Miniature Locomotives 171 



marshland that somehow the big railways 

 had managed to miss, and it is practically 

 certain that if the 15 -in. railway had not 

 been built the shrill note of the locomotive 

 would never have been heard in this cor- 

 ner of England. 



The new line owes its birth to the love 

 of things mechanical of Captain Howey. 

 He has always been keen on railways and, 

 having carried out experiments with many 

 model systems, he wanted to prove to the 

 world that the i5~in. gauge line would 

 serve a big public and pay its way when 

 one of the standard, or even what is termed 

 narrow gauge light railways would fail. 

 Romney Marsh was just the place for such 

 an experiment, because, apart from the 

 fact that it needed the iron road, it was 

 level and thus suitable for a light railway. 

 A ' light J: railway does not necessarily 

 mean that it is really light in any way, 

 but, under an Act passed in 1896 it is 

 possible to build certain types of line with- 

 out having to go to the big expense of 

 getting a Bill through Parliament. A light 



