Stapleford Miniature Railway
Encyclopedia
Steam locomotive
A steam locomotive is a railway locomotive that produces its power through a steam engine. These locomotives are fueled by burning some combustible material, usually coal, wood or oil, to produce steam in a boiler, which drives the steam engine...
-hauled gauge
Rail gauge
Track gauge or rail gauge is the distance between the inner sides of the heads of the two load bearing rails that make up a single railway line. Sixty percent of the world's railways use a standard gauge of . Wider gauges are called broad gauge; smaller gauges, narrow gauge. Break-of-gauge refers...
railway at Stapleford Park
Stapleford Park
Stapleford Park is a Grade I listed country house in Stapleford near Melton Mowbray in Leicestershire, England, now used as a hotel. It was originally the seat of the Sherard family, later the Earls of Harborough and from 1894, of Baron Gretton....
, Stapleford
Stapleford, Leicestershire
Stapleford is a village in the Melton district of Leicestershire, England, east of Melton Mowbray. It is just south of the River Eye, and is part of the civil parish of Freeby....
near Melton Mowbray
Melton Mowbray
Melton Mowbray is a town in the Melton borough of Leicestershire, England. It is to the northeast of Leicester, and southeast of Nottingham...
in Leicestershire
Leicestershire
Leicestershire is a landlocked county in the English Midlands. It takes its name from the heavily populated City of Leicester, traditionally its administrative centre, although the City of Leicester unitary authority is today administered separately from the rest of Leicestershire...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
Considered one of the finest examples of its type, the railway attracts thousands of visitors from the UK and abroad. The two public dates for 2012 are June TBC and Sunday Monday 26th–27th August.
History
The ridable miniature railwayRidable miniature railway
A ridable miniature railway is a ground-level, large scale model railway that hauls passengers using locomotives that are models of full-sized railway locomotives .-Overview:Typically they have a rail track gauge between and , though both larger and...
began life in 1958 as a short line to carry visitors from the car park, to Lord Gretton
John Gretton, 2nd Baron Gretton
John Frederic Gretton, 2nd Baron Gretton OBE , was a British peer and Conservative Member of Parliament.Gretton was the son of John Gretton, 1st Baron Gretton, and Hon. Maud Helen de Moleyns. He was elected to the House of Commons for Burton in 1943 , a seat he held until 1945...
's stately home. Due to its popularity, the railway was quickly expanded, running down to and then eventually around the lake in the landscaped parkland and the park which also featured a drive through lion reserve.
The SMR featured in a 1960s episode of the television show The Avengers
The Avengers (TV series)
The Avengers is a spy-fi British television series set in the 1960s Britain. The Avengers initially focused on Dr. David Keel and his assistant John Steed . Hendry left after the first series and Steed became the main character, partnered with a succession of assistants...
called "The Gravediggers", where Emma Peel was tied to the railway track, before Steed rescued her just in time.
After the estate closed its doors to the public in 1982, the railway was mothballed. It was restored by the newly-formed friends supporting group FSMR under Jennifer Gretton, Baroness Gretton
Jennifer Gretton, Baroness Gretton
Jennifer Ann Gretton, Baroness Gretton, JP is the current Lord Lieutenant of Leicestershire.She was born in St Ives, Cornwall, and married the 3rd Lord Gretton. Since her husband's death in 1989, Lady Gretton has run the family's Stapleford Park Estate, in Stapleford, Leicestershire.Jennifer, Lady...
's stewardship during the 1990s and opened its doors to the public again in 1995 and is now a regular feature on the steam scene calendar. The railway opens twice per year as part of steam rallies in mid June and August Bank Holiday weekends, in aid of LOROS, the local hospice.
In October 2008 a new station was open by Pete Waterman
Pete Waterman
Peter Alan Waterman OBE is an English record producer, occasional songwriter, radio and club DJ, television presenter, president of Coventry Bears rugby league club and a keen railway enthusiast. As a member of the Stock Aitken Waterman songwriting team he wrote and produced many hit singles...
OBE.
Route
The route is nearly 2 miles in length over an extensive scenic line including a replica tunnel of Box TunnelBox Tunnel
Box Tunnel is a railway tunnel in Western England, between Bath and Chippenham, dug through Box Hill, and is one of the most significant structures on the Great Western Main Line...
and Primrose Tunnel.
Locomotives
There is a fleet of 6 steam locomotives including two mighty 1/5 scale North American examples, a NKP Berkshire class, and NYC NiagaraNYC Niagara
The New York Central Railroad Niagara was a type of steam locomotive named after the Niagara River and Falls.They were express mixed traffic locomotives with a wheel arrangement of 4-8-4 in the Whyte notation....
and a 1/4 scale East African and Harbours 31 Class added in Oct 2008.