Alton Towers Trains And Flowers (2)

But where to start?

To avoid too much complication, fbb will begin with the 20th Duke Of Buckingham.

Earlier dukes had developed Alton Towers and created some magnificent gardens, even adding a lake ...

... with other water features ...

... building a pagoda ...

... and a replica Greek mini-temple.

They even rebuilt Alton Castle, which sits on a hill on the opposite side of the valley from Alton Towers.

The arrival of the railway in 1849 gave the estate the opportunoity of opening up house and gardens to "invited" guests and later to the general public.

All the garden features pictured above have been restored to their former glory in recent years.

The lake ...

... water features ...

... pagoda ...

... and touch of repro Geek antiquity.

Indeed the gardens at Alton Towers are magnificent and often missed by visitors as they queue for ages to be slung about and terrified on the various horrific rides.

But it all so nearly went wrong.

Major Charles Henry John Chetwynd-Talbot, 20th Earl of Shrewsbury, 20th Earl of Waterford, 5th Earl Talbot, KCVO (13 November 1860 – 7 May 1921), styled Viscount Ingestre from 1868 to 1877, was a British peer.

During the 1890s, the 20th earl, Charles Talbot started the tradition of summer fetes at Alton. As well as the gardens, people were attracted with fireworks displays, balloon festivals, clowns, and exhibitions of instruments of torture.

But it soon went awry.

The 20th earl was a very active businessman who is now best known for founding the manufacturer of Talbot cars in 1902.

As well as Talbot Cars, the youthful 20th Earl was a public transport entrepreneur in London. He owned a fleet of Hansom Cabs, the best money could buy; and, of course, demand responsive public transport!

His cabs were lettered S T (for Shrewsbury Talbot) and they carried the family crest.

He even installed a "telephone" in the stables, so wealthy customers could "dial a ride".

He instituted a system of franchised operation whereby his drivers paid him £1 a day (a tidy sum way back when) and could keep whatever fares they collected above that sum. They often went on strike, especially in the winter when business was slack. So even back then, franchising was not the best answer.

What goes around, comes around.

In 1896, the earl and countess separated. The earl went to live at Ingestre and the countess stayed at Alton. The house began to decay and the grounds became neglected because the earl did not pay for upkeep. In November 1918, the earl decided to sell off the majority of the estate by auction. The countess continued to live on the estate for another two years after the earl died in 1921.

What remained of the grand estate was bought by a consortium of local businessmen in 1924; it became Alton Towers Limited. The grounds were refurbished and were opened to the public. 

The Alton Towers of the 20th and 21st Century was just beginning.

The Second World War interrupted development and the owners were unable to maintain the grand house. They were forced to sell off ceiling mouldings, doors and even a staircase to stave off financial ruin. Using the estate as a Military Training School did not help!

So we have had the "Flowers", what about "Trains".

Post WW2, efforts were made to regenerate the business. Boats for hire were floated on the lake, a fairground was operated on the land in front of the House ...

... and a railway was installed!

It was second-hand, and old at that!

It lasted over 40 years with the same locomotive.

It is near Farnham.

Altonia still runs and is now over 90 years old!

There are a few remnants of the line at Alton Towers. A former station is now a sales and enquiry office ...

... and, if you know where to look, a set of buffers!

Alton Towers had a model railway, constructed over a three year period in the old Chapel. It was promoted as "the largest model railway in the World" but it probably wasn't.

It was spectacular and large with a variety of UK, European and American trains trundling around incessantly.

By today's standards it was not very "interesting" and the modelling was, in places, quite crude.

Spot the Airfix kits in the centre of the picture above. But when it opened it was very much state of the art. Sadly, it was not developed and was auctioned off in 1993 to make way for a full restoration of the Chapel.

Of course, while we are in the grounds of Alton Towers, we must remember the famous monorail. It runs from the huge car park area to near the centre of activty. When fbb rode long ago it was quite a pleasant experience ...

... but now the trains are plastered with contravision jelly beans and the like ...

... making the view outside into a spotty and gloomy experience. The kiddies seem to like it!

Of course, like the miniature "steam" railway of old, the monorail is secondhand ...

... having been part of the Vancouver World Exposition in 1986.

But tomorrow, we leave the luxuries of the mansion at Alton Towers, we say farewell to the rides and queueing jollity to make our way down to the village to explore the real railway.

 Next Trains and Flowers blog : Thursday 13th August