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UK Mining Major Surface Features
The history and heritage of the UK mining industry is not limited to underground mine workings and open quarries. By definition it includes the railways, tramways, mills, ports and factories that served the mines and quarries.
This page lists Major Surface Features, that is locations classfied as mining related and that served (or still serve) more than one mine or quarry.
Railways, Tramways, Mills, Ports & Factories
Click on the Major Surface Feature to view the home page for that location.
| North West England |
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Nenthead Mill
View Mill |
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Haltwhistle to Alston Mineral Railway
View Railway The 13 mile Haltwhistle to Alston Railway was opened in 1852 to exploit the mineral wealth - including lead, coal and limestone - of Alston Moor. It was closed in 1976. Much info. here. [link] |
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Shap Works Granite Mill
View Mill |
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Lindal Ore Iron Mill
View Mill |
| North East England |
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Flockton Coal Tramway
View Tramway Super remains to be found on the section from Flockton Lane End Colliery to New Hall including a low 20 Arch Viaduct and Tunnel dating from the late 1700s (1772-1775). An incredible set of remains... the linew was built using timber rails, later plates and finally edge rails. |
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Darwin Ironworks - Iron Smelt Mill
View Smelt Mill By 1795 Elsecar Ironworks had been built by John and William Darwin & Co., and were originally situated near outcrops of ironstone towards the back of the Heritage Centre. The ironstone was mined close to Elsecar, although the best ironstone came from Tankersley and was brought to the Ironworks by horse and cart. During their time at the Ironworks, Darwin and Co. sold pig iron and made domestic ranges, spouting rails for colliery tramways, window frames and arches - which can be identified on various buildings in the workshop site. In 1796, 950 tons of iron was produced by this single furnace. As trade prospered at the ironworks, a second furnace was required and built in 1800 which was in use until 1884. The Elsecar Steam Railway is located behind the Heritage Centre and was built to serve Earl Fitzwilliam's collieries and ironworks. On 2 February 1850 the first train of Great Northern Railways wagons left with 6 tons of coal each. The railway now operates on a 1 mile section of the branch, using steam and diesel locomotives. The Elsecar Workshops were built in 1850 to facilitate a more effective management of the various industrial enterprises around the Fitzwilliam estate. The coal board took over the workshops in 1947 following the nationalisation of the pits. As the collieries began to close the demand for the workshop facilities declined leading to their closure. In 1986 the Department of the Environment listed most of the buildings to be of special architectural or historic interest. Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council purchased the workshops along with the nearby Newcomen Beam Engine in 1988, and started a program of conservation and restoration. |
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Rookhope Old Lead Smelt Mill
View Smelt Mill This was the first smeltmill in the Rookhope Valley. The remains of the early mill can still be seen tucked into the hillside near the Rookhope Burn. There would have been one orehearth with an air blast powered by a small watershed. A slightly larger mill was built in 1700 and operated till 1740 when Lintzgarth Mill was built. The old smelt mill at Rookhope was seriously damaged in 2000 by an emergency operation to contain polluted minewater from the recently closed Frazer's Complex just upstream. According to press reports, the Environment Agency, in their haste, failed to check their own lists of protected ancient monuments before constructing lagoons to contain the minewater which was about to come out of the Tailrace Level into Rookhope Burn. Apparently the agency had failed to consult the county archaeologist and had not responded to his telephoned attempts to intervene. Sadly 60% of the site was destroyed. A full dig was later carried out to see what could be saved and the Agency agreed to continue work at the site from mid-February under the supervision of an archaeologist. While the Agency would be acting with the best of motives in an emergency, one can't help but wonder why they shouldn't have checked their lists in any case. Let us hope that something was learnt from this sorry affair. |
| Midlands |
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Pentrich and Oakerthorpe Coal Tramway
View Tramway Pentrich and Oakerthorpe Tramway (Gangway) This tramway was opened in 1817 and ran from the Cromford Canal at Hartshay Hill to Pits around Pentrich (such as Waterloo Colliery), a distance of approx 1.25 miles to Broadoaks being recorded. A branch was added to Oakerthorpe (Longcroft) Colliery a further 1.25 miles away to the North. A good deal of the route north beyond the road from Pentrich to Swanwick can be traced. On this section can be found a nice embankment made of colliery waste some 20ft high and just after a nice curved alignment following the edge of the woods. Passed Longcroft farm the route is ploughed under but maps point to it following a hedge line north down to the site of Oakerthorpe (Longcroft) Colliery. It had to cross a 20ft deep narrow valley which it appears to have done on another earth embankment built above a brick lined Culvert to direct the stream. 2 possible boundary posts sit in the woods close by. To the east of this location lie the remains of a small brick works inc kiln in the woods. It is assumed to have been a gangway of the Outram type but that cannot be given as a definate and in recent walks no stone blocks could be found built into walls etc as with other gangways. Grid given is for the centre section of traceable route towards Longcroft. The southern Hartshay end of the route (at the Cromford) canal was destroyed/buried by the A610 upgrade SK388515, the far end is at SK397548. I have put on a google map illustrating the route at [link] |
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Crich Mineral Railway - Butterley Co Limestone Railway
