A beloved miniature railway in Bolton has been forced to close after thieves ‘ripped apart’ and stole the track - causing around £20,000 worth of damage in the process.
The miniature railway in Moss Bank Park has been a popular attraction for families since the 1970s, with volunteers and residents coming together throughout the pandemic to rebuild the track and get it back into action.
The half-mile railway, which volunteers say had just reopened eight weeks ago, was targeted by thieves on Friday morning (June 3) who stole aluminum metal tracks and caused further damage to the site.
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“We got a message on Friday morning to say that someone had stolen the track,” volunteer Tracey Stirling told the M.E.N. “I thought it was a joke at first, but someone has actually nicked the track. We think they’ve done it for the aluminum because they just took the metal and didn’t even go into the clubhouse or anything. They broke into one side of the storage underneath and stole the spare aluminum as well. They’ve totally wiped us out.”
Tracey said she was one of the volunteers to start working at the railway during the pandemic after Bob Sharples and Alfred Molyneux, once the sidekick to steeplejack Fred Dibnah, asked for people to help out in getting the attraction up and running again.
“Bob and Al have been there since the beginning and have worked so hard to get the railway back,” Tracey explained. “It’s taken two and a half years to get into a position where we could finally reopen. Everybody’s put a lot of work in - it might not have always been physical but everyone’s had an impact on getting things to where we were and now that’s literally all been destroyed overnight.”
Tracey said it has been estimated that up to £20,000 worth of damage has been caused - something which the railway just cannot afford. “It's not just what they’ve taken, they’ve broken the sleepers too,” Tracey said. “I don’t know why they’ve done what they’ve done.
“They’ve damaged the shutters underneath - they’ve just made a right mess and we’ve been left to pick up the pieces. I don’t think we’ll ever get the track back. If it was a handbag, I might know where to find it and I could possibly trace it back but when it’s pieces of metal, I don’t even know where to begin.
“People have suggested it might be kids in the area who did it, but I really don't think it is. Whoever has done this knew what they were doing. They’ve not dismantled it, they’ve literally just ripped it up with a crowbar. They really, really have done a lot of damage. It’s not just the physical damage, it’s the memories and the hard work that’s been damaged too.”
The railway, which has 15 members and a number of further volunteers, is now fundraising to help repair the damage. If successful, they hope to reopen over the summer with a temporary track so that families can still enjoy the railway over the school holidays.
“We’re hoping to get a temporary portable track up so the children have something to enjoy which will also help us raise some extra funds and get things running as quickly as we can,” Tracey added. “The amount of support we’ve had has been unbelievable, people have donated or offered to help us in different ways with getting things repaired.
“There’s a lot of memories with the railway, people have been coming here for years and it’s a fun day out for families. It’s not just the people of Bolton who enjoy it, we have people coming from all over. It’s something I enjoyed going on as a child and I know many others did too.”
Despite the damage done, Tracey said the railway team are determined to keep going and figure out a way forward.
“We got together on Sunday and decided that this isn’t the end - we will be back,” Tracey says. “We don’t know how long it’ll take but we’re not going to let this defeat us. There’s always been a railway here and the people of Bolton deserve it.”
Greater Manchester Police confirmed the incident has been reported to them and their enquiries are ongoing. Anyone with information should contact police online or by calling 101 and quoting incident 1190 of 03/06/2022. Alternatively, details can also be passed on anonymously to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
Moss Bank Park miniature railway are accepting donations to go towards repairs. Anyone who wishes to contribute can do by sending a donation to Mossbank Park Model Engineer's Society, Sort Code: 30-98-97, Account Number: 64512562. If not enough money is raised to repair the track, funds will instead be donated to a charity.
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