gates were actually locked and guarded for a while after IRA attacks on mainland Britain in the 1980s. The depot continued in use throughout the Cold War and became a centre of excellence for maintenance of electronic and radar equipment. Finally closing as a military base in the 1990s the buildings became industrial units and remain as such. One of the buildings was taken by Belvoir Brewery who produce a wide range of ales and had their own alehouse and restaurant until their closure in 2020. Railway test track Old Dalby is the location of the control centre of the former British Rail Research Division's railway Old Dalby Test Track, which runs between Melton Mowbray and Edwalton. It was established in 1970 to test the Advanced Passenger Train. In July 1984 the track was used to run a Class 46 locomotive and train into a stationary nuclear flask in order to prove the safety of the container. The test was recorded and reported widely enough to make Old Dalby famous for a while. A video of the test can be seen here. As part of the privatisation of British Rail, the track was leased to Serco, with ownership passing from British Rail to BRB (Residuary) Limited. In the early 2000, the track was taken over by Alstom and electrified on the 25 kV overhead system in order to test the Class 390 Pendolinos it was building for Virgin Trains West Coast. During this upgrade phase the centre of operations moved from Old Dalby to Asfordby (on the outskirts of Melton Mowbray) where a depot was converted from the former National Coal Board's buildings. After the Pendolino project was completed in 2005, the line was mothballed. In February 2007, Metronet the consortium charged with renewing a large proportion of the London Underground's lines, announced it had taken over the test track for the testing of new London Underground S7 and S8 Stock. To accomplish this it electrified part of the line with third and fourth rail system but the original 25 kV line was also retained for future use. References External links Old Dalby test track web site Preceptory of Dalby and Heather The village hall website Villages in Leicestershire Former civil parishes in Leicestershire Borough of Melton