The Apedale Valley Light Railway near Newcastle-under-Lyme in Staffordshire is restoring to operational condition a lightweight narrow-gauge locomotive built by Motor Rail in Bedford.

The locomotive is 8½ horsepower Motor Rail No. 7522, of which only a few were built, and just one other survives. The design was unconventional, and marketed in competition with Lister, another maker of similar lightweight locomotives.

Restoration was carried out at the railway at Cheadle School in Staffordshire, where it ran for several years until the school railway closed.

After the closure of the school railway, the locomotive moved elsewhere, but suffered a serious engine failure, which caused catastrophic damage to its single-cylinder Ailsa Craig engine.

The locomotive has since become part of the collection at the Apedale Valley Light Railway, where it is now being repaired. A replacement engine has been sourced, but that was configured for marine use, including being designed to drive a specific type of gearbox.

To make the engine suitable for use in Motor Rail No. 7522, a considerable amount of work is required, including the replacement of the crankshaft.

The work is ongoing in the hope that the locomotive will be ready to appear at the Apedale Valley Light Railway’s Motor Rail Mania on Saturday, 27th and Sunday, 28th June. Also appearing at the event will be Motor Rail locomotives Nos. 8695 and 10409, numbered as Leighton Buzzard Nos. 30 and 43.

Motor Rail started building locomotives in Lewes, East Sussex, and in 1916 moved to Bedford, where it continued manufacturing until 1987, when it was sold to Alan Keef Ltd of Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire, which continues to provide spares and build locomotives to Motor Rail designs.