There is something universally special about steam trains. The sight, sound, and smell of a steam locomotive can transport you back in time more quickly than almost anything else. Britain takes the preservation of these machines and their rolling stock very seriously, and you are never far from a working steam railway. One of the most beloved is the North Norfolk Railway, which connects the picturesque towns of Sheringham and Holt over a 5¼-mile stretch, offering daily service aboard wonderfully restored vintage coaches.
Miniature railways are also a popular part of this heritage. Often built at one-third scale, these are not toy trains; they are fully functional steam locomotives that operate exactly like their larger counterparts. One of the most famous of these miniature lines has an extraordinary history that includes a remarkable chapter during the darkest days of World War II, when it was transformed into a miniature armored train to help defend the vulnerable south coast of England. During the invasion scare of 1940, Britain scrambled to prepare its defenses against a potential German invasion.
Armored trains were a proven concept from the First World War and were used extensively by Poland in 1939 and by the Germans, particularly on the Eastern Front. These trains were not just protected by armor; they were also heavily armed with artillery and anti-aircraft guns. In 1940, Britain fielded twelve armored trains to patrol strategic sectors, initially armed with quick-firing 6-pounder Hotchkiss guns and Bren light machine guns. A thirteenth armored train, however, was added to that list in a most unusual way.
It was created on the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway, the smallest public railway in the world. The line consists of 13½ miles of track running from Hythe, via Dymchurch, to Dungeness in Kent. Created in 1927, it has eight stations today and uses a 15-inch gauge, meaning the steam engines and carriages are roughly one-third the size of standard trains. Originally built as a public service rather than a tourist attraction, the railway was pressed into a very different role when the war came.
The army took over one of the railway’s locomotives and two of its bogie hopper wagons to create a pint-sized armored train. In May 1940, conversion work began because the stretch of coast around Dungeness was considered an ideal landing zone for German forces, should Hitler have launched Operation Sea Lion, the planned invasion of England. The entire south and east coasts were extensively defended, with shorelines mined and wired, and pillboxes for machine guns, observation posts, and gun batteries constructed. Thousands of these defensive structures survive across Britain to this day, and the railway was used to move troops around this highly sensitive sector in Kent.
The engine, named Hercules number five, along with the wagons, was armored by applying mild steel plates designed to be proof against small arms fire and shrapnel. Concrete was also used to screen sensitive parts of the locomotive, and the whole unit was painted a dull gray. The gun platforms at the front and rear of the train were each heavily armed. Each carried two Lewis machine guns, a design dating back to World War I, and a Boys anti-tank rifle, a .
55-caliber tank killer. The Boys was nicknamed “Charlie the bastard” or “the elephant gun” by British troops due to its excessive recoil and weight. In 1940, the Boys was not the laughable weapon it is often portrayed as today. A .
55-caliber armor-piercing round could penetrate most types of German armored vehicles that would have been used in an invasion, particularly the side and rear armor of the Panzer I and II tanks, as well as half-tracks and soft-skin vehicles. It could punch through up to 23. 2 mm of armor at 100 yards. It was only later replaced as German tank armor improved, giving way to the PIAT spigot anti-tank launcher.
During the summer of 1940, the miniature armored train was kept hidden in a tunnel at Dymchurch, ready for instant use should an emergency arise. The train was manned by seven members of the Somerset Light Infantry. And did this miniature marvel actually see action? Yes.
It was credited with engaging low-flying German aircraft on at least three separate occasions during the summer of 1940. The aircraft were variously reported as a Messerschmitt Bf 109, a Dornier 17, and a Heinkel 111. In one notable engagement, it was reported that a Bf 109 attempted to strafe what the pilot believed was a full-scale train, causing him to completely misjudge his attack. Combined with hits scored by the soldiers on the train, the German fighter crashed nearby.
The 109 had been hit by at least one of the Boys anti-tank rifle rounds, as a hole of the exact dimensions was found on the crashed German aircraft. The miniature armored train truly came into its own in 1944 when it was used to escort parts for Pluto, a vital pipeline built under the ocean following D-Day to pump petrol 70 miles across the English Channel to Allied forces fighting in Normandy. After the war ended, the armored train was stripped of its armor and returned to regular service.
Remarkably, the engine, Hercules number five, still remains in service with the railway today, almost 90 years after its conversion.