British quarrying and mining narrow-gauge railways
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f7/Maenofferen_tramway.jpg/220px-Maenofferen_tramway.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/50/050715_067_uk_dev_hay.jpg/220px-050715_067_uk_dev_hay.jpg)
Some industrial narrow-gauge railways in the United Kingdom and the Isle of Man were primarily built to serve quarrying, mining, and similar industries. Some of these narrow-gauge railways offered passenger services for employees or workmen, but they did not run public passenger trains. They are listed by the primary industry they served.
Cement works
Many of the cement works and their associated chalk pits had narrow gauge railways, particularly those in the South East of England. The Associated Portland Cement Manufacturers Ltd. (APCM, later Blue Circle Industries, and Lafarge) was the major producer of cement in the United Kingdom in the second half of the twentieth century and many of their plants used railways.
Name | Opened | Closed | Gauge | Location | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
APCM Cliffe Works | 1934 ? | 1959 | 2 ft (610 mm) | Cliffe-at-Hoo, England | Extensive diesel-hauled chalk pit railway. |
APCM Bevans Works | ? | after 1962 | 2 ft (610 mm) | Northfleet, England | Short line operating on a riverside wharf |
APCM Harbury Works[1] | ? | after 1961 | 3 ft (914 mm) | Harbury, England | Quarry line worked with a rare Fowler 2-4-0 diesel locomotive |
APCM Holborough Works[2] | 1923 | 1969 | 3 ft (914 mm) | Snodland, England | Steam- and diesel- hauled railway at the Associated Portland Cement Manufacturers Ltd's cement plant at Holborough. |
APCM Sittingbourne Brickworks | before 1898 | after 1963 | 2 ft (610 mm) | Sittingbourne, England | Internal brickworks railway |
APCM Rodmell Works[3] | before 1910 | 1975 | 2 ft (610 mm) | Beddingham, England | Short line serving a cement works |
APCM Sittingbourne Works[1] | ? | 1971 | 4 ft 3 in (1,295 mm) | Sittingbourne, England | Cement works line with the last narrow gauge steam locomotive in that industry. |
APCM Kent Works[2] | 1877 | 1927 | 3 ft 9+1⁄2 in (1,156 mm) | Greenhithe, England | Steam-hauled railway at the Associated Portland Cement Manufacturers Ltd's cement plant at Greenhithe. |
APCM Sundon Works[4] | ? | 1974 | 3 ft (914 mm) | Luton, England | Cement works line. |
British Standard Cement Works | 1912 | 1932 | 2 ft (610 mm) | Rainham, England | Notable as the only industrial line in Britain to use an ex-WDLR Baldwin locomotive. |
Broom Bank | 1933 | 1962 | 4 ft 3 in (1,295 mm) | Murston, England | Steam hauled cement works and clay pit line |
Chinnor Cement & Lime[5] | 1962 | 2 ft (610 mm) | Chinnor, England | Locomotive and cable worked lines serving the chalk quarry and washmills. | |
Smeed Dean & Co. | 1900 | 1949 | 3 ft 7+1⁄2 in (1,106 mm) | Murston, England | Chalk pit line |
Francis & Co. | 1871 | 1920 | 3 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,130 mm) | Cliffe, England | Steam-worked chalk quarry railway |
Gillingham Portland Cement Co. | 1870s? | 1910 | 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) | Gillingham, England | Early cement works line |
I. C. Johnson & Co. | before 1872 | 1928 | 3 ft 9+1⁄2 in (1,156 mm) | Greenhithe, England | Internal steam hauled railway, replaced by a standard gauge line. |
J. B. White & Bros - Swanscombe Works[6] | 1825 | 1929 | 3 ft 5+1⁄2 in (1,055 mm) | Swanscombe, England | Steam locomotive worked from 1875 onwards. Internal works line with rare outside flanged rolling stock |
Knight, Bevan & Sturge | 1873 ? | 1928 | 2 ft 8+1⁄2 in (825 mm) | Northfleet, England | Extensive chalk quarry system, eventually superseded by a standard gauge line |
Queenborough Cement Works | 1896 | 1930? | unknown | Queenborough, England | Line worked by two Aveling and Porter steam locomotives |
RPCM Barrington Cement Works[7] | by 1979 | 2 ft (610 mm) | Barrington, England | Short locomotive-worked line | |
RPCM Rochester Works | ? | 1952 | 2 ft (610 mm) | Halling, England | Extensive cement works railway |
RPCM Southam Works[8] | ? | 1956 | 2 ft (610 mm) | Southam, England | Steam locomotive worked railway |
Tolhurst & Sons | 1860s | before 1948 | 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) | Gravesend, England | Large internal chalk quarry system |
Lime works
- Peak Forest Tramway
Name | Opened | Closed | Gauge | Location | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Barn Hill Quarry railway[9] | 1928 | 1938 | 20 in (508 mm) | Chipping Sodbury, England | 800-yard (732 m) long locomotive worked line; locomotive transferred to Penlee Quarry railway in 1947 |
Beswick's Limeworks railway[10] | Before 1925 | ? | 2 ft (610 mm) | Hindlow, England | Internal tramways that used two unusual Crossley Brothers 25 hp locomotives supplied in 1925 |
Black Rock Quarry[11][12] | before 1919 | 1949 | 2 ft (610 mm) | Portishead, England | Tramway connecting the Black Rock and Nightingale quarries with the Weston, Clevedon and Portishead Railway. Used two Hudswell Clarke 0-6-0 steam locomotives, later replaced with Motor Rail Simplex internal combustion locomotives. |
British Quarrying Co Ltd Allington Quarry railway[9] | 1928 | 1956 | 2 ft (610 mm)? | Maidstone, England | Locomotive worked internal quarry system |
British Quarrying Co Ltd Borough Green Quarry railway[9] | before 1921 | 1956 | 20 in (508 mm) | Borough Green, England | Internal quarry system for "Kentish Ragstone". Originally horse worked, Simplex locomotive introduced in 1921 |
Brockham Lime Works[13] | 1870s (?) | 1936 | 2 ft (610 mm) | Dorking, England | Lime pits and works railway, later home of the Brockham Museum |
Buriton Lime Works[14] | before 1897 | after 1936 | 3 ft (914 mm) and 2 ft (610 mm) | Buriton, England | Diesel locomotive worked railway |
Butserhill Lime Works[14] | before 1932 | by 1945 | Butser Hill, England | ||
Conygar Quarry[15] | ? | ? | 2 ft (610 mm) | Clevedon, England | Short tramway running along an embankment from the quarry to a siding on the Weston, Clevedon and Portishead Railway. |
Cauldon Low Quarry | before 1906 | 1933 | 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) | Waterhouses, England | Limestone quarry with an internal steam-worked railway system |
Dorking Greystone Lime Co.[13] | 1880 | 1954 | 3 ft 2+1⁄4 in (972 mm) and 2 ft (610 mm) | Betchworth, England | Well-known steam hauled internal limeworks line. |
Darnley Lime Works Tramway and Mineral Railway[16] | before 1864 | early 1960s | 2 ft (610 mm) | Darnley, East Renfrewshire | Tramway serving limestone and fire clay quarries |
Dunball Quarry[11] | before 1930 | 1954 | 2 ft (610 mm) | Dunball, England | Steam locomotive worked tramway connecting the Dunball quarry with the lime works |
Flagstaff Quarry[17] | 1941 | 3 ft (914 mm) | Anglesey, Wales | Internal incline-worked quarry line | |
Little Ormes Head Quarry tramway[18] | 1889 | 1931 | 3 ft (914 mm) | Porth Dyniewyd, Wales | Internal limestone quarry railway. |
Milton Quarry[17] | early 1900s | 1966 | 1 ft 11+1⁄2 in (597 mm) | Weston-super-Mare, England | Small limestone quarry with cable-hauled railway |
Oxstead Greystone Lime Co.[1][13] | before 1912 | 1971 | 2 ft (610 mm) | Oxstead, England | Internal railway of lime quarry and works. |
Parc-y-Meirch quarry railway[19] | 1923 | 1958 | 2 ft (610 mm) | St. Asaph, Wales | Locomotive-worked line connecting the limestone quarry with the standard gauge Kinmel Camp Railway |
