CARLISLE's well-loved model railway line is back on track for the first time since 2019, much to the joy of the local community. 

The club, which was established in 1936, were proud to welcome the return of the locomotives to the beautiful sites of Hammond's Pond on Sunday (June 5) after Covid-19 took the service off the tracks.  

Chairperson of Carlisle's Model Engineering Society, Stephanie Saville, said it was a "lovely" return of an important aspect to the park. 

"Everything went to plan on Sunday, and we ran all afternoon, it was a lovely day and we had about 250 passengers hop on," she said. 

The triumphant return saw three locomotives running that day, bringing back some old faces as well as some new ones. 

News and Star: Engineers as work. Engineers as work. (Image: Carlisle Hammonds Pond Railway)

"It was all children, it was lovely to see, they were really excited and we got a lot of really positive comments from the day as well. 

"Once again we'd really like to thank everyone for turning up - there was an awful lot of new faces thanks to Facebook, it's made a huge difference," she said. 

Stephanie said they were also glad to welcome Councillor and Carlisle's Deputy Mayor, Colin Glover, on the day. 

Prior to the unveiling, Cllr Colin Glover said: "It's been part of the park for decades and I know people have been looking forward to the railway getting running again. 

"The railway generally is a really important part of Carlisle's history and to have the model engineer volunteers there who have been part of the community have made it fantastic addition to the park. 

"Next year is the centenary year of the park and it would be fantastic to be able to celebrate that anniversary with all aspects of the park and the railway is a really important part of that," he said. 

News and Star: Locomotives undergoing maintainence. Locomotives undergoing maintainence.

The club will be running up until October and you can pop down any Thursday for a chat with hobbyists or on Sunday afternoon, between 2.30- 4.30pm for a ride on the line.

Anyone interested in the railway line should keep an eye on the Carlisle Hammonds Pond Railway Facebook page for special events and announcements as it gears up for an exciting year ahead. 

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