Rudyard Lake Steam Railway in Staffordshire for sale

[whole diary]

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Rudyard Lake Steam Railway in Staffordshire for sale


The Rudyard Lake Steam Railway has an asking price of ^349,950

A miniature steam railway in Staffordshire, including a mile-and-a-half of track, six steam engines, four diesels, 13 carriages, a footbridge, two signal boxes and three stations, has gone up for sale.

The Rudyard Lake Steam Railway, which is owned by Mike and Eileen Hanson, has an asking price of ^349,950.

Mr Hanson, who is selling because he "wants some time to himself", described the line as "the ultimate train set".

The line attracts 40,000 people a year.

Mr Hanson said: "We have had the railway since 2000 and have come to the point where it's time to do something else."

He said he had was working in an office as an accountant when the opportunity came along to buy the track.

"I've been into trains all my life and we put a silly offer in," he said.


Mike Hanson says he has been into trains all his life


Mr Hanson says the railway is the 'ultimate train set'

"Since then we have probably invested hundreds of thousands of pounds in it. It's the ultimate train set.

"We have built the station and the caf^ and added all the engines and carriages."

The railway, which also includes a cafe, wagons and engine sheds, is run by a small number of part-time staff and a group of about 25 volunteers.

"It's the full kit," said Mr Hanson. "But it's not the sort of thing you're going to do to make a lot of money. I hope we find a buyer who's a bit like me - an enthusiast who wants to make it work."

The little engine that could


The railway runs on the track bed of a full-sized line that closed in 1965

- The railway - officially a minimal gauge railway - was first built by Peter Hanton from Congleton in 1985

- It runs on the track bed of a full-sized railway that originally ran from Macclesfield to Uttoxeter

- The line closed in 1960 and the track was lifted in 1965

[grahame]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-stoke-staffordshire-30830799?

A miniature steam railway in Staffordshire, including a mile-and-a-half of track, six steam engines, four diesels, 13 carriages, a footbridge, two signal boxes and three stations, has gone up for sale.

The Rudyard Lake Steam Railway, which is owned by Mike and Eileen Hanson, has an asking price of ^349,950.

Mr Hanson, who is selling because he "wants some time to himself", described the line as "the ultimate train set".

The line attracts 40,000 people a year.

[stuving]

Of the three options - preserved railway lines, heritage rolling stock, or railway museums - which was the reason for putting this thread here? The railway was, you note, built in 1985 ...

[grahame]

Of the three options - preserved railway lines, heritage rolling stock, or railway museums - which was the reason for putting this thread here? The railway was, you note, built in 1985 ...

 

A very interesting article / subject to categorise.

First question - "is it really for our forum at all" and clearly two of us - Chris from Nailsea and myself - felt "yes, that will be of interest to members".  But then we chose different places.

This section ("preserved railway lines, heritage rolling stock, and railway museums") is relatively new and was created for railway, but not "for the purpose of getting you from A to B" type topics. Perhaps the description needs  tuning?  Can it / does it / it probably should include reproduction and / lines and items styled on history, even if not historic in their own right.   Just my thought (and I will refer this post to the moderator team for their view).


It's never going to be easy to decide where to place / how to pigeonhole some topics.    Some interesting issues as to where to put connectionallity discussions about Westbury, for example.  And I put the Pewsey Vale Railway Society in with the Berks and Hants (as it included Pewsey) the other day.  Goodness knows where that one should really have gone.  They have asked me to be on their 2016 speaker program (yes, a year ahead!) and offered to pay car mileage - no suggestion / advise as to how to get there by public transport, and it looks like quite a long walk from Pewsey station.

[grahame]

Further follow up (there are several moderators around even at this time of night!), we have updated the topic to

"Preserved railway lines, heritage rolling stock, railway museums and other rail attractions"

and the strap line to

"Railway lines and rail based attractions, largely separate from the national network, which have been saved from closure / reinstated, often through the efforts of volunteers, or which are specially built."

Bit of a mouthful ... may simplify back to

"Preserved railway lines and other rail based attractions"

and

"Railways lines and rail attractions, largely separate from the national network. Covers attractions saved from closure, reinstated or specially built."

[grahame]

From the Daily Mail:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2916728/Mobile-phone-tycoon-builds-RAILWAY-mansion.html

One of Britain's richest men now builds a RAILWAY so he can show off his ^10million country house and grounds to friends
John Caudwell made millions from his mobile phone firm Phones4u
He has now applied to build a railway around his Staffordshire garden
The three-mile train track will snake through his 28-acre grounds
His agent says the railway will be private and not open to public

[snip]

Mike Hanson, director of Rudyard Lake Steam Railway, Leek, Stafforshire has his own similar railway around his home in Lancashire.
He said: 'These little railways are very popular and I'm sure Mr Caudwell will love going round his gardens on a train.
'A lot of millionaires have them built mainly to entertain family and friends on their private land.
'While it might seem a little unusual to some people, projects like this are more popular than people might think.'

