In 2020, Adrian Backshall, a former Network Rail engineer, built a 50‑foot solar‑powered railway in his Willingdon garden.
Backshall retired from Network Rail in 2018 after four decades of working on Britain’s main lines. The lockdown offered him a way to channel that passion into a backyard hobby that would later become a local curiosity.
He started with a hand‑cranked pulley on a vintage platelayer’s trolley, then upgraded to a 12‑volt winch powered by a car battery charged by a small solar panel. The winch pulls a cable through 50 feet of track that stretches from the garden shed to the patio.
Railway Magazine praised the project as a “Wickham lookalike” that blends historical authenticity with modern sustainability. Backshall says the railway now hosts tea parties for his wife Ruth and friends, and the carriage’s wooden stove keeps guests warm on chilly evenings.
Some of the track dates back to 1898, giving the garden a tangible link to the past. The line’s slow speed—about 0.3 miles per hour—lets passengers appreciate the scenery and the collection of railway signs and signals that flank the route.
The railway has attracted visitors from the nearby town of Eastbourne, and Backshall hopes to open the line to the public on a regular basis. He plans to add more memorabilia and a small visitor shed by early 2025.