Some Early Lines – Early Tramroads and Plateways.

Some Early Lines

 Early Tramroads and Plateways.

 Peak Forest canal basin and tramway sidings at Bugsworth in 1927

In the same part of the country as the Cromford and High Peak Railway was another, even older, line built with much the same idea in mind: that of making a link over the High Peak hills from Manchester eastwards, in this cast to north Derbyshire and the Sheffield area.  It was originally planned as a canal, and the first section of it was actually built as such.  However, from Bugsworth, an important inland canal basin around the turn of the eighteenth century, the terrain was considered unsuitable for a canal and so the Peak Forest Tramway came into being, running in a south-easterly direction to the extensive lime quarries around Dove Holes.  It was opened in 1799, and was one of the earliest through tramroads, or plateways, using cast iron rails, in the country. (The cast iron edge rail is thought to have been first introduced in 1789 at Loughborough.) 

Peak Forest Tramway track, switch and wagon.

During its 128 years of existence it never employed any motive power other than horses.  The general contour of the line was a gradually ascending one, with an inclined plane 512 yards long in the centre section.  As the gradient was in favour of the descending loaded wagons this could be rope-worked, with a controlling brake drum at the top.  The line, which was 6½ miles long, rose some 625 feet in all, with a summit 1,158 feet above sea level.  It was last used in 1926 and the track lifted, but the course of the line can still be followed in places.  The line was at one time leased to the Manchester, Sheffield & Lincolnshire Railway, coming into that company’s full control in 1863 and passing in time to the Great Central and the LNER.

The Denby plateway at Coxbench.

Another very early plateway, near Derby itself, was a line from Little Eaton to Kilburn and Denby, built in 1795 (the later Midland Railway Ripley branch followed more or less the same course) and in use until 1908. It was known as the Little Eaton Gangway.

Ticknall Tramroad, Ashby-de-la-Zouch canal.  This picture is of the biannual trip to establish right of way.  The last journey was made in May 1913.

A little further south is Ashby-de-la-Zouch where the Ashby Canal had thirty miles of lock-free waterway with twenty miles of connecting tramways radiating into the Leicester coalfields.  The canal was sold in 1846 to the Midland Railway and some of the beds were subsequently used for railway construction.  One of the branches was the Ticknall Tramroad, with the unusual gauge of 4ft 2 in, and after the Ashby to Melbourne line was opened it ran to Ticknall with a branch to Dinsdale Quarry, a distance of 4½ miles.  The last trip was on 20 May, 1913.

Old Stratford & Moreton Tramway wagon, preserved at Stratford-on-Avon in Bancroft Gardens, near the theatre.  The cast iron edge rail is thought to have been first used at Loughborough in 1789.

http://www.stratfordsociety.co.uk/tramway%20wagon.htm

Some Early Lines (Plus locos) Londonderry and Lough Swilly Railway

Some Early Lines (Plus locos)

 Londonderry and Lough Swilly Railway

Lough Swilly trains familiar in Inishowen

The Londonderry and Lough Swilly Railway Company (The L&LSR, the Swilly) is an Irish public transport and freight company incorporated in June 1853. Despite its name it operates no railway services. It formerly operated 99 miles of railways but closed its last line in July 1953. Its successor company, the Lough Swilly Bus Company, still operates bus services over much of its former railway routes between Derry and northern County Donegal, as well as some services in County Londonderry

The narrow-gauge Londonderry & Lough Swilly had proper signalling (albeit rather basic), as can be seen here in this view of a goods train leaving Tooban Junction. The box is a brick-based example of the Railway Signal Company’s standard architecture.  (Dr. J.W.F.Scrimgeour

History

Initially planned as the Londonderry and Lough Swilly Railway Company when an application for incorporation was filed in 1852 after spurning the construction of a canal network to connect the two inlets, the company opened its first line, a 5 feet 3 inches (1,600 mm) gauge link between Derry and Farland Point on 31 December 1863. A branch line between Tooban Junction and Buncrana was added in 1864 and much of the Farland Point line was closed in 1866.

In 1883 the three foot (914 mm) gauge Letterkenny Railway between Cuttymanhill and Letterkenny was opened and the L&LSR connected with it by reopening the Tooban Junction – Cuttymanhill section of its Farland Point line. The L&LSR worked the Letterkenny Railway and in 1885 it converted its track from 5′ 3″ gauge to three foot gauge to enable through running. In 1887 ownership of the Letterkenny Railway passed to the Irish Board of Works, which continued the agreement by which the L&LSR operated the line.

