Group steams in to buy land
Railway enthusiasts in Staffordshire have managed to raise the £150,000 they need to buy the land where they operate a one-mile track as a tourist attraction.
Railway enthusiasts in Staffordshire have managed to raise the £150,000 they need to buy the land where they operate a one-mile track as a tourist attraction.
It has been a 20-year dream for the volunteers based at The Amerton Railway in Stowe-by-Chartley, near Stafford, to own the land they use, and now it has become a reality.
The owner of Amerton Farm & Craft Centre, Paul Williams, has agreed to sell the field where the circular track is run.
Through fundraising, the volunteers have managed to raise £75,000 and another £75,000 has come from an HSBC mortgage.
The volunteer charity exists to preserve and run narrow gauge locomotives primarily from Staffordshire.
It will be a holding a special open day, to mark the announcement, on Saturday for the public to ride behind a number of local steam engines, including 115 year old engine Isabel.
The mayor of Stafford, Councillor Stan Highfield, will cut a ribbon to herald the next 20 years of narrow gauge railway heritage preservation in Staffordshire.
