Apedale Valley Light Railway recently held a Motor Rail Mania event to celebrate the small locomotives produced by the Bedford company between 1916 and 1984. Often referred to by the trade name of Simplex, these locomotives first found favour during World War 1 on the Western Front. A large number of the basic locomotives were built for the War Department Light Railway, in addition to the Tin Turtles that offered some protection to the driver.
After the war, army surplus Simplex locomotives found a wide range of applications in industry and production continued to meet increasing demand for such versatile machines for a total of 68 years. For the Motor Mania event, there were 8 visiting locomotives to complement the fleet of Simplex locomotives at Apedale Valley Light Railway. Here is a selection of the many petrol and diesel Motor Rail locomotives in action around the Newcastle-under-Lyme site.
Apedale Valley Light Railway Tin Turtle LR3090.
Apedale Valley Light Railway No.13 Pilk.
Golden Valley Light Railway Pioneer.
Leighton Buzzard Railway No.30 & private owner No.11 Bargee.
Statfold Barn Railway Bambridge Hall.
Leighton Buzzard Railway No. 43.
Golden Valley Light Railway Campbell.
Apedale Valley Light Railway No.7 Z & W Wade.
Statfold Barn Railway AGWI PET 2.
Apedale Valley Light Railway No.42.
GVLR Campbell and Apedale Valley Light Railway No.13.
Apedale Valley Light Railway L5 John Stevenson.
LBR No.30 and Apedale Valley Light Railway No.20.
Motor Rail descending to Aurora Shed from the field railway.
LBR No.30 and private owner Bargee working on the field railway
