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Middle England
Battlefield Line Railway
The Battlefield Line Railway is a heritage railway in Leicestershire, England. It runs from Shackerstone to Shenton , via Market Bosworth, a total of 5 miles (8.0 km). Shenton is near Bosworth Field, (the location of the final battle of the Wars of the Roses immortalised in Shakespeare's Richard III), giving the railway its name.
The Shackerstone Railway Society was set up in 1969 at Market Bosworth, but soon moved to Shackerstone in 1970, as they needed a proper home for their first steam engine. When they got to Shackerstone they found one through line still intact, and their first aim was to build some sidings. Later they reinstated the "down" platform and connected the sidings to the line to Market Bosworth.
In 1973, to celebrate the centenary of the line, a small train of open wagons was hauled to Market Bosworth. Following the successful conclusions of the negotiations with British Rail, a start was made on track rearrangements which created run-round loops at both ends of the line and a number of sidings at Shackerstone.
In the 1980s, the Battlefield Line launched a campaign to extend their line to Shenton. This involved buying 1 1⁄2 miles (2.4 km) of track and in 1992 after a successful campaign, the inaugural service arrived, hauled by the appropriately named 0-6-0 tank engine "Richard III."
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Address
Contact
The Battlefield Line,
Shackerstone Station,
Shackerstone,
Leicestershire.
CV13 6NW.
+44 1827 880754
Chasewater Railway
The Chasewater Railway is a former colliery railway running round the shores of Chasewater in Staffordshire, England. It is now operated as a heritage railway.
The line is approximately 2 miles (3.2 km) in length, contained entirely within Chasewater Country Park. The route, which forms a horse-shoe shape around the lake, passes through heathland, including a Site of Special Scientific Interest, and passes over a 1⁄4-mile (0.40 km) long causeway.
Prior to preservation, the line was part of the network operated by the NCB to serve the coalfields of the Cannock Chase area. The exchange sidings, where the colliery line connected with the Midland Railway, were situated about 1⁄4 mile (0.40 km) north of the current Brownhills West Station.
Significant changes happened in 2002/2003 caused by the closure of the old Brownhills station, due to the building of the M6 Toll motorway. This led to the rebuilding of Brownhills West with significantly improved facilities, including a new carriage shed and heritage centre, and completion of the Chasetown section of the line (the 'Chasetown Extension Railway' between Chasewater Heaths and Chasetown Church Street).
In 2016 the Railway was awarded The Queens Award for Voluntary Services.
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Churnet Valley Railway
The Churnet Valley Railway is a preserved standard gauge railway to the east of Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire, England, which operates part of the former Churnet Valley line of the North Staffordshire Railway (NSR). Regular services run between the two main stations at Cheddleton (base of operations and vehicles) and Kingsley and Froghall (commercial and administrative base). There is an intermediate station at Consall. Some trains also run beyond Cheddleton to Leek Brook Junction (the boundary of the Churnet Valley Railway line) and to Ipstones, but Ipstones station is not used.
The railway is approximately 10.5 miles (16.9 km) long from Kingsley & Froghall station to Ipstones. The land from Leek Brook Junction to Ipstones is owned by Moorland & City Railways (MCR), a company dedicated to running freight trains from Cauldon Colliery to the national network at Stoke-on-Trent and reintroducing services between Leek and Stoke
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Address
Churnet Valley Railway (1992) plc
Kingsley and Froghall Station,
froghall,
Staffordshire,
ST10 2HA
Contact
+44 1538 360522
Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway
The Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway (GWR, GWSR or Gloucs-Warks Steam Railway) is a volunteer-run heritage railway which runs along the Gloucestershire/Worcestershire border of the Cotswolds, England.
The GWSR has restored and reopened around 14 miles (23 km) of track, operating between Cheltenham Racecourse and Broadway. The most recent extension to Broadway (completed in 2018) involved the company raising £1.38 million. The 28 mile round trip on steam and heritage diesel trains follows part of the route of the former Great Western main line from Birmingham to Cheltenham.
The GWSR has a long-term aim of extending a further 6 miles (9.7 km) from Broadway to the national rail network at Honeybourne (where one half of an island platform has since been partly rebuilt for future use)
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Address
Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway
Churchward House,
Winchcombe Railway Station,
Winchcombe,
CHELTENHAM,
GL54 5LD
Contact
+44 1242 621405
Great Central Railway
The Great Central Railway (GCR) is a heritage railway in Leicestershire, named after the company that originally built this stretch of railway. It runs for 8.25 miles (13.28 km) between the large market town of Loughborough and a new terminus in the north of Leicester. It has period signalling, locomotives and rolling stock.