View Railway This line operated by the Butterley Co from 1793 to 1933 and was originally built as an Outram type plate way but later converted to a railway in 1856/7. The wagons originally ran down hill by gravity and were hauled back empty, by horses. In 1813, Brunton’s ‘steamhorse’ was introduced, a walking locomotive with stilt like legs. It travelled at about two and a half miles per hour, it operated quite successfully. Unfortunately, a similar machine blew up, killing 11 men at a colliery in the north of England and Brunton’s steam engine was withdrawn from service. The line was adhesion worked once converted to a railway from a plateway by conventional steam locomotives. The lines route commences at a wharf with the Cromford Canal and limestone kilns at SK359523 and climbs up the Fritchley incline atop of an attractive stone incline (best seen looking North at SK358531, note stone sleeper blocks used as capping stones on emban wall) to the junction in the line at SK357356 where the line split North West to Hilts Quarry and North East Warner Quarry. This was also the location of the engine shed which stands in the fork of the line. It has been beautifully restored in 2008, private access by arrangement contact ICLOK. the line to Warner Quarry can be traced so far before it becomes impassible (stone sleeper block abound here). The route North West passes the Hat factory (nr the engine shed) in a filled cutting eventually going into open country to Hilts Quarry. The whole line is on private property. See Warner and Hilts Quarries in data base. There was another Mineral Railway in Crich. Built by Stephenson and the Clay Cross Co See 'Crich Mineral Railway - Clay Cross Co |
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Crich Mineral Railway - Clay Cross Company Limestone Railway
View Railway This line was built by the Clay Cross Co and operated from Cliff and the smaller Church Quarries at Crich taking limestone to the companies massive kilns at Bullbridge/Ambergate, here it also had a connection also with the North Midland Railway (Later MR, LMS) thus allowing finished product or stone to be taken on the mainline to the Butterley Co other sites or customers. The line was in use from 1841 to 1957 (Church Quarry Branch from 1841 to 1846). The line was metre gauge. The route of the line commences in Cliff Quarry (Now used by Crich Tramway Museum) and headed South thru the Village of Crich in a shallow cutting before crossing various lanes (one small bridge still in tact at approx Sk347453) and entering Crich Tunnel, the Southern entrance of which is visible at bottom of cutting at SK349549. From here it followed the ridge above the village to Chadwick Nick where it passed the engine shed and crossed the road(crossing and shed site at SK348452). It continued south and passed thru a small tunnel into a deep cutting over which the winding drum for the incline to Ambergate was fixed. The tunnel at approx SK351526 can be traced and the top of the entrance arches are visible. At approx same GR there is no trace of the deep cutting (filled). The incline here was known as the 'Steep' and was rope worked off a drum assembly, two loaded wagons down and two empties up being the normal load. It was a 1 in 4 gradient at the top (this section still visible thru the trees) and was 550 yards long with a short tunnel/bridge half way down (Nth Entrance obliterated, Southern entrance in wood visible at approx SK351524 bricked up) under a small lane then bridged over the Cromford Canal into the limeworks at SK353520. The whole of the bottom area beyond the Southern portal of the tunnel is obliterated under a gas pipeline works -Transco. In general the route of the line can be traced but is virtually all on private land but I had no problems when I asked getting access. The adhesion worked sections were operated by steam locomotives and for the last few years diesel. The GR given for railway is at the top of the Incline. See also Cliff and Church Quarries. There was another Mineral Railway in Crich. Built by The Butterley Co Co See 'Crich Mineral Railway - Butterley Co' |
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Denby Ironworks Iron Smelt Mill
View Smelt Mill |
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Loscoe and Erewash Coal Tramway
View Tramway This tramway was originally built in the late 18th Century to serve the collieries around Loscoe and along the approx South Easterly route of Bailey Brook down to Loscoe Wharf on the erewash Canal at Langley Mill. The route is part traceable at Langley Mill to the right ofBailey Brook and Left of the Horse and Jockey pub. Most of the NE end of route was probably used as the later railway to Bailey Brook, Ormonde and Loscoe collieries. The route seems to have served Loscoe Colliery and in the Red River adjacent to the former colliery site West of the main road at the grid ref given are stone sleeper blocks, recent measurements show the plates may have been only 3.5 inches wide compared to the usual 4 inches of the Outram type, One sleeper block had a spike in the head of which was the same profile as those on the Little Eaton and Denby. |
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Little Eaton and Denby Gangway Coal Tramway
View Tramway THE LITTLE EATON GANGWAY Origins In 1792 Benjamin Outram prepared plans for a broad canal from Swarkestone to Smithy Houses, near Denby, with a branch at Derby to the Erewash Canal at Sandiacre, which he estimated would cost £60,000. The use of a tramway as an alternative was first proposed by William Jessop on 3 November 1792. The Derby Canal Act of 1793 authorized a rail connection between the Derby Canal at Little Eaton and the collieries to the north. The purpose of this 5-mile long tramway was to carry coal from Kilburn and Denby down to the canal at Little Eaton and general goods including stone, pottery and "clogs of wood". Construction & Operation Outram's original plan was for a conventional waggonway with wooden sleepers and oak rails reinforced with cast iron plates. Accordingly, an advertisement appeared in the Lincoln & Stamford Mercury for 16 August 1793 for oak sleepers 4 feet 6 inches long squared at each end for a length of 9 inches. However by the time the railway was approved, Outram had decided to use the flanged ‘L’ section rails (plates) with which his name has become associated. In this he may have been influenced by Jessop, also by Joseph Butler of Wingerworth near Chesterfield, who had constructed a similar line in 1788. Butler is believed to have been the