Blenheim Park Railway Blenheim Park Railway Blenheim Park Railway is a gauge miniature railway operating in the grounds of Blenheim Palace, in Oxfordshire, England. The railway opened in 1975 as a tourist attraction within 'The Pleasure Gardens', an area of visitor facilities inside the grounds of the Palace, but some distance from the house itself. Miniature railway operating company 'Pleasurerail' operated the service on a short out-and-back line. There were no passing loops or run-round loops, so the line was push-pull operated. The original locomotive was named "Sir Winston Churchill" (not to be confused with the current locomotive of the same name), and
Blenheim Palace as "The Temple of Diana" down by the lake, where in 1908 Winston Churchill proposed to his future wife. The extensive landscaped park, woodlands and formal gardens of Blenheim are Grade I listed on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens. On the death of the 1st Duke in 1722, as both his sons were dead, he was succeeded by his daughter Henrietta. This was an unusual succession and required a special Act of Parliament, as only sons can usually succeed to a dukedom. When Henrietta died, the title passed to Marlborough's grandson Charles Spencer, Earl of Sunderland, whose mother