Carndonagh was reached by an extension completed in 1901 and Burtonport by an one completed in 1903. Both lines were constructed as joint ventures with the UK Government, with ownership and liabilities shared between the two parties. During this period the company did not make a profit, and struggled to meet its debts.

Old piers of Owencarrow Viaduct

This railway viaduct stood on the Burtonport Extension of the Londonderry and Lough Swilly Railway, a 3ft gauge line which ran almost 50 miles from Letterkenny, encircling the Donegal Mountains. On 31 January 1925 a severe gale sweeping down through the Barnes Gap caused a serious accident when part of a train was blown off the viaduct, causing the death of four passengers. The line was later repaired, but closed finally in 1941. If this line could ever be reinstated it would be a major tourist attraction for this part of Ireland.  © Copyright Dr Neil Clifton and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.

 Loco Classes

1905  4-8-0 and 4-8-4T

No. 12 at Gweedore in 1937

Both of these classes can be considered together, as one was in effect a tank version of the other.

There were two engines of each class: the 4-8-0s came first, in 1905, Nos. 11 and 12 in the Company’s stock, and the 4-8-4Ts followed in 1912, Nos. 5 and 6. All were built by Hudswell Clarke & Co.

They were noteworthy in several respects. They were the first engines in Ireland to have 8-coupled wheels (and apart from two later 4-8-0 shunting engines on the GS & WR remained the only ones). The 4-8-0s were the only Irish narrow gauge tender engines, and the 4-8-4Ts were the largest and most powerful engines to run on any gauge as narrow as 3’ 0” in these islands:in fact from their massive appearance at close quarters they might well have been taken for standard gauge machines. In one other respect both classes were also unique, in that they were the only examples of a 4-8-0 tender engine or a 4-8-4T ever to run in Great Britain and Ireland. They were built primarily for working over the long 74-mile line from Londonderry to Burtonport, although in later years the 4-8-4Ts were not often seen on this section. No.11 was scrapped in 1933, No.12 remained to the end, but was little used after the closing of the Burtonport extension in the early 1940s. Nos. 5 and 6 were also retained until the complete closure of the remainder of the line in 1953, when they were cut up. The Londonderry and Lough Swilly Railway Company still exists (1959) under its own name, but its railway ivities have now ceased entirely and it operates only road services.

4-8-0   Driving wheels – 3’ 9”, Bogie wheels – 2’ 2”, Cylinders (2) 15½”x 22”, Pressure – 170 lb., Tractive effort – 17160 lb., Weight – 37 tons

4-8-4T   Driving wheels – 3’ 9”, Bogie wheels – 2’ 0”, Cylinders (2) 16”x 20”, Pressure – 180 lb., Tractive effort – 17400 lb., Weight – 51 tons

Some Early Lines – Plus a museum item

Some Early Lines

Plus a museum item

Amongst the items still in the stores is this station nameplate from Radstock on the Great Western Railway (not the Somerset & Dorset).  Here is some information about its earlier location

Bristol and North Somerset Railway

The Bristol and North Somerset Railway was a railway line in the West of England that connected Bristol with towns in the Somerset coalfield. The line ran almost due south from Bristol and was 16 miles long.

The main railway

The line was opened in 1873 between Bristol and Radstock, where it joined with an earlier freight only line from Frome to Radstock that had been built in 1854 as part of the Wilts, Somerset and Weymouth Railway. Through services between Bristol and Frome began two years later, in 1875, at which point the line was formally taken into ownership by the Great Western Railway, which had absorbed the WS&WR in 1850.

Phil C.Ford – Radstock stn 4656

 The Last Train to Frome ran on Sad Saturday

With a huff and a puff and a nostalgic whistle, The Last Train on the old North Somerset branch line chugged out of Temple Meads Station on Saturday. Groups of train-lovers leaned out of every carriage window, some waving, some looking sad, some apprehensive, and some just excited.

The ancient engine – British Railways 5532 – wobbled slightly as it neared the platform end, chuffed billows of steam, recovered breath and settled down for the journey to Frome. ‘Keep right on to the end of the line’ it seemed to say. ‘Keep right on, Keep right on’ – as it had done for many a year.

