Poole Park Railway is set to have its official opening this weekend putting an end to a wait that has lasted for several years.

The Mayor of Poole will be there on Saturday, October 15, for a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the reopening.

For residents, this ceremony has taken a lot longer to get to than originally anticipated with a whole host of problems befalling the project when it was initially suspended in 2018.

Here's a full breakdown of all the problems that have occurred to the railway in the last few years including derailments.

Bournemouth Echo: Poole Park railway train (Newsquest)Poole Park railway train (Newsquest) (Image: Newsquest)

What has gone wrong with Poole Park Railway?

It was back in 2018 when problems started to arise for the attraction in Poole Park due to a number of derailments and walkouts from volunteers and staff as part of Friends of Poole Park (FoPP).

Borough of Poole (BOP) council terminated their contract with FoPP in June 2018 after the charity was put on notice and the service suspended due to the prior incidents.

It was in May 2018 that the railway was suspended although BOP had plans to get it back up and running.

In October 2018 they planned to invest £350,000 with a view to having it operating again in the summer of 2019.

Bournemouth Echo: Tracks needed to be be replaced (Newsquest)Tracks needed to be be replaced (Newsquest) (Image: Newsquest)

Those plans fell into ruin with tenders being needed for the track, engine shed, train and carriages.

Planning permission was eventually granted in October 2019 for the demolition and replacement of its engine shed while 640 metres of track also needed to be re-laid.

However, whilst many may have thought the worst of the problems were out of the way, delays kept on coming.

Poole Park Railway continuing problems

In 2020, BCP Council was forced to review the funding for the project, which it had taken in-house by this point, and the emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic also caused issues.

Work was shelved on the project as a result, but it was all go again in February 2021 as additional funding was agreed upon by cabinet members and a grant secured from The Parks Foundation which meant a new tender for a track and engine shed could be launched.

However, it wasn't until December that a contractor for the work was secured as Track Systems, who were based in Shropshire, were picked following a tender process.

Some progress was finally being made and by March 2022 new tracks were being laid and the engine shed was in place.

Failure to secure a contingency engine as promised in December 2021 meant efforts to bring it back in the summer of 2022 were thwarted, but trial runs began in the autumn.

Just when everything was moving into place a derailment occurred in September 2022 caused by debris on the track.

READ MORE: Poole Park Railway has been suspended after derailing

Thankfully no one was hurt. Plans for an officially reopening on September 17 were then shelved separately due to the death of Queen Elizabeth II.

New train engine falls through

Just a couple of weeks before a new official opening on October 15 a whole new twist to the saga arose with the company that was producing the train's engine.

The trials had been using an engine on loan whilst one was being made by Track Systems UK.

However, the firm was said to have “closed”, according to a message on its website seen in early October.

BCP Council said it had been contacted by several miniature railway organisations who have provided support as well as offers of technical support, which could be looked into in the future subject to the situation with Track Systems UK.

The service is continuing to use the loaned engine for the time being.