The Moseley Railway Trust has
received a Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) Sharing Heritage grant, it
was announced today. The Trust has been awarded a grant of £9200. This money
will be used to develop an Industrial Railway Trail around the Trust’s site at
Apedale, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire. This
exciting project will allow the Moseley Railway Trust to demonstrate and
display its collection of industrial narrow gauge railway locomotives and
wagons for the benefit of visitors to Apedale. A key part of the Railway Trail
is a new stretch of narrow gauge railway, and construction work has now started
on this – the work is being carried out by the Trust’s volunteers. All being
well, the new railway will be operational for the “Tracks to the Trenches” gala
on September 12, 13 and 14. This event will commemorate the role which small
railways played in the First World War – and the new railway, funded by the HLF
Sharing Heritage grant will play a key part in this!
Sharing
Heritage is a new funding programme to help people
across the UK explore, conserve and share all aspects of the history and
character of their local area.
The Moseley
Railway Trust is a registered charity. It exists to preserve, conserve and
interpret narrow gauge railway locomotives and other artefacts. This work is
carried out at the Apedale site by a team of volunteers. The volunteers are a
very diverse group of all ages and backgrounds – the Trust prides itself on
having an active group of younger members, who are able to learn genuine skills
as they carry out work on the site. The Trust arrived on the Apedale site in
2006, and opened a passenger carrying railways, known as the Apedale Valley
Light Railway, in 2010. The key current development on site is the construction
of a large museum to fully display the Trust’s collections.
Commenting on the
award, Phil Robinson, Moseley Railway Trust Chairman said “We are absolutely
delighted to have been awarded this grant from HLF. It will allow us to improve
the Apedale site and also increase the skills and knowledge of all our members.
We very much look forward to working with HLF on this project, and hopefully
others in the future”.
Reyahn King, Head of the Heritage
Lottery Fund West Midlands, said: “Sharing Heritage is a wonderful opportunity
for communities to delve into their local heritage and we are delighted to be
able to offer this grant so that the Moseley Railway Trust can embark on a real
journey of discovery. Heritage means such different things to different people, and HLF’s
funding offers a wealth of opportunities for groups to explore and celebrate
what’s important to them in their area.”