Peak Forest Tramway | 1794 | 1923 | 4 ft 2 in (1,270 mm) | Chapel en le Frith, England | Early tramway that was horse and chain hauled throughout its life. |
Whitehaven Quarry | 1932 | 1953 | 4 ft (1,219 mm) | Oswestry, Wales | A series of rope-hauled inclines and steam locomotive worked tramways. |
Brickworks
Name | Opened | Closed | Gauge | Location | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
A. Hone & Sons Ltd. Ewhurst Brickworks[13] | after 1971 | 2 ft (610 mm) | Cranleigh, England | Diesel and battery-electric locomotive worked line | |
Albrook Brickworks[14] | before 1939 | after 1968 | 2 ft (610 mm) | Eastleigh, England | Diesel locomotive worked line |
Alne Brick Co. Ltd. Alne Brickworks[20] | 1986 | 2 ft (610 mm) | Easingwold, England | Locomotive-worked brickworks railway. Site still producing bricks as York Handmade Brick Company. | |
Alne Brick Co. Ltd. Hemingbrough Brickworks[7] | after 1979 | 2 ft (610 mm) | Selby, England | Locomotive-worked brickworks railway. | |
Baxters Brickworks railway[3] | 1888 | 1969 | 2 ft (610 mm) | Bexhill, England | Short line serving the clay pit and brickworks. |
Bilsthorpe Brick Co. Bilsthorpe Brickworks[7] | after 1979 | 3 ft (914 mm) and 2 ft 8+1⁄2 in (825 mm) | Bilsthorpe, England | Two lines serving the brickworks | |
Buckley Tramroad[21] | 1780s | 1862 | 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) | Connah's Quay, Wales | Early horse-worked plateway carrying coal and bricks from a canal wharf. |
Butterley Brick Ltd. Cherry Orchard Lane Works[7][22] | ? | 1993 | 2 ft (610 mm) | Rochford, England | Short line serving the clay pit and brickworks. |
Butterley Brick Ltd. Star Lane Brickworks[7] | ? | 1991 | 2 ft (610 mm) | Great Wakering, England | Short line serving the clay pit and brickworks. |
Carbis Brickworks Tramway[23] | 1883 | 1942 | 2 ft (610 mm) | Bugle, England | Hand and gravity worked line, 350 yards (320 m) long. |
Castle Firebrick Company | about 1865 | after 1920 | 2 ft (610 mm) (?) | Northrop, England | Internal brickworks line, worked by steam locomotives after World War I. |
Cattybrook Brickworks railway[1] | before 1900 | after 1975 | 2 ft 10+1⁄2 in (876 mm) | Cattybrook, England | Line connecting clay pit to brickworks via an incline and diesel worked sections |
Chilton Trinity Brickworks railway[1] | after 1962 | 2 ft (610 mm) | Somerset, England | Locomotive worked clay pit line | |
Crowborough Brickworks[3] | before 1930 | 1980 | 2 ft (610 mm) | Crowborough, England | Internal line at the brickworks, latterly worked by battery-electric locomotives. |
Coronation Brickworks[24] | 1935 | after 1969 | 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) | Elstow, England | London Brick Co Ltd brickworks near Bedford |
Cuckmere Brickworks railway[25] | ? | about 1956 | 2 ft (610 mm) | Berwick Station, England | Clay pit line worked by internal combustion locomotives |
DSF Refractories & Minerals Ltd, Friden Brickworks[7] | after 1979 | 2 ft (610 mm) | Hartington, England | Brickworks line worked by internal combustion locomotives | |
Gatwick Brick Co. Ltd. Hookwood Brickworks[13] | 1968 | 2 ft (610 mm) | Gatwick, England | 100-yard (91 m) long diesel locomotive worked line | |
George Jennings South Western Pottery[11] | before 1937 | 1963 | 2 ft (610 mm) | Parkstone, England | Locomotive-worked line between the clay pit and the pottery |
Gillingham Pottery, Brick & Tile Co. Ltd.[11] | before 1901 | 1970 | 2 ft (610 mm) | Parkstone, England | Locomotive-worked line between the clay pit and the pottery |
Goxhill Building Products Ltd. Barrow Haven Works[7] | after 1979 | 2 ft (610 mm) | Barrow Haven, England | Brickworks line worked by internal combustion locomotives | |
Halstow Creek Brickworks | before 1900 | 1920s | 2 ft (610 mm) | Lower Halstow, England | Served claypit and brickworks. Originally horse worked, one of the first electric locomotives was introduced here in 1902. |
Hambledon Lane Brickworks[22] | ? | after 1983 | 2 ft (610 mm) | Nutbourne, England | |
Henry Oakland and Son Ltd. Escrick Tileworks[7] | after 1979 | 2 ft (610 mm) | York, England | Internal locomotive-worked line | |
Innes Lee Industries Campbell Brickworks[7] | by 1979 | 2 ft (610 mm) | Staveley, England | Brickworks line worked by internal combustion locomotives | |
Littlethorpe Potteries[26] | present | 450 mm (17+23⁄32 in) | Littlethorpe, England | 0.5-mile (0.8 km) long hand-worked line connecting the clay pits to the pottery[26] | |
The London Brick Company No. 2 Works[7] | after 1979 | 3 ft (914 mm) | Whittlesey, England | Locomotive-worked brickworks railway | |
The London Brick Company Arlesey Works[7] | after 1979 | 2 ft (610 mm) | Bedford, England | Short locomotive-worked line on top of clay kilns | |
The London Brick Company Clock House Works[13] | after 1968 | 2 ft (610 mm), 2 ft 11 in (889 mm) and 3 ft 11 in (1,194 mm) | Capel, England | Electric and diesel locomotive worked lines | |
The London Brick Company Fletton Works[1] | 1889? | after 1960 | 2 ft 11 in (889 mm) | Peterborough, England | Claypit and brickworks line of unusual gauge |
The London Brick Company Warboys Works[7][27] | 1984 | 2 ft (610 mm) | Warboys, England | Locomotive-worked brickworks railway | |
Ludlay Brick & Tile Co.[3] | ? | 1965 | 2 ft (610 mm) | Berwick, England | Internal brick works railway at Berwick in Sussex. |
Lytchett Brick Co. Ltd.[11] | before 1901 | after 1966 | 2 ft (610 mm) | Upton, England | Locomotive-worked line between the clay pit and the pottery |
Manfield Brickworks[13] | before 1955 | after 1963 | Cranleigh, England | Diesel locomotive worked line, converted to cable haulage in 1955 | |
Midhurst Whites[3] | after 1913 | 1980 | 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) | Midhurst, England | Brickworks with three separate narrow gauge lines |
Napton Brickworks railway[1] | after 1961 | 16 in (406 mm) | Napton, England | Hand worked clay pit line | |
No. 5 Fireclay Mine railway[1] | ? | after 1968 | 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) | Micklam, England | Diesel locomotive worked line operated by the British Steel Corporation |
North Holmwood Brickworks[13] | ? | 1981 | 2 ft (610 mm) | Dorking, England | Internal system for the Redland Brick Co.'s clay pit and brickworks using diesel, battery-electric and incline cable haulage |
Nutbourne Brickworks[13] | after 1980 | 2 ft (610 mm) | Hambledon, Surrey, England | Diesel locomotive worked line connecting the brickworks and clay pits | |
Ockley (Surrey) Brick, Tile and Pottery Company Smokejacks Brickworks[13] | after 1968 | 2 ft (610 mm) | Cranleigh, England | Battery-electric and diesel locomotive worked line | |
Ospringe Brickworks railway[1] | after 1968 | 2 ft (610 mm) | Faversham, England | Extremely short line with one diesel locomotive | |
Rookley Brickworks[14] | 1972 | 2 ft (610 mm) | Newport, England | Diesel locomotive worked line in clay pit | |
Rosemary Brickworks railway | ? | after 1970 | 2 ft (610 mm) | Cheslyn Hay, England | Locomotive worked line in clay pit leading to an incline to the brickworks |
Rowlands Castle Brickworks[14] | before 1932 | after 1964 | 2 ft (610 mm) | Rowlands Castle, England | Hand-worked line in clay pit leading to cable hauled incline to brickworks |
Smithbrook Brickworks (1936) Ltd.[13] | after 1965 | 2 ft (610 mm) | Cranleigh, England | Mainly hand-worked line, with occasional use of a Lister diesel locomotive | |
