Pixie at Cadeby in 1981
The last train at Cadeby, 2005

The Cadeby Light Railway was a 2 ft (610 mm) narrow-gauge railway in the garden of the rectory in Cadeby, Leicestershire.

In the early 1960s the Reverend Teddy Boston became rector of All Saints' Church, Cadeby. Boston was a lifelong railway enthusiast and wanted to build a miniature railway in his new garden, but the cost proved prohibitive. Instead he searched for a full-sized narrow-gauge locomotive.

In 1962, he purchased Pixie, a W.G. Bagnall 0-4-0ST from the Cranford quarry. The quarry owners donated a short length of track and two wagons and the Cadeby Light Railway was opened.[1]

Over the years, Boston built an extensive collection of ex-industrial narrow-gauge rolling stock, which ran on the extremely short line in his garden. He also maintained an extensive OO gauge model railway at Cadeby.[2]

Although Boston died in 1986, his widow, Audrey kept the railway open for nearly twenty years, holding regular open days.

The railway finally closed in May 2005.[3] The majority of the collection has been amalgamated with the Moseley Railway Trust at the Apedale Community Country Park.[4] As of 2014, Pixie was undergoing restoration.

Collection

In 1982, Boston's collection consisted of:[5]

Name Wheel Arrangement Manufacturer Works Number
Margaret 0-4-0ST Hunslet Engine Co. 605 of 1894
No.2 0-4-0WT Orenstein & Koppel 7529 of 1914
Pixie 0-4-0ST W.G. Bagnall 2090 of 1919
87004 4wDM Motor Rail 2197 of 1922
0-4-0PM Baguley 1695 of 1928
4wDM Motor Rail 4572 of 1929
4wDM Hudswell Clarke D558 of 1930
1 4wDM Motor Rail 5609 of 1931
New Star 4wPM Lister 4088 of 1931
24 4wDM Motor Rail 5853 of 1934
4wDM Ruston & Hornsby 179870 of 1936
42 4wDM Motor Rail 7710 of 1939
20 4wDM Motor Rail 8748 of 1942

See also

References

  • The Rev E. R. Boston MA (1973). Rails Round the Rectory – The story of the Cadeby Light Railway. Loughborough: The Book House. ISBN 0-902520-03-2.
Specific
  1. ^ "Cadeby Light Railway | Science Museum Group Collection".
  2. ^ "Railway Vicar". British Pathé. 20 April 1967. Retrieved 4 April 2017.
  3. ^ "A Little History of the Cadeby Light Railway – the Railway Correspondence & Travel Society".
  4. ^ "Cadeby Light Railway | Science Museum Group Collection".
  5. ^ Industrial Railway Society 1982 including preserved and minor railway locomotives. Industrial Railway Society. 1982. p. 114. ISBN 0-901096-43-1.

52°37′03″N 1°22′21″W / 52.617545°N 1.372508°W / 52.617545; -1.372508

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