[ChrisB]

I think Adrian Shooter (ex-Chiltern) was the first wasn't he?

[81F]

I think the Rev Teddy Boston's line in the rectory garden at Cadeby (1962) must be one of the earliest? See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edwin_Boston

[stuving]

I think the Rev Teddy Boston's line in the rectory garden at Cadeby (1962) must be one of the earliest? See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edwin_Boston

Earliest what? Private miniature railway? That seems unlikely. There have been more or less public ones, in parks, lidos, etc, for over 100 years - e.g. Rhyll 1910. Before that the number of minor gentry with more money and servants than restraints was surely big enough to throw up one who built his own railway. It may have long since vanished and been forgotten of course - but as there does not seem to be a Wikipedia entry on this exact topic, it's hard to say. 

[grahame]

I think the Rev Teddy Boston's line in the rectory garden at Cadeby (1962) must be one of the earliest? See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edwin_Boston

Earliest what? Private miniature railway? That seems unlikely. There have been more or less public ones, in parks, lidos, etc, for over 100 years - e.g. Rhyll 1910. Before that the number of minor gentry with more money and servants than restraints was surely big enough to throw up one who built his own railway. It may have long since vanished and been forgotten of course - but as there does not seem to be a Wikipedia entry on this exact topic, it's hard to say. 

Some estate railways - on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_narrow_gauge_railways

from 1874 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duffield_Bank_Railway
from "before 1879" - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ardkinglas_Railway
from 1896 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eaton_Hall_Railway

[grahame]

From the Stoke Sentinel

A HERITAGE steam railway has welcomed its first passengers since coming under new ownership.

The Rudyard Lake Steam Railway, at the beauty spot near Leek, has been bought by train enthusiast Simon Clarke.

After spending several years working the Middle East, the 45-year-old has set up home in Rudyard and is throwing himself into his new venture.

He is planning several improvements, including upgrading the attraction's caf^ and building a new engine shed.


Mr Clarke's connection with the Rudyard railway started when he loaned some engines to the previous owners.

He said: "A couple of years ago I bought a very similar railway in Scotland ^ the Isle of Mull Railway ^ which had closed. I bought the equipment and loaned my engines to the Rudyard railway.

"When the owner was thinking of retiring, he asked me if I was interested and we came to an agreement.

"I will now move my equipment down from Scotland to improve the railway over the next couple of years."

The railway was built in the early 1900s to offer days out to factory workers in the Midlands and North West.

Mr Clarke's company Leek and Rudyard Railway Ltd takes over from Mike and Eileen Hanson, who have run the attraction for 15 years.

They offered their final day of trips on Sunday, November 29 and the first trains under Mr Clarke's ownership ran yesterday.

Mr Clarke said: "This year will be pretty much business as usual. There was a concern that the railway was closing and we want to reassure everyone that we are not going anywhere.

"We are improving the caf^ and we will slowly come up with lots of small enhancements, for example installing toilets.

"We have got planning permission for a new engine shed, so next winter we will replace that with a new building, which is a major investment."

For the last six years Alan Bentley, from Leek, has been a volunteer at the railway and has now taken on the role of operations manager.

The 69-year-old said: "There are so many projects going on since Simon has taken over.

"The improvements will be an ongoing thing for numerous years.

"It's a very exciting time and we are really looking forward to it."

[grahame]

And again

https://www.daltonsbusiness.com/listing/leek-and-rudyard-railway-for-sale-DB1945635/

This time, higher price and less stock listed ...

A well known miniature railway (10 1/4 inch gauge) visitor attraction just outside Leek on the edge of the Peak District and running alongside the world famous Rudyard Lake. The business comprises ~1.5 miles of track, 3 stations, a fully equipped engine shed (with office and CCTV^▸ (Closed Circuit Tele Vision)/security system), a fully equipped cafe, various store sheds and a toilet block. The sale includes 2 steam engines, 2 diesel engines, a petrol shunter, 10 operating passenger coaches (plus others awaiting restoration), various wagons, 2x signal boxes, points, levers, signals, a mini-tractor/digger, track equipment, hydraulic loco lift and a workshop (inventory available on request). The business is for sale as a whole, in part or individual assets (by separate negotiation). Viewings are strictly by appointment.

[grahame]

You read it here first - now on the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) at https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-england-shropshire-67215733