A History of the                           
Sandtoft Miniature Railway 
by Bob Ashton                                  Page 1

By 1968 many trolleybuses were being saved from the scrap-yards for preservation as the last of the bus operators in Great Britain replaced their trolleybuses with motorbuses. Discussions took place between the Doncaster Omnibus & Light Railway Society, The Reading Transport Society (now the British Trolleybus Society) and The Bradford Trolleybus Association. With a substantial loan and leasing arrangement by the mother of one of the Reading Transport Society members, six acres of land of the former World War II R.A.F. aerodrome was purchased. By 1969 the first of depot buildings was erected and the first of the trolleybuses arrived. Being a member of the Doncaster group we were pleased to be able to find covered accommodation for Doncaster Trolleybus No 375 that had outside storage at the Premier bus depot at Stainforth since 1964. Several members including myself had repainted the trolleybus ready for its move to Sandtoft. Little did we realise the work and commitment ahead, as we were then to help transform what was part of the bleak windswept disused airfield to become the Sandtoft Transport Centre, but transform it we did to become "The Home of the Trolleybus" helping to ensure a secure future for the history of trolleybus something that should have still been operating on the streets of Great Britain today as elsewhere in the world.

1983 As means of having an attraction for the children, some unusual ideas by one of the museum members of how to construct a miniature railway, in 1982 the museum invited a group of model engineers from Doncaster and Scunthorpe to construct a miniature railway. The newly engineers formed Sandtoft Miniature Railway group and very quickly started work to survey and prepare the track-bed using materials from Hatfield Colliery. Soon track laying began for a  of 7¼ inch and 5 inch gauge loop of track following the inner part of the trolleybus circuit.
By May 1983 enough track had been laid to enable the first passenger train the first train made its way along a section of track on Sunday May 30th

1984 With help from the former Scunthorpe Community Industry team that was based at the museum, gradually the track was extended around the museum from what is known as the back straight. The original layout included several deliberate curves something that was eventually to straightened out after a couple of years. As the track was extended more fencing posts were put in place.

Until 1984 there was no where for visitors to look at exhibits. In 1982 I started giving slide shows in the bus depots. In 1984 we located a temporary type class room at Belton that was going to be bulldozed flat until we intervened and offered to purchase and remove it. In the middle photograph we see it in use during the last week by the school.  In the right hand view we see Brian Maguire the then team leader for Community Industry watching over his lads and myself (second in from right) as the removal gets under way. With the erection of this building at Sandtoft not only did it create some long needed facilities for the museum the rear area also enabled the blue print for the Sandtoft Central Station.

With the full circuit being almost a quarter of a mile in length it was becoming increasing difficult for the 5 inch gauge locomotives to pull two coaches, which are capable of holding a total of ten adults. By late 1984 the tracks were now reaching the back of the museum's new Lecture Theatre a building that had had served as a temporary school class room at Belton. I purchased the building for £500 (with a temporary loan from another museum member) and then spent at least another £2500 on transportation costs, and re-fitting the building out. The Scunthorpe Community Industry team and many of the museums members helped in the transportation and re-erection of the building. The rear of the building was to be an location for the first section of what was to be named the "Sandtoft Central" railway station. In 1965 there was now a regular train service from the rear of the Lecture Theatre round the railway Carriage Shed, the next stage was to complete the remainder of the circuit so that a full circular track could be completed.
Soon a variety of locomotives built by the members of the Sandtoft Miniature Railway group were visiting the railway on the operating days. New locomotives were appearing on the open days, two were to be regular visitors, "Princess Sarah" a 0-6-0 tank engine built by Paul Tattersall and a 0-4--0 Romulus type locomotive built by Harold Dyson 1985.

Above: 1986 the completed circuit as it was to remain until it was fully re-laid in 1996. The circuit involved two sets of facing points and one set of trailing points.

Being a former RAF aerodrome during the Second World War the surrounding countryside is very flat and open especially to the north and east of the museum site. The SMR members implemented a shrub and tree planting programme around the museum and alongside the railway circuit. Many of the early Silver Birches were obtained from the disused track-bed of the former Haxey Junction railway goods shed. Further trees were donated from the Hatfield Peat Moors, trees that were being removed as part of the peat extraction. So in a small way at least some of the trees were saved and given a more secure future at the museum.

History page  1  2  3

Next Page

Home Page | An Introduction | History of SMR | Information | Photo Pages |
Latest News Page  | Contrasts 2004 |Sandtoft Central | Out and About | Sandtoft 40 years