This film is part of Free

Miniature Railway - Stapleford

At Stapleford Park near Melton Mowbray Lord Gretton has fulfilled a dream in running his own railway.

Non-Fiction 1975 6 mins

From the collection of:

Logo for Media Archive for Central England

Overview

The miniature railway at Stapleford Park was opened in 1958 by the second Lord Gretton. By 1975 his son, John Henrik Gretton, had taken over the running of the line and had developed it by building several locomotives from scratch. Scale model liners were introduced and even wild animals although on the day of Chris Tarrant's visit for ATV Today there was only a party of school children in the park.

The death of the second Lord Gretton in 1982 led to the closure of the park to visitors. The family house was sold in 1985. although the family held onto the grounds and railway system. In 1989 the third Lord Gretton, who features in this film, died leading to a decline in the railway's fortunes, although in recent years it has been restored to use again.