RAF Chilmark was a former limestone quarry near Salisbury, Wiltshire used for the storage of RAF equipment and weapons from 1937 to 1995. The base was connected to the railway network and had an extensive 610mm narrow gauge network stretching over fourteen kilometres [1]. The base had a number of locomotives operating on it over the years including some battery electric
Baguley-Drewry shunters, some of the earliest were Ruston & Hornsby diesel-mechanical shunters built in 1939-1940.
| Information |
| Built: |
1939-40 |
| Builder: |
Ruston & Hornsby |
| Motor: |
Ruston 4-cyl diesel |
| Power: |
44 hp (33 kW) |
| Wheel arrangement: |
4wDM |
These locomotives were powerful enough to pull two hundred tons on the level and thirty-six tons up a one in thirty slope. Three survived in service until the closure of the base, one being used to haul the fire-fighting train until the 1970s when it was replaced by more modern fire-fighting equipment. At least two have been preserved, RH28 seen below is at
Stonehenge Works on the Leighton Buzzard Light Railway.
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| RH28 at the Leighton Buzzard Light Railway |
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| RH28 is Ruston & Hornsby 200516 |
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| RH28 is seen here at Stonehenge Works |
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| Another view of RH28 |
[1] The Little Trains of Chilmark (Railway Magazine, 1976)
