A Potted History

Located in the rolling hills of South Kingshire, the Candlebridge Tramway was built in 1888 with powers granted to local authorities under the 1870s Tramways Act, and it ran between the town of Candlebridge, and the mill at Boot, some three miles apart.
The railway was well-built and almost completely level, with cuttings and embankments, although with tight curves to maintain the continuous alignment. Stations are at Candlebridge and Boot Lane, while trains can pass each other at The Folly, roughly halfway along the route.
Second-hand locomotives and carriages were acquired, and the Candlebridge Tramway settled into a quiet and somewhat withdrawn existence. However, under the conditions of the Parliamentary Act, ownership of the tramway was transferred to Candlebridge Parish in 1909, who immediately set about selling the railway. Enter the lines benefactor, Sir Francis Rose.
Rose purchased the tramway from the parish in 1912 and began to indulge himself in acquiring old, second-hand stock for the railway. Between the wars, Rose gained quite a reputation for rehoming narrow-gauge stock that would have otherwise been scrapped.

Rose’s greatest achievement was probably the formation of the Candlebridge Tramway Trust in 1965, giving controlling interest in the railway to the Trust and securing its future.

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