but the railway declined through the 1940s. In 1949 the railway's last remaining contract with Butts quarry was terminated and the quarry closed in 1950. The railway closed on 31 March 1950. Most of the rail remained in place through October of that year when a last inspection trip was made. After that the majority of the railway was lifted. However a short length was left in place around the Fallgate works. This remnant track continued to be used until 1968. Part of the route was flooded in 1958 when Ogston Reservoir was formed. Preservation society In 1996, the Ashover Light Railway Society was formed with the aim of saving the surviving features of the railway. They carried out a track-bed survey and found that most of the track-bed between Ashover and Ogston Reservoir was largely intact. This changed the direction of the society from preserving the line's remaining artifacts, to reopening at least a short section of the line. So far, the society has had much support from the local population and the council for the area. In 2007, they bought 'Where the Rainbow Ends' cafe, and have since dismantled it and put it into storage for future use. They have also taken over the land that was the Derbyshire Dales Narrow Gauge Railway (Based at Peak Rail in Rowsley, Derbyshire) and are developing a new layout, with a view of running Ashover Light Railway style services by Summer 2022. Locomotives The route The line started at Clay Cross Works, just above the northern portal of the Clay Cross Tunnel. From here, the line swung northwards out of the town, then curved westwards through 180-degree to avoid going through Clay Cross town centre. The problem with this route was the Chesterfield Road, now the A61, and crossing it required a steel girder bridge spanning 45 feet. The height had to be 16 feet above road level, which required a half-mile long approach embankment to be built. The bridge and embankment were the only major pieces of engineering on the entire route between Clay Cross and Ashover. The bridge support on the west side of the road can still be seen today. Shortly after the opening of the railway, the Pirelli Tyre Company at Burton-upon-Trent had a large advertisement painted on the bridge therefore it became known as 'The Pirelli Bridge'. Several stations were provided along the line, with the