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Cadeby Light Railway

Coordinates: 52°37′03″N 1°22′21″W / 52.617545°N 1.372508°W / 52.617545; -1.372508
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Cadeby Light Railway
Overview
HeadquartersCadeby
LocaleEngland
Dates of operation1963–2005
Successorabandoned
Technical
Track gauge2 ft (610 mm)
Length97 yards (89 m)
Pixie at Cadeby in 1981
The last train at Cadeby, 2005

The Cadeby Light Railway was a 2 ft (610 mm) narrow-gauge railway in the garden of the rectory in Cadeby, Leicestershire.

In the early 1960s the Reverend Teddy Boston became rector of All Saints' Church, Cadeby. Boston was a lifelong railway enthusiast and wanted to build a miniature railway in his new garden, but the cost proved prohibitive. Instead he searched for a full-sized narrow-gauge locomotive.

In 1962, he purchased Pixie, a W.G. Bagnall 0-4-0ST from the Cranford quarry. The quarry owners donated a short length of track and two wagons and the Cadeby Light Railway was opened.[1]

Over the years, Boston built an extensive collection of ex-industrial narrow-gauge rolling stock, which ran on the extremely short line in his garden. He also maintained an extensive OO gauge model railway at Cadeby.[2]

Although Boston died in 1986, his widow, Audrey kept the railway open for nearly twenty years, holding regular open days.

The railway finally closed in May 2005.[3] The majority of the collection has been amalgamated with the Moseley Railway Trust at the Apedale Community Country Park.[4] As of 2014, Pixie was undergoing restoration.

Collection

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In 1982, Boston's collection consisted of:[5]

Name Wheel Arrangement Manufacturer Works Number
Margaret 0-4-0ST Hunslet Engine Co. 605 of 1894
No.2 0-4-0WT Orenstein & Koppel 7529 of 1914
Pixie 0-4-0ST W.G. Bagnall 2090 of 1919
87004 4wDM Motor Rail 2197 of 1922
0-4-0PM Baguley 1695 of 1928
4wDM Motor Rail 4572 of 1929
4wDM Hudswell Clarke D558 of 1930
1 4wDM Motor Rail 5609 of 1931
New Star 4wPM Lister 4088 of 1931
24 4wDM Motor Rail 5853 of 1934
4wDM Ruston & Hornsby 179870 of 1936
42 4wDM Motor Rail 7710 of 1939
20 4wDM Motor Rail 8748 of 1942

See also

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References

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  • The Rev E. R. Boston MA (1973). Rails Round the Rectory – The story of the Cadeby Light Railway. Loughborough: The Book House. ISBN 0-902520-03-2.
Specific
  1. ^ "Cadeby Light Railway | Science Museum Group Collection".
  2. ^ "Railway Vicar". British Pathé. 20 April 1967. Retrieved 4 April 2017.
  3. ^ "A Little History of the Cadeby Light Railway – the Railway Correspondence & Travel Society".
  4. ^ "Cadeby Light Railway | Science Museum Group Collection".
  5. ^ Industrial Railway Society 1982 including preserved and minor railway locomotives. Industrial Railway Society. 1982. p. 114. ISBN 0-901096-43-1.
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52°37′03″N 1°22′21″W / 52.617545°N 1.372508°W / 52.617545; -1.372508