£5,000 from Mountsorrel Parish Council!

Mountsorrel Parish Council has donated a very generous £5,000 to the Mountsorrel Railway.

We are very grateful to Mountsorrel Parish Council for their help and support. Councillor Mick Lemon commented "The Mountsorrel Railway project is an inspiration to everyone who lives in Mountsorrel and goes to show what is possible when the community works together."

Project volunteers had been working hard to match fund a donation of £6,000 that had been pledged by a member of the public, providing that we could match it before the end of September. So the Parish Council's donation, together with our existing fundraising, takes us well past the match funding required and therefore releases the additional £6,000 as well!

This is great news for the volunteers who are working to preserve Mountsorrel's industrial heritage. Over the last four years local people have volunteered in their spare time to help create a linear museum which connects to Loughborough's Great Central Railway (GCR). The project aims to run educational and public recreations of our industrial past and also for the GCR to run heritage passenger trains connecting with local tourist attractions at Mountsorrel, including Stonehurst Family Farm. The Mountsorrel Railway, when completed, will hopefully help secure and boost local jobs.

Project leader Steve Cramp commented "We have been overwhelmed by the support we have received from the public. It was only in May that we launched our £20,000 fund raising appeal for the next section of track laying along the branch. We never thought that we would reach our target in only six weeks! The project relies on donations from the public to bring this ambitious project to reality and it's so good to see the community getting behind us like this. The Parish Council's donation really is the icing on the cake and their kind words of support are very much appreciated indeed".

All this means that the current phase of track laying is now completely funded and, once materials are sourced, we can lay the next 450 metres of track, giving almost half a mile of running line along the railway.

Fundraising immediately turns towards the remainder of the railway. Phase 3 will extend track for a further 500m almost to Wood Lane, and the final phase 4 will be the remaining 500m to the end of the line at Bond Lane. Both these phases will cost £25,000 each, so we still have some way to go to reach Mountsorrel!

Please send your donations to 112 Balmoral Road, Mountsorrel, Loughborough, LE12 7EW. The project is a registered charity so if you are a UK taxpayer please down load a Gift Aid form. If you would like to get involved and volunteer yourself please contact project leader Steve Cramp.