The Metropolitan Water Board Railway Society (MWBRS) was set up to restore as much of this line as possible, partly to be an extra attraction to visitors to the Kempton Great Engines, partly to transport them there and partly as a stand alone attraction. When completed it will also be able to transport visitors to the Kempton Nature Reserve.

The great pumping engines at Kempton were once connected to the Thames by a narrow gauge (2') railway which could supply the coal and also distribute sand to the filter beds. It connected all the pumping engines at Kempton and Hampton so that they could be supplied from the river or from a standard gauge railway at Kempton via the Shepperton branch.

This way advantage could be made of whichever route was cheaper or more convenient at any time. The line was over 3 miles long, was built in 1916 and closed about 1946.

Our illustration from a painting by Graham Bosworth shows loco “Hampton” during the line’s heyday. It is reproduced by permission of the owner Alain Foote.