Sheffield & South Yorkshire

Elsecar Heritage Railway near Barnsley is run entirely by volunteers

By Andy Kershaw BBC Sheffield & South Yorkshire

It may be the end of the line for one of South Yorkshire's tourist attractions.

Elsecar Heritage Railway in Barnsley has applied to over 24 different organisations for money to keep it open, but without success.

The 1.25 mile railway opened in 1994 and has been run entirely by volunteers since 2006. Three years later it is in danger of closing.

The railway line runs from Elsecar Heritage Centre to nearby Tinglebridge.

The railway is funded separately from Elsecar Heritage Centre. It is on a 50 year lease from Barnsley Council and volunteers have to maintain it.

The Heritage Railway runs a variety of events throughout the year, such as Thomas and Friends, Santa Specials and an Elsecar Wartime Weekend.

The railway has it's own attractive platform with antique signs, Victorian lamp stands and benches.

Ex-railway-man Harry Stenton has volunteered there for 11 years:

"We have a standard gauge line with four beautiful maroon carriages pulled by steam and diesel locos which can carry up to 400 people.

"Ideally we'd like to extend the line beyond Tinglebridge and lay new track to Cortonwood, but at the moment we can't raise enough cash to keep it open.

South Yorkshire contributes as much as any other part of the country to the National Lottery. We feel bitter. Harry Stenton, EHR volunteer

"Filling the Santa Specials helps us but costs like electricity and coal are a constant pressure on funds."

Lottery Funding

The railway needs more money than they are currently raising, and feel that they are losing out because of the 2012 Olympics in London:

"We've applied for over a million pounds of National Lottery funding but we've been told the 2012 Olympics have taken priority.

"Smaller causes like ours have been put on the back burner. We feel very bitter because South Yorkshire contributes as much as any other part of the country to the National Lottery."

The Mardy Monster steam engine at Elsecar Heritage Railway

Harry worked on the railways and in the coal industry before starting to volunteer at Elsecar Heritage Railway in 1998. He currently drives and maintains the engines and thinks that one reason for the drop in income is that many people do not know the Heritage Railway exists:

"A lot of people who come across us by accident. But we're hopeful that we can find the money to keep it open."

The railway has a number of locos running, and others under repair. One which has recently been repaired is the Mardy Monster - the biggest locomotive ever built in the UK for industrial purposes. Originally the Mardy Monster was used to climb very steep hills to carry coal from the Mardy Colliery in South Wales.

Future plans for Elsecar Heritage Railway include turning it into a themed visitor attraction to try and keep people there for longer.

Tim Rodber is the railway's managing director. "We want to improve the site so that people come for more than a 15 minute train ride," says Tim.

"Ideally, we'd like to turn it into a themed site and I'm confident we can survive, despite the funding difficulties."

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