It was Sad Saturday for the 110 train enthusiasts aboard, for it saw the end of another branch line – Bristol – Radstock – Frome. To many enthusiasts the end of a branch line is a tragedy. Too many are folding, they say. They look upon the Diabolical Diesel with animosity. This was a route that began in 1873 and for Driver F. Herring, who has driven on it for more than 40 years, it was an even more sad occasion.

“IT’S A SHAME”

Polishing a gleam into the green engine, Driver Herring of Avenue Road, Frome, declared: “It’s a shame. I wish it didn’t have to happen, but there it is. Modern times. After 40 years on the line you’re bound to feel sad, aren’t you?”

Mr Herring who is going on to the Cheddar Valley line, picked up a polishing rag, climbed into the cab with his fireman, Mr E Edwards of Butts Hill, Frome, and let off steam.

Two minutes to go … one … zero … and engine 5532 pulled out of the station dead on time. Driver Herring put on a brave face, smiled and gave a wave. The old train called at Brislington, Whitchurch, Pensford, Clutton, Hallatrow, Farrington Gurney, Midsomer Norton, Radstock, Mells Road and Frome.

BOYISH INTEREST

Why do train-lovers turn up on such occasions? What prompts their boyish interest in locomotives?

Mr H. B. Warburton, vice-Chairman of Bristol and district branch Railway Correspondence and Travel Society told me: “All our members go on branch line engines within reasonable distance of Bristol. They go on the last train mainly for sentimental reasons, and of course we all like travelling on trains.” “The train will stop at all stations down the line,” he said, dragging me into the refreshment room to escape the noisy steaming of engine 5532. “ The train will be about half an hour late. We get off at stations to take last photographs”. He added sadly “ If any line closes we all feel a nostalgia. Let’s say we like to be in at the kill”.

http://www.gwsbristol.org

Radstock Railway Station

© Copyright Tudor Williams and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.

Some Early Lines GNR from Leicester Belgrave Road Railway Station

Some early Lines

GNR from Leicester Belgrave Road railway station

Leicester Belgrave Road was the Great Northern Railway terminus in Leicester, England. It was the terminus of the GNR’s branch line from the Great Northern and London and North Western Joint Railway at Marefield Junction.

A Sundays only express to Skegness leaves Leicester Belgrave Road behind B1 class 4-6-0 No. 61209 on 16^th July, 1961.  (P.H.Wells

Overview

The station opened on 2 October 1882. Marefield Junction was triangular and allowed through running north or south.

Services

The main services from Leicester were to Peterborough and Grantham. The station was also well provided in summer with specials, especially to Skegness and Mablethorpe.

The Peterborough trains were stopped as a war economy in 1916. Local traffic was never heavy, and by 1950 there were only two Grantham trains remaining, one of which was a semi-fast with limited stops which connected with the Flying Scotsman at Grantham. This train was withdrawn in 1951, the remaining stopping train survived until the end of regular services over the joint line in 1953.

Summer specials continued to run until 1962, in the later years with severe speed restrictions on the Leicester branch.

A Bank Holiday special nears John O’Gaunt behind an unknown B1 class 4-6-0 on 6^th August, 1952.  (P.H.Wells

Closure

The line closed in 1962 but various depots continued in use for a few years using a reinstated connection with the Midland Railway which had last been used for materials delivery during construction. The last of these, Catherine Street oil depot, closed on 1 January 1969.

The Leicester station site has been since been developed as a supermarket and adjoining car park.

The 1.00pm (S.O.) Belgrave Road to John O’Gaunt approaches Humberstone on 6^th October, 1956.  The GNR picture is almost complete with the 0-6-0 and the somersault signal.  (G.D.King

Some Early Lines – The Wrexham & Minera Railway

Some Early Lines

The Wrexham & Minera Railway

Brymbo (GW) Station (remains)

View SE, towards Wrexham; ex-Great Western Wrexham – Minera line, junction of ex-London & North Western branch from Mold. The GWR passenger service from Minera (Berwig Halt) was cut back to Coed Poeth in 1/26 and through to Wrexham on 1/1/31; the station was closed on 27/3/50 when the service from Mold ceased. However, Brymbo station remained open for goods until 2/11/64 and the line saw through goods trains until 1/10/82.  © Copyright Ben Brooksbank and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.