first to do so, and supplied the rails, rather than Outram's own works. Outram preferred stone blocks to sleepers and used them in this case (Dimns approx 1.75ft x 1.5ft x 1ft deep with 2.5inch hole 4 to 6 inches deep). The gritstone blocks were drilled with a hole into which an oak plug was fitted. The rails where 3ft long x 4 inch wide with a flange of 4 inches in the centre tapering down to 2 inches at the ends. They were attached by means of spikes driven into a countersunk semi circular cast hole at the end of the plates. The problem with the original plates was that the plates could move as the holes wore or were incorrectly spiked, this lead to derailments so to remedy this holes were incorporated 2 inches in from the ends of newer/replacement plates and the additional holes drilled in the blocks (3 hole blocks have been found as have blocks were the impression of the rail end has worn into it due to movement). The line is said by some to have been originally 3 ft 6 in gauge, being increased later to 4 ft 6 in at an unknown date, but evidence suggests the line was almost certainly 4 ft 6 in from new. The wagons were built at Outram's Butterley works consisted of containers (aka body, box) mounted loosely onto a tram (aka chassis, undercarriage) with four cast iron wheels which floated on the axle. The trams were of timber construction with 2 ft 4 in wheels in diameter, 1.5 in wide. The coal containers were approx 5ft 9 in x 3 ft 7.5 in x 2 ft deep, they often had further raised boarding around the top adding another 1 ft 5 in. Capacity was over 46-48cwt of coal per container. Other containers were used of similar construction dependent on the goods being carried. The typical working over the line was 4 horses pulling 8 wagons lead by a ‘carter’ or ‘gangleader’. The tramway ran four miles from the canal wharf to Smithy Houses climbing approx 100ft, and another mile further to Denby Hall Colliery. Further short branches served Salterwood North and Henmoor Collieries, Belper Potteries (via incline to Openwoodgate) as well as the Denby Pottery. Containers would be lifted off at Little Eaton and loaded complete into narrowboats by fixed cranes using 4 point chain slings or transferred to two-wheeled carts for carriage by road. The canal from Little Eaton led to Gandy's Wharf in Derby for onward distribution through the canal network or by road. This is probably the first instance of containerisation in the world. The gangway and the canal opened in 1795, the first load of coal from Denby being distributed to the poor of Derby. The type of coal being carried was large lumps not the nutty slack we think of today which was just thrown away as waste in the 18th and early 19th century as it could not be easily transhipped by hand. Closure and Remains When the Midland Railway built its branch line to Ripley in 1856 the gangway lost most of its trade, finally closing in 1908. The trackbed was used as the base of the new A61, which bypassed the old road through Coxbench. The only remaining traces are the Clock house wharf building at Little Eaton (SK362410) and the route parallel to the railway through the village, the easternmost arch of Jack O' Darley bridge in the village (SK364420), and another two arch bridge over the Bottle Brook (SK363413) and some in situ stone blocks and route of the incline up to Openwood gate at Belper just below the A38 over bridge (SK377473). The Henmoor colliery route (branch) can also be traced at (SK376476) as far as the A38 where it is cut. A few of the stone blocks can be found in some walls near to the route of the line. A wagon from the gangway survives in the National Mining Museum at Lound Hall. GRID REF QUOTED IS FOR SMITHY HOUSE END OF GANGWAY, LITTLE EATON END IS AT SK362410 |
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Gospel Oak Ironworks Iron Smelt Mill
View Smelt Mill |
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Blists Hill Ironworks Iron Smelt Mill
View Smelt Mill The 'Madeley Wood Company' was formed in 1756 with the foundation of its ironworks on the River Severn at Bedlam about 1 mile west of the Blists Hill site. The company held mineral leases in Madeley Parish enabling it to mine coal and iron ore. When it opened in 1790, the company had good access to the Shropshire Canal which ran immediately to the east of the Blists Hill ironworks site. The proximity of raw materials coupled to a local means of transporting finished product lead to the company building another blast furnace at Blists Hill in 1832. Two more furnaces were added in 1840 and 1844, making a total of three. Operations continued in the production of pig iron until 1912 when the ironworks ceased production. The post closure site history is not well known and the whole site was allowed to grow over the ruins, however during the late 1950s the site was completely buried by waste/spoil dumping which totally buried the furnace bases. In the 1970s the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust began clearing and restoring the works incorporating it into the Blists Hill Open Air Museum where restoration was recently completed of its extant structures. |
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Dowlow Works Limestone Mill
View Mill Modern limestone processing mill adjacent to Hindlow Quarry. |
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Lodge Furnaces Ironworks Iron Smelt Mill
View Smelt Mill Operated 1820 - 1888, Base of 3 furnaces still visible along with substantial charging bank remains. Below the furnace site is a canal wharf with filled in rems of the entrance tunnel at the north end. |
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Finedon Furnaces Iron Smelt Mill
View Smelt Mill Closed 1891. Ironstone supplied by Glendon Quarries later RTB Finedon Quarries. |
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Irthlingborough Ironworks Iron Smelt Mill
View Smelt Mill This works was opened by T.Butlin, becoming part of United Steel Co's Ltd in 1920. They were closed during 1925 but remained in use as a foundry. In 1947 the site was taken over by Morris Motors Ltd. |
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Wellingborough Ironworks Iron Smelt Mill
View Smelt Mill |
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Wellingborough East End Ironworks Iron Smelt Mill
View Smelt Mill |
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Rutland Railway Iron Museum
