Lea Bailey Light Railway

The Lea Bailey Light Railway is a 2 ft (610 mm) narrow-gauge heritage railway in the United Kingdom. It is built on the site of the Bailey Level Gold Mine

Lea Bailey Light Railway
WR8 locomotive shunting wagons into the mine
Locale	England
Commercial operations
Name	Mitcheldean Road & Forest of Dean Junction Railway
Built by	Great Western Railway
Original gauge	4 ft 8 ¹⁄₂ in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Preserved operations
Operated by	Lea Bailey Light Railway Society
Length	200 yards (183 m)
Preserved gauge	2 ft (610 mm)
Commercial history
Opened	1885
Closed	1917
Preservation history
2012	Work started at the Lea Bailey site

An attempt was made in 2003 by the owners of Clearwell Caves to open the mine as a tourist attraction, but this was ultimately unsuccessful. In 2012, a small group from the Royal Forest of Dean Caving Club discovered the mine and a quantity of disused railway equipment and proposed to the owners that a volunteer-led project could start work on restoring the site. As of 2014, two locomotives and a number of wagons have been moved to Lea Bailey from storage at Clearwell Caves or the nearby Hawthorn Tunnel.[1]

Part of the railway is laid on the trackbed of the disused Mitcheldean Road & Forest of Dean Junction Railway.

In 2013 the Lea Bailey Light Railway Society was formed;[2] its members act as volunteers, undertaking all aspects of work on the site. A regular free newsletter is produced and sent out by e-mail.[3]

Locomotives

Name	Type	Builder	Works number	Date built	Arrived at Lea Bailey	Notes
	4w DM	Motor Rail	21282	1964	September 1993	Supplied to brickworks at Kempston Hardwick, then purchased by Alan Keef and sold to the Meirion Mill Railway in 1975. Returned to Alan Keef in late 1976, was sold on a peatworks where it worked until 1989. Then went to Lea Bailey.[4]
	4w compressed air locomotive	Eimco	401-216[5]			Ex-mining contractor in British Columbia. Re-gauged from 18 in (457 mm) gauge.

Gallery

Postcard of the original Bailey Level gold mine
Motor Rail locomotive 21282 on the curve leading to the mine
EIMCO 12b Rocker Shovel Loader in the passing loop
General view of the passing loop, shed and siding

References

"Lea Bailey Light Railway - Newsletter No. 1" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 March 2014. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
"Lea Bailey Light Railway Society". Retrieved 7 January 2014.
"Lea Bailey Light Railway - Newsletter Archive". Retrieved 7 January 2014.
Quine, Dan (November 2016). "Trixie and the Meirion Mill Railway". Narrow Gauge World.
"Chance to see rare loco in action at Lea Bailey". The Ross Gazette. 15 September 2016.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lea Bailey Light Railway.

Heritage railways and railway museums in England

Operational railways

Narrow-gauge

Standard-gauge

Centres and museums

Planned railways
Berkeley Vale Railway Bideford Railway Heritage Centre Combe Rail Don Valley Railway Lea Bailey Light Railway North Dorset Railway North Somerset Railway Poulton & Wyre Railway Southwold Railway Tarka Valley Railway Wisbech and March Bramley Line

Closed sites
Abbey Light Railway Ashford Steam Centre Cadeby Light Railway Derbyshire Dales Narrow Gauge Railway Electric Railway Museum, Warwickshire Great Yorkshire Railway Preservation Society North Woolwich Old Station Museum

Transport in Gloucestershire

Road

Motorways	M4 M5 M32 M48 M49 M50
A-roads	A38 A40 A46 A48 A403 A417 A419 A429 A431 A432 A433 A466 A4032 A4103 A4135 A4136 A4174
Service stations	Gloucester services Michaelwood services Severn View services
Other	B4008 E30 Icknield Street List of settlements on the A38 Westgate Street

