The Rothschild family has long been one of the world’s wealthiest. Leopold David de Rothschild was born into the family in 1927 and grew up with a strong fascination and interest for steam locomotives. However, even the children of well-off families face hardships, as despite his interests, his parents denied him an electric train set.
Skip forward to the 1990s and Leopold’s fascination hadn't gone away. Now a fully grown man and with very deep pockets, Leopold wanted his own private miniature railway and turned to his family’s estate in the New Forest, Exbury Manor, to build it. He applied for planning permission from the New Forest Council, but it was denied in 1994. Undeterred, Leopold spent the next few years taking inspiration from other miniature railways around the country and just before the turn of the millenium, he reapplied to the New Forest Council for planning permission with a new miniature railway plan.
The New Forest Council had very strict regulations to meet, given Exbury Manor sat in the heart of one of the UK’s National Parks, but after careful deliberation and terms were agreed upon, the planning permission was granted in 2000. One of the conditions was that the railway had to be a part of the exquisite gardens and not its own separate tourist attraction outside of the privately owned Exbury Estate. The 1-and-a-half-mile long route was constructed on a looped circuit that still takes guests through one of the most unique gardens in the country, earning it the name the Rhododendron Line upon its opening in 2001.
As well as a uniquely designed and constructed station, the line also boasts three steam locomotives, Rosemary, Naomi, and Mariloo, which are completely unique to the miniature railway and were delivered in 2001, 2002 and 2008, respectively. Interestingly, Mariloo was ordered specifically for days where the line will be busier, and the train pulls more passengers
A notable chapter in the railway’s history came in 2008, when Queen Elizabeth II took a footplate ride around the gardens on a train pulled by Mariloo.
When the man who birthed this idea, Leopold David de Rothschild, passed away in 2012, his casket took a final journey around the railway that he had dreamed about since he was a boy.
Today, the railway, as well as the Exbury Estate itself, is operated as a charity and run by volunteers. The beauty and character of this unique garden is only enhanced by the unique steam railway that winds and steams through the vast gardens, carrying hundreds of thousands of passengers since it started operating.
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