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'Buying railway is once in a lifetime opportunity'

BBC Adam, new owner of Rudyard Lake Steam Railway, with his familyBBC
Adam and his wife Aleks are now running Rudyard Lake Steam Railway

Buying a miniature steam railway was a once in a lifetime opportunity, its new owner said.

Adam, who'd been a volunteer at the 10.25 inch gauge Rudyard Lake Steam Railway in Staffordshire bought it after it was put up for sale in 2023.

He began volunteering at the attraction at the age of 12.

"I'm a train driver by trade, this has definitely gone one step beyond obsession," said the new owner, who is running the railway with his family.

A man next to a steam engine
The new owners hope their children will want to take on the railway in the future

He said he and his wife saw a BBC report about the sale.

"From that moment on, the only thought that went through my mind was, who is going to buy it?", he said.

His wife Aleks said: "We don't see this as just owning a business, we see it as a custodianship.

"At the end of the day, if our daughters want to take it on when they are older, that will be fantastic."

Six-year-old Vanellope is allowed to help operate one of the locomotives called Pendragon, which the family bought the day she was born.

"It's very noisy, but it's very easy to drive..I want to be a train driver like my dad," she said.

Rudyard steam engine
The railway runs alongside Rudyard Lake near Leek

The current railway dates from 1985, and was built by Peter Hanton from Congleton.

It runs on the track bed of a full-sized railway which originally ran from Macclesfield to Uttoxeter.

The previous owner put it up for sale for £495,000 as he was set to retire to Scotland.

The railway is once again open to the public every weekend and school holiday until October.

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