Standard Brick & Sand Co. Ltd. Holmethorpe Brickworks[13] | before 1911 | 1963 | 2 ft (610 mm) | Holmethorpe, England | An extensive steam and diesel locomotive worked clay tramway |
Strensall Brickworks railway[1] | by 1975 | Strensall, England | Locomotive worked clay pit line | ||
Storr Hill Brickworks railway[22][28] | 1869? | 1981 | 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) | Wyke, England | An unusual chain-worked double track plateway only 250 yards (229 m) long. |
Swallow's Tiles (Cranleigh) Ltd.[13] | before 1953 | after 1966 | 2 ft (610 mm) | Cranleigh, England | Mainly hand-worked clay pit line with cable hauled incline, and occasional use of a diesel locomotive |
Warnham Brickworks[3] | before 1909 | 1965 | 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) | Horsham, England | Internal line serving the brickworks and clay pit. |
W. H. Collier Marks Tey Brickworks[7] | after 1979 | 20 in (508 mm) | Marks Tey, England | Internal locomotive-worked line serving the brickworks. | |
Wheatly and Co. Ltd. Springfield Tileries[7] | after 1979 | 2 ft (610 mm) | Stoke on Trent, England | Locomotive-worked railway | |
William Blythe (company) Barton Brick & Tile Yard[7] | after 1979 | 2 ft (610 mm) | Barton-upon-Humber, England | Locomotive-worked line | |
William Blythe Far Ings Tileries[7] | after 1979 | 2 ft (610 mm) | Barton-upon-Humber, England | Locomotive-worked line | |
Woodside Brickworks[13] | before 1949 | by 1967 | ? | Croydon, England | Internal brickworks railway notable for its two Sentinel high-pressure steam locos. |
Clay extraction
Name | Opened | Closed | Gauge | Location | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
APCM Alkerden Works | before 1900 | 1943 | 2 ft 8+1⁄2 in (825 mm) | Swanscombe, England | Large steam-worked clay pit line |
BPCM Bean Works | 1920 | 1964 | 2 ft (610 mm) | Bean, Kent, England | Short line serving a clay pit on the banks of the Thames |
Bridgemarsh Brickfields Company | 1870 | 1892 | unknown | Bridgemarsh Island, Essex, England | Connected work to pier for transhipment onto Thames barges[29] |
C.W. Powder Co. Ltd | ? | 1942 | 2 ft (610 mm) | Treamble, Cornwall, England | A works producing Fuller's earth using two Kerr, Stuart and Company 0-4-2 tank engines acquired from Dolcoath mine in 1903 and 1911.[30] |
Far Ings Tileries[22] | 1905 | 2001 | 2 ft (610 mm) | Barton-upon-Humber, England | Late survivor of the clay tramways, including a cable-hauled incline and (diesel) locomotive worked sections. |
Fayle's Tramway[31] | 1905 | 1971 | 3 ft 9 in (1,143 mm) until 1948 1 ft 11+1⁄2 in (597 mm) after 1948 | Norden, Dorset, England | Clay tramway that replaced the Middlesbere and Newton tramways. Remaining section around Norden regauged in 1948 to suit ex-WHR locomotive Russell and various diesels |
Furzebrook Railway[31][32] | 1830 | 1968 | 4 ft (1,219 mm) until 1866 2 ft 8+1⁄2 in (825 mm) after 1866 | Furzebrook, Dorset, England | Horse-hauled clay plateway, replaced in 1866 by steam-hauled industrial railway serving the clay pits around Creech Heath. |
John Knowles Ltd. Woodville Clay Pits | 18 in (457 mm) | Derbyshire, England | |||
Laporte Industries Ltd. Coombe Hay Mines[7] | after 1979 | 1 ft 11+1⁄2 in (597 mm) | Bath, England | Fuller's earth mine with battery electric locomotives | |
Middlebere Tramway[31] | 1806 | 1907 | 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) (?) | Norden, Dorset, England | Horse-powered plateway serving clay pits near Corfe Castle. |
Newton Tramway[31] | 1860 (?) | 1905 | 3 ft 9 in (1,143 mm) | Poole Harbour, Dorset, England | Originally opened as Horse-drawn tramway until locomotive Tiny introduced around the 1870s, became part of Fayle's Tramway |
Pentewan Railway[23] | 1829 | 1918 | 4 ft (1,219 mm), 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) after 1874 | Pentewan, England | Initially horse-hauled, worked by steam locomotives after 1874. Connected St Austell to Pentewan |
Thomas Marshall & Co (Loxley) Ltd. Storrs Bridge Fireclay Mine[7] | after 1979 | 16 in (406 mm) | Loxley, England | Locomotive-worked underground railway | |
Thakeham Tiles[3] | before 1937 | 1982[5] | 2 ft (610 mm) | Storrington, England | Short line serving the tile works |
Watts Blake Bearne & Co. Ltd. West Golds Mine[7] | after 1979 | 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) | Newton Abbott, England | Underground clay mine railway |
China clay extraction
In Britain large deposits of Kaolinite (commonly known as "china clay") were found in Cornwall. Many industrial railways, both narrow gauge and standard gauge, were built to serve the china clay quarries and mines of this area.
Name | Opened | Closed | Gauge | Location | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Beacon China Clay Kiln[23] | 1928 | 1963 | 2 ft (610 mm) | St Austell, England | Tramway from the kilns to a loading wharf next to the Beacon siding on the standard gauge line from Drinnick Mill and Burngullow. |
Blackpool China Clay Pit[23] | after 1956 | 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in) | Trewoon, England | Tramway from the clay pits to a tip. | |
Charlestown No. 1 China Clay Kiln[23] | 1908 | 1960s | 2 ft 4 in (711 mm) | St Austell, England | Two tramways running mainly in tunnels. Rails and wagons remain in the tunnels which were sealed when the kilns closed. |
Hendra China Stone Quarry[23] | 1860s | after 1967 | 2 ft 3 in (686 mm) | Nanpean, England | Internal quarry tramway system with cable hauled inclines |
Hendra Light Railway[23] | 1919 | 1939 | 2 ft (610 mm) | Nanpean, England | 0.75-mile (1.2 km) long petrol locomotive worked railway connecting a loading wharf at the GWR to the Hendra china clay kilns. |
Meeth Clay Company | 1920 | 1970 | 2 ft (610 mm) | Woolladon, England | Short line carrying clay from the pits at Meeth. The first loco was an 0-6-0WT followed by a pair of Muir-Hill petrol locos and then a pair of Ruston & Hornsby diesel mechanical locos.[33] |
Melbur China Clay Pit[23] | 1920s ? | 2 ft (610 mm) (?) | St Stephen-in-Brannel, England | Hand worked tramways | |
Pochins Tramway[23] | 1880 | 1933 | 3 ft (914 mm) (?) | Gothers, England | Railway connecting the Gothers china clay works with the GWR. May have been 3 ft 1 in (940 mm) gauge. The last of the four steam locomotives was scrapped on site in 1953. |
Quarry Close China Stone Works[23] | 1863 | 1973 | 2 ft 3 in (686 mm) | Nanpean, England | A network of lines connecting several quarries to the GWR branch line from Drinnick Mill. |
Redlake Tramway[23] | 1911 | 1932 | 3 ft (914 mm) | Dartmoor, England | A steam hauled line commencing on the edge of nowhere and terminating right in the middle of it |
Restowrack China Clay Kiln[23] | 1907 | 1969 | 2 ft (610 mm) | Treviscoe, England | A hand-worked tramway from a loading wharf on the St. Dennis junction to Burngallow branch line into the kiln. |
Tregargus China Stone Quarry[23] | 1890s | 1968 | 2 ft (610 mm) | St Stephen-in-Brannel, England | A network of lines and inclines connecting the quarry with six mills. |
Wheal Remfry China Clay Pit[23] | after 1910 | Retew, England | Horse worked internal tramway |
Sand and gravel extraction
The sand and gravel extraction industries made extensive use of narrow gauge railways, and several of these lasted into the 1980s – this was one of the last industries to make significant use of narrow gauge industrial railways in the UK.
