Rudyard Lake Steam Railway

The Rudyard Lake Steam Railway is a ridable miniature railway and the third railway of any gauge to run along the side of Rudyard Lake in Staffordshire, England.

Excalibur at Rudyard Lake Steam Railway

Overview

The railway runs for 1+1⁄2 miles (2.4 km) on the track bed of an old standard gauge North Staffordshire Railway line. After the NSR line closed down, a small narrow gauge train ran on the site for two years before moving via Suffolk to Trago Mills in Devon. The current line started in 1985 and is 10+1⁄4 in (260 mm) gauge, and operates to a timetable. It was built by John Eastman of Congleton working on his own over a period of ten years. In October 2000, he sold the railway to Rudyard Lake Steam Railway Ltd, who have developed it since that date.^{[citation needed]}

The railway was purchased by the Leek and Rudyard Railway on 18 December 2015. This company owns the assets of the former Isle of Mull Railway and combined the two railways at Rudyard. In May 2024 the railway changed hands again and is now owned and operated by the Rudyard Lake Railway. ^{[citation needed]}

Trains run at weekends and bank holidays from March to November, with more regular services from Easter to October and daily during school holidays.^{[citation needed]} The railway is a member of Britain's Great Little Railways and is a member of the Heritage Railway Association.

Route

The railway runs for 1+1⁄2 miles (2.4 km) on the track bed of an old standard gauge North Staffordshire Railway line.^{[citation needed]} It operates from Rudyard railway station to the dam, then along the side of the lake to terminate at Hunthouse Wood, about a mile south of the site of the old Cliffe Park railway station.

Rudyard Lake Steam Railway
Distances are approx.
Legend
1800 m end of line 1750 m Hunthouse Wood Station crossing point 500 m Dam Station 107 m LC 50 m 0 m Rudyard Station to sheds

Locomotives

Many of the locomotives were named by the former owner's wife after the legends of King Arthur:

Image	No.	Name	Wheel arrangement	Builder	Date built	Notes
Steam Locomotives
	6	Excalibur	2-4-2T	Exmoor Steam Railway	1993	Previously named River Churnet prior to rebuild in 2003, when regauged from 12 1/4 inch gauge.
	7	Merlin	2-4-2T	Exmoor Steam Railway	1998	Overhauled 2020
	8	King Arthur	0-6-2T	Exmoor Steam Railway	2005	Overhauled 2019
	196	Waverley	4-4-2	David Curwen	1948	On permanent loan; formerly at the Isle of Mull Railway.
	-	Victoria	2-6-2T	Mouse Boiler Works	1993	Based on the Victorian Railways NA class, Victoria is owned by the Leek & Rudyard Railway Ltd. Removed for overhaul in Sheffield from December 2015 to December 2018.
	-	Nelly
		Lady Jane Grey	0-4-0T + T	Bressingham Steam Museum & Gardens		Still privately owned, but has been temporarily brought to Rudyard for a major overhaul and is now run often
Internal Combustion Locomotives
	2	Mordred	4wPM	Terry Stanhope of Leeds	1969	Known locally as Ferret.
	5	Rudyard Lady	Bo-Bo	L.A.Smith of Leek	1989	Bogie diesel
		Glen Auldyn	Bo-Bo	Bob Davies	1986	Bogie diesel, formerly at Isle of Mull Railway.
	Frances	Bo-Bo	David Vere	1999	Bogie diesel, formerly at Isle of Mull Railway.

No. 9 Pendragon

No 9 Pendragon (another Exmoor Steam Railway 2-4-2T) left the railway in 2019 and is now at the Astbury Light Railway.^[1]

A fleet of 13 carriages and a wide variety of goods wagons are also used. A further enclosed brake carriage was constructed in 2011 and brought into service in August; another 12 seat enclosed coach was added in December 2012. The carriages from the closed Isle of Mull Railway are also slowly being brought back into service after restoration.

Facilities

"Merlin" coupling up at Rudyard station in 2013

Rudyard Station comprises Platform 1 with a shelter where the trains depart. A footbridge links this to Platform 2 where the cafe, a large covered picnic area, signal box and toilets are located. Platform 2 is, in fact, the original standard gauge platform built by the North Staffordshire Railway. The original flower beds and retaining walls are clearly visible. At a higher level than platform 1 is a good vantage point. To the South end of the station are the engine shed, water tower, coal bunker, storage shed and workshop.

The railway offers learn to drive a steam train courses, of either a half or full day for individuals or groups. Children's parties are hosted and the Platform 2 Cafe provides cold refreshments all year around whenever the railway is running.