VIDEO: Leighton Buzzard Railway launches 2013 season
The volunteers who run Leighton Buzzard’s narrow-gauge railway celebrated the start of their 45th year of operation on Sunday.
As has become traditional, the first train of the season which departed from Page’s Park station at 10.40am was given a civic send-off by the Town Mayor, Councillor Alan Brandham, and the Town Crier, Peter Hailes.
They were also shown some of the improvements that have been made during the winter break. The Engine Shed Show will offer passengers a free guided tour of the engine shed at Page’s Park, with a new display detailing the railway’s long history and its fascinating present.
A new computer system in Page’s Park station building will relieve volunteers of a lot of the paperwork around selling tickets and running the souvenir shop, as well as allowing advance booking of train seats.
At Stonehenge Works, newly acquired steam locomotive “Nutty” has been placed under cover as a static exhibit, and a rare example of working 1960s quarry machinery—a dragline for removing clay from on top of the sand—has been put on display alongside the digger which has been a popular feature for many years. The first regular passenger trains, operated by volunteers, ran in 1968, and have operated every year since then. The railway itself, originally built to carry sand, will celebrate its centenary in six years’ time.
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Weather for Leighton Buzzard
Friday 24 May 2013
Today
Light showers
Temperature: 4 C to 9 C
Wind Speed: 29 mph
Wind direction: North
Tomorrow
Sunny spells
Temperature: 6 C to 15 C
Wind Speed: 15 mph
Wind direction: North