The Wrexham and Minera Railway or Wrexham and Minera Branch was a railway line in North Wales between the town of Wrexham, the village of Brymbo where it served the Brymbo Steelworks, and the lead mines and limeworks at Minera. A further branch ran from Brymbo to Coed Talon, where it connected with lines to Mold. The system was constructed in several stages between 1844 and 1872, while the various lines making up the system closed in 1952, 1972 and 1982.

Site of Berwig Halt, Minera

View eastwards, towards Wrexham; terminus of GWR branch from Wrexham via Brymbo. Passenger service ceased 1/1/31, but line open for goods until 2/11/64. Note the Fixed Distant signal.  © Copyright Ben Brooksbank and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.

A steam train leaves Minera limeworks. (pic courtesy of R.D.Jones)  www.minerahistory.com

Three views of the branch – 9610, banked by 9630 is seen climbing to Minera, and the pair were photographed near Brymbo with the return loaded wagons on May 7th, 1966.  (David G. Gouldthorp

Old railway Lines – Miniature Railways – North Bay Railway, Scarborough

Old railway Lines

Miniature Railways

North Bay Railway, Scarborough

 Loco 1931 Neptune passes 1932 Triton at Beach Station, 3 August 2006.      North Bay Railway (NBR) is a miniature railway in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England. It was built in 1931, to the gauge of 20 in (508 mm), and runs for approximately 7⁄8 miles (1.4 km) between Peasholm Park and Scalby Mills in the North Bay area of the town.  

Author This photograph taken by  Optimist on the run.  Permission  (Reusing this file)  This file is released under the following licences:  Creative Commons CC-BY-SA   GFDL Version 1.2 only

  North Bay Railway (NBR) is a miniature railway in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England. It was built in 1931, to the gauge of 20 in (508 mm), and runs for approximately 7⁄8 miles (1.4 km) between Peasholm Park and Scalby Mills in the North Bay area of the town.

The grand opening

The opening ceremony took place at 2 p.m. on Saturday 23 May 1931. The locomotive, Neptune, was officially handed over by the Chairman of the North Side Development Committee, Alderman Whitehead, to the Mayor of Scarborough, Alderman J.W. Butler, for the Entertainments Department. Alderman Whitehead made a short presentation speech:

“On behalf of the National Union of Drivers, Engineers and others, I have to present you, the first driver of the North Bay Railway Engine, with your insignia of office, your oil can and your ‘sweat rag’.”

The mayor was presented with a peaked cap, an oil can (adorned with a blue ribbon), and a rag, before driving the train from Peasholm Station non-stop to Scalby Mills, at which point the engine was transferred to the other end of the train for the return journey.

Copyright (c) Timothy L’Estrange, 2006

Timetable & Fares

FULL TIME RUNNING WILL START AGAIN 23RD MARCH 2013

23rd February – 22nd March 2013

Saturday & Sunday

Open 11am -3pm

Monday – Friday  Closed

Timetable

First train: 11 am from Peasholm Park

Then: On the hour and xx.30 from Peasholm Park and xx.15 and xx.45 from Scalby Mills.  Until: 3pm

Glass House Cafe is open everyday over half term 16th – 24th February from 10am until 4pm

Fares

Child Single £2.10

Adults Single £2.60

Child Return £2.70

Adult Return £3.30

Children under the age of 3 travel free – Season ticket and group travel tickets are available

North Bay Railway

Scarborough North Bay Railway is a miniature railway. It was built in 1931, to the gauge of 1 ft 8 in, and runs for approximately 3/4 miles between Peasholm Park and Scalby Mills, offering beautiful views of Scarborough’s North Bay.

The line is now operated by the North Bay Railway Company Ltd.                            © Copyright Nigel Chadwick and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.

While in Scarborough, you could also ride the Central Tramway:

Central Tramway – Scarborough

The top station and, one of the two cars of Scarborough’s Central Tramway. It is a funicular railway which was opened in August 1881 when it was steam powered. Conversion to electrical power was undertaken in 1910, with the current cars date from 1932. The incline is as steep as 1 in 2. Behind the station is one of the corner turrets of the Grand Hotel. © Copyright K A and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.

