Caldecotte Miniature Railway (CMR) is a 3.5, 5 and 7.25 inch miniature railway run by the Milton Keynes Model Engineering Society (MKMES) located in

Milton Keynes Milton Keynes ( ) is a city and the largest settlement in Buckinghamshire, England, about north-west of London. At the 2021 Census, the population of its urban area was over . The River Great Ouse forms its northern boundary; a tributary ...

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-e ...

. It is one of the few

miniature railways A ridable miniature railway (US: riding railroad or grand scale railroad) is a large scale, usually ground-level railway that hauls passengers using locomotives that are often models of full-sized railway locomotives (powered by Diesel engine, d ...

in the UK which offers rides for passengers who are wheelchair users, with a specially built coach. The railway runs every Sunday between the start of April and the end of October. Steam is often used to provide rides.

History

Opened in 2005 by the MKMES, a small 'out and back' track was laid, which raised funds for the railway to construct their permanent raised level,

dual gauge In railway engineering, "gauge" is the transverse distance between the inner surfaces of the heads of two rails, which for the vast majority of railway lines is the number of rails in place. However, it is sometimes necessary for track to ca ...

3.5 / 5 inch track which was then subsequently used as the railways main track for providing rides. Construction started a few years later on a ground level dual gauge 5 / 7.25 inch track, which was completed in 2012, with locomotive Hagrid completing the first circuit on 25 March, before the railway was officially opened by the then mayor of Milton Keynes, Catriona Morris, on 1 April, with Gas fired

steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the loco ...

'Nutty' hauling the first passenger train. The opening of the 7.25 track allowed the society's larger locomotives, which had been in store for 5 years, to be used on passenger trains once again.

The railway

The 7.25 railway is an oval which is 840 feet in length (making a ride 1680 feet). The station, which is accessed via a crossing, features a turntable, sidings and two platforms which trains can arrive or depart from. Immediately leaving the station, the main yard can be seen on the right, which has multiple steaming bays and sidings, as well as the main engine sheds. Another notable feature of the railway is the Blue 'Truss' bridge which spans a drainage gap for the field. The bridge was constructed to carry the raised level track but was later widened to allow the ground level trains to use it too.

Locomotives used

Trains are often hauled by a variety of visiting members locos, with the 'home' locomotives being Hagrid and Katie, which are both petrol powered, Matilda, a battery electric engine, and steam locomotives Sylvia and Pollyanna, both being Romulus design engines.

Regular events

The railway holds a number of regular events throughout the year, notable events being their traction engine rally and charity day, both being held in the summer months. The railway also holds Halloween trains at the end of October and Santa trains in mid- December.

References

{{coords, 52.0105, -0.7087, display=title Miniature railways in the United Kingdom