- Leighton Buzzard Light Railway quarry locomotive Red Rum
- Pentewan Dock & Concrete Company locomotive shed
Name | Opened | Closed | Gauge | Location | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ace Sand and Gravel Co. Ltd. Marsh House quarries[7] | by 1979 | 2 ft (610 mm) | Aore, England | Locomotive-worked line | |
Ballast Producers Ltd. Farnham Pits[13] | before 1934 | 1952 | 2 ft (610 mm) | Farnham, England | Diesel locomotive worked line serving the gravel pits around Farnham |
Bretts Faversham Sand Quarry railway[2] | 1930s (?) | 1969 (?) | 2 ft (610 mm) | Faversham, England | Sand and gravel haulage |
Bretts Sturry Gravel railway[2][7] | ? | after 1968, by 1979 | 2 ft (610 mm) | Sturry, England | Served gravel pits on the River Stour |
Biddenham Gravel Pit railway[34] | by 1920 | 1930s | 2 ft (610 mm) | Biddenham, England | Short horse-worked line serving Biddenham gravel pit, near Bedford. |
British Industrial Sand Ltd. Middleton Towers railway[35] | 1977 | 2 ft (610 mm) | Kings Lynn, England | Extensive locomotive-worked sand quarry system. Five remaining diesel locomotives acquired by the LBLR in 1980. | |
Buckland Sand & Silica Co.[13] | before 1934 | after 1935 | 2 ft (610 mm) | Reigate, England | Short steam-hauled railway working sand from the pits to a private BR-worked siding |
Croxden Gravel Ltd. Twelve Yards Road Pit[7] | ? | after 1979 | 2 ft (610 mm) | Irlam, England | Locomotive-worked line |
Earls Barton sand quarry railway[1] | after 1975 | 2 ft (610 mm) | Earls Barton, England | Small sand pit with internal locomotive worked line | |
East Sussex Transport and Trading Company[3] | early 1930s | 1964 | 2 ft (610 mm) | Cuckmere Haven, England | Hauled gravel extracted from the Cuckmere Haven beach to Exceat. |
G.F.X Hartigan Ltd. Woad Farm Pits[36] | 1933 | 1959 (dismantled 1962) | 2 ft (610 mm) | Newport Pagnell, England | Line serving gravel pits on the River Great Ouse. Used four diesel-mechanical locomotives. |
Hall & Co.[3] | before 1938 | late 1960s | 2 ft (610 mm) | Eastbourne, England | Shingle extraction railway on The Crumbles. |
Hall & Ham River Co. North Station Pits[14] | before 1964 | 1970 | 2 ft (610 mm) | Farnborough, England | Gravel extraction railway using diesel locomotives, at least two of which went to the Brockham Museum after the line closed. |
Ham River Grit Co. Ltd. Bletchingley Pits[13] | after 1963 | 2 ft (610 mm) | Redhill, England | Steam and diesel locomotive worked line | |
Ham River Grit Co. Ltd. Ham Pits[13] | before 1932 | 2 ft (610 mm) | Kingston, England | Steam locomotive worked line | |
Heavers Gravel[3] | 1920s | 1962 | 2 ft (610 mm) | Drayton, England | Internal gravel pit line |
Hoveringham Gravels Ltd. Holme Pierrepont Pit[7] | by 1979 | 2 ft (610 mm) | Holme Pierrepont, England | Internal gravel pit line | |
Hoveringham Gravels Ltd. Hoveringham Works[7] | by 1979 | 2 ft (610 mm) | Hoveringham, England | ||
Inns & Co. Ltd. Farnborough Pits[13] | before 1964 | 1967 | 2 ft (610 mm) | Farnborough, England | Diesel locomotive worked line |
Inns & Co. Ltd. Savay Farm Gravel Pits[36] | 1949 | about 1964 | 2 ft (610 mm) | Denham, England | Diesel locomotive worked line, east of the River Colne |
Kempston gravel pit railway | 1910s | about 1930 | Probably 2 ft (610 mm) | Kempston, Bedfordshire | Short horse-drawn line connecting gravel pits by the River Great Ouse to the main road |
Leighton Buzzard Light Railway | 1919 | 1969 | 2 ft (610 mm) | Leighton Buzzard, England | Industrial railway that carried sand from the quarries around Leighton Buzzard |
Marlow Sand and Gravel Co. Ltd. Westhorpe Pits[7] | ? | after 1979 | 2 ft (610 mm) | Little Marlow, England | Locomotive worked sand pit railway |
Penfolds Ltd.[3] | ? | 1963 | 2 ft (610 mm) | Eartham, England | Gravel extraction line |
Pentewan Dock & Concrete Company[23] | 1939 | 1966 | 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) | Pentewan, England | Diesel locomotive worked line carrying sand from the shoreline dunes to the grading equipment. Used some of the trackbed of the earlier Pentewan Railway. |
Piel & Walney Gravel Co. Ltd.[37] | ? | 1962 | 3 ft (914 mm) | Barrow-in-Furness, England | Steam locomotive operated gravel line running to a pier at Walney. |
Pilkington Glass Mill lane siding[7] | ? | by 1979 | 2 ft 1⁄8 in (613 mm) | Rainford, England | Locomotive-worked line |
Pilkington Glass St. Helens quarry railway[1] | ? | after 1968 | 2 ft (610 mm) | St. Helens, England | Temporary locomotive-worked railways used for sand extraction for glass making |
Twickenham Gravel Company Waltham Cross Gravel Pits Railway[38] | 1931 | 1964? | 2 ft (610 mm) | Waltham Cross, England | Locomotive-worked railways connecting gravel pits and crushing plant |
Thomas Patterson & Sons Weydon Hill sand pit[39] | around 1919 | 2 ft (610 mm) | Farnham, Surrey, England | One of the first sand railways installed using ex-WDLR surplus equipment. |
Stone quarrying and mining
Slate
The most well-known of the British industrial narrow gauge railways were those serving the slate industry of north Wales. Many of the quarries had internal tramways and feeder lines connecting them to transhipment points on local railways, rivers, roads or coastal ports.