Nearly half-way

Central Tramway, Scarborough. Despite its official name, it is probably better described as a funicular or cliff railway, as the cabins are not lifted vertically but are cable-hauled up a steep slope. Both cabins are in motion.  © Copyright Christine Johnstone and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence

Some Early Lines – Great Southern Railway, Ireland

Some Early Lines

Great Southern Railway, Ireland

A ‘J19’ class 0-6-0 of the Great Southern Railway, once a member of the Midland Great Western family and built by Martin Atock around 1885, waits impatiently at Ballinrobe in more modern times – the summer of 1947. (P.B.Whitehouse collection

The Grouping of the railways of the Republic of Ireland came about in two stages. First, in 1924 the major railways with the exception of the Dublin & South Eastern Railway agreed to amalgamate as the Great Southern Railway Company. In 1925 the Dublin & South Eastern Railway had second thoughts and decided to amalgamate with the others to form Great Southern Railways. The Great Northern Railway, which had lines in Northern Ireland as well as the Irish Republic, was left straddling the border. Irish railways were nationalized as Coras Iompair Éiréann on 1 January 1945.  (http://spellerweb.net

The Cork, Bandon & South Coast Railway owned some fine 4-6-0 tanks, built for them by Beyer Peacock.  Occasionally the odd one strayed in Great Southern days to the Dublin & South Eastern section, but most were used for goods on the Bandon line until it was closed to all traffic in 1961.  This scene is at Drimoleague.  (P.B.Whitehouse collection

The tracks of the old Waterford, Limerick & Western and the Sligo, Leitrim & Northern Counties Railway converged at Colooney Junction, just outside Sligo.  Here,  SLNC railcar B stands outside the shed whilst 0-6-4 tank Hazlewood backs down to shunt the quay at Sligo.  In the foreground is new CIE Co-Co diesel-electric No. A33 (J.G Dewing

The Limerick to Galway line met the West Clare Railway at Ennis.  The ‘D17’ class 4-4-0s of the Great Southern were delightful engines – they were really a bogie version of McDonnell’s last 2-4-0 express engines and were designed by Aspinall.  (Lawrence Marshall

Martin Atock built his ‘G2’ class 2-4-0s between 1893 and 1898 and between them they managed to wander over most of the old Midland Great Western system.  Those engines which lasted into CIE days were still to be found in places like Ballinrobe, Westport or Loughrea in the 1950s; here, very dirty and woebegone, No. 664 stands in Loughrea terminus with the mixed for Athenry, on the Athlone – Galway main line.  (P.Ransome-Wallis

Some Early Lines Narrow Gauge – West Clare Railway, Ireland

Some Early Lines

Narrow Gauge – West Clare Railway, Ireland

Moyasta Junction with water tower.  Herbert Ortner. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license.

  The West Clare Railway (WCR) originally operated in County Clare, Ireland between 1887 and 1961, and has partially re-opened. This 3 ft (914 mm) gauge narrow gauge railway ran from the county town of Ennis, via numerous stopping-points along the West Clare coast to two termini, at Kilrush and Kilkee (the routes diverging at Moyasta Junction). The system was the last operating narrow gauge passenger system in Ireland and connected with the mainline rail system at Ennis, where a station still stands today for bus and train services to Limerick and Galway. Intermediate stops included Ennistymon, Lahinch and Miltown Malbay. A preservation society maintains a railway museum, and has successfully re-opened a section of the railway as a passenger-carrying heritage line.

Construction

The Famine was over and there was a new growth in local businesses. The British Government determined that an improved railway system was necessary to aid in the recovery of the West of Ireland. The West Clare Railway and the South Clare Railway were built by separate companies, but in practice the West Clare Railway operated the entire line. The lines met at Miltown Malbay. In due course the entire line became known as the West Clare Railway.

The Slieve Callan, West Clare Railway, County Clare -  flickr

West Clare Railway

The 43.4 km (27.0 mi) West Clare Railway between Ennis and Miltown Malbay was built a few years’ earlier than the South Clare Railway. The first sod was cut on 26 January 1885 at Miltown Malbay by Charles Stewart Parnell, M.P., although actual work on the line had begun in November 1884. The line was opened on 2 July 1887.

South Clare Railway

The South Clare Railway built the extension from Miltown Malbay to Kilrush, Cappagh Pier (Kilrush Pier) and Kilrush docks with a branch to Kilkee from Moyasta, with work starting on the extension in October 1890 and opening on 11 May 1892. The extension was worked by the West Clare Railway and was initially dogged by poor service and time keeping, but this later improved.

