OXFORDSHIRE IRONSTONE COMPANY QUARRIES REMEMBERED   It is now hard to envisage that the pleasant rolling countryside of north Oxfordshire was once host to opencast quarrying of ironstone for iron and steel production on a grand scale. The excavation of ironstone started around Wroxton near Banbury in 1919 with economic pressures finally forcing closure in…

WE WILL REMEMBER THEM On 17th October 1943 in the jungles of Thailand the surviving allied prisoners of war issued a collective sigh of relief  as their years work on the Burma – Siam railway  came to a conclusion – the railway was complete. As the Japanese prepared to celebrate this remarkable engineering achievement this…

VJ – 78th Anniversary of the Liberation of Far Eastern Prisoners of War On 28th August 1945 British Liberator bombers flew low over the Changi Gaol Prisoner of War Camp in Japanese occupied Singapore. As the thousands of emaciated prisoners looked up leaflets dropped from the aircraft fluttered down bringing official confirmation that Japan had…

Enjoy a ride in the brake van of our Rutlander Train.

Sunday 30th July – Ironstone and Quarry day The museum will be open from 10am with steam brake van rides and quarry activities. All the normal exhibits will also be open and there will be an exhibition to mark the anniversary of the last train of ironstone to use the High Dyke Mineral railway. Come and…

We’re probably all familiar with Dr. Who and his Tardis but did you know our website can also travel back in time with The Wayback Machine? Climb aboard and click here to be transported back to 2012.

LAST IRONSTONE TRAIN ON HIGH DYKE MINERAL BRANCHLINE REMEMBERED Fifty years ago this month the last train of ironstone bound for Scunthorpe steelworks traversed the High Dyke mineral branchline in South Lincolnshire bringing an end to local ironstone mining that had commenced during the First World War. The last train of ironstone left Stainby Glebe…

Rocks by Rail – The Living Ironstone Museum is open on Sunday 2 July 2023 with steam hauled brake van rides and quarry demonstrations The Museum will be open from 10am with a full day of quarry operations and steam brake van rides as well as all the exhibits that are related to the iron stone industry…

Following the success of the first two events of the 2023 Season Rocks By Rail Museum at Cottesmore will be holding two more family friendly events over the May Bank Holiday. Sunday 30th April will see the ever popular Rutlander train in operation throughout the day. On Monday 1st May the Rutlander train will again…

Membership Renewal A gentle reminder to members of Rocks by Rail that 2023 membership subscriptions are now due. Membership fees can be sent to the Membership Secretary (Sophie Bruton) by post or paid at the Annual General Meeting on Saturday 15 April. Membership forms carry full details of fees due and can be downloaded from…

Notice  of Annual General Meeting of Rutland Railway Museum Ltd You are hereby invited to attend the Annual General Meeting of Rutland Railway Museum, which will take place on Saturday 15 April 2023 in the Sundew Cafe, Rocks by Rail, commencing at 14.30. The Trustee Board and volunteer Management Committee will present a report about…

Fifty years ago the excavation of ironstone for the manufacture of iron and steel came to an end at Rutland’s last ironstone quarry at Exton Park. Quarrying for ironstone started in 1882 near Cottesmore and the last train load of ironstone left the County in May 1973. A new exhibition will cover the history of…

On the 80th Anniversary of its capture by Japanese forces the Museum held a short commemoration of the Fall of Singapore featuring its Far Eastern Prisoner of War Memorial former Singapore Royal Navy dockyard steam locomotive SINGAPORE. The commemoration was attended by some close relatives of former Prisoners of War whilst a museum member laid…

FEPOW Memorial Locomotive Appeal “to keep going the spirit that kept them going” Rocks by Rail – the Living Ironstone Museum is a small volunteer run community based industrial railway museum located near Cottesmore in Rutland, England. The museum is an educational charity and within its collection the Museum owns the Far Eastern Prisoner of…

The Trustees would like to offer their thanks to Robin Bickers who has recently stood down as a Trustee and as Honorary Curator of the Museum. Over his years as a volunteer Robin has taken on a tremendous workload; his excellent organisational abilities and clear sighted input have been invaluable and will be greatly missed…

Membership renewals for Rocks by Rail are now due and the 2022 Membership and Renewal form can be found by going to the Contact and Membership page of the website. Please send your completed form to Sophie with a cheque; or payment can be made by BACS if preferred. Please note that there is no…

The Trustees, Officers and brilliant volunteer workforce of Rocks by Rail wish all our members and friends a happy and healthy New Year 2022. We look forward to welcoming you to our Open Days; the full programme of which can be found on the What’s On and Events page of the website. If your New…

Please note that membership fees become due in January and that all current members will be contacted direct by the Membership Secretary within the next few weeks. Updated renewal forms will be issued and renewal details will include revised membership fees,  following the changes agreed at the 2020 AGM. If you have an email address…

The full programme for 2022 can now be found on our ‘What’s on and Events‘ page, admission fees for the Museum on both Fully Open Steam Days and on Viewing Days are also published. Ironstone Quarry closure anniversaries feature large in museum’s events for 2022 Fifty years ago the excavation of ironstone for the manufacture…

Fifty years of ironstone quarrying at Pilton in rural Rutland finally came to an end on 7th June 1969 when quarry steam locomotive STAMFORD worked its last train load of ironstone at Pilton Ironstone Quarry in Rutland. Upon quarry closure the STAMFORD locomotive assisted with track lifting on the quarry railway as required until October…

Rocks by Rail in Rutland has added two original iron ore wagons to its collection following a transfer from the National Railway Museum. The two wagons, namely, a British Railways built 27 ton iron ore tippler and a 22 ton iron ore hopper wagon, had been on loan from the National Collection for a number…

The Rocks by Rail 2021 AGM will take place on Saturday 25 September in the Sundew Cafe, starting at 14.30. Please click on the link for further details. Notice of AGM 25.09.2021

We are pleased to confirm that the Museum will be open to visitors from 10am on Thursday 26th August. However, because the museum is hosting an event for invited guests in the early afternoon, we are unable to offer hot food  in the café on this occasion. During the morning Museum volunteers will be preparing…

Following the Government announcement that the final Covid related restrictions will not be lifted until a date in July, Rocks by Rail has carefully considered the safety of our volunteer staff and our visitors and has decided to delay re-opening. We had planned to re-open on 4 July but this will now be delayed until…

Because of the lockdown and related restrictions on assembly and travel associated with the coronavirus pandemic and consequential major delays to the museum’s work programme which led to the closure of the museum to visitors in 2020 it has been decided to include the postponed events in the revised programme for 2021. Forty one years…