Cadeby Light Railway

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

Cadeby Light Railway
Overview
HeadquartersCadeby
LocaleEngland
Dates of operation1963–2005
Successorabandoned
Technical
Track gauge2 ft (610 mm)
Length97 yards (89 m)
Pixie at Cadeby in 1981
The last train at Cadeby, 2005

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.

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.[1]

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 2005; subsequently the majority of the collection has been amalgamated with the Moseley Railway Trust at the Apedale Community Country Park. Pixie is currently undergoing restoration as of 2014.

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. "Railway Vicar". British Pathé. 20 April 1967. Retrieved 4 April 2017.

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