There's a part of the Great Central Railway between Loughborough and Leicester North that isn't usually open for passengers. The Mountsorrel branch runs about 1.2 miles from Swithland Sidings to Nunkley Hill and Mountsorrel. Originally a mineral railway, it closed in the 1950's. Volunteers from the Mountsorrel and Rothley Heritage Centre decided to rebuild part of the branch and it's now occasionally operated by the GCR on limited dates. June 1 2024 was one of those special dates, so I headed up to Rothley to experience the contrast of the Mountsorrel branch with the GCR "Main Line",
Join me for this lovely trip along the branch

Mountsorrel & Rothley Community Heritage Centre website:
http://heritagecentre.co.uk/

GCR website: https://www.gcrailway.co.uk/

00:00 Introduction
01:01 Brief History
01:34 Departing Rothley
04:04 Accessing the branch at Swithland Sidings
05:15 Arriving at Nunckley Hill
06:48 Ruston 48DS
08:28 Mountsorrel
11:35 Return to Nunckley Hill
12:42 Andrew Barclay Saddle Tank
14:32 Robert Stephenson lifting bridge
15:15 Return to Swithland Sidings
19:38 Back to Rothley