Apedale Valley Light Railway

10/06/2026

Driver training today....having a circular field railway is an absolute boon for converting diesel fuel into noise and motion. We have quite a lot of training on-going at the moment in preparation for the Motor Rail Mania event on 27 and 28 June. Lots of locos need lots of drivers!

09/06/2026

Just a reminder that this coming weekend see our new family-focussed event "Park Animals". Children will be able to take part in a simple quiz along the journey, looking out for pictures of the animals which may live in the adjacent Apedale Country Park. Steam trains will run from 1130 until 4pm on both Saturday and Sunday. Standard fees will be charged - £5 adults, £1 for kids, and these are ride-all-day tickets - so if you missed an animal last time, have another ride and try again! We are, of course, alongside Apedale Country Park - so why not combine a ride on the train with a stroll around the park? We'd love to know how many different animals can be found in the country park - let us know.

A 2 foot (600mm) gauge railway built and operated by the Moseley Railway Trust. 1/2 mile round trip, using steam and diesel locos, running through the Apedale Community Country Park.

04/06/2026

We are pleased to announce yet another visiting loco for the Motor Rail Mania event on June 27 & 28. This extra visitor is loco 40S383, displayed in public for the first time ever. The loco is normally based at a private railway in Scotland (the photo shows it many years ago at a peatworks near Carlisle). The full list of visitors, as at 4 June, stands as follows:-
- 40S383 (above)
- 4724 "AGWI Pet" and 5226 "Bambridge Hall" from Statfold
- 8739 "Pioneer" and 60S324 "Campbells" from the Golden Valley Light Railway
- 8695 (No.30) and 10409 (No.43) from Leighton Buzzard.
- 8540, from a private railway in England

The loco roster for the mainline has been updated, and follows;

Saturday 27th June

11:00 No.13 'Pilk' 11142 + 60s 364 "Campbell's"
11:30 No.6 7066 + No.21 8669
12.00 No.7 'The Wade' 8663 + 5226 "Bambridge Hall"
12:30 No.30 8695 + No.20 8748
13 00 No.98 'L5' 21520 + 8739 "Pioneer"
13:30 No.75 22235 + No.60 ' Lord Austin ' 6035
14:00 No.47 1369
14:30 No.3 8878 + 4724 "Agwi Pet 2"
15:00 No.42 7710 + No.43 10409
15:30 No.87 5213 + 40s383
Freight "43" from Leighton Buzzard (MR10409)
16:00 No.20 8748, No.36 8540 & 8695 "No.30"

Sunday 28th June

11:00 No.101 60SD754
11:30 No.81 2197 + No.39 1111
12.00 No.21 8669 + 8540
12:30 No.87 5213 + 5226 "Bambridge Hall"
13 00 No.43 10409
13:30 No.14 'Knothole Worker' 22045 + 40s383
14:00 60s 364 "Campbell's"
14:30 No.30 8695 + 4724 "Agwi Pet 2"
15:00 No.40 'Sludge' 40SD516 + 20/28 8739 "Pioneer"
15:30 60s 364 "Campbell's" + 20/28 8739 "Pioneer"
16:00 No.61 'Block of Flats' 1320

There will also be a frequent service of trains on the Field Railway, using the above pool of locos, plus others from thee Apedale collection.

Fares for this event will be – Admission and one ride – Adults £8, children £1. Day Rovers – Adults £25, children £12.

There will also be a photo charter on Saturday morning, themed around the Leighton Buzzard sand quarries. An early start of 07.30 and running until 10.30, just in time for the gala to kick off in style at 11.00. Priced at £40 this includes access to the photo charter, a return train ride and site access during the Saturday of the event. Please use the website (www.avlr.org.uk) “contact us” button to book onto the charter event – we’ll keep a list of participants and collect payment on the day (cash or card).

02/06/2026

The planned locos for June are as follows:

6 June - "Stanhope", 7 June - diesel.

13 & 14 June - Hunslet 1215. This will be the last chance to see this loco operate, as it'd due its annual boiler exam. All being well, it will be back in service for the September gala.

20 June - "Ogwen". 21 June - diesel.

27 & 28 June - Motor Rail Mania - the internal combustion fleet takes over for the weekend!

Thanks to Mr Ben Wiles for the image.

31/05/2026

It's Volunteers Week - see https://volunteersweek.org/, so we thought we'd show you a typical job undertaken by our wonderful team. The objective was to set concrete to create the footings for a low retaining wall. The low retaining wall will form the access to the new museum main entrance area and the toilet area. This was hard work on a hot day - but necessary, and all involved learnt about concreting! That shows key benefits of volunteering - working as part of team to a common purpose, and learning new skills.

23/05/2026

Bagnall Bank Holiday - gently simmering in the afternoon sun.

23/05/2026

Bagnall Bank Holiday Begins. Tickets can be bought on-site (cash or card) for just Apedale or for the combination of Apedale, Amerton and the West Lancashire Light Railway.

20/05/2026

19/05/2026