Moseley Industrial Museum

In a nutshell

Gauge:          2'

Length:      700yd

Opened:     1990s

Location:    

Tumblydown Farm,
Tolgus Mount,
Redruth, 
West Cornwall.
TR15 3TA 

Phone:01209 211191
Mobile: 0751 1256677
Web:      http://www.tumblydownfarm.co.uk/museum.html
Email:    colinsaxton494@btinternet.com

 

Date of visit:     8 June 2015

 

Key Facts

• The museum was originally started by Colin Saxton as a craft project for pupils at Moseley Boys Grammar School in Cheadle, Cheshire in 1969. 
• Over twenty-five years, the railway collection grew to over forty narrow gauge locos with half a mile of track. It became a museum open to the public.
• When the school grounds closed in 1990, the collection was dispersed - some forming the basis of the Moseley Railway Trust which is housed at the Apedale Valley Light Railway near Stoke on Trent, and the rest forming the basis for the collection at Tumbly Down Farm in Cornwall
• The museum now has eight locomotives, many of which are from local sources. Five are battery electric locos and three are diesel.
• There are also around forty items of rolling stock, renovated and maintained by a team of volunteers
• In addition to the  railway relics, there is a large collection of vintage toys on display, including clockwork and electric model trains from Hornby, Trix, Lima, ACE and LGB. There is also a large collection of Meccano and Dinky Toys.
• On the site is a display depicting a mine, with original equipment displayed in a realistic setting.
• The museum also houses a working replica of William Murdoch's 1784 steam powered road carriage.
• The museum is not normally open to the public but visits can be arranged by contacting the owner beforehand.
• There is no admission charge but visitors are encouraged to make a donation to museum funds.

Route

My Impressions

Having phoned beforehand to arrange my visit, it was suggested that a Monday would be a good day, as this was when the volunteers would be on site. I duly arrived shortly after lunch time and made my way into the main museum building which houses an impressive array of vintage model railway equipment. At the centre was a large Hornby Dublo layout with eight independent circuits.

Around the edges and in various nooks and crannies was an assortment of other model railway exhibits, such as LGB, ...

... Triang TT, ...

... Trix Twin and Hornby 0 gauge.

Another room was in the process of being refurbished to hold the museum's collection of Meccano models:

Although this was of great interest to me as a railway modeller of many decades standing, my primary purpose in visiting the museum for the purpose of this blog, was to view the narrow gauge railway artefacts. These were housed in a couple of sheds and workshops:

The museum has accumulated a number of battery electric vehicles which served in local tin and mineral mines. In addition, there was a range of internal combustion locomotives of varying vintages and origins.

Outside, a 700 yard two foot gauge line has been laid around some of the paddocks belonging to the farm and on the day of my visit, a BEV which formerly operated in the Geevor tin mine was coupled-up ready for a trip.

 As I was the museum's only visitor at that particular moment, I was treated to a personalised ride around the line.

There are a couple of passing places on the railway, which has a balloon loop at its far end

After negotiating the loop ....

... we set off back up the line.

The loco running round its train at the main terminus, where there is an interesting collection of trackwork serving the various sidings and shed roads.

After browsing the museum exhibits in more depth, including seeing the Hornby Dublo layout in operation, and joining the workforce for a very welcome cup of tea, I explored the museum's re-creation of a coal mine in which exhibits are displayed in realistic tableau settings.

 Colin, the museum's owner, talked me through the history, origins and workings of the site's replica of the steam road vehicle which was developed in 1784 by William Murdoch. Apparently, it was being prepared for a run in a local gala that weekend.

As a narrow gauge railway enthusiast and railway modeller (see Railway Modelling and Me), I found the whole experience to be extremely rewarding. Colin was on hand to talk me through many of the exhibits and his long-term and well established devotion shone through. The vast majority of exhibits have been donated by organisations and individuals and a team of volunteers keep things running so they can be shared with fellow enthusiasts and the mildly curious.

There is no admission charge, but a donation to keep this unique collection maintained is, to my mind, well deserved. My only regret is that I was unable to spend more time there and that it is so far away from where I live, otherwise I would become a more frequent visitor. I feel there is so much I was unable to see and experience in the time I had available.

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Hopewell Colliery Museum

In a nutshell

Gauge:        2' (non passenger carrying)

Length:      unknown

Opened:     1823 (as a museum in 1997)

Location:

Prosper Lane
Lacinda Coalway
Coleford
Gloucestershire
GL16 7EL

View Narrow Gauge Railways in a larger map

Web:      http://www.fweb.org.uk/local-activity/6-Hopewell_Colliery_Museum

Tel.        01594 810706 

 

Date of visit: 22 September 2012

 

Key Facts

• The Hopewell mine is linked to the Phoenix mine underground but are worked as separate pits
• The mines are worked as 'free-mines'. The Free Miners have mined coal for over 700 years unhindered anywhere in in the Forest of Dean by royal decree.
• These are now the only full-time mines operating in the forest 
• During the winter-months (October - March) the mines are worked using traditional methods of pick and shovel but they operate as a Museum in the summer months.
• Visitors to the Hopewell mine walk through some of the mine workings to see exhibits of mining equipment and techniques.
• The coal is extracted from the mines in railway tubs hauled by cable.

 

My Impressions

Unfortunately, the museum had closed for the winter on the day I visited, it seems that the museum opens during the summer school holiday season. However, as one of the miners was present, working on a mechanical coal loader, I was able to take a few photos and discuss the mining operations (and the state of the economy) with him.