Granite
Name | Opened | Closed | Gauge | Location | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bearah Tor Quarry | ? | late 1980s | 2 ft (610 mm) | Liskeard, England | Short, hand worked internal quarry railway. |
Brada Quarry railway[9] | 1935 | 1950s | 2 ft (610 mm) | Bamburgh, England | Internal quarry system; locomotive worked until 1944 by two Lister petrol locos |
Carreg-y-Llam Quarry railway[9] | before 1900 | 1963 | 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) and 2 ft (610 mm) | Llithfaen, Wales | Original locomotive-worked 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) internal railway removed in 1949, but a new 2 ft (610 mm) gauge line was installed in the mid-1950s. |
Ceiriog Granite Quarries railway[9] | 1914 | 1959 | 2 ft (610 mm) | Criggion, Wales | Internal quarry system worked by a single steam locomotive until 1921, when it was replaced by cable-haulage. |
Charnwood Granite Quarries railway[9] | 1850s | 1963 | 2 ft (610 mm) | Shepshed, England | Early horse worked quarry system; steam locomotives introduced in the late 1890s, replaced by internal combustion locos in 1937. |
Cliffe Hill Mineral Railway | 1896 | 1948 | 2 ft (610 mm) | Stanton under Bardon, England | Hauled stone from the Cliffe Hill Granite Quarry. |
Groby Granite Quarries railway[9] | 1893 | 1943 | 2 ft (610 mm) | Groby, England | Extensive internal quarry system worked by five Hunslet steam locomotives. |
Haytor Granite Tramway | by 1824 | 1858 | 4 ft 3 in (1,295 mm) | Dartmoor, England | Horse-drawn tramway serving the granite quarries around Haytor. Used granite "setts" as rails. |
Jee's Hartshill Granite Quarry[40] | ? | 1956? | 2 ft 6+1⁄2 in (775 mm) | Nuneaton, England | Granite quarry with an extensive locomotive-worked tramway system. |
Llanelwedd Granite Quarries railways[9] | 1929 | after 1969 | 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) and 2 ft (610 mm) | Builth Wells, Wales | Internal quarry system; the 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) gauge line was horse-worked and closed in 1953; the 2 ft (610 mm) gauge was hand-worked apart from between 1953 and 1961 when a Lister locomotive was used. |
Lunedale Whinstone Company railway[41] | 1878 | around 1918 | 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) | Mickleton, England | Steam locomotive worked line connecting the quarry with a siding on the North Eastern Railway |
Newcastle Granite and Whinstone Company[42] | 1902 | 1939 | 1 ft 11+1⁄2 in (597 mm) | Haltwhistle, England | Locomotive worked line connecting Cawfields Quarry to Haltwhistle station |
Penmaenbach Stone quarry tramway[18] | 1875 | 1962 | 3 ft (914 mm) | Penmaenmawr, Wales | Smaller working beside the Penmaenmawr quarry with an internal tramway system and a series of inclines down to the coast. |
Penmaenmawr & Welsh Granite Co.[18] | 1830s | 1967 | 3 ft (914 mm) | Penmaenmawr, Wales | Extensive steam-hauled internal railway system in granite quarry complex. |
Tonfanau quarry tramway[43] | 1892 | 1998 | ? | Tonfanau, Wales | |
Trefor Quarry railway | 1850 | 1962 | 1 ft 11+1⁄2 in (597 mm) | Llanaelhaearn, Wales | Internal quarry railway, with large incline to a steam locomotive worked pier branch |
Other stone
Name | Opened | Closed | Gauge | Location | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Basset mines Ltd | 1896 | 1918 | 20 in (508 mm) | Redruth, Cornwall, England | Three lines linking the shaft to the two stamps. An 0-4-0WT by Orenstein & Koppel worked the line throughout its existence.[44] |
Cloughfold to Ding Quarry tramway[45] | 1867 | 1920 | 3 ft (914 mm) | Cloughfold, England | Extensive tramway system serving the Brow Edge, Great Height, Ding and Hurdles sandstone quarries. Used at least one steam locomotive. |
Downhead Basalt Quarry[11] | by 1904 | 1925 | 2 ft (610 mm) | Downhead, England | Steam locomotive worked quarry line |
East Cornwall Mineral Railway[23][46] | 1872 | 1891/1908 | 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) | Callington, England | Early steam-worked railway serving the iron ore and stone quarries around Callington. |
Harecrag Quarry railway[1] | 1969 | 2 ft (610 mm) | Shilbottle, England | Roadstone quarry operated by Northumberland County Council operated by six Hunslet diesel locomotives. | |
Hall Fold to Walstead Clough tramway[47] | After 1844 | By 1912 | Approximately 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) | Haslingden, England | Horse- and locomotive- worked tramway linking the sandstone quarries of Thurns Head, Ragstone Brow and Ab Top |
Ingleton Granite Quarry Tramway | 1887 | 1930s | ?3 ft (914 mm)? | Chapel le Dale, England | Steam-drawn tramway and rope-hauled incline built to transport Silurian gritstone, known locally as "Ingleton granite", down the valley to Ingleton |
Levant Mine | Pre-1820 | 1930 | 15 in (381 mm) | St Just in Penwith, Cornwall, England | A line laid in the long underground gallery experimentally used an 0-2-2WT by A. Bickle of Plymouth in 1892.[48] |
Lochaline quartz sand mine railway[49] | 1943 | 1963 | ?2 ft 4 in (711 mm)? | Lochaline, Scotland | Diesel worked railway linking the sandstone mine at Lochaline with a pier on the Sound of Mull |
Long Rake Spar mine[7] | after 1979 | 17 in (432 mm) | Youlgreave, England | Underground aggregates mine railway operated by battery-electric locomotives. | |
Lyke Wake Moor Tramway | Around 1915 | 1930s | ? | Osmotherley, England | Horse-hauled tramway running one and a half miles from a ganister quarry on Lyke Wake Moor to sidings on the main line near Beacon Howe, via a self-acting incline. Some rails and sleepers still in situ in 2003. |
Monks Park Mine[50] | before 1991[51] | present | 750 mm (2 ft 5+1⁄2 in) | Corsham, England | Bath stone underground mine. Surface lines were locomotive worked until 1991[51] |
Musbury Height Tramway[52] | 1877 | mid 1920s | 3 ft (914 mm) | Haslingden, England | Long locomotive-worked tramway serving a sandstone quarry, reached by a long incline. Also known as the "Haslingden Grane Tramway" |
Penlee Quarry railway[7][9][23] | about 1900 | 1972 | 2 ft (610 mm) | Newlyn, England | Aggregate quarry served by England's most westerly railway and one of the last industrial narrow gauge railways to operate. Used both steam and diesel locomotives. |
St. Keverne & Associated Quarries[23] | 1912 | 1958 | 2 ft (610 mm) | Porthoustock, England | Roadstone quarries connected by a network of railways. At least two lightweight Lister locomotives and several cable inclines were used. |
Sidmouth Harbour Railway | 1836 | 1838 | 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) | Sidmouth, England | To quarry stone for an intended harbour at Sidmouth, that never came to fruition. |
Stepper Point Quarry | 1918 | 1948 | 2 ft (610 mm)[53] | Stepper Point, England | Exploiting a previous quarry working for roadstone. Used an 0-4-0 locomotive to move stone from the crusher to a schute that supplied barges.[54] |
Titterstone Clee Hill Quarry railway[9] | before 1910 | 1952 | 3 ft (914 mm) | Ludlow, England | Dhustone quarry with an internal horse worked railway; steam locomotive worked from 1910. Included a 1 mile long incline |
Tregongeeves Quarry[23] | 1931 | 1961 | 2 ft (610 mm) | St. Mewan, England | Roadstone quarry with cable incline and three petrol locomotives. |
West of England Quarry[7] | by 1979 | 2 ft (610 mm) | St. Keverne, England | Aggregates quarry with a short locomotive-worked line | |
Woodsmith Mine Tunnel | c. 2021 | Still open | 900 mm (2 ft 11+7⁄16 in) | North Yorkshire, England | Links Woodsmith Mine polyhalite operation with export terminal on Teesside[55][56] |
Coal
- Little Eaton Gangway
The British coal mining industry made extensive use of narrow gauge railways, particularly underground where the restricted size of the tunnels meant that narrow gauge lines were and are particularly well suited. Many National Coal Board (NCB) mines used railways both underground and in the stock yards above ground. There were also many short lines at private mines, particularly in south Wales and the Forest of Dean regions.