Amalgamation and nationalisation

In 1925 the company was merged into the Great Southern Railways. In 1945 the GSR was taken over by Córas Iompair Éireann. In the same year, a survey of local businesses was conducted with a view to the possible replacement of the railway by road services. Local campaigners urged that the railway be converted to the standard Irish gauge of 5 ft 3 in (1,600 mm), but CIÉ rejected this on cost grounds.

Closure

Despite the dieselisation of passenger services in 1952 and freight in 1953 the system was still closed. On 27 September 1960, CIÉ gave notice of its intending closure with effect from 1 February 1961. CIÉ said that the West Clare was losing £23,000 (€1.2M 2006 equivalent) per year, despite the considerable traffic handled. In December it was announced that the line would close completely on 1 January 1961. Eventually the line closed on 31 January 1961 with CIÉ starting work on dismantling the line the day after closure on 1 February 1961.

By the time of its closure the West Clare Railway was the last narrow gauge railway in Ireland offering a passenger service; various lines operated by Bord na Móna continue to operate in connection with the peat industry.

Preservation and re-opening

Slieve Callan a few weeks after return to West Clare tracks.  Herbert Ortner. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license

Starting in the mid 1990s, efforts were made by a preservation society to recreate part of the original route. This group succeeded in acquiring Moyasta station, and 5 km (3.1 mi) of track bed. Passenger services were resumed using two new steel coaches with bench seating, parallel to the direction of travel, built by Alan Keef Engineering and outfitted locally in wood by WCR engineers. A small but powerful diesel locomotive built for Channel Tunnel construction work hauled the trains.

On 5 July 2009 the West Clare Railway’s original steam locomotive No 5 Slieve Callan was returned to the West Clare Railway at Moyasta Junction following restoration in England by Alan Keef Engineering Ltd of Ross-on-Wye. This engine had previously been a static exhibit at the mainline railway station in Ennis. The locomotive was steamed for the first time on 14 July marking the return of steam to the West Clare railway after an absence of over 57 years.

The railway has since acquired a number of redundant diesel locomotives, mostly from the Irish Bord na Móna; these are being gradually restored and returned to service.

Rolling stock today

In addition to the steam locomotive Slieve Callan, the railway owns twelve diesel engines, of which two are currently in service, the others awaiting restoration. Those in service are a 4-wheel Channel Tunnel shunting engine and a four-wheel former Bord na Móna shunter. Awaiting restoration are a further nine such Bord na Móna shunters, plus a six-wheel mine shunting engine dating from around 1948.

N67 – West Clare Railway Moyasta Junction Rail Station – Two Railway Cars.  View is to the northwest from N67 railway crossing between Kilrush & Kilkee.  © Copyright Sue Mischyshyn and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.

 Two passenger coaches are in service, and assorted maintenance vehicles including a tank wagon, four flat trucks, and four tipper wagons.

Some Early Lines – The Meon Valley Railway

Some Early Lines

The Meon Valley Railway

West Meon station in around 1905. Image courtesy of Wikipedia Commons

The Meon Valley Railway was a twenty-two-and-a-half-mile line that ran from Butts Junction near Alton to a junction with the old Salisbury branch just north of Fareham. The line was authorized by an Act of 3 June 1897 and opened on 1 June 1903. It was engineered by the L&WR’s Chief Civil Engineer, William Robert Galbraith (1829-1914) and constructed by Relf & Son of Plymouth.

Viaduct on the Meon Valley Railway over the River Meon. Image courtesy of Wikipedia Commons

At its northern (Alton) end, it joined with the Mid-Hants Railway to Winchester, the Alton Line to Brookwood and the Basingstoke and Alton Light Railway. At Fareham it linked with the Eastleigh to Fareham Line, the West Coastway Line and the line to Gosport.

Drummond “M-7″ Class 0-4-4T No. 30055 at Alton with the last Meon Valley passenger train on 5 February 1955. Image © Copyright Ben Brooksbank and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence

Passenger service was withdrawn on 5 February 1955, with goods traffic being withdrawn piecemeal in the early 1960s.                                      http://www.spellerweb.net

One of the innovations of post-war railway enthusiasm has been the running of Society-sponsored special trains, often behind veteran or historic locomotives, over branch lines either closed or about to be closed to passenger traffic.  This special train, organised by the Railway Correspondence & Travel Society, heads for London over the Meon Valley line of the old South Western.  Both engines are LSWR ‘T9’ 4-4-0s.  (E.C.Griffith

