Narrow gauge museum Redruth

[Kris]

I'm going to be down near here soon.

 

http://www.tumblydownfarm.co.uk/museum.html

 

Anyone know anything about this?

[Mike Bellamy]

Sorry never heard of it - however their website talks about the Moseley Railway and seems to give the impression that it is based there. However if you look here http://www.mrt.org.uk/ you will see that they have a new museum at Apedale in Staffordshire http://www.apedale.co.uk/

 

All a bit strange - can anyone explain this?

[R A Watson]

The website talks of the Moseley SCHOOL not the TRUST ! This seems to be a different organisation and probably is leading to confusion.

 

Before anyone complains about the use of capitals this is only to emphasise the difference and not an attempt to cause any insult.

[Coombe Barton]

If you put their postcode, TR15 3TA, into Google Earth and look to the east of the buildings/farm you'll see something that looks suspiciously like tracks. Especially round that mound/pit thing

[Xerces Fobe2]

I met the guys at a Redruth Model Railway Show - they also do bed & breakfast

 

XF

[Happy Hippo]

Obviously the breakaway Kernow Moseleys

 

What's probably happened is that when the MRT lost it's site in the 1990s, the stuff was dispersed until they could find new accomodation...aka Apedale. If these items were owned by the chap in Cornwall, and he had the land and a railway already set up, why move his stuff back to the Midlands?

 

There used to be a narrow gauge site called Age of Steam, at Crowlas (between Marazion and St Erth) back in the 20th Century but it is long gone.

 

Regards

 

Richard

[Mike Bellamy]

The website talks of the Moseley SCHOOL not the TRUST ! This seems to be a different organisation and probably is leading to confusion.

 

Before anyone complains about the use of capitals this is only to emphasise the difference and not an attempt to cause any insult.

No offence taken and thanks for pointing that out. However the TRUST web site has the following statement

 

"The original Moseley Tramway was founded in 1968 as an experimental school project in Cheadle near Manchester using materials recovered from a local brickworks. Initially horse-drawn vehicles were used but later diesel, petrol and battery electric power were introduced. The Tramway was closed when the school required the land it occupied for development, leading to the collection being in storage for a number of years."

 

Perhaps this is part of the original collection that didn't go to Apedale?

[Kris]

Thanks for the comments so far.

 

I know that the location is correct and that there is track there but have not had the time to visit yet.

[PLD]

Perhaps this is part of the original collection that didn't go to Apedale?

 

I've not heard of this Redruth site before but that is my assumption as well Mike. The majority of the stock from Moseley did indeed end up at Apedale but certainly not all of it...

 

Certainly an unusual experience bouncing across the fields at Moseley. Always felt like you could leave the tracks at any moment, but I never saw any incidents. The other memory is of the 'parking brake' on the coaching stock which consisted of a metal bar slotted through the holes in the disk wheels of the coaches!

 

Paul

[DLT]

If you put their postcode, TR15 3TA, into Google Earth and look to the east of the buildings/farm you'll see something that looks suspiciously like tracks. Especially round that mound/pit thing

Well blow me down. During the Redruth Exhibition a few years back, they put us up at Tricky's Hotel/Restaurant just accross the road.

 

Definitely tracks, you can see them from the road in Streetview.

 

Dave.

[2mm Andy]

Sorry never heard of it - however their website talks about the Moseley Railway and seems to give the impression that it is based there. However if you look here http://www.mrt.org.uk/ you will see that they have a new museum at Apedale in Staffordshire http://www.apedale.co.uk/

 

All a bit strange - can anyone explain this?

 

OK - I'll try and explain. The Moseley museum down in Cornwall is a separate entity. As I understand it (I joined the Moseley trust after it happened), the chap in Cornwall (Colin Saxton) had a bit of a falling-out with the rest of the members at Moseley Cheadle School (this was a couple of years before the forced move from Cheadle and subsequent storage/relocation to Apedale) and took his locos and railway bits off to various sites before settling in Cornwall. Unfortunately he decided he wanted to keep the 'Moseley' name for his collection, hence the slight confusion.

 

Most of the stock from Cheadle did go to Apedale, but some owned by individual members went to Threlkeld museum (and then on to somewhere near Oswestry). Shortly after the site at Apedale was acquired, the stock (except the Bagnall 'Pixie' and a couple of diesel/petrol locos) and track from Teddy Boston's Cadeby Light Railway moved to Apedale, and various other bits and pieces have also moved to site from other locations (Kerr Stuart steam locos 3014 (Joffre class) and Stanhope (Tattoo class) to name but a few)

 

The Moseley trust has now settled at Apedale, has built and opened a short passenger-carrying line and a storage shed for some of the many items of stock and is now working on building a large museum building. There is a gala on 08/09 September this year (details are on the website www.mrt.org.uk) and plans for an extension of the passenger line into the adjacent country park and development of the site at Apedale in conjunction with the adjacent heritage centre (www.apedale.co.uk) are further in the future.

 

Hope that helps

 

Andy

[Stubby47]

I've been to this museum.

 

If you're of a certain age, you'll spend lots of time going - Ooh, I had that, and that, and that !!! There are layouts with Hornby & Dublo trains, lots of Meccano sets & built models, plus load of other early 60's & 70's toys.

 

The track outside runs around the filed to a very tight return loop - the wheel squeal is awful - then back to the shed area. There are also pony & trap rides.

 

Great for the little kids, great for the adults too !

[Kris]

Thanks for those comments. I suspect that I am not of the "certain age" but as I did have some of the 70's stuff donated to me as a child I might say that I had that a bit (maybe even I've still got that).

[rapidyellow]

hello, obviously this is some years on from the original topic but I was googling this Moseley Railway and it led me here and I was already a member of this forum

 

I went to Moseley School in cheadle cheshire, 81-87 ish! and I was a member of the railway society there, run by colin saxton! it was certainly odd having a narrow gauge railway in the school grounds!!

 

I helped out at weekends, and sometimes when it was running in the daytime you could go on the carraige during dinner time!! messing about on the "school railway" at break was much better than going smoking like what some of the other kids did

 

A group of us from the society went on a weeks working holiday to the Welsh Highland Railway in Porthmadog, it was during the summer holidays and I remember it was red hot!! and the work was REALLY hard!!

 

So having looked at the pics on the mrt.org.uk website it certainly brought back memories.

 

I had left school in 87 and with that, was interested in music, girls and then cars, so I didnt know it had all broken up in the 90's, Colin Saxton was an art teacher at the school, but there was a music teacher also involved - he took us the WHR, but I remember his daughter was lovely!! whom came with us, and was older!! but I cant remember his name.