The Burton & Ashby Light Railway ...

[rogerfarnworth]

Part 1

An article by Seymour Glendenning in the July 1906 issue of The Railway Magazine focussed on the newly opened Burton & Ashby Light Railway.

The light railway was a 3ft 6in gauge electric tram line supplied with electricity from a diesel generator plant near Swadlincote. The power plant sat alongside the tram depot there.

This is the first of two articles about the line: ......

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2024/10/19/the-burton-and-ashby-light-railway-part-1

 

[Taunton]

I actually rode in their old double decker car in 1980, which bizarrely had been sold to Detroit, USA, which had opened up a tourist-type line of the same gauge for about a mile along the city waterfront. I went there after a business meeting in the city, knowing it had started up and trusting it was operating at 5pm on a weekday, which it was, in full Burton & Ashby livery. The 1900s - type steep spiral stairs to the upper deck had put off any Americans going up there, so I rode along and back in splendid isolation in my office suit, occasionally exceeding 10mph on some of the sections. Must have looked silly from down on the pavement. It clearly had not done a lot for tourism. I wonder whose strange idea it all was.

I believe the car has been repatriated to a UK museum, and still runs.

 

[david_g]

I believe the car has been repatriated to a UK museum, and still runs.

Statfold Barn. I rode on it a couple of years ago but can't find mention of it on their website now.

 

[61058]

Statfold Barn. I rode on it a couple of years ago but can't find mention of it on their website now.

When I went to Statfold last year it was under overhaul.

 

[EyeKay]

At Statfold it runs on batteries.

 

[edwin_m]

Thanks to the OP for bringing multiple sources together on this one, and I look forward to part 2.

A strange feature is how they build a new overbridge at Swadlincote to take the tramway and the road over the railway, but they apparently didn't close the original level crossing adjacent to it. One of the gates was still present in 1993.

 

[rogerfarnworth]

Part 2

This second article about the line completes the journey, covering the length from Sawdlincote to Ashby-de-la-Zouch.

The Burton and Ashby Light Railway – Part 2

An article by Seymour Glendenning in the July 1906 issue of The Railway Magazine focussed on the newly opened Burton & Ashby Light Railway. [1] The light railway was a 3ft 6in gauge electric tr…

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