Four stations are in operation, each restored to a period in the railway's commercial history: Loughborough Central (the 1950s); Quorn & Woodhouse (Second World War and the remainder of the 1940s); Rothley (Edwardian Era); Leicester North (the 1960s).
Voted number 12 on the list of the 50 greatest railway journeys in the world . It's the only place in the world where full size steam engines can be seen passing each other - just as it was when steam ruled the rails.
The preserved railway has been operating for over 30 years, and is manned by around 700 volunteers and a small team of permanent staff. Originally a main line from Sheffield to London, the 8 mile preserved section between Loughborough and Leicester is fully operational and the 4 stations reflect a different period of the railways 109 year history
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Address
Contact
Great Central Railway PLC,
Great Central Road,
Loughborough,
LE11 1RW
+44 1509 632323
Severn Valley Railway
The Severn Valley Railway is a full-size standard-gauge railway line, running regular, mainly steam-hauled, passenger trains between Kidderminster in Worcestershire and Bridgnorth in Shropshire, a distance of approximately sixteen miles.
A remarkable feature of the Railway is that it is very largely run by unpaid volunteers, with a paid staff of around 70 people responsible for administration and commercial activities, plus regular track and rolling stock maintenance.
Through the year, volunteers appear on the Railway to perform many tasks, including repairing and repainting stations, reconstruction of viaducts and bridges, and rebuilding locomotives and rolling stock, not to mention operating the trains!
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Address
Severn Valley Railway
Number One,
Comberton Place, Kidderminster,
DY101QR
Contact
+44 1562 757900
Foxfield Steam Railway
The Foxfield Light Railway is one of the UK's earliest heritage railways. The line was built in the 1890's and unlike many lines which follow valleys, the Foxfield Railway maintains a 5½ mile round journey which boldly crosses open moorland, hills and woodland. This results in spectacular sounds and sights as the locomotives climb the steepest gradients as trains steam through Scenic North Staffordshire to terminate in the remote woodland halt of Dilhorne Park which offers one of the finest unspoilt views across the open moorlands where very little modern life can be seen.
The station at Blythe Bridge emulates the classic branch line terminus of 100 years ago. It does, however, have the most modern of facilities and is fully accessible. The buffet, with its selection of traditional food, is complimented by our award winning "real ale" bar serving a selection of locally brewed ales and souvenir shop.
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Address
Foxfield Railway Station
Caverswall Road
Blythe Bridge
Stoke-on-Trent
ST11 9BG
Contact
Lincolnshire Wolds Railway
In 1984 preservation efforts started rebuilding Ludborough Station to its former glory. The site had been virtually flattened by British Rail. All the buildings had been demolished, the railings and platform edges had been removed, as well as the track and ballast. The removal of the latter resulted in blocking the drains, with flooding of the site during rainstorms.
On 28 September 1991, preservationists obtained a Light Railway Order to authorise the reinstatement of the East Lincolnshire Railway between Waltham and the former Keddington Road level crossing near Louth. On 30 August 2003, NER 0-4-0T LNER Class Y7 No. 68088 steamed on the Lincolnshire Wolds Railway.The section towards North Thoresby railway station was reopened in 2009, and on 26 August 2009, the first train between North Thoresby and Ludborough ran for the first time in 47 years.
Work has now begun on track re-laying at the south end of Ludborough station towards Utterby. Included in this work will be a new entrance to the engine shed coming in from the Louth direction. The new point work will be controlled by a 4-lever ground frame, which is released by Ludborough box and features in the new signalling system. The LWR launched an appeal in Summer 2012 to fund the purchase of track and ballast needed to extend the line.
Ludborough station has been restored to its original condition and is a working station museum, complete with an operational signal box. A 1 3⁄4-mile (1.2 km) running line operates northwards to North Thoresby. Trains are operated by both steam and diesel locomotives. One of the line's diesel locomotives, no. D3167 (08102) has strong local connections. The 08 was the resident shunter at Lincoln Central for many years.
The initial goal of reopening the line from Louth to Grimsby is no longer feasible, as part of the section between Grimsby and New Waltham was designated by Humberside County Council for the construction of the A16 Peaks Parkway Road, which was completed in 1998. These roadworks have made any future extension of the LWR to Grimsby Town impossible. However, the LWR aspires to reconstruct the entire surviving 9 miles (14 km) of track bed between a new site at Louth and Holton-le-Clay.
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Adress
Contact
Lincolnshire Wolds Railway
Ludborough Station,
Station Road,
Ludborough,
Lincolnshire,
DN36 5SQ.
01507 363881