an order for a similar loco. The grateful citizens of Rutton suggested that the engine should be named after Mr. Smith, so, by strange coincidence, both engines ended up being called Russell! (If you think this is implausible, you should see what the writers get away with on EastEnders!). Initial rolling stock consisted of a cattle wagon (for the benefit of those farmers who still preferred to bring their cattle to Rutton), a general-purpose open wagon, and a flat wagon for the permanent way gang and a brakevan form IP Engineering of Poole. For passengers, a very fine passenger coach was supplied by GRS Ltd of Princes Risborough, a scaled - down version of those supplied to the famous standard gauge Wisbech and Upwell Tramway.

Rose Halt was opened a year later near a large boating lake, which was very popular with locals in the summer and when it froze over in the winter months they would all go down to ice-skate, although during the off - peak season the service was usually curtailed to the Rutton - Box End section. Apart from this, the line remained almost unchanged for some years; some further developments were planned, but these had to be shelved when the Great War broke out.

Once it was over, however, the line began to develop. Traffic was becoming too much for Russell to handle alone, so the line's manager Russell Smith, the man after whom the engine had been named, set out to find a companion for her. After some searching, he came across the Lehman Garten Bahn, a metre-gauge line in Germany that had been built in 1892 to serve the prosperous estate of Baron von Lehman; it had been worked by two identical 0-4-0Ts built by Krauss of Linz. It had been very successful, but von Lehman was hit hard by Germany's defeat and the economic collapse that followed, and the line was closed. The stock was put up for auction, and Smith put in a successful bid for locomotive No 2, as well as two passenger coaches that would be useful to handle to ever-increasing numbers of tourists visiting the valley. The stock was shipped to England and hastily re-gauged ready to be pressed into service at the start of the 1921 season; they were needed urgently so they retained their LGB liveries. At about the same time, another brakevan was purchased from the Chesham and Chilterns Light Railway, a company formed just before the war with a grandiose plan to build a 2' gauge line right through the Chilterns to Chesham. They had purchased a few items of goods stock, laid a short length of line and then ran out of money, and once the war broke out there was little hope of raising more. The company was wound up in 1920 and its few assets auctioned off, allowing the MVR to obtain the second brakevan it needed to allow two trains to be run.

Although traffic had begun to decline after a temporary surge during the war, the line was still very busy, especially on market days. The railway was struggling to cope with the amount of livestock, produce and people that had to be moved, particularly on the original Rutton - Box End section. To allow the timetable to be made more efficient, Smith planned another extension: unusually for a full-size railway, it took the line round in a circle back from Rose Halt to Box End. This would allow the railway to be worked in two sections on market days: freight trains would shuttle back and forth between Rutton and Box End, whilst passenger services would take the longer route via Rose Halt. The directors approved the plan and the extension was completed in February 1921; it was in many ways the "last hurrah” of the old company, as two years later, the line was absorbed into the Great Western Railway.

Locos and stock were repainted into GWR colours, and renumbered in the GWR sequence, Russell becoming 8800 and No 2 8801. Apart from that, operation of the railway continued basically as it had done before; Russell Smith even stayed on as operating manager, not retiring until 1946. However, during the 30's one new item of stock was acquired; this was a replacement or the open wagon, which was destroyed in a shunting accident at Rutton in 1935. Russell Smith always had an eye open for a bargain, and when he heard of the closure of the famous Lynton and Barnstaple line he purchased one of its 4-wheel wagons, built by Bristol C&W in 1897. Whilst in Devon he also acquired one of the line's water columns, which replaced the old one at Rutton that had also been destroyed in the accident!  The only other major change during this period was the replacement of Box End's station building as floods destroyed the original in the early 1930s.

WW2 had little effect on the line, being in the countryside, and it remained open throughout 1939-45. The railways were nationalised in 1948 to become British Railways, but apart from more repaints to the stock there was initially very little change. Rumours that Beeching might close the line were fortunately unfounded, as the MVR was still breaking even. Unusually, the locals did not abandon the railway in favour of cars because, unlike many standard-gauge branches, the MVR line had been able to build right to the centres of Rutton and Box End, and it thus remained convenient to use - and, of course, there was tourist traffic in summer. Although the cattle traffic was now declining, there was a boost for freight from a new sawmill at Box End; a 35-year contract was obtained for this traffic, and two bolster wagons built by JPE of Amersham. 

Although the steam engines were very popular with summer visitors, it was realised that a diesel would be more economic for freight services, so in 1962 one was built for the line; she was something of a hybrid as the chassis was supplied by IPE but the body be JPE; this was due to a strike at IP part-way through construction which would have resulted in a great delay to the loco's delivery. Unlike most BR diesels, which received "D" prefixed numbers, numbered in the MVR sequence as 8802, subsequently becoming No 3 when the line was sold (see below). She was named "Blackbird", a name taken from a rejected list of names for the "Western" diesels, which the line's operating manager Robert Whitehead - the man who replaced Russell Smith in 1946 - had got hold of. 8801 became "Albatross" at the same time; again the name was from this list.