Normally, I only include accounts of visits to passenger-carrying narrow gauge railways in this blog, but as this museum provides an insight into one of the last remaining operational mines of its type, I feel it deserves specific mention.

 The first thing to catch the eye on the edge of the car park is the pithead winding wheel

..... and the pithead gantry ........

....... together with its portable hand-winch and a coal tub.

Beside the car park is the rope-hauled incline down to an adit shrouded in trees.

This wasn't operating while I was there but it is clear that this is one of the means by which coal is extracted from the mine. The mechanical loader on the other side of the car park suggests that during the winter months, the car park becomes a coal yard for the mine.

Talking to the miner who was repairing the loader, he told me that although the coal is of very good quality, it is presently very difficult to make a living from mining the coal alone, and hence the miners have to diversify into other trades. However, there is a determination to keep the tradition alive and hopefully there will be another generation of free miners to assure the future of this piece of industrial history.

I intend to revisit the museum during the next season and hopefully fill in some of the blanks.

For more information see:

• http://www.minersadvice.co.uk/phoenix_hopewell.htm
• http://www.fweb.org.uk/dean/deanhist/miners.htm
• http://www.hows.org.uk/personal/rail/incline/hope.htm

Apedale Valley Light Railway

In a nutshell

Gauge:   2'

Length:  ½km (with plans and permission to extend to 2km)

Opened: 2010

Location: 

Apedale Valley Country Park,
Chesterton,
Newcastle Under Lyme,
Staffordshire
ST5 7JS

View Larger Map  

Web:  http://www.avlr.org.uk

Email. info@mrt.org.uk 

 

Dates of visits: 18 August 2012,  8 September 2012

 

Key Facts

• The Apedale Valley Light Railway is run by the Moseley Railway Trust
• The Trust aims to preserve and showcase aspects of Britain's industrial narrow gauge heritage
• The site presently has a short railway (soon to be extended), workshops, and a museum at the Apedale Heritage Centre and Country Park
• The Trust presently owns around 60 locomotives and a range of rolling stock
• There is also a mine tour on the site (check website for opening hours)

Route

Map courtesy: http://www.bagofbits.com/mrt/images/avlr1.jpg

My Impressions

After a large, tasty and competitively priced bacon bap in the Heritage Centre café......

 ...... we made our way to the station building and bought our tickets for the next train.

Our locomotive for the day was a Simplex 20/28HP diesel which had comforting chug on tick-over and a throaty roar when accelerating.

After running round the train and coupling-up to the two covered toast-rack coaches and a bogie brake van.......

......... we set-off past the line's workshops and along the track to the run-round loop around half a kilometre into the Country Park.

On our return we browsed the bookshop which includes some hard-to-find texts on industrial locomotives and railways. We then sauntered around the Heritage Centre museum which includes some of the Moseley Railway Trust's exhibits together with local memorabilia outlining the history of former industries in the locality including brick-making and coal mining.

Definitely worth another visit, probably when they hold their gala in early September.

Contractors' Delight Gala - 8 September 2012

After an indifferent summer, the weather proved glorious for the Railway's annual gala. After another extremely generous bacon bap in the café, we paid our all encompassing entrance fee and began our explorations of the gala.

After a quick reconnoitre of the whole site, I focused on the steam locomotives running on the main railway. Four locos were in steam; the railway's own locomotives: the recently restored Kerr Stuart Joffre class loco

and the line's regular Kerr Stuart loco, Stanhope. The Kerr Stuart locomotive works were in Stoke on Trent, a few miles away from Apedale.

 In addition, two visiting locomotives were on loan from the Statfold Barn Railway; former Penrhyn Quarry Avonside 0-4-0, Marchlyn:

and another former Penrhyn Quarry loco, Hudswell Clarke 0-6-0 WT, Bronllywyd, resplendent in its original Surrey County Council livery.

These locos performed a shuttle service alternating hauling the passenger train and returning with a goods train. For example, Stanhope arrives at the station with an Up passenger while the Joffre is about to depart with a Down goods.

Later, the Joffre returns up the line with the passenger train.

After a couple of train movements, it's Stanhope's turn to take the goods train down the line.

.... which Bronllywyd which Bronllywyd later brings back up the line,

...... and so on.

I then turned my attention to the industrial diesels and battery locos, many of which were cranked-up and running for the day.

The diesels ran a shuttle service with two trains; one of tipplers and another of mixed goods between the shed sidings........

....... and some temporary contractors' tracks laid on the field behind the main yard.

During the day various locos performed this role, such as a Deutz diesel,

..... a simplex railmotor, 

 .... or two.

 
and a Ruston diesel.........

.... or two.

 

and a Simplex battery loco.

Some time was also spend exploring the main loco shed which, in addition to some of the Railway Trust's collection of 60 locomotives .........

 ....... there were some model railway layouts and traders' stalls.

We spent almost the entire day at the gala. There was indeed a great deal to see and do. We could, for example, have explored the coal mine and ridden once more on the train. I resisted the temptation to buy some of the railwayana and the railway books which were on show.

There were also vintage cars and motor cycles and a traction engine.

In one quiet corner, a small battery powered locomotive and a couple of wagons spent the day meandering up and down a stretch of temporary track,

while another enthusiast demonstrated his collection of vintage powered road-mending tools. We could have spent more time investigating the exhibits in the museum or wandered along some of the paths in the park.

Given that this heritage centre is almost on my doorstep and, until I started my quest to visit narrow gauge railways, I had no idea that it existed, I fully intend to return on another of this railway's gala weekends.

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