British Diesels and Electrics: Burton and Ashby Light Railway

The Burton and Ashby Light Railway was opened in 1906 by the Midland Railway, running for sixteen kilometres between Burton-upon-Trent and Ashby-de-la-Zouch [1]. The tramway used the tracks of the Burton Corporation Tramway in Burton and then it's own tracks when it reached Swadlincote. The tramway used 1, 067 narrow gauge like a number of tram networks in the Midlands. It had to deal with some steep gradients on it's route, one tram being involved in a serious accident when it was a runaway backwards down a steep slope and overturned in 1919.

Number 14

The tramway was electric from the start, power was generated by two diesel engines in Swadlincote (which also housed the tram depot) rather than steam as was usual practice [2]. Open-topped double decker trams, built by Brush, were operated, a maximum of twenty were owned by the tramway. The tramway was taken over by the LMS in 1923 and closed down in 1927.

Information
Number built:	20
Built:	1906 No. 14 rebuilt 2014
Builder:	Brush
Motor:	2 Westinghouse 80 electric motors (DC OHLE) (No. 14) Clayton battery electric motors
Power:	50 hp (37 kW)

Tram number 14 managed to survive scrapping, the body was used as a garden shed until 1970. The tram body was exported to the USA and married to a 900mm gauge Lisbon tram truck. The tram returned to the UK in 2014 and was fitted with a Clayton battery electric traction system for use on the Statfold Barn preserved railway, able to run without wires!