Situated only four miles from Oakham in the county of Rutland, the Rutland Railway Museum is dedicated to preserving the history of Britain’s industrial railways and especially those of the local iron stone quarries.
The museum is home to over forty industrial locomotives both steam and diesel and from a wide range of makers and ages. One or more of the museum’s operational locomotives can be seen in action during the regular open days held on Bank Holidays and special occasions during the summer.
The demonstration line runs for approximately ½mile along the route of the Ex-British Railways (Ex-Midland Railway) line from Ashwell to the Iron ore mines sidings 2½miles away. It is on these sidings that the museum is based and although most evidence of the vast system has gone, the Tipping dock (used to load the wagons from the quarry’s dump trucks) is still in place along with several examples of the Dump trucks used in the area.
A line side walkway allows good views of the museum’s rolling stock and locomotives as well as a pleasant walk through the Rutland countryside. The footpath crosses the long since closed Oakham canal and also allows photographs to be taken of the steam locomotives in action.
All work is carried out by volunteers, who put in time and effort to keep the society running. These volunteers carries out all jobs necessary to run the railway and keep the site in good condition. If you would like to become a volunteer or a friend of the Museum please write to the museum and ask for more details. No skills are required to help out on site training can be given and there are many different type of job if you don’t want to get your hand dirty. Except on open days, when an entry fee is charged, entry to the site is free and only a donation is requested.
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