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Four engines in a row - Betty, Graham, Jean and Sir Thomas Royden.
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Discover the living ironstone museum in the heart of Rutland.

Our 2024 operating season starts on Sunday March 31st.
This year we showcase Sundew’s Great Walk – more on our Facebook pages.

  • Runners & Riders for Diggers & Dumpers

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    The organiser was extremely pleased to receive a phone call for a late entry of classic plant for the Diggers & Dumpers event on Sunday, when local owner of a TRACK MARSHALL blade dozer offered the operational machine for the event. Of even greater significance than having an operational bulldozer to level the ‘Digger Playpen’,…

  • NCS – National Citizen Service to the Rescue

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    Many young people see the summer holidays as an endless boring series of days with nothing to do! In this area things are different! An enterprising group of 16 young people from Oakham, Stamford and Uppingham chose to spend 30 hours of their vacation making a significant improvement to our Museum under the National Citizen…

  • BODY BLOW TO MUSEUM

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    Our blog updates are usually tales of success and completion of projects at the Museum as the Charity makes progress with its development. Imagine the disappointment when volunteers arrived at the site to find that intruders had tried to gain access to our main gates, failed and then drove cross country across our boundary before…

  • Newest Exhibit is the Oldest Exhibit!

    The Museum was extremely pleased to receive its latest exhibit yesterday – the Ashbury & Company four wheel passenger coach body, built for the Great Eastern Railway as their No.514 in 1869. The coach will become our dedicated visitor passenger vehicle when its running and brake gear are restored and the coach is restored to…

  • Mini-Gala (March ’13)

    The long awaited steaming of our two Barclay locomotives in the same shift – SIR THOMAS ROYDEN and 1931 – took place at our March operating day. Reminiscent of an early morning quarry loco shed scene, the day started with a fantastic sunrise as the two veteran locos gently started to raise steam even before…

  • Wickham–in-Rutland

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    The enthusiast following for the small railcars produced by the Wickham company who were based in Ware in Hertfordshire comprises a knowledgeable group who have started to document the whereabouts of those which have survived this far. Prompted by their research, our track teams have been assessing the practical need for rail cars and trolleys…

  • Not the end of the line for Quarry Loco

    The future of the last remaining quarry train at the CEMEX Barrington Cement works has been secured following the company’s decision to donate the locomotive and two remaining wagons to Rocks by Rail. In February 2005 the last working standard gauge quarry railway in the UK finally succumbed to the pressures of modernisation at the…

  • Ready for Business!

    With the landscaping team still in full action, it was with real pleasure that we welcomed the first trial passenger train into the new platform yesterday afternoon. Overseen by our external Independent Competent Persons (ICP’s), and after the finishing touches to the facing point lock mechanisms, the technical adjustment of the vacuum braking systems, and…

  • All cleaned out!

    As part of the recent rebuilding of the Museum, the team of volunteers have taken great care to make sure that the storage of operational materials are handled away from those areas in which visitors want to focus on the heritage aspects of their tour. After a great deal of hard work, the team succeeded…

  • Exhibit Returns to Work!

    On Tuesday 3rd July 2012 locomotive Andrew Barclay 499 left the Museum to return to work in industry! The Heritage movement is used to housing exhibits as they retire from work so the Museum was extremely pleased to assist W H Davis Ltd, railway wagon manufacturers based at Langwith Junction, Mansfield when their regular works…

  • National Railway Museum support RbR with exhibit loan

    The Museum has carefully tracked and monitored surviving locomotives and rolling stock used in the east midlands ironstone industry. One such survivor is British Railways 22 ton iron ore hopper built at Shildon in the 1950’s as running number B436275. Despite being built in huge numbers in a programme to modernise industry and rail transport,…

  • A Ghost Returns to its Old Haunts!

    When the huge Exton Park quarry system dieselised around fifty years ago, the resident fleet of distinctive steam locomotives were displaced and now only one or two of the type survive. It was with a great deal of pride that we welcomed part-restored Yorkshire Engine Company No.2521 to the Museum collection in early April 2012…

  • A Chance Survivor

    Few wagons survive from the early pioneering days of quarrying in the east midlands so the Museum was intrigued to hear that a steel hopper wagon based at the North Yorkshire Moors Railway might be a unique survivor. Preserved from the Rowntrees factory in York for use as a service vehicle on the famous tourist…

  • Hopper Bounces Back!

    We regularly host  volunteering days with local schools, groups and companies. On 10th October 2011 we were pleased to welcome back a party of young volunteers who attend the local Oakham School. While many of the groups were involved in assisting with the major Museum rebuilding project, a team of young women were able to…

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