History
Whilst it is a miniature in scale with the gauge only 10 1/4″, it has big aspirations as a family attraction. In 1979 it was extended to its current 1 1/2 mile length. As part of that extension, it crosses two rivers – The Cam and the Fulfen along with two tunnels. For the passengers, these have the effect that any steam enthusiast loves, of the smoke billowing around you as you exit the tunnel.
With the passing of Lord Braybrooke, his daughter Amanda Murray took over the railway and was determined to make it more relevant to young families in the surrounding Essex area. With the help of two of the CAP.CO team, in Bob and Johnny, the entire experience was replanned, repositioned and relaunched. This reinvention has been a huge success and has seen visitor numbers more than doubled in recent years.
After the creation of a Fairy House within the Fairy and Elf Walk, a few years ago, we worked with the AEMR team to create a brand new adventure play area, to add an exciting new layer of fun for visiting families.
Creating the design
As can be seen from the initial sketches below, the idea of building the play around a circular track emerged in early brainstorming sessions. This allowed us to create a unique play space, with a strong sense of place that totally roots it in the history of the site.
The location chosen for the new play development was an open lawned area, within one of the loops of the track. Starting with an open space like this creates a blank canvas, which can be beneficial in terms of simple topography to work with, but can often be tricky in terms of determining the right scale for the space. You’ll see in the final build, the orientation of the play is nestled beside an impressive Plane tree, close enough to feel intertwined and for it to give shade and dappled light throughout the day, but far enough away so cause harm by interfering with its root system.
As the design began to emerge, the references to the site at Audley End were brought into more clear focus. The shape and form of the locomotive was modelled on the most famous of Audley End’s miniature steam engines, Bruce. Named after Lord Braybrooke’s favourite dog!
The shape and span of the bridge are clearly designed to follow the lines and spirit of the distinct Adam Bridge over the Cam. The station buildings are modelled on those you can see from original station buildings of 1964
