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Four engines in a row - Betty, Graham, Jean and Sir Thomas Royden.
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Discover the living ironstone museum in the heart of Rutland.

The Museum reopens on the 17th April 2025 and our events season starts on the 20 April, Easter Sunday. Keep up to date with what is happening at the Museum on our Facebook page


  • Steam Enthusiast Update!

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    We are closing in on the largest gathering of operational steam locomotives at Cottesmore since our relaunch! Phone calls and emails have been bouncing around the internet as we start to coordinate the moves required to get the locomotives to Rutland in time for the event. With SIR THOMAS ROYDEN returning around 350 miles from…

  • Newest Exhibit is the Oldest Exhibit!

    The Museum was extremely pleased to receive its latest exhibit yesterday – the Ashbury & Company four wheel passenger coach body, built for the Great Eastern Railway as their No.514 in 1869. The coach will become our dedicated visitor passenger vehicle when its running and brake gear are restored and the coach is restored to…

  • Mini-Gala (March ’13)

    The long awaited steaming of our two Barclay locomotives in the same shift – SIR THOMAS ROYDEN and 1931 – took place at our March operating day. Reminiscent of an early morning quarry loco shed scene, the day started with a fantastic sunrise as the two veteran locos gently started to raise steam even before…

  • Wagon reveals its spots! (Hopper Update II)

    You will recall that we acquired a rare wagon from the York Group of the NYMR last year with a strong suspicion that it was an early private owner iron ore hopper wagon. It is the sole survivor of three wagons latterly used, and heavily modified by Rowntrees of York before its operational life in…

  • Not the end of the line for Quarry Loco

    The future of the last remaining quarry train at the CEMEX Barrington Cement works has been secured following the company’s decision to donate the locomotive and two remaining wagons to Rocks by Rail. In February 2005 the last working standard gauge quarry railway in the UK finally succumbed to the pressures of modernisation at the…

  • Exhibit Returns to Work!

    On Tuesday 3rd July 2012 locomotive Andrew Barclay 499 left the Museum to return to work in industry! The Heritage movement is used to housing exhibits as they retire from work so the Museum was extremely pleased to assist W H Davis Ltd, railway wagon manufacturers based at Langwith Junction, Mansfield when their regular works…

  • National Railway Museum support RbR with exhibit loan

    The Museum has carefully tracked and monitored surviving locomotives and rolling stock used in the east midlands ironstone industry. One such survivor is British Railways 22 ton iron ore hopper built at Shildon in the 1950’s as running number B436275. Despite being built in huge numbers in a programme to modernise industry and rail transport,…

  • A Ghost Returns to its Old Haunts!

    When the huge Exton Park quarry system dieselised around fifty years ago, the resident fleet of distinctive steam locomotives were displaced and now only one or two of the type survive. It was with a great deal of pride that we welcomed part-restored Yorkshire Engine Company No.2521 to the Museum collection in early April 2012…

  • A Chance Survivor

    Few wagons survive from the early pioneering days of quarrying in the east midlands so the Museum was intrigued to hear that a steel hopper wagon based at the North Yorkshire Moors Railway might be a unique survivor. Preserved from the Rowntrees factory in York for use as a service vehicle on the famous tourist…

  • Hopper Bounces Back!

    We regularly host  volunteering days with local schools, groups and companies. On 10th October 2011 we were pleased to welcome back a party of young volunteers who attend the local Oakham School. While many of the groups were involved in assisting with the major Museum rebuilding project, a team of young women were able to…

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