Name | Opened | Closed | Gauge | Location | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ayle Colliery[7] | 1932 | open 2015 | 2 ft (610 mm), 2 ft 6 in (762 mm), 19+1⁄2 in (495 mm), 1 ft 10 in (559 mm)[57] | Alston, England | Private colliery with locomotive-worked mine railway. |
Bryn Oer Tramway[58][59] | 1815 | 1865 | 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) | Talybont on Usk, Wales | Early horse-drawn tramway |
Copeland District Council Wellington Colliery[57] | after 1987 | 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) | Whitehaven Harbour, England | Private colliery with preserved locomotive | |
Coventry Colliery | 1911 | 1991 | 2 ft (610 mm) | Keresley, England | |
Deep Navigation Colliery | 1872 | 1991 | 2 ft (610 mm) | Treharris, South Wales | |
Doe Lee Colliery[7] | before 1979 | Out of use by 1987[57] | 2 ft (610 mm) | Chesterfield, England | Underground locomotive worked mine railway |
Flow Edge Colliery[7] | before 1979 | by 1987[57] | 1 ft 10 in (559 mm)[57] | Alston, England | Small battery-electric locomotive worked mine railway |
Foxcote Colliery[11] | 1890 | 1931 | 2 ft 8+1⁄2 in (825 mm) | Chilcompton, England | Steam locomotive worked tramway |
Gleision Colliery | 1980 | ? | 2 ft (610 mm) | Between Godre'r Graig and Cilybebyll, South Wales | |
Hope Level Mine | ? | 1988 | ? | Stanhope, England | Small mine operation with loco-worked railway |
Huish Colliery[11] | after 1824 | 1912 | Radstock, England | Internal tramway | |
Kilmersdon Colliery[11] | before 1886 | 1973 | 2 ft 8+1⁄2 in (825 mm) | Radstock, England | Internal tramway |
Little Eaton Gangway[60] | 1795 | 1908 | 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) | Little Eaton, England | Very early horse-drawn tramway serving the collieries north of Derby |
Lower Writhlington Colliery[11] | 1867 | 1973 | 2 ft 8+1⁄2 in (825 mm) | Chilcompton, England | Steam locomotive worked tramway |
Mendip Shaft[11] | ? | 1968 | 2 ft 9 in (838 mm) | Chilcompton, England | Private colliery with surface and underground tramway |
Moorside Mining[51] | ? | 1992 | 1 ft 10 in (559 mm) | Eckington, Derbyshire, England | Private colliery, purchased twelve battery electric locomotives from South Crofty mine in 1992 |
NCB BatesColliery[61] | 1986 | Blyth, England | Diesel locomotive worked underground colliery system | ||
NCB Berwick Drift Stockyard | ? | 2005 | 3 ft (914 mm) | Lynemouth, England | One of several locomotive-worked stock yard railways in the British coal industry. |
NCB Clockburn Drift Mine railway[1] | ? | after 1968 | 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) | County Durham, England | Substantially built double-track line for coal haulage from the main mine adit. |
NCB Gascoigne Wood Colliery railway[62] | ? | ? | 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) | South Milford, England | Underground mine railway |
NCB Harworth Colliery railway[62] | ? | ? | 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) | Bircotes, England | Underground mine railway |
NCB Hentley Training Centre[51] | ? | 1991 | 3 ft (914 mm) | Hentley, England | Test incline and locomotive worked lines |
NCB Kellingley Colliery railway[62] | ? | ? | 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) | Kellingley, England | Underground mine railway |
NCB Kellingley Training Centre railway[62] | ? | ? | 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) | Kellingley, England | Mine training railway |
NCB Lewis Merthyr Colliery railway[1] | ? | 1983 | 2 ft 10+1⁄2 in (876 mm) | Rhondda, Wales | Stock yard line worked by diesel locomotives |
NCB Parkside Colliery railway[1] | ? | after 1972 | 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) | Newton-le-Willows, England | Stock yard line worked by diesel locomotives |
NCB Prince of Wales Colliery railway[62] | ? | ? | 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) | Pontefract, England | Underground mine railway |
NCB Riccall Colliery railway[62] | ? | ? | 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) | Riccall, England | Underground mine railway |
NCB Stillingfleet Colliery railway[62] | ? | ? | 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) | Stillingfleet, England | Underground mine railway |
NCB Tilmanston Colliery[61] | 1986 | 2 ft (610 mm) | Eythorne, England | Modern underground colliery system | |
NCB Wentworth Drift Mine railway[63] | 1947 | 1955 | 2 ft (610 mm) | Wentworth, England | Locomotive-worked surface and underground railway system |
NCB Wistow Colliery railway[62] | ? | ? | 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) | Wistow, England | Underground mine railway |
New Peacock Hay Colliery railway[1] | ? | ? | 1 ft 10 in (559 mm) | Harecastle, England | Cable-hauled incline from a small private coal mine |
New Rock Colliery[11] | 1968 | 2 ft 8+1⁄2 in (825 mm) | Chilcompton, England | Internal tramway | |
Norton Hill Colliery[11] | 1966 | 2 ft 4 in (711 mm) | Midsomer Norton, England | Surface and underground tramways | |
Pensford Colliery[11] | 1910 | 1957 | 2 ft (610 mm) | Pensford, England | Mile long railway connecting the colliery to Bromley station. Initially steam locomotive worked, later cable hauled. |
Pentwyn No.3 Mine[22] | ? | after 1994 | 2 ft (610 mm) | Ystalyfera, Wales | One of the last coal mines using pit ponies on a railway. |
Saundersfoot Railway[64] | 1829 | 1939 | 4 ft (1,219 mm) | Saundersfoot, Wales | Early industrial railway hauling coal. |
Severn & Wye Railway | 1801 | 1869 | 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) | Forest of Dean, England | Coal and iron hauling tramway, eventually replaced by a broad gauge line. |
Tranent to Cockenzie Waggonway | 1722 | 1880 | 3 ft 3 in (991 mm) | East Lothian, Scotland | Built to carry coal from mines at Tranent to salt pans at Cockenzie and later to the harbour at Port Seton. The original wooden rails were replaced with iron in 1816 and the line was converted to standard gauge in 1880. |
Weardale Minerals | ? | 1988 | 2 ft (610 mm) | Cambokeels, England | Colliery railway |
Weardale Mining and Processing | ? | 1988 | 2 ft (610 mm) | West Blackdene, England | Colliery railway |
Peat extraction
Name | Opened | Closed | Gauge | Location | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Country Kitchen Foods Lindow Moss railway[57] | ? | after 1987 | 2 ft (610 mm) | Wilmslow, England | Peat moss tramway using diesel locomotives. |
Cumberland Moss Litter railway[1][7] | after 1979 | 2 ft (610 mm) | Wigton, England | Extremely lightly laid temporary lines for peat extraction | |
Eden Park Nurseries | 1987 | ? | 2 ft (610 mm) | Wark Forest, England | A relatively new narrow gauge industrial railway. |
Haversham House Farm railway[1] | ? | ? | 2 ft (610 mm) | Lancaster, England | Turf farm railway |
Joseph Metcalf Ltd.[22] | ? | 1999 ? | 2 ft (610 mm) | Irlam, England | Lightly laid peat tramway using modern diesel locomotives. |
L&P Ltd. Creca Moss[65] | ? | Present? | 2 ft (610 mm) | Annan, Scotland | Peat extraction line |
