Welcome to the Jungle

With the Wagon Traverser Project now almost completed, a couple of the younger members of the Moseley Railway Trust have been undertaking a further project in the same area of the site. Some call this a useful add-on, others (those who have been trained as Project Managers) prefer the phrase Scope Creep. But whatever you call it, the objective has been to establish a rail connection into the hand-worked system which our neighbours at the Heritage Centre use to support their mining activities. One day, this connection might even be used for rail-borne deliveries of Apedale Coal for our steam locos. To establish the connection, a fearsomely sharp curve has been pushed through an area which can only be described as resembling a rain forest. Wild rumours have been circulating - was their a Japanese Soldier in there who didn't know WW2 had ended (badly for him) - that is NOT true. Is the lost L&B loco "Lew" somewhere in this jungle - NO COMMENT. One thing we do know - the curve wasn't really intended for loco haulage. But we just had to give it a go anyway! As ever, get in touch here.

May Gala Retrospective

We are very pleased with the outcome of the Locos from Leeds May Gala. Blessed by fine weather, the Apedale site saw more than 1000 visitors, and the feedback seems to have been overwhelmingly positive. All of our volunteers worked tirelessly, and it is to them that the Trust's thanks must be offered. Never to be accused of not thinking ahead, we have already set the dates for the next three Railway Galas.
2016 will see Tracks to the Trenches 2. Marking the centenary of such events as the Battle of the Somme, this will be a military-themed event following the success of the acclaimed 2014 Tracks to the Trenches event. TTTT2 is to be on May 13, 14 and 15 2016. This event will be covered on this page, but also on the popular Tracks to the Trenches Facebook page.
2017 sees the centenary of the Apedale flagship - the Kerr Stuart loco Stanhope. This will be marked by a two-day event which will  celebrate all things Kerr Stuart (our local loco builder). It is planned that this will also include a major model railway presence.
Finally, 2018 will see the 3rd event marking World War One. This will be held around the weekend of May 12 & 13 2018 - we will probably also use the days either side.
Mark them in your diaries now!

Locos from Leeds Day One

Just a few photos from Day One of the Locos from Leeds Gala at Apedale. It's been a great day, and we hope to see lots of you tomorrow.

Mega Shunt Sunday

It's been the traditional pre-Gala mega shunt at Apedale. Pretty much the entire contents of all the sheds get extracted, shuffled and put back into the shed in a slightly different order. Apparently there is a carefully worked out master plan underlying the whole thing. The Master Plan for this occasion involves putting anything Leeds-built or Leeds related into Pole Position ready for next weekends jollifications. We have also taken opportunity of the decent weather to wash down a fair few of the fleet, and many of those expected to star next weekend have been test run. Unfortunately, a few teething problems emerged, but that's how it is with vintage machines some times. They really are such divas. Hopefully, we'll see you next weekend. We've reached cut-off for advance tickets, but don't worry - we'll try to keep the queue short, and it will all be worthwhile.

Key supporters of restoration project visit the finished locomotive at the Apedale Valley Light Railway

In September 2014, the Moseley Railway Trust returned a 1916 built Hudswell Clarke steam locomotive to operation on the Apedale Valley Light Railway. Built in Leeds, the locomotive worked in Africa before being returned to the UK in 2008. Unfortunately, the locomotive was in very poor condition. It had lain in a river bed from 1948 to 1996 before being rediscovered and placed outside an office building at a gold mine in Ghana. The rediscovery was made by a UK-based mining engineer, Colin Laidler. Colin spent many months searching for the locomotive and, after its accidental rediscovery, arranging its recovery. Amongst other things, Colin managed to recover various locomotive parts which had been acquired by local villagers. Famously, he found a key component was in use supporting a village cooking pot; he swapped a bottle of schnapps for this much-needed part!

In 2010, the Moseley Railway Trust commenced the restoration project, which proved ultimately to be an extremely expensive undertaking. One of the key funders for this project was the Stanhope family with funding provided in memory of the late Terry Stanhope, a noted enthusiast of narrow gauge railways. Amongst his other accomplishments, Terry built his own railway at his property near Leeds.

The restoration work was carried out by a small team of Moseley Railway Trust members, and this has brought the locomotive to the superb condition in which it can now be seen at Apedale. In April 2015, the Stanhope family and Colin Laidler were able to come to Apedale and see the Hudswell Clarke steam locomotive at work.

Phil Robinson, Moseley Railway Trust Chairman said  - It was a real privilege to host the visit by the Stanhope family and Colin Laidler. The restoration of this locomotive has been a huge team effort. Without the combined effort and commitment of Colin, the Stanhope family, and all the Moseley Railway Trust members who worked on the locomotive, this historic machine would still be a silent hulk rather than the immaculate working machine we have today. It will stand as a lasting testimony to all those people, and also a fitting memorial for Terry Stanhope

The 1916 Hudswell Clarke will be in operation at the Apedale Valley Light Railway’s forthcoming Locos from Leeds Gala on May 16 & 17. This event will celebrate locomotives built by the Leeds manufacturers. A sister Hudswell Clarke steam locomotive will be visiting the railway, and there will be a wide range of attractions for all – railway enthusiasts and all the family!