Track Laying Passes the Half Way Point!

On August 4th 2012 another milestone was reached as track laying passed the half way point of the branch line as a remarkable 240 feet (72m) of track were laid before lunchtime.

35 volunteers turned out to help lay track around the curve at the end of the long straight. We were joined by Mountsorrel Parish Councillor Mick Lemon who came along to spur us on with words of support.

Since the end of June over 280 yards (250m) of track has been laid and the head of steel is only 350m from the Wood Lane bridge.

Further rail will arrive in September to allow track laying to continue. In the meantime ballast laying will be taking place over the first part of phase 2. This is thanks to a donation of ballast from Lafarge and the GCR who will be laying the ballast. Volunteer work in the coming weeks will focus on bringing our newly laid track up to operating standards as well as preparing the Bond Lane cutting for base ballast to be laid ahead of track laying early next year.

Trackbed Tours are a Resounding Success

Over 70 people attended the recent tours of the Mountsorrel Railway. These were run by project volunteer Robert Turlington as part of the British Festival of Archaeology.

Those on the tours were able to walk along almost all of the Mountsorrel Railway that is in the process of being restored and to see the work undertaken by the 120 community volunteers that regularly give their time to the project.

The tour started with the completed section of the branch line close to Swithland Reservoir and progressed through the different phases of restoration towards Mountsorrel.

Attendees also learnt about the history of the line and how the restored railway will operate as a linear museum, bringing both educational and recreational benefits to visitors.

There was also the opportunity to see the wide range of ecological work alongside the line that has been undertaken over the last five years by both project volunteers and over 600 local children. This includes the creation of new habitats, a large number of bird boxes, hedge laying, tree and hedgerow planting as well as the large scale planting of native wild flowers.

We would like to say a big thank you to Robert for putting together such an informative and interesting tour that was enjoyed by all those who attended!

Due to the success of the tours we may run a further tour again later this year. If you would be interested in attending a future tour, or if you would like to book a private tour for your club or group you belong to, then please contact Robert by email at turlington2008@yahoo.com

Tours cost only £3 per person with all proceeds going directly to the project fund.   

Mountsorrel Railway Wins Queen's Diamond Jubilee Award

We are proud to announce that the Mountsorrel Railway Project has won a prestigious Diamond Jubilee Award for outstanding contribution to the community!

The award was setup by Leicestershire County Council to honour community groups within the county who have come together to demonstrate community spirit to help their local area.

The award was presented by Lord-Lieutenant of Leicestershire Lady Gretton, at a special ceremony at Beaumanor Hall last Thursday evening.

"It is a fantastic honour for us to receive such prestigious recognition for the work we are doing." said project leader Steve Cramp. "The award recognises not only the historical preservation work we are doing at the Mountsorrel Railway, but also our many initiatives to protect and encourage the ecology alongside the route and the way we have brought the community together

Second OO Gauge Mountsorrel Model Wagon Goes on Sale

Heritage Railway magazine have commissioned a limited edition run of our restored Mountsorrel Railway granite wagon number 654.

The OO gauge model has been created to a very high standard by Bachmann, a leading model railway manufacturer based in Barwell Leicestershire.

500 models have been produced and most have already been snapped up. Only 70 now remain and they can be purchased directly from Heritage Railway magazine at http://www.heritagerailway.co.uk/

They are priced at £9.99 including postage and packing.

Phase 3 Track Laying Under way!

Thanks to recent donations we have been able to secure all of the rail needed to complete the project. The first batch of rail has now been delivered and track laying has started again. So far 6 panels of track (360 feet) have been laid extending the head of steel almost to the end of the long straight and the first curve on the approaches towards Wood Lane.


Class 37 diesel locomotive brings a train of rail from the GCR to the end of the branch line.



Track laying will continue over the coming weeks and progress is only limited by the number of volunteers that come along to help lay track. We need new volunteers to help as there is still a long way to go to reach Mountsorrel. If you would like to volunteer to lend a hand please email project leader Steve Cramp steve@mountsorrelrailway.org.uk

Languard VM Help the Mountsorrel Railway

Languard Vegetation Management of Husbands Bosworth have kindly agreed to sponsor the project's weed killing needs for the third year running.

It is important to prevent weeds growing through the base of the trackbed as this would limit the ballast's ability to drain which would in turn lead to the sleepers rotting and needing to be replaced.

"Languard VM provide vegetation management services throughout the UK and it is a pleasure for us to be able to support such a worthy cause as the Mountsorrel Railway" said Languard Director Tony Marlow.

Languard's help represents a significant saving to the project and we are very grateful to them for their continued support.

Mountsorrel Quarry Donates Further Ballast

Lafarge's Mountsorrel quarry has very kindly donated a further 250t of railway ballast to the project.

