The Burton and Ashby Light Railway was a tramway system operating between

Burton upon Trent Burton upon Trent, also known as Burton-on-Trent or simply Burton, is a market town in the borough of East Staffordshire in the county of Staffordshire, England, close to the border with Derbyshire. In United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011, it had a ...

and

Ashby-de-la-Zouch Ashby-de-la-Zouch, sometimes spelt Ashby de la Zouch () and shortened locally to Ashby, is a market town and civil parish in the North West Leicestershire district of Leicestershire, England. The town is near to the Derbyshire and Staffordshire ...

between 1906 and 1927. The old station, Ashby-de-la-Zouch - geograph

History

The tramway opened on 2 July 1906 and was operated by the

Midland Railway The Midland Railway (MR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844. The Midland was one of the largest railway companies in Britain in the early 20th century, and the largest employer in Derby, where it had its headquarters. It am ...

. The system used the tracks of the Burton upon Trent Corporation Tramways from a terminus by the Town Hall in Wellington Street through Station Street, Borough Road and Guild Street before using its own infrastructure through

Swadlincote Swadlincote is a former mining town in the district of South Derbyshire, England, lying within The National Forest area. It borders the counties of Leicestershire and Staffordshire, south-east of Burton upon Trent and north-west of Ashby-de ...

. There was a branch from

and Woodville to

Gresley railway station Gresley railway station was a railway station at Castle Gresley, Derbyshire on the Leicester to Burton upon Trent Line. History The line was built for the Midland Railway and the station opened on 2 October 1848. Originally sited to the west o ...

Castle Gresley Castle Gresley is a village and civil parish about southwest of the centre of Swadlincote in South Derbyshire, England. The population was 1,566 at the 2001 Census increasing to 1,799 at the 2011 Census. The village is about west of the villag ...

which opened on 24 September 1906. The journey time from

to the terminus in Burton on Trent was a minimum of 64 minutes and a 10-minute interval service was offered, requiring 17 vehicles. One unusual feature of the line was the

power house which was fitted with two diesel engines, rather than the more traditional steam power. The adjacent depot could accommodate a total of 24 trams but the company only ever owned 20. The

Brush Electric Company Brush Electrical Machines is a manufacturer of electrical generators typically for gas turbine and steam turbine driven applications. The main office is based at Loughborough in Leicestershire, UK. History Charles Francis Brush, born in Eucli ...

of Loughborough provided the open top tramcars. Each had two Westinghouse 80 motors and capacity for 51 passengers. The livery was Crimson Lake and white with a Midland crest. When the company was taken over by the

London Midland and Scottish Railway The London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMSIt has been argued that the initials LMSR should be used to be consistent with LNER, GWR and SR. The London, Midland and Scottish Railway's corporate image used LMS, and this is what is generally ...

in 1923, the cars were repainted. The system was taken over by the

London, Midland and Scottish Railway The London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMSIt has been argued that the initials LMSR should be used to be consistent with LNER, GWR and SR. The London, Midland and Scottish Railway's corporate image used LMS, and this is what is generally u ...

company when it absorbed the

in 1923, and the system was closed on 19 February 1927. At closure, three cars were sold to the Tynemouth and District Electric Traction Company and the remaining ten were sold locally for domestic or rural use.

Car 14

Statfold Barn Railway - tram (geograph 4907505)

Car No 14 was eventually transported to

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

where it operated on a heritage trolley line from 1976 until closure in 2003. It was in storage at a

Detroit Department of Transportation The Detroit Department of Transportation (DDOT, pronounced ) is the primary public transportation operator serving Detroit, Michigan. In existence since 1922, DDOT is a division of the Government of Detroit, city government, with headquarters in M ...

facility as of 2012. In October 2014 it was put up for sale by the City of Detroit, and the tram was repatriated to the United Kingdom, and is now in service at the

Statfold Barn Railway The Statfold Barn Railway is a narrow gauge railway based near Tamworth, Staffordshire and partially in Warwickshire, England. Founded by engineering entrepreneur Graham Lee and his wife Carol at their farm-based home, they originally designed wh ...

History

Car 14

References

Further reading