Alan investigates the origins of Wickham trolleys across several narrow gauge systems.
A Wickham trolley is a railway personnel carrier manufactured by D, Wickham & Co of Ware in Hertfordshire. Intended for use by railway inspection and maintenance staff, the trolleys were built between 1922 and 1990. A wide variety of Wickham trolleys were made with either petrol or diesel engines and bodywork styles ranging from fully open to fully enclosed. Probably the best known version is the standard gauge British Railways Type 27 introduced in 1948, with over 600 produced.
However, a number of narrow gauge Wickham trolleys have been produced or converted from standard gauge models.
The Ffestiniog Railway operates a Wickham Type 17 trolley that was originally built for the LNER in 1934 with a petrol engine. The trolley was obtained in 1961 and converted to narrow gauge. In 1966, the trolley was given a general overhaul and a reconditioned engine before being used intensively with the relaying of track between Tan y Bwlch and Ddualt. Over 160 round trips were recorded in 1967. Between 2003 and 2010, the trolley was stored away from the railway but returned with completely new bodywork. The trolley was converted to battery power in 2022, charging being provided by the solar panels on the roof of the Boston Lodge Carriage Shed.
The 3 foot gauge Crowle Peatland Railway operates two Type 17A Wickham trolleys. One trolley currently has a Deutz diesel engine taken from a standard gauge Wickham trolley while the other Type 17A is an unpowered trailer. Both Wickham trolleys were built in 1946 to 3 foot gauge for the North British Aluminium Company in Fort William. Originally powered by a JAP petrol engine, the trolleys worked until being replaced by a new Wickham Type 27 trolley in 1956. Both Type 17A trolleys entered preservation in 1978 and passed through the hands of several owners until being donated to Crowle Peatland Railway by The Rail Trolley Trust.
The Wickham Type 27 trolley from the North British Aluminium Company went to preservation at the Isle of Man Railway in 1978, along with an open trailer that had been supplied by the manufacturer with the original order. The Bala Lake Railway operates a Wickham Type 27A trolley that was built in 1975 to 3 foot 6 inch gauge for use on Southend Pier.. This trolley went into preservation in 1983 at the Brecon Mountain Railway where it was converted to 2 foot gauge before eventually moving on to Bala Lake Railway in 2015.
In the build-up to the Second World War, Wickham developed unmanned trolleys to carry targets along narrow gauge track on military firing ranges. These trolleys carried wooden outlines of tanks to provide moving targets for anti-tank infantry and artillery. Powered by JAP petrol engines, the target trolleys were armoured to protect from shrapnel and were hidden from direct fire behind an earth embankment. Being unmanned, the speed was controlled by a governor and they operated on a closed loop of track, as there was no reverse gear. Development of the target trolleys started in 1938 and, when the design was finalised in 1941, over 255 were produced by Wickham.
The Wickham target trolleys were mainly of 2 foot gauge but a small number of 2 foot 6 inch gauge models were produced. All target trolleys were chain driven to one axle and had sprung buffers in case two trolleys came into contact. A number of Wickham target trolleys have entered preservation including 3164 that was built in 1943 for Lydd Ranges in Kent. This target trolley spent some time unrestored at Embsay Steam Railway where the engine was donated to a standard gauge Wickham trolley. 3164 is currently partly restored, but still without an engine, at Apedale Light Railway.
Wickham target trolley 3170, also built in 1943, is preserved at Statfold Barn Railway complete with a new wooden target. This fully restored target trolley is owned by The Rail Trolley Trust who also own the prototype Wickham target trolley 2522. This historically significant vehicle is currently being restored to operational condition at the Bredgar & Wormshill Light Railway having been originally preserved at the Museum of Army Transport in Beverley. On closure of the museum in 2003, Wickham target trolley 2522 was stored at Leighton Buzzard Narrow Gauge Railway until 2025.
