John Hall-Craggs Archive

John Hall-Craggs archive; approximately 200 files documenting miniature locomotive builders, public and private owners and railways including the Holder family, George Woodcock, David Curwen, RH Morse, Alan Keef, the Downs School, Colin Gilbert of Lapworth Hall and other significant players in the British Miniature Railway story; Brightwalton Light Railway (BLR) files including files documenting BLR miniature locomotives including Nelly, Pietermaritzburg Flyer, Prince, Atlantic and Invicta; booking office and BLR administration; correspondence with individuals Ernest Steel (Henry Greenly’s son in law), David Curwen, John Snell, George Woodcock, W L Jennings, Sir William McAlpine, Robin Butterell, George Barlow and many others; files documenting visits overseas including various African countries; photographic material including photographs by George Woodcock and bound album from around 1910 of the Pitmaston Moor Green Railway, Birmingham; A0 folders of engineering drawings and accompanying card catalogue.

John Francis Hall-Craggs was born in September 1931. He went to be a practical engineer, who served as a Captain in the Royal Engineers and graduated from St. John’s College, Cambridge to work at Plentys & Co Ltd, Newbury. He rose to Managing Director and got the apprentices involved in building a steam locomotive and exhibiting at the local Hungerford Steam Fair. He became a close friend of Bill McAlpine, and corresponded extensively with George Woodcock, WL Jennings, Rodney Weaver and Ron Hammet amongst others. Alongside being a businessman, he built up an extensive reference library and created a large private 9 ½” gauge railway, the Brightwalton Light Railway (BLR) in his garden in Berkshire, collecting many rare and historic locomotives.