In 1968 the locos received rail blue livery, Russell and 8801 being 2 out of only 5 steam locos ever to receive this livery, the other 3 being those of the 1' 11 1/2" gauge Vale of Rheidol Railway in Wales. These two lines now became BR's anachronisms as steam was withdrawn from the rest of the network. However, although the line had escaped Beeching's axe, BR was unable to give the line serious investment, and Whitehead began to find it more and more difficult to keep the line's infrastructure in good condition. By 1976, the 70-year-old buildings and platforms at Rutton and Rose Halt were in need of extensive refurbishment; but the money was not available, and they had to be demolished. Box End's 1930s building was in better condition, but it was unfortunately attacked by vandals in 1980; Whitehead was able to find funds for repairs, but the attractive platform-side porch had to be blanked off. After 32 years service, Whitehead retired at the end of the year, to be succeeded by Graham Underwood. In 1988 BR sold the loss making Vale of Rheidol, and there were fears that the same might happen to the MVR. However, thanks to an imaginative publicity drive, Underwood managed to boost revenue on the line, despite the fact that road improvements in the valley meant that the cattle traffic had almost completely disappeared.

The line's founder, Russell Smith, had passed away in 1974, aged 93. However, Whitehead was determined to see him off in style, and Russell, specially returned to her original livery for the occasion, hauled his funeral train from Box End to Rutton.  By 1979, Russell had reverted to rail blue, but heritage liveries made a re-appearance in 1992 when Albatross and the LGB coaches were restored to their original condition for their 100th birthday.

When the time came to privatise the network, there was some debate over what should happen to the MVR as it had been designated by the Railway Heritage Committee, who felt that privatisation in the normal manner might compromise the line's historical status. It took such a long time to sort out the matter that the British Rail Board continued to operate it long after most of the network had been privatised. Eventually, a new company was formed to operate the MVR, and New Years Day 1998 was fixed for the handover. The very last timetabled BR passenger service departed from Rutton behind Russell to the echoes of "Auld Lang Syne" on the stroke of midnight, New Years Eve 1997. 12 hours later, a formal handshake handed over the line to the new company. After 75 years, the MVR was independent again.

With the change of ownership, Graham Underwood decided that the time had come to retire, after 18 years. His successor was none other than your Webmaster (what a funny coincidence...), who now found himself faced with a railway that was nearly worn out. Lack of investment under BR meant that both track and stock needed extensive repairs. To further add to the problems, the sawmill contract expired in 2000 and the mill owners chose to switch to road transport, loosing much valuable income for the line. The railway managed to keep things going, but in 2001 matters were bought to a head by the foot and mouth crisis: with many local farms whose land the line ran through affected, it was forced to close. The railway had always cheated death before, but with its infrastructure worn out and no income available, there was a very real threat that the line might fail to make its 100th birthday.

But the new owners were not having that. They decided to turn to the fairy Godmother that had so often bailed out heritage lines: the Heritage Lottery Fund. Turning the line's closure to its advantage, he proposed an extensive refurbishment that would not have been possible whilst services were running, so thorough that the line would be better than new when complete. In December the HLF agreed to donate a record £1.5M to the project, whilst an appeal to enthusiasts quickly raised additional funds to unlock the grant. So far so good, but the council decided to take advantage of the scheme to install power cables under the line while it was re-built. This was a long, costly process that held up rebuilding for more than a year, so it was 2003 before work began in earnest. The original contractors of 1906, Paul Barnard Ltd., were then bought in to rebuild the line from the ground up, with new rails and sleepers throughout. The result is a railway that should not require any major renewals for at least 30 years, and although it meant the line was closed for two years, it was considered to be well worthwhile. In 2004 the line was re-opened with an impressive gala, with visiting locos and stock from the Woodrow Light Railway.

Another issue the line has had to tackle recently is workshops. Originally, the line had a small workshop at Box End, but this was closed by the GWR in 1923, as they preferred to send the stock to Swindon for overhauls, and most routine maintenance could be done in the running sheds. This practice continued into BR days - with stock latterly going to Crewe or Doncaster after Swindon closed - but when the new regime took over it was realised that they would need a new workshop. Therefore, in 2004 a small industrial unit was leased on the other side of Rutton, and whilst not rail connected, it has made overhauls of locos and stock possible without the need to put them out to contract, and is now busy overhauling the heritage fleet. The next stage in this area is rebuilding the engine shed; this was located at Rose Halt, having been moved there from Rutton after the 1907 extensions, but was dismantled during the line's refurbishment and placed into storage, to make way for an access road that will be needed when the plan to reinstate Rose Halt's platform gets the go-ahead. This means that the loco's are now stored outside - not a satisfactory situation. In the longer term, it is hoped to provide a carriage shed as well, something the line has never had before. A programme of stock restoration has now been started; the original brakevan returned to traffic in 2004 after a very thorough overhaul, and the other stock is being dealt with in turn. The line's loco fleet has also been expanded recently with the arrival of Lyn. This is an American Baldwin 2-4-2T, imported after industrial service abroad by a group of enthusiasts, who have restored it in the livery of the erstwhile Lynton and Barnstaple loco No. E762; it makes an excellent match for the restored L&B wagon and water tower (the latter now relocated to Box End, where the worn-out 1930s building has been replaced by a replica of the original).

