Miniature Railway

Does anyone remember the miniature railway that ran around the front of the War Memorial Park at the Kenilworth Road end?

Wasn't it on the narrow strip where the children's play area was?

That's right Norm, don't know when the railway disappeared though

Philip the tank engine will know

Yes I remember the train - it was on the strip of land that runs alongside Kenilworth Road between where The Firs and Davenport Road are. I think it lasted until the late 70's, similar to the Japanese Garden

It`s now at Ryton Pools, and still run by the Coventry Model Engineering Society, after a few years at Stoneleigh Abbey.

There's a miniature ride on railway at the old GEC sportsground. We went there last Halloween and the kids loved it,

Yep. Must've been there for at least fifty years now?

Hi all Sorry to say that I cannot tell you the dates. I know that the secretary was model maker Jack Owen who was a project design engineer at Courtaulds. I understand that they had a spot of bother with the Council Parks Department & were forced to take it up. It finished up at Stoneleigh Abbey Park for a while. Thank you, Greg who has made reference to this. Thank you Dutchman too.

When I worked at Marconi in the late 1990s/early 2000s, I never even knew it was there. I had many a good drunken time in the old Grange, though. What a great place to get a job straight after University! There was a campus feel to the place and a real buzz due to the growth in telecom. That soon ended.

The miniature railway at the GEC sportsground has regular public running days throughout the summer. It can also be booked for children's birthday parties etc.

I`ve checked with a friend who is on the committee of the Coventry Model Engineering Society, and who has researched their history, and he has given me the following dates for the public operations of their model railway. Memorial Park: 1952 to 1979 Stoneleigh: Construction started in 1978 and the Society vacated in 1993. Ryton Pools: Construction started in 1997 and the first rides were started in 1999 on a single section of track. A loop was constructed early in 2003 but the first public rides started, on completion, at Easter 2004.

Hi Greg & thank you so much for that info.

The line that was at the N.A.C. has now moved to Kingsbury Water Park, and is open at weekends in the summer (when it gets here!)

The former GEC Model Engineering Society railway at Allard Way is still in operation but is now called the Copsewood Miniature Railway (see website). There are public running days on the first Saturday and first Sunday of each month from April to October. On a Saturday afternoon you can ride the five inch gauge railway for only £1 and on Sunday afternoons you can ride the seven and a quarter inch gauge railway for just £1.50. There is a small refreshment hut which sells the usual tea, coffee, soft drinks and cakes and which also contains an 00 gauge model railway. The railway also operates special events at Halloween and a Santa Express at Christmas. You can also hire the railway for a children's party. The railway is an excellent way to introduce young children to the sights and smells of live steam but without frightening them by starting off with a big full size steam train. The railway is also good fun for rail enthusiasts of any age, it is a lovely way to spend a couple of hours on a Sunday afternoon, and relatively on the doorstep. I took this photo yesterday (Sunday) and have not shown the smiling faces of the children and adults who were enjoying their ride, but they did!