On Sunday mornings only the 7.40 am train from Fareham to Woking used to travel over the now defunct Meon Valley line.  LSW-built 4-4-0 No. 468 leaves Farnham with three bogies and a van on Sunday 22^nd August, 1948.  (E.C.Griffith

In June, 1947, when the ‘M7’ class 0-4-4 tanks were much in evidence on the Hampshire branch lines, No. 128 runs into Alresford with an Alton to Eastleigh train.  (E.C.Griffith

The daily pick-up goods from Guildford pauses at West Meon as ‘L12’ class 4-4-0 No. 30434 carries out the shunt before moving on to Alton.  This was one of the final duties of the last members of their class introduced by Drummond in 1904 as a development of the ‘T9s’.  (P.M.Alexander

Narrow Gauge Lines – The Causeway Tramway – Ireland

Narrow Gauge Lines

The Causeway Tramway – Ireland

Bushmills and Giant’s Causeway Railway at Bushmills station, Co. Antrim

This 3ft gauge line is built over part of the trackbed of the former Portrush and Giant’s Causeway Tramway, a pioneering electric line similar in many respects to the still-existing Manx Electric Railway. The P&GCT was at least 100 years ahead of its time, as it planned to generate its electricity by tidal power, so having zero carbon footprint. This line survived until around 1951. It is a pity that the B&GCR was not built as an electric line to reflect this history. The steam locomotive shown here is No 3 ‘Shane’, previously at the Shane’s Castle Railway in Antrim City.  © Copyright Dr Neil Clifton and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.

 The  Causeway Tramway was re-opened in Spring  2002, The locomotives and rolling stock which operate on the track  were once used at Shane’s Castle and include  a Peckett 0-4-0 WT ‘Tyrone’ built in 1904 for the British Aluminium Company, Larne, a Barclay 0-4-0WT ‘Shane’ built in 1949 for Bord na Mona (incidentally the same year that the old tramway closed) and a Simplex ‘T’ class diesel locomotive (Rory). An interesting fact -  ‘Shane’ was one of three locomotives built by Andrew Barclay of Kilmarnock for use on the peat bog rail by Bord na Mona at Clonast and was specifically  designed to burn peat.

Prior to the initiation of the original Giants Causeway Tramway in 1883, there had been several meetings, engineer surveys and costing done to evaluate the feasibility of constructing a railway line along the coast  from Portrush to Ballycastle, the idea being to  link the commercial coal, bauxite, iron, limestone, liganite  and basalt industries along the north coast with the commercial harbour of Portrush. The ambitious  proposal was shelved due to a lack of finance and doubts about the returns from such an investment. A narrow gauge railway was eventually built from Ballycastle to Ballymoney via Armoy and Dervock.

The Giants Causeway tramway  was brought into being by the vision and enthusiasm of  Col. William Traill of Ballyclough who himself was a keen advocator of the railway and kept well informed on technological development in engineering. It was this fact coupled with the Siemens Company showing the first electric railway system at the Berlin Trade Fair in 1879, that lead to that company being commissioned to incorporate their technology into the Giants Causeway Tramway system.  Col.Traill built the generating station at the Walkmill Falls (still there but minus the equipment) and installed water turbines to produce the necessary electrical power for the tram line.

Sir Macnaghten  of Dundarave was very opposed to the construction of the railway to the point that he diverted water from the river Bush above the Falls in an attempt to lessen the flow. However, the tramway opened in 1883 and was hailed as the world’s first commercially run ‘hydro-electric’ powered tram system. The initial electric cars were Midland Carriage and Wagons which were later followed by GEC and a Peckham car. Although hydro-electric power was used, most of the time two Wilkinson steam locomotives hauled the carriages. It originally ran from Portrush to Bushmills with a later extension added to the Giants  Causeway. In 1899 the live rail which ran alongside the track, was replaced by an overhead electric wire, steam haulage ended in 1916. The tramway ran for 65 years before finally closing down in 1949.

No.3 Shane, arriving at the Giant’s Causeway Station from Bushmills

 This two mile stretch of 3ft gauge railway runs from Bushmills to the Giants Causeway and was opened in 2002. It utilises the old track bed of the Portrush to Giants Causeway electric tramway which closed in 1949. Most of the current track and rolling stock was used on the Shanes Castle Railway which closed in 1995.  © Copyright Wilson Adams and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.

http://www.northantrim.com/TheCausewayTram.htm