View Museum This museum whilst labelled a Railway Museum seeks to record and demonstrate the Ironstone Railways and Mines typically found across the Midlands. It is based near Cottesmore in Rutland on the the end of a former Midland Railway Branch built to serve the Cottesmore and Exton Quarries. The loading dock for filling the wagons still stands and a there are several locomotives, wagons and relics on site of the railways/quarries. There is an engine shed, and various other displays, with demonstrations of loading trains etc / working practices carried out on steaming/open days. [link] |
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Butterley Company Mixed Railway
View Railway This was a private railway network ranging from the Portland Pits in the East to Codnor Park/Ironville and thence Buttterley Works in Ripley and Lower Hartshay/Buckland Hollow in the West. It had various Branches and connecting Tramways and was used for the movement primarily of Coal and Ironstone, Bricks and Iron products from Butterley Companies mines, furnaces and mills. Several traces of the route exist today and some sections can be walked. The line originated from Butterley works in Ripley and the NGR given is for the lower works yard. On the Jacksdale to Portland sections there are some notable remains inclkuding the Drumhouse at Jacksdale and various alignments along the way. The top of the incline into Mexborough top colliery can be traced as well as the junction for the branch to the Mexborough collieries. The |
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Barnsley Coal Railway
View Railway The first section of the line to open was that from Stairfoot to Applehaigh (just north of Notton and Royston station) in 1870 so that Rosa Colliery could be served. GR. Roston Station |
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Ticknall Mixed Tramway
View Tramway Ticknall Tramway This was a 4'-2" gauge horse drawn plateway of approx 8m in length as opened. The route was from the Ashby Canal at Willersley Basin NE to Ashby-de-la-Zouch and North to Ticknall in Derbyshire where it served the Lime Yards and Brickworks there. The line was built to move Bricks, Lime and Coal and and had a number of branches. It was built by Benjamin Outram and was opened in 1802 by the Ashby Canal Co as building the canal would have been to expensive given the vertical distance to Ticknall and the number of locks required. The line as built had to be hidden as it passed thru the Calke estate resulting in a tunnel and trees/hedges as the owners of the estate insisted the line should not be seen. The line was became owned by the Midland Railway (MR) as part of its aquisition of the Ashby Canal. The line was truncated at Old Parks junction after 1874 due to the lack of traffic and finally closed in 1915, the last train having run in May 1913. Traffic in latter years was almost non-existant and a bi-annual train was run to retain the right of way. Today, near the entrance to Calke Abbey is the Tramway Bridge which went to the Brick works and is now a Grade II listed structure. Close by the route turns adjacent to the Limeyard (see "The Limeyards" in a tunnel nearly 140 yards in length. The National Trust restored it in the 1990s and it can be walked thru with great care given the uneven floor. The tramway passes thru the Calke Abbey estate and can still be traced intermittently along its route, in some areas there are stone setts still in position. |
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Butterley Ironworks Iron Smelt Mill
View Smelt Mill Famous ironworks in the town of Ripley Derbyshire founded/operated by Outram and as Butterley Co supplied the station roof for St.Pancras |
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Brymbo Ironworks Iron Railway
View Railway To keep the kilns at the local ironworksconstantly charged a narrow gauge tramway system was constructed. It became the largest 2ft gauge railway system in the ironstone industry. Calcined ore was transhipped into Brymbo standard gauge wagons at Hook Norton sidings on the Banbury and Cheltenham Railway branch of the GWR, opened in 1887. The presence of the large deposits of ironstone in Oxfordshire and the expectation of transporting it had been a great influence on the routing of the Banbury and Cheltenham Railway. [link] |
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Leicester and Swannington Coal Railway
View Railway The Leicester and Swannington Railway (L&S) was one of England's first railways, being opened on July 17, 1832 to bring coal from pits in west Leicestershire to Leicester. |
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Cromford & High Peak Railway Limestone Railway
View Railway CROMFORD AND HIGH PEAK RAILWAY NGR given is for High Peak Junction Overview The Cromford and High Peak Railway (C&HPR) in Derbyshire, England, was completed in 1831, to carry minerals and goods between the Cromford Canal at Cromford Wharf and the Peak Forest Canal at Whaley Bridge. Origins The Peak District of Derbyshire has always posed problems for travel, but from 1800 when the Peak Forest Canal was built, an alternative to the long route through the Trent and Mersey Canal was sought, not only for minerals and finished goods to Manchester, but raw cotton for the East Midlands textile industry. One scheme that had been suggested would pass via Tansley, Matlock and Bakewell. In 1810, a prospectus was published for another route via Grindleford, Hope and Edale, but since it could only promise £6,000 a year, in return for an outlay of £500,000, it was received with little enthusiasm. The problem was not only carrying a canal over a height of around a thousand feet, but supplying it with water on the dry limestone uplands. Finally Josias Jessop, the son of William Jessop was asked to survey the route. He, his father and their former partner Benjamin Outram had gained wide experience in building tramways where conditions were unsuitable for canals, and that is what he suggested. Even so, as almost the first long distance line at thirty three miles, it was a bold venture. Moreover, to its summit at Ladmanlow, it would climb a thousand feet from Cromford, making it one of the highest lines ever built in Britain, before or since. In 1825 the Act of Parliament was obtained for a "railway or tramroad" to be propelled by "stationary or locomotive steam engines," which was remarkably prescient, considering few people considered steam locomotives to be feasible, and George Stephenson's Stockton and Darlington Railway was barely open in far-away County Durham. Construction