L&P Ltd. Letham Moss[25] | ? | Present ? | 2 ft (610 mm) | Airth, Scotland | Peat extraction line |
L&P Ltd. Nutberry Works[65] | ? | Present ? | 2 ft (610 mm) | Eastriggs, Scotland | Peat extraction line near Gretna Green. |
Lenzie Peat Railway | ? | 1966[66] | 2 ft (610 mm) | Lenzie, Scotland | Works owned by the Peat Development Co Ltd.[67] Worked by Lister petrol locomotives, works numbers 26286 of 1944 and 29890 of 1946[68] |
Moodiesburn Peat Works railway[1] | ? | ? | 2 ft (610 mm) | Glenboig, Scotland | Locomotive worked line a few hundred yards long |
Richardson's Peat Work railway[7][62] | ? | after 1979 | 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) | Longtown, England | Peat tramway in Cumbria. |
Fisons Ltd. Cumbria Peat Works[57] | after 1979 | after 1987 | 2 ft (610 mm) | Kirkbride, England | Locomotive-worked peat railway. |
Fisons Ltd. Eclipse Peat Works[7][11] | 1922 | after 1979 | 2 ft (610 mm) | Meare, England | Locomotive-worked peat railway. |
Fisons Ltd. Hatfield Peat Works[69] | 1890s | 2006 | 3 ft (914 mm) | Hatfield, England | Some 8 miles (13 km) of permanent track prior to closure.[70] |
Fisons Ltd. Swinefleet Peat Works[7][69] | 1890s | 2002 | 3 ft (914 mm) | Goole, England | Peat works railway employing at least 11 internal combustion locomotives. Two new Schoma locomotives delivered in 1989[51] |
Solway Moss railway[62] | ? | after 1987[57] | 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) | Cumbria, England | Peat tramway with at least 10 4wDM locomotives on site in 1987 |
George Watson & Sons Middlemuir peat railway[51] | approx. 1949 | 1989 | 2 ft (610 mm) | Fraserburgh, Scotland | Peat tramway with three Lister locomotives in 1989 |
White Moss Peat Co. Ltd. Simonswood Moss[7] | after 1979 | 2 ft (610 mm) | Kirkby, England | Locomotive-worked line | |
White Moss Peat Co. Ltd. White Moss Works railway | 1958 | 2 ft (610 mm) | Alsager, England | Very lightweight line of less than 1 mile length; worked using Lister locomotives | |
William Sinclair Horticultural Auchencorth Moss railway[62] | ? | ? | 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) | Leadburn, Scotland | |
William Sinclair Horticultural Bolton Fell railway[7][25] | ? | Present | 2 ft (610 mm) | Hethersgill, England | Lightly laid, locomotive worked peat extraction line. |
William Sinclair Horticultural Cladence Moss railway[22][62] | 1998 | Present | 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) | East Kilbride, Scotland | Lightly laid, locomotive worked peat extraction line. |
William Sinclair Horticultural Ryflat Moss railway[62] | late 1990s | Present ? | 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) | Strathclyde, Scotland | |
William Sinclair Horticultural Springfield Moss railway[62] | ? | ? | 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) | Leadburn, Scotland | |
Wilmslow Peat Farm railway[7][25] | before 1979 | 2000 | 2 ft (610 mm) | Wilmslow, England | Locomotive-worked peat tramway near Manchester |
Other mineral extraction
Name | Opened | Closed | Gauge | Location | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Blue Circle Industries Ltd. Kilvington Gypsum Works[7] | after 1979 | 3 ft (914 mm) | Newark, England | Locomotive-worked railway. | |
British Gypsum Mines Ltd. Gotham Works[7] | after 1979 | 2 ft 2 in (660 mm) | Gotham, Nottinghamshire, England | Underground locomotive-worked railway. | |
British Gypsum Mines Ltd. Mountfield Works[25] | 1945 | after 1966 | 2 ft (610 mm) | Mountfield, England | Inclined adit and works railway. |
British Steel Corporation Beaumont Fluor Mine[7] | after 1979 | 2 ft (610 mm) | Allenheads, England | Underground locomotive-worked fluor mine. | |
British Steel Corporation Blackdene Fluor Mine[7] | after 1979 | 2 ft (610 mm) | Ireshopeburn, England | Underground locomotive-worked fluor mine. | |
British Steel Corporation Blanchland Fluor Mines[7] | after 1979 | 2 ft (610 mm) | Ireshopeburn, England | Underground locomotive-worked fluor mine. | |
Hagdale Chromate Railway | 1907 | 1937 | 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) | Isle of Unst, Scotland | Remote line hauling chromite from quarries to a pier on Balta Sound. Worked by gravity and horse-power. |
J. Parish Loam works[6] | 1849 | 1957 | 4 ft (1,219 mm) | Erith, England | Steam locomotive hauled railway moving loam for metal casting molds. |
Laporte Industries Ltd. Ladywash Mine[7] | after 1987[57] | 18 in (457 mm) | Eyam, England | Underground fluorite mine with locomotive worked railway | |
Laporte Industries Ltd. Sallet Hole Mine[7] | after 1987[57] | 2 ft (610 mm) | Stoney Middleton, England | Underground fluorite mine with locomotive worked railway | |
Laporte Industries Ltd. Watersaw Rake Mine[57] | after 1987 | 2 ft (610 mm) | Stoney Middleton, England | Underground mine with battery electric locomotive worked railway | |
Lealt Valley Diatomite Railway | 1890 | 1915 | 2 ft (610 mm) | Isle of Skye, Scotland | Remote line hauling "diatomic earth" which was used in the manufacture of dynamite. Steam worked for a short while. |
Scropton Tramway[71] | 1889 | 1949 | 3 ft (914 mm) | Scropton, England | Steam hauled tramway serving Gypsum mines south of Scropton station. |
Metal mining
Tin, lead and zinc
- Snailbeach Lead Mine
Name | Opened | Closed | Gauge | Location | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ardda Tramway[18] | 1853 | 1864 | probably 2 ft (610 mm) | Dolgarrog, Wales | Iron sulphide mine with 1 mile long tramway |
Athole G. Allen Ltd. Closehouse Barytes Mine[7] | after 1979 | 2 ft (610 mm) and 19+1⁄2 in (495 mm) | Middleton-in-Teesdale, England | Locomotive-worked barytes mine. | |
Basset Mines Tramway[23] | before 1907 | 1918 | 20 in (508 mm) | Redruth, England | Steam locomotive worked line connecting the West Basset Mine and the stamps at Carnike |
Botallack Mine[23] | before 1864 | 800 mm (2 ft 7+1⁄2 in) | St Just, England | 300-yard surface line and cliff-side inclines into the mine. | |
Cae-Coch Mine railway[18] | 1860 | 1919 | unknown | Trefriw, Wales | Tramway serving a remote iron sulphide mine |
Camborne Mines Ltd. Pendarves Mine[7] | after 1979 | 600 mm (1 ft 11+5⁄8 in) | Camborne, England | Underground railway serving the Pendarves tin mine | |
Carrock Fell mine[7] | after 1979 | 2 ft (610 mm) | Mungrisdale, England | Lead mine with a single battery-electric locomotive | |
Cononish Farm Mine railway[25] | ? | Present? | 2 ft (610 mm) | Tyndrum, Scotland | Mine railway in intermittent use. |
Cornwall Tin and Mining Corporation Mount Wellington Mine[7] | by 1979 | 2 ft (610 mm) | Twelveheads, Cornwall, England | Underground Tin mine | |
Cornish Hush Mine railway[1] | ? | Late 1970s | 2 ft (610 mm) | Bishop Auckland, Scotland | Railway at a Fluorspar mine, operated by a battery electric locomotive |
Force Crag Mine Ltd. Braithwaite Barytes Mine[7][72] | after 1987[57] | 2 ft (610 mm)[57] | Keswick, England | Railway at a Barytes mine, operated by a battery electric locomotive | |
Frongoch Lead Mine | before 1903[57] | unknown | Ceredigion, Wales | Tramway at a Lead Zinc mine | |