Despite the long and eventful history, the line retains much of the rural railway atmosphere it had when it opened in 1906. Luckily, unlike many small narrow-gauge railways in Britain, this one has survived through a combination of fortunate circumstances. The line has recently established links with the nearby Woodrow Light Railway, another ex - BR narrow gauge line that unfortunately did not share the MVR's good fortune during the Beeching Axings, but was re-opened independently in 1992; as a result of this, many locomotive and stock exchanges have taken place between the two lines. All in all, with good business available and in the hands of a capable operating company, the Misbourne Valley Railway has a very bright future.

Meanwhile, the arrival of my younger sister in 1999 brought major changes around the house. An extension had to be built, and this meant that my brother and I no longer had to share a room. This should have created more room for the 00 railway, but as we were getting older we needed more space for school and homework related items, such as desks and bookcases; in the end we simply ran out of space for the layout, and it was dismantled. So, despite the reduction in garden space brought about by the extension, we realised that, with our newfound interest in live steam, this was the best place to build a new railway.

Our parents knew this, so at Christmas 1999 they gave us an LGB starter set so that we could start a garden railway. This comprised loco No. 2, coaches A1/2 and a circle of LGB track. We also received an extra track pack that gave us some straight sections and two sets of points. This was initially laid out indoors, forming a line between my bedroom and my brother's, but when spring came it was time to go into the great outdoors.

My father purchased a load of breezeblocks to carry the line, which started on the patio roughly where Rutton is now, and then came off onto the breezeblocks, following roughly the current layout of the line, but much lower. We brought more track for this, but there weren't quite enough breezeblock to complete the circuit, so the line stopped short a little way beyond where Box End is now. The line was very lightly built, and derailments were frequent; fortunately the LGB stock was strongly built!

By 2001 I had saved up almost £300 and my parents knew I was serious about buying Russell. So they took my money, and added to it contributions from relatives and friends as well as some from themselves, and bought Russell for me as my 10th birthday present in 2001. They even threw in a trip up to Doncaster so I could collect her from the factory in person!

But when I got Russell home, it wad obvious that I did not want my new pride-and-joy running along our rickety track in the garden, so this was dismantled to make way for a better-built line; in the meantime, a short oval was laid out on the patio so I could run Russell in. However, the loco behaved erratically, and would not stop unless taken out of gear. So we had to send her back to Doncaster to locate the problem; it turned out the radio set supplied with the loco was faulty, so a new one cured the problem. In the meantime, none of us had the time or skills to build a permanent layout, so for the next two years Russell was restricted to that short line on the patio, and the track suffered from the years of open storage - especially the points, which despite some attention in recent times have never again worked quite so well.

Things began to look brighter, however, in late 2002 when I joined the Association of 16mm Narrow Gauge Modellers. Their newsletter was a constant source of inspiration and spurred me on to get the line built. Furthermore, as a result of my association membership I was invited to visit the Chess Valley Railway in Chesham, and for the first time I was able to open Russell out and give her a good run. Also, I met Jon Potter of the Woodrow Light Railway for the first time at the meeting; since then he has invited me to his line many times, which is great as the WLR is much longer than the MVR! Shortly afterwards this site was set up, to record progress on the railway.

By 2004, my Father knew he could not build the railway himself so he began searching for someone who would do it for us. This led us to Paul Barnard, who was commissioned to build the line. He did a good job, completing the entire line in eight days, and the MVR's opening was celebrated in May 2004 when Jon and Chris Potter brought several visiting engines.

Since then we have been steadily improving the railway. The first task was to expand the rolling stock, which at the official opening gala was limited to A1/2 and the newly completed brake van K1. My brother bought this as a surprise for me; we finished the body fairly quickly but the painting gave us many problems! Over the next couple of years I built up a good collection (see the Stock page). The loco fleet has also been expanded, with the arrival of Blackbird, a battery diesel built by the WLR on an IP chassis, and Lyn, an electrically-powered Bachmann model of the well-known Lynton and Barnstaple prototype.  Recently, attention has now turned to line side buildings. I had initially built a building for Box End using a set of bricks my parents gave me for Christmas; I was pleased with it, but it proved to be not durable enough to withstand repeated trips into and out of the garden. After two years of work, a new building, made from a Model Town kit, was completed in 2008. I also bought a shelter for Rose Halt from Pendlebury Model Buildings at the 2005 Stoneleigh show. The latest acquisition is a signal box for Rutton.

However, no model railway is ever finished so this will probably be updated from time to time!

Pictoral Route Tour

Starting at Rutton...

...then turning right and running along a short straight...

...then turning right again and arriving at Rose Halt.

After leaving Rose Halt, the line curves round a large conifer...

...then, after a short straight, turns right again...

...to arrive at Box End.

Then line then swings out right again...

...and then left to go back into Rutton.

For more info on the pictures, see the photo gallery.