Rutland Railway Museum, Now Rocks By Rail Living Ironstone Museum, Cottesmore, Rutland East Midlands LE15 7FF

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Brief description

2024:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rutland_Railway_Museum

"Rutland Railway Museum, now trading as Rocks by Rail: The Living Ironstone Museum, is a heritage railway on part of a former Midland Railway mineral branch line. It is situated north east of Oakham, in Rutland, England.

The museum offers an open-air site dedicated to recreating an ironstone tramway system in its entirety from the extraction of iron ore from a 'first cut' quarry face reproduced in the quarry viewing area to the exchange sidings with the BR rail head. The museum aims to preserve and operate industrial locomotives and mineral wagons from local quarry railways as well as artefacts related to quarry railways in general.

The museum site is based on a typical 1950s or early 1960s quarry system when both steam and diesel power was evident in the industry. The branch line linked to the Melton Mowbray to Oakham main line at Ashwell Signal Box. Exchange sidings were once located at the museum serving three separate private quarry railway systems associated with the past extraction of iron ore. The museum site was known locally as Cottesmore Iron Ore Mines Sidings.

The concrete tipping dock built for Cottesmore quarries has been conserved, along with the locomotive running shed from Woolsthorpe Quarries on the Lincs/Leics border, in its entirety. Also preserved are several items of quarry machinery including a 22RB Ruston-Bucyrus face shovel, a 22RB Ruston-Bucyrus dragline excavator and a Euclid dump truck as used in local quarry systems. The cab of the massive Ransomes & Rapier dragline excavator Sundew is on display along with a cab from 110RB Ruston-Bucyrus dragline from the Barrington Cement Works quarry railway.

Also present at the museum is the Simon Layfield Exhibition Centre which comprises three roads of locomotive/wagon exhibits and related displays concerning former local quarry railways.

Also on display at the museum is Hawthorn Leslie locomotive "SINGAPORE" works number 3865 built in 1936. This locomotive was exported to Singapore Royal Navy Dockyard and was captured in February 1942 by the Japanese during World War II. The locomotive features superficial bullet and shrapnel damage sustained during air raids on the dockyard from Japanese aircraft. The locomotive HL3865/36 "SINGAPORE" is an honorary member of the FEPOW organisation and a registered War Memorial.

The museum operates passenger rides on a 0.75 miles (1.21 km) length of track and occupies an area of nearly 9 acres (28,000 m2). Passenger rides are provided in restored brake vans, typical of those formerly used in freight trains in the area. The museum welcomes any related donations of artefacts or information which may help further its aims."

Address

Rocks By Rail Living Ironstone Museum, Cottesmore, Rutland East Midlands LE15 7FF

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Website

https://www.rocks-by-rail.org/  

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Always check with the venue directly for up-to-date information including opening times and admission charges as they may be subject to change

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