The ballast will be used to top ballast the first half of the new track on our recently laid phase 2. This is another important step towards completing the railway and will enable demonstration trains to operate further along the line than ever before.

The ballast has already been delivered to the railway and the Great Central Railway will be providing the use of their ballast laying train to drop the ballast along the track.

We would like to say a big thank you to Lafarge for their continued support and also to the GCR for their help to lay the ballast.

Mountsorrel Parish Council and the Harry Hames Cottage Charity come to the Aid of the Mountsorrel Railway

Mountsorrel Railway community volunteers are pleased to announce that they have raised their phase 3 target of £26,000 thanks to the generosity of the public, a generous donation of £8,000 from Mountsorrel Parish Council and £5,000 from the Harry Hames Cottage Charity, which is administered by Rothley Parish Council.

With track laid along 40% of the route the volunteers have been working hard to find a source for the remaining rail required to reach Mountsorrel. Due to the high price of metal this task was proving to be quite a challenge!

At the end of May the project was able to agree a very good price to potentially obtain all the rail needed to lay track to the end of the line at Mountsorrel. However, there was a considerable funding shortfall and to make matters worse, the deal had to be completed by the end of June otherwise the remaining rail would be scrapped.

"We knew that we would be unlikely to find such a good deal again, so we took the decision to increase our fund raising target to £26,000 and do everything thing we possibly could to secure all the rail we needed." said volunteer project leader Steve Cramp. "It's certainly been a nail biting few weeks! We knew that achieving our target by the end of June was going to be tough, but the generosity of the public has astounded us again, then for Mountsorrel Parish Council and the Harry Hames charity to help us in such a generous way really is the icing on the cake. We would like to say a huge thanks to them and to everyone else who has donated!"

The final push for track laying to Mountsorrel will commence in August and the project hopes to reach the end of the line during February next year. "Of course, once track reaches Mountsorrel there is still much work to do before the line can open throughout for historical recreations." continued Steve. "The new track will need to be ballasted and packed but all being well the line should open later next year for historical recreations and educational trips. Beyond this we hope to build a small platform halt at Bond Lane to allow visitors to Loughborough's Great Central Railway to ride to Mountsorrel by heritage passenger train and link up with Stonehurst Family Farm via their existing tractor trailer rides. This will require the installation of check rails on the sharp curves near to Wood Lane, which still requires additional funding."

Track is being laid by community volunteers entirely by hand using the traditional methods of the navvies who built the original railway. If you would like to volunteer to help lay track then please get in touch by email with project leader Steve Cramp steve@mountsorrelrailway.org.uk The next few months look to be an exciting time for the project, please come and volunteer to help bring the Mountsorrel Railway back to life!

Mountsorrel Railway open for guided walks!

Walk along the partially restored trackbed of the Mountsorrel Railway. Walk is 2.6 km long, outdoor clothing and walking boots essential.

Dates: Monday 16 July, Sunday 22 July, Sunday 29 July; all walks start at 14.00

Cost: £3

Location: Swithland Sidings railway bridge, The Ridings, Swithland (grid Ref: SK562133)

To book, contact volunteer Robert Turlington: 0116 2396742 / turlington2008@yahoo.com

Part of the Festival of British Archaeology

OO Gauge Mountsorrel Granite Company Model Wagon Goes on Sale

Producers of private owner model railway wagons, West Wales Wagon Works, have commissioned a limited run of 100 models of our restored Mountsorrel wagon number 359.

Community volunteers including a group of 7 teenage girls, worked on Tuesday evenings throughout the winter of 2010 to restore number 359 into Mountsorrel Granite Company livery for use as part of historical recreations on the restored Mountsorrel Railway.

West Wales Wagon Works owner Michael Martin commented “It is inspirational to see young people, particularly a group of girls, volunteering their spare time to restore railway wagons and preserve part of their heritage. We thought that as a testament to their dedication and hard work, it would be fitting to produce a OO gauge model of the wagon they restored to allow the public to share in their achievement”.

Project volunteers have worked with Michael to help ensure that the model is a very accurate recreation of the real thing. As MGC wagons could once be found all over the railway network, they would make a fitting addition to any model railway layout, or just for people to buy as a sovenier of the project to restore the Mountsorrel Railway.

The models can be purchased directly from West Wales Wagon Works either by phoning 01239 712730, or by visiting their website http://www.westwaleswagonworks.co.uk/, or emailing westwaleswagonworks@yahoo.co.uk

When ordering please mention that you have read the update on the Mountsorrel Railway website and West Wales Wagon Works will donate £1 from each wagon you order to the Mountsorrel Railway Project. Don't delay in ordering though, only 100 models have been produced and these are likely to sell quickly!