Steam Weekend Success
LEIGHTON BUZZARD RAILWAY
Page’s Park Station, Billington Road
Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire LU7 4TN, England
TEL: (01525) 373888 EMAIL: station@lbngrs.org.uk WEBSITE: www.buzzrail.co.uk
An exempt charity. Registered as an Industrial Friendly Society No 20830R.
Accredited by the Museums, Libraries & Archives Council No 1631
Media Release
Issued 17th September 2012
STEAM WEEKEND SUCCESS
“Still one of the best narrow-gauge railways, with plenty of character.”
This is typical of the feedback received by the Leighton Buzzard Railway, from the hundreds of people who visited over the weekend, for its Great Slate Quarry Fest.
The star of the show was undoubtedly “Chaloner”, the 1877-built steam engine, resident at Leighton Buzzard for over 40 years. It was appearing in public for the first time with a replica of its driver’s cab, the original having been removed over 120 years ago.
“Chaloner” had spent its working life in the slate quarries of North Wales, where British narrow-gauge railways were born in the 19th century. At the weekend, it was supported by three visiting steam engines, all with slate industry backgrounds.
In total, nine full-size engines were in steam, plus several working scale models, operating on the miniature railway at Stonehenge Works, which has become a popular feature of special events.
Leighton Buzzard Railway spokesman, Mervyn Leah, commented: “Once again, we have put on a spectacular event which has attracted people from all over Britain and beyond.
“Underlining our status as one of the country’s top narrow-gauge railways, over the weekend we had a visit from a TV production team, shooting footage for a new BBC4 series on railway preservation. This comes only a few weeks after our brief appearance in “Escape to the Country”.
• For photo requests and other media enquiries, please contact Mervyn Leah marketing@lbngrs.org.uk . Public enquiries are on 01525 373888, or station@lbngrs.org.uk. For the full story, visit our website at www.buzzrail.co.uk.
Posted on: 17/09/2012