Airports and Heliports

Rail

Main lines	Cotswold Line Cross Country Route Gloucester-Newport line Golden Valley line Henbury Loop line
Closed lines	Avon and Gloucestershire Railway Banbury and Cheltenham Direct Railway Bicslade Tramroad (Tram) Bristol and Gloucester Railway Bristol and Gloucestershire Railway Bullo Pill Railway Cheltenham and District Light Railway Cheltenham and Great Western Union Railway Cirencester branch line Coleford Railway Coleford, Monmouth, Usk and Pontypool Railway Dursley and Midland Junction Railway Evesham loop line Forest of Dean Central Railway Forest of Dean Railway Gloucester and Cheltenham Tramroad (Tram) Hereford, Ross and Gloucester Railway Ledbury and Gloucester Railway Midland and South Western Junction Railway Mitcheldean Road & Forest of Dean Junction Railway Monmouth Railway Oxford, Witney and Fairford Railway Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway Severn and Wye Railway Severn Bridge Railway Sharpness Branch Line South Wales Railway Stonehouse and Nailsworth Railway Stratford and Moreton Tramway (Tram) Tetbury branch line Tewkesbury and Malvern Railway Wye Valley Railway
Stations	Ashchurch for Tewkesbury railway station Cam & Dursley railway station Cheltenham Spa railway station Gloucester railway station Kemble railway station Lydney railway station Moreton-in-Marsh railway station Pilning railway station Stonehouse railway station Stroud railway station
Closed stations	Adlestrop railway station Andoversford and Dowdeswell railway station Andoversford Junction railway station Awre for Blakeney railway station Badminton railway station Barbers Bridge railway station Berkeley railway station Berkeley Road railway station Bilson Halt railway station Bishops Cleeve railway station Blaisdon Halt railway station Bourton-on-the-Water railway station Bowbridge Crossing Halt railway station Brimscombe Bridge Halt railway station Brimscombe railway station Bullo Cross Halt railway station Cam railway station Cashes Green Halt railway station Chalford railway station Charfield railway station Charlton Kings railway station Charlton Halt railway station Chipping Sodbury railway station Chedworth Halt railway station Cheltenham High Street Halt railway station Cheltenham High Street railway station Cheltenham Leckhampton railway station Cheltenham Spa Malvern Road railway station Cheltenham Spa St. James railway station Chepstow East railway station Chesterton Lane Halt railway station Chipping Campden railway station Churchdown railway station Cinderford New railway station Cirencester Town railway station Cirencester Watermoor railway station Cleeve railway station Downfield Crossing Halt railway station Drybrook Road railway station Dudbridge railway station Dursley railway station Dymock railway station Ebley Crossing Halt railway station Fairford railway station Foss Cross railway station Four Oaks Halt railway station Frocester railway station Gloucester Eastgate railway station Grange Court railway station Greenway Halt railway station Gretton Halt railway station Hallen Halt railway station Ham Mill Halt railway station Haresfield railway station Hayles Abbey Halt railway station Henbury railway station Iron Acton railway station Jackament's Bridge Halt railway station Laverton Halt railway station Lechlade railway station Longhope railway station Lydbrook Junction railway station Malswick Halt railway station Mangotsfield railway station Mickleton Halt railway station Nailsworth railway station Netherhope Halt railway station] New Passage Halt railway station New Passage Pier railway station Newent railway station Newnham railway station North Filton Platform railway station Notgrove railway station Park Leaze Halt railway station Redbrook on Wye railway station Rodmarton Platform railway station Ruspidge Halt railway station Ryeford railway station St Mary's Crossing Halt railway station Severn Bridge railway station Sharpness railway station South Cerney railway station Speech House Road railway station Staple Edge Halt railway station Staple Hill railway station Stonehouse (Bristol Road) railway station Stow-on-the-Wold railway station Stroud (Midland) railway station Tetbury railway station Tetbury Road railway station Tewkesbury railway station Thornbury railway station Tidenham railway station Trouble House Halt railway station Tutshill for Beachley Halt railway station Tytherington railway station Upper Soudley Halt railway station Warmley railway station Weston-sub-Edge railway station Wickwar railway station Whitecroft railway station Willersey Halt railway station Winterbourne railway station Withington railway station Woodchester railway station
Heritage stations	Bitton railway station Cheltenham Racecourse railway station Gotherington railway station Hayles Abbey Halt railway station Heywood railway station Lydney Junction railway station Lydney railway station Norchard railway station Oakiron railway station Oldland Common railway station Parkend railway station Perrygrove railway station Rookwood railway station St Mary's Halt railway station Toddington railway station Whitecroft railway station Winchcombe railway station
Heritage railways	Avon Valley Railway Dean Forest Railway Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway Lea Bailey Light Railway Perrygrove Railway Toddington Narrow Gauge Railway
Proposed	Gloucestershire Parkway railway station

Buses

Stations	Gloucester Transport Hub
Companies	First West of England Stagecoach West

Waterways

Rivers	River Avon, Bristol River Avon, Warwickshire River Boyd Bybrook River River Cam River Chelt River Churn River Coln River Dikler River Evenlode River Eye River Frome, Bristol River Frome, Stroud Hazel Brook River Isbourne Lam Brook River Leach River Leadon Little Avon River River Severn Siston Brook Stoke Brook River Swilgate Tetbury Avon River Thames River Trym River Windrush River Wye
Canals	Cinderford Canal Coombe Hill Canal Gloucester and Sharpness Canal Hereford and Gloucester Canal Lydney Canal Pidcock's Canal Thames and Severn Canal
Docks and Ports	Gloucester Docks Sharpness

Footpaths

National Trails	Cotswold Way Thames Path
Long-distance footpaths	Celtic Way Geopark Way Gloucestershire Way Heart of England Way Limestone Link Macmillan Way Monarch's Way Oxfordshire Way Sabrina Way Severn Way
Other	Frome Valley Walkway Wysis Way

Cycle paths

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