Geevor Tin Mines Ltd. Pendeen Mine[7][23] | 1911 | 1991 | 18 in (457 mm) | St Just, England | Extensive underground tin mine railway. Part of the site, with reinstated tramway, has been reopened as the Geevor Tin Mines Museum. |
Glenn Sannox Railway[73] | around 1900 | late 1940s | unknown | Sannox, Arran | Incline and pier railway serving a barytes mine. |
Great Laxey Mines Railway | by 1854 | 1929 | 19 in (483 mm) | Laxey, Isle of Man | Lead, zinc and silver mines with steam locomotive worked railway by the Laxey Wheel. |
Mineral Industries Ltd. Scraithole Mine[7][74] | after 1979, by 2003 | 18 in (457 mm) | Nenthead, England | Zinc mine with underground locomotive-worked railway | |
Parc Mine tramway[18] | 1951 | after 1960 | 2 ft (610 mm) | Trefriw, Wales | Lead mines with extensive underground locomotive-hauled railway system. |
Rosevale Historical Mining Company[23] | 1974 | present | 2 ft (610 mm) and 18 in (457 mm) | Zennor, England | Newly re-opened tin mine using battery-electric locomotives |
Snailbeach District Railways[64] | 1873 | 1961 | 2 ft 3+3⁄4 in (705 mm) or 2 ft 4 in (711 mm) | Snailbeach, England | Served the lead and other mineral mines around Snailbeach. |
South Crofty Mine[7][23] | 1900 | 1998 | 1 ft 10 in (559 mm) and 18 in (457 mm) | Camborne, England | Extensive tin mine with internal railway. The mine was re-opened in 2001 although currently without the use of railway transport. |
Swiss Aluminium Mining (UK) Ltd. Burtree Pasture Mine[7] | after 1979 | 2 ft (610 mm) | Cowshill, England | Fluorite mine using battery-electric locomotives | |
Swiss Aluminium Mining (UK) Ltd. Cambokeels Mine[7] | after 1979 | 600 mm (1 ft 11+5⁄8 in) | Stanhope, England | Fluorite mine using battery-electric locomotives | |
Swiss Aluminium Mining (UK) Ltd. Redburn Mine[7] | after 1979 | 2 ft (610 mm) | Stanhope, England | Fluorite mine using battery-electric locomotives | |
Swiss Aluminium Mining (UK) Ltd. Stanhope Burn Mine[7] | after 1979 | 2 ft (610 mm) | Stanhope, England | Fluorite mine using battery-electric locomotives | |
Weardale Fluorspar Ltd. Frasers Grove Mine[51] | after 1989 | 2 ft (610 mm) | County Durham, England | Fluorspar mine with at least 15 battery electric locomotives on site in 1989 | |
Wheal Jane Ltd. Clemo's Shaft[7] | 1965 | 1992 | 2 ft (610 mm) | Baldhu, England | Locomotive-worked Cornish tin mine. |
Wheal Pendarves Ltd. Wheal Pendarves mine[57] | after 1987 | 600 mm (1 ft 11+5⁄8 in) | Camborne, England | Locomotive-worked Cornish tin mine. | |
Willoughby Mine Tramway[18] | 1877 | 1914 | 1 ft 10 in (559 mm) | Trefriw, Wales | Tramway serving lead and zinc mine. An early (1904) Kerr Stuart locomotive worked here. |
Iron
Mainly ironstone quarries
- Russell that ran at the Brymbo Ironstone Railway
- Peckett metre gauge locomotive from the Wellingborough Iron Company tramway
Name | Opened | Closed | Gauge | Location | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
British Steel Corporation Beckermet Ore Mine railway[1][citation needed] | after 1979 | 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) | Beckermet, England | Underground mine railway. | |
Brymbo Ironworks railway[75] | 1899 | 1946 | 1 ft 11+1⁄2 in (597 mm) | Hook Norton, England | Major ironstone quarry and calcination works served by a steam-hauled railway. |
Colton Iron Ore Mine[11] | 1880? | 2 ft (610 mm) | Brendon Hill, England | Steam locomotive worked tramway connecting the iron ore mine with the West Somerset Mineral Railway | |
Eastwell Quarries[1] | 1880s (?) | 1958 | 3 ft (914 mm) | Eastwell, Leicestershire, England | Extensive system of steam-hauled lines with a cable-hauled incline. |
Waltham Iron Ore Tramway | 1884[76] | 1958 | 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in) | Eaton, Leicestershire, England | System of tramways connecting the pits of the Waltham Iron Company to the Great Northern Railway's Eaton Branch Railway. |
Finedonhill Tramway[77] | 1874 | late 1940s | 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) | Finedon, England | Cable-hauled ironstone quarry tramway |
Florence Iron Ore Mine railway[62] | ? | after 1987[57] | 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) | Egremont, England | Underground mine tramway worked by battery-electric locomotives |
Grinkle Mine Tramway[78] | 1875 | 1930 | 3 ft (914 mm) | Roxby and Port Mulgrave, North Yorkshire | 3 miles (4.8 km) tramway connecting mine with harbour at Port Mulgrave |
Irchester Quarries railway | 1871 | 1884 | 3 ft 8+1⁄4 in (1,124 mm) | Irchester, England | Early ironstone quarry system using one steam locomotive. |
Irthlingborough Quarries railway[1] | after 1958 | 3 ft (914 mm) | Irthlingborough, England | Underground mines using electric locomotives with a double-track adit to the surface | |
Kettering Ironstone Railway[32][79] | 1879 | 1962[79] | 3 ft (914 mm) | Kettering, England | Extensive system of steam-hauled lines serving the ironstone quarries west of Kettering. |
Midland Brick Quarries | after 1901 | by 1940 | 2 ft (610 mm) | Wellingborough, England | Small hand-worked ironstone quarry line |
Myers Burn Mine | 1985 | 1988 | ? | Eaglesham, Scotland | Small iron pyrites mine with underground railway system. |
Rosedale Branch | ? converted to 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge | ||||
Raasay Iron Mines | 1915 | 1919 | 2 ft 3 in (686 mm) | Raasay, off Skye, Inner Hebrides, Scotland | Electric-powered cable haulage connecting mine to pier[80][81] |
Scaldwell Ironstone Quarries[32] | 1963 | 3 ft (914 mm) | Brixworth, England | Steam locomotive worked connecting the ironstone quarry south of Scaldwell to the British Rail branch to Lamport | |
South Hill Farm Quarries[77] | 1912 | about 1926 | probably 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) | Finedon, England | Locomotive worked ironstone quarry tramway connected to Finedonhill Tramway |
Neilson's Tramway[77] | 1881 | 1929 | 2 ft 4 in (711 mm) | Finedon, England | Cable-hauled tramway with horse-worked upper section, to the Thingdon Mines |
Tir Stent mine[82] | pre-1861[82] | 1913 ?[82] | 18 in (457 mm)[82] | Dolgelley, Wales[82] | Horse worked iron ore mine tramway |
Wellingborough Tramway[32][77] | 1874 | 1966 | 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in) | Finedon, England | The last narrow gauge steam hauled ironstone railway in England. There were also 2 ft 4 in (711 mm) gauge feeder lines at the quarries, latterly worked by diesel locos. |
Gold
Name | Opened | Closed | Gauge | Location | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Clogau mine | 1880s | Present | 2 ft (610 mm) | Bontddu Wales | Hand-worked gold mine railway, in intermittent use |
Gwynfynydd mine | Present | 2 ft (610 mm) | Dolgellau Wales | Hand-worked gold mine railway, in intermittent use |
See also
References
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{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: year (link) - Narrow Gauge News, the journal of the Narrow Gauge Railway Society
External links
- Narrow Gauge Railway Society
- Industrial Railway Society