The first part of the line from Cromford Wharf, on the Cromford Canal, to Hurdlow opened in 1830. From the canal it climbed over a thousand feet in five miles (over 330 m in 8 km), through four inclines ranging from 1 in 14 to 1 in 8 - Cromford, Sheep Pasture, Middleton and Hopton, above Wirksworth. The line then proceeded up the relatively gentle Hurdlow incline at 1 in 16 . The second half from Hurdlow to Whaley Bridge opened in 1832 descending through four more inclines, the steepest being 1 in 7. The highest part of the line was at Ladmanlow, a height of 1,266 feet (386 m). For comparison, the present day highest summit in England is Ais Gill at 1,169 feet (356 m) on the Settle-Carlisle line. The railway was laid using so-called "fishbelly" rails supported on stone blocks, as was common in those days, rather than timber sleepers, since it would be powered by horses on the flat sections. On the nine inclined planes, stationary steam engines would be used, apart from the last incline into Whaley Bridge, which was counterbalanced and worked by a horse-gin. The engines, rails and other ironwork were provided by the Butterley Company. It would take around two days to complete the 33 miles (53 km) journey. Luckily it was laid to the Stephenson gauge of 4ft 8½ inch, rather than Outram's usual 4 ft 2 in. While its function was to provide a shorter route for Derbyshire coal than the Trent and Mersey Canal, it figured largely in early East Midlands railway schemes because it was seen as offering a path into Manchester for proposed lines from London. However, the unsuitability of cable railways for passengers became clear within a few years. Expansion Across the plateau, since the line had been built on the canal principle of following contours, there were many tight curves, which in later years, were to hamper operations. Not only did the C&HPR have the steepest adhesion worked incline of any line in the country, the 1 in 14 of Hopton, it also had the sharpest curve, 55 yards (50 m) radius through eighty degrees at Gotham. The line was isolated until 1853 when, in an effort to improve traffic, a connection was made with the Manchester, Buxton, Matlock and Midlands Junction Railway at High Peak Junction just north of Whatstandwell. In 1857 the northern end was connected to the Stockport, Disley and Whaley Bridge Railway. Around this time, the people of Wirksworth were agitating for a line and an incline was built between the two. However, the Midland Railway began surveying a line from Duffield in 1862 and it was never used. The C&HPR was leased by the London and North Western Railway in 1862, being taken over fully in 1887. By 1890 permission had been obtained to connect the line directly to Buxton by building a new line from Harpur Hill the two or three miles (3–5 km) into the town centre, thus frustrating the Midland Railway's plans for a route to Manchester. The old north end of the line from Ladmanlow (a short distance from Harpur Hill) to Whaley Bridge via the Goyt Valley was largely abandoned in 1892, though the track bed is still visible in many places and one incline forms part of a public road. Then, built by the LNWR, the branch line to Ashbourne was opened in 1899. This utilized the section of the C&HP line from Buxton as far as Parsley Hay, from where a single line ran south to Ashbourne, where it connected with the North Staffordshire Railway. The formation was constructed to allow for double tracking if necessary, but this never happened Operation The line was worked by independent contractors until long after other lines, with the introduction of locomotives, had taken the operations in-house. The line was initially under-capitalised because many of the subscribers did not meet their dues, and it was mainly funded by the Butterley Company which was a major supplier and its main creditor. The final cost was £180,000, more than Jessop's estimate of £155,000, but still much cheaper than a canal. Nevertheless, the line never achieved a profit. Francis Wright, the Chairman was later to say, in 1862 "We found ourselves getting into difficulties from the third year of our existence." and added it was clear in retrospect that the line "never had a remote chance of paying a dividend on the original shares." The railway's first steam locomotive arrived in 1841 in the shape of Peak, built by Robert Stephenson and Company. By 1860 the line had six more locomotives gradually displacing the horses. These locomotives were hauled up and down the inclines along with their trains with the cables, which initially had been hemp, replacing the earlier chains, but by then were of steel. In 1855 an Act of Parliament authorised the carriage of passengers. However the one train per day each ways did little to produce extra revenue and, when a passenger was killed in 1877, the service was discontinued. The line's prosperity depended on that of the canals it connected but, by the 1830s, they were in decline. This was, to a degree, offset by the increase in the trade for limestone from the quarries. There were, in fact, very few accidents. In 1857, the Cromford and Sheep Pasture inclines had been merged into one, and in 1888, a brake van parted from the train near the summit. Gathering speed, it was unable to round the curve into Cromford Wharf. It passed over both the canal and the double track railway line, and landed in a field. A catch pit was therefore installed near the bottom. This can still be seen from the A6 with a (more recent) wrecked wagon still in it. The most serious accident occurred in 1937. The line was fairly level on the approach to the Hopton Incline and it was the custom to gain speed for the uphill gradient. There was a shallow curve immediately before and on this occasion the locomotive spread the track, rolled over and down the embankment with four wagons. The driver was killed and thereafter a speed limit of 40 mph was strictly enforced. The Sidings The railway served dozens of small sidings. Towards the Cromford end of the line, between Sheep Pasture Top and Friden there were over 15 sidings, mostly grouped between Sheep Pasture and Longcliffe, primarily serving quarries. One was built in 1883 from Steeplehouse to serve the Middleton Quarry north of Wirksworth. The branch closed in 1967 but the trackbed was later used for the 18 in (457 mm) Steeple Grange Light Railway in 1985. Towards the Whaley Bridge end of the line, another plethora of sidings lay between Dowlow Halt and Ladmanlow, mostly serving quarries and limeworks. This