Moseley Railway Trust recovers equipment from Great Britain’s last peat works railway
The Moseley Railway Trust has recovered all of the remaining locomotives, wagons and track from Great Britain’s last peat works railway. The railway served workings on Lindow Moss, near Wilmslow. This location made national headlines in 1984 when the well-preserved remains of an Iron Age male were discovered. Lindow Man, as he was named, is now an exhibit at the British Museum.
The works used a 2’0” gauge line ran from the peat fields to the works, where the peat was tipped from the wooden wagons, processed, and then taken from site to be used for (amongst other uses) mushroom cultivation. At one time, such railways were used on many sites where peat was dug, but increasing environmental concerns have effected a cessation of such activities.
Following an agreement with the site owners, Croghan Peat, Moseley Railway Trust members recovered three locomotives, four wagons and a quantity of track. The recovery took place on June 24 and 25, in an operation further complicated by the need to comply with COVID-19 guidance. All of the equipment has been removed to the Trust’s centre of operations at Apedale, Staffordshire.
Two of the locomotives (a Lister and a Keef) are complete, and indeed both were returned to operation within a few hours of their arrival at Apedale. The third locomotive, another Lister, is missing many of its major components.
Phil Robinson, Chairman of the Moseley Railway Trust, said “I would like to thank Croghan Peat for their support with this project, and also the Trust members who negotiated and planned this operation. I would also like to recognise all the Trust members who turned out, in baking heat, to recover the equipment from Lindow Moss”.
The Moseley Railway Trust’s Apedale site remains closed to the public at present. However, the Trust hopes to be able to announce plans for the remainder of the 2020 season in the near future.
