
The Cadeby Light Railway was a
narrow-gauge railway in the garden of the
rectory
A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of a given religion, serving as both a home and a base for the occupant's ministry. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, p ...
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 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.
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. The majority of the collection has been amalgamated with the
Moseley Railway Trust at the
Apedale Community Country Park. As of 2014, ''Pixie'' was undergoing restoration.
Collection
In 1982, Boston's collection consisted of:
See also
*
Moseley Railway Trust
*
British narrow-gauge railways
References
*
*
;Specific
External links
The Rev. Edwin Richard "Teddy" Boston – an appreciation – by Mike Rooth*
ttps://web.archive.org/web/20090103154039/http://www.cadebysteam.co.uk/history.html Teddy Boston's involvement in the forming of the Cadeby Steam & Country Fayre
{{Heritage railways in England
2 ft gauge railways in England
Railway lines opened in 1963
Railway lines closed in 2005