included some dozen sidings which lay in the short section between Harpur Hill and Old Harpur. Demise Traffic - by now almost exclusively from local quarries - was slowly decreasing during the Beeching era, the first section of the line being closed in 1963. This was the rope worked 1 in 8 Middleton Incline. The rest of the line was fully closed in spring 1967, including the 1 in 8 Sheep Pasture Incline and the Hopton Incline. The High Peak Trail Today In 1971 the Peak Park Planning Board and Derbyshire County Council bought part of the track bed (i.e. from Dowlow, near Buxton, to High Peak Junction, Cromford) and turned it into the 17 miles (27 km) High Peak Trail - now a national route of the National Cycle Network and popular with walkers, cyclists and horse riders. The High Peak Trail (and indeed part of the Tissington Trail, below) are now also designated as part of the Pennine Bridleway, a 130 miles (209 km) leisure route which starts at Middleton Top, near Cromford, and includes 73 miles (117 km) through Derbyshire to the South Pennines. The Middleton Incline Engine House has also been preserved, and the ancient engine once used to haul loaded wagons up is often demonstrated. Another attraction along the route is the Steeple Grange Light Railway, a narrow gauge railway running along the track bed of a branch line off the C&HPR. Near Cromford at the top of the town of Wirksworth, the railway passed under Black Rocks a popular gritstone climbing ground, and gave the name to the 'railway slab', a short tricky 'boulder problem' by the railway track. |
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Cromford Canal Museum
View Museum The Cromford Canal Is joined by High Peak Railway at High Peak Junction were stone from Middleton quarry and beyond was transhipped Description by LeeW The Cromford Canal Completed in 1794; the canal was constructed by William Jessop & Benjamin Outram (partners in the Butterley Company). The main canal runs approx 14.5 miles (23km) from the wharf at Cromford to the Erewash Canal at Langley Mill. Later additions to the canal include the Leawood Arm built in 1802 by Peter Nightingdale to service his mills and leadworks; the Pinxton arm which runs for approx 3 miles from Pinxton Wharf - original end of the Mansfield & Pinxton Railway and opened in 1819; and an attempt to join the canal to the Manchester side of the Peak District by the High Peak Railway (constructed 1824 - 1830). The canal along with numerous tramways and wharfs allowed this part of the coalfield to develop during the early 1800's. The route of the canal includes a number of listed and heritage status features including Cromford Canal Wharf Warehouse (Listed Grade II): Built by Nathaniel Wheatcroft in 1794; in 1814 a 'lean-to' shed was added The Wigwell Aqueduct (Scheduled Ancient Monument): The aqueduct built in 1790s crosses over the river Derwent, it is 183m long and 9m high with three arches Gregory Tunnel (Short tunnel; unlisted): Built c1792 and is approx 73m in length Counting House (Listed Grade II): Built 1794 and part late 1800's. Limited space and it's proximity to a culvert give it an unusual shape Cromford Canal Wharf Cottages (Listed Grade II): Two cottages built for the Cromford Canal Company in 1796 and later extended Warehouse (Listed Grade II): Built c1824 next to and over the feeder arm of the canal and shortly after this feeder was built. The warehouse was equipped with a crane and an overhang above the canal. Accommodation Bridge (Unlisted): Built c1792 is similiar to others along the canal but has a notable feature of wear in the stonework caused by the tow ropes High Peak Junction (Small museum): Railway opened in 1830 and includes a number of inclines along route. At the High Peak Junction are the buildings of the workshop, other nearby features include escape branch (with crashed waggon) Lengthman's Cottage (Listed Grade II): Built c1830 at the junction of the Leawood Branch with the canal; there is a small ruined building adjacent alongside the Leawood Arm Canal Warehouse (Unlisted): The was built in 1850 to replace an earlier building and is situated between the canal and the railway, these is an adjacent building c1850 which were used has the railway offices. Leawood Pumphouse (Listed Grade II & Scheduled Ancient Monument): Built in 1849 to house a steam pumping engine. A Boulton & Watt single action beam engine is housed at the site and is occasionally run from time to time Canal Aqueduct over the Railway (Scheduled Ancient Monument): Built c1850 carrying the canal over the railway Butterley Tunnel: Built in 1792 by the Butterley Company with an original length of nearly 3000 yards and at the time was the Worlds' third longest. Approximately 880yards from the western portal is an underground wharf which linked to the Butterley Pits and Works. Since it construction it has twice been extended; the first time by the construction o fthe Midland Railway over the the western portal and then by the builing of the A38 over the same area, thus it's total length is now 3063 yards. |
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Towcester Ironworks Iron Smelt Mill
View Smelt Mill |
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Stowe Ironworks Iron Smelt Mill
View Smelt Mill |
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Heyford Ironworks Iron Smelt Mill
View Smelt Mill |
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Hunsbury Ironworks Iron Smelt Mill
View Smelt Mill Opened in 1873 |
| South East England |
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Croydon Merstham and Godstone Iron Railway
View Railway The CMGIR was built 1803-05 and ran from Merstham in Surrey to Croydon where it formed an end on junction with the Surrey Iron Railway (built 1801-03) which ran to the Thames at Wandsworth. The CMGIR was a textbook Outram line. The CMGIR primarily served limeworks and a stone quarry at Merstham, and also carried other goods such as timber, coal, fullers earth and miscellaneous goods. It is likely to have carried stone from the Godstone quarries, using a siding at Purley. After the Croydon Canal was completed in 1809 traffic was diverted to it instead of the SIR via a short linking line usually called the Pitlake Tramway. The CMGIR was closed around 1838 when it was bought by the London and Brighton Railway. Few relics remain. What little survived at Merstham has mostly been buried by the M23. There are some archaeological remnants surviving. The underground stone quarries contain a few CMGIR related artefacts. Some rails ended up underground at Godstone where they were reused as an underground tramway in a firestone quarry. Key locations: Merstham terminus: TQ299539 Cutting (Protected Monument) TQ287545 Overbridge: TQ287558 Embankment: TQ296594 |
| South West England |
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New Roskear Mixed Shaft
View Shaft The shaft was sunk from 1923 onwards . Intially it was in the New Dolcoath Sett but that closed in 1930 for lack of new investment. It wasn't very successful producing 170 tons of tin, 20 tons of Wolfram and some arsenic. South Crofty took over the shaft in 1936. The shaft circular, 610m. Old headframe had been dismantled for WWII scrap. Shaft used as upcast for Crofty together with Taylor’s shaft. Refurbished 1994 with electric winder & became South Crofty 2nd egress when Robinson's shaft closed 1996. |
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Liskeard and Caradon Railway
View Railway The Liskeard and Caradon Railway was a standard gauge mineral line, built to serve the copper mines of the Minions district, and the granite quarries further north. Initially horse drawn, locomotives were introduced later. The line took stone and ore to the head of the Looe Canal, later replaced by the Liskeard and Looe Railway. The LCR opened in 1846 and was closed and the rails lifted in 1917. Relics are plentiful, especially around Kit Hill and on the moors to the north. The Kilmar Railway was effectively a northerly extension of the line to serve the granite quarries at Kilmar Tor. Bibliography: The Railways, Canal and Mines of Looe and Liskeard, L.Popplewell (1977) |
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Gweek Tin Port
View Port In the 18th century used by the mines around Wendron for exporting tin. Used for migration in the next century. |
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Greenhill Works Arsenic Factory
View Factory GREENHILL WORKS This was a combined Arsenic, Brick and Chemical Works. The Greenhill Works was built in 1875 closing very soon after due to financial difficulties. However it was taken over in 1882 by Gunnislake Clitters mine. At the beginning of the 20th Century it was treating ore from several local mines including the Tavistock mines. The date of closure is uncertain but it is believed to be 1823 but other sources say the plant was still at work until the 1930's. The site remains are quite extensive with some abandoned buildings and blackened burnt tailings between the railway and the Chilsworthy road at North Dimson, Gunnislake (opposite the Clitters Engine Houses). Further along the Chilsworthy road up on the right are some old building in use as industrial premises and most of all the Arsenic stack (flues mostly gone) which stands at just under 200 ft tall, originally this was 212 ft tall but the top 12 feet were blown off by lightening in 1989! The buildings of the brickworks are complete and can be found at the side of the road to the left. |
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Redruth and Chasewater Railway
View Railway The idea for constructing the Redruth & Chasewater Railway was put forward by John Taylor in 1824 as a direct result of redevelopment plans for the Consolidated Mines. Taylor's insight and drive took a failing concern and within 20 years transformed it into a famous mine at the centre of the then richest couple of square miles in the world. Prior to the 1820's pack horses had been used to move materials. Mines were exporting copper ore for smelting and importing engine coal, wood for pitwork and other materials. Taylor realised that a more efficient and effective transportation route was needed. The official opening of the railway took place on 26th January 1826. John Taylor was the railway's first manager. It's nine miles stretched from Devoran's new quays at Restronguet Creek on the River Fal to the developing inland mines around Redruth, Carharrack and Chacewater. Until 1854 the line remained horse drawn and the Great Coal Yard to the east of Carharrack was a hive of activity with numerous horses and trucks. The steam era began with the purchase of two locomotives, "Smelter" and "Miner". A third engine, "Spitfire" arrived soon after in 1856. All three engines continued to work the line until its closure. The first two were Neilson 0-4-2St and the last Neilsen 0-6-0St. It must be said that by 1877 the zenith was over and the line's decline had set in. The railway became dependent upon the Basset Mines at Carnkie for its existence. "Miner" was the engine engaged on the last train down to Devoran on 15th September 1915. The GR. is the workshop at Devoran. The line's title included the word "Chasewater" even though the village is spelt "Chacewater". Bibliography: The Redruth and Chasewater Railway 1824-1915, D.B.Barton (1960) |
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Coombe Arsenic Mill
View Mill |
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Looe Copper Port
View Port Quite an important port for shipping copper during the heyday in the 19th century. For example between 1858-77 it shipped 26391 tons of ore to Sweetland Tuttle and Co. in Neath. |
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Crew's Hole Copper Smelt Mill
View Smelt Mill The site was leased to the Elton & Tyndall copper company until about 1796 and Matthews & Arnold had a brass and spelter (zinc) works in Crews Hole in the 1820s. A map dated around 1803 showed the 'Old Brass Works' where the cupolas were sited but also shows a separate 'Copper Works' adjacent to Troopers Hill. This works is located exactly where the flue from Troopers Hill chimney came down to the riverside. Since the hill and the riverside site were both owned by the Brass Company it seems very likely that the chimney was built to serve the new Copper Works in the 1790s. It is certain that the chimney was built before 1826 as it is shown in a drawing from this date. By the end of the 1800s the chimney was being used by Stone & Tinson who had a large works on the site of the copper smelter. They continued to use the chimney until around the time of the First World War. Butlers took over the Stone & Tinson site in 1924 after it had closed but by then the chimney was disused so it was never re-used by Butlers. |
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Poldice Tramway
View Tramway The Poldice Tramway was built in 1809 as a plateway to connect the copper mines at Scorrier and Poldice to Portreath harbour on the north coast. It was horse-powered, and although it greatly improved transport of ore to the coast compared to the previous means, it was a technological cul-de-sac beign a plateway, and was superceded by more efficient lines such as the Redruth and Chasewater, and Hayle Railways. Nevertheless, the line struggled on for many years. Bibliography: Portreath: Some Chapters in its History, Michael Tangye (1984) "Portreath and its Tramroad", published in "Essays in Cornish Mining History Vol.2" by D.B.Barton, (1970) |
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Dark Hill Iron Smelt Mill
View Smelt Mill |
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Kilmar Railway
View Railway The Kilmar Railway was a northern extension of the Liskeard and Caradon Railway, built to serve granite workings at Kilmar Tor and Bearah Tor. The course of the line is easily followed today. |
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East Cornwall Mineral Railway
View Railway In 1859 the Tamar Coal, Manure & General Mercantile Company was formed. They had wharves, engine works and stores at Kelly Quay, Calstock (now called Kingfisher Quay). They built an incline plane from the quay up the Danescombe valley finishing 350 ft above Calstock at The Butts. In 1862 the Tamar, Kit Hill & Callington Railway Company was formed with the intention of connecting the incline to Callington. A Bill was passed in 1864, land and rails were purchased and work commenced. Most of the finance came from outside the region as local people thought the railway was being built too cheaply. They were proved correct as the engineering problems were greater than envisaged and the contractor found himself in money difficulties. Work was halted and nothing happened for six years. In 1869 the scheme was revived as the Callington to Calstock Railway, though in fact the line terminated at Kelly Bray (SX360715) a mile north of Callington. It later became the East Cornwall Mineral Railway. The line went from Kelly Bray round the northern side of Kit Hill where there was a siding connecting to the Kit Hill Quarry incline plane. There were stations at Monks Corner (Luckett), Cox's Park (Latchley) and Gunnislake. At Gunnislake there were lines going to Clitters, Pearson's Quarry and Greenhill Arsenic Works. Two saddle-tank engines pulled the goods from Kelly Bray to the top of the incline. The wagons were then let down the rope incline, two loaded wagons were pulled up as three went down. The first wagons were built by a Calstock carpenter, A.W. Williams in the wagon shed at the top of the incline. The wagons were then hauled along the quay by horses to the copper quay which was on the site of the present Calstock village hall and car park. Tin, copper, arsenic, bricks, stone and coal were carried and for the first four years profits were good. Gradually the mines began closing and trade began to decline, what was needed was a passenger service. Information Calstock-History Two locos. A pair of 0-4-0STs. One was works no. 1660 built by Neilsen & Co. in 1871. Believed to have been scrapped in 1909. Photo is bridge just west of Calstock. [link] GR is for Calstock. |
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Par-Luxulyan Railway
View Railway Bugle Railway Station SX017594 Luxulyan Station SX047581 Ponts Mill SX073559 Par Station SX076542 J. T.Treffry owned the rich Fowey Consols Mine, which was worked by 6 steam engines and 17 waterwheels. Treffry linked his mine to his new port at Par by a canal. By 1847 J T Treffry had built a canal from Par to Ponts Mill. Treffry built the Par Canal by canalising 2.25 miles of the river and digging a new river channel slightly to the east. There was an entrance lock to the canal at the harbour, and then two more between there and its terminus at Ponts Mill, north of St Blazey. He then built a tramroad from Ponts Mill (the canal head) to Molinnis near Bugle. Work began in 1835 with an inclined plane from the canal basin at Ponts Mill, past the Carmears Rocks, to the level of the top of the valley, then a level run through Luxulyan and on to its terminus at the Bugle Inn near Mollinis. This required a high-level crossing of the river, for which they built the great Treffry Viaduct, 650 feet long and 100 feet high. It was built of stone from the Carbeans and Colcerrow quarries, and the lines from the quarries to the viaduct were the first parts of the railway to be operational. The railway was completed in 1844. The viaduct carried both rails and a water channel to bring more water for the Fowey Consols. On its way down, the water was used to power the Carmears incline, by means of a waterwheel, 34 feet in diameter. This enabled the railway to work loads up the incline, against gravity. This tramroad was extended alongside the canal down to Par in 1855, and replaced the canal. In turn the tramway was replaced by the Cornwall Minerals Railway in 1874, enabling the development of china-clay and china-stone works at the foot of the valley. The Canal. Par Canal ran for 1 mile 7 furlong with 3 locks from a tramroad at Pontsmill to Par harbour, in St Austell Bay, Cornwall. 1847 Opened for the carriage of tin, lead ore and china clay transhipped in containers onto boats from a tramway. 1873 Closed. The extension of the railway from Ponts Mill to Par Port used the towpath of the canal. The Par Canal was also constructed by Treffry to take copper ore from the base of the Fowey Consols inclined plane railway to the port he constructed at Par. Joseph Austen (later Joseph Treffry)started construction of a harbour in 1829 near the mouth of the river; and the harbour was completed in 1840. A 450 feet breakwater encloses 35 acres of water but it has always been tidal with only 16 feet depth of water so cannot handle the large ocean-going ships seen at Fowey. In 1858 15,154 tons of china clay were shipped out. By 1885 86,325 tons were being handled at Par, but Fowey now had a railway line and handled 114,403. In 1987 the Fowey handled 700,000 tons. To start the railway and canal were used mainly to service Austen's mines and quarries above St Blazey. Treffry built the Par Canal to serve the harbour by canalising 2.25 miles of the river and digging a new river channel slightly to the east. There was an entrance lock to the canal at the harbour, and then two more between there and its terminus at Ponts Mill, north of St Blazey. The railway then used inclined planes to carry tramways to Fowey Consols mine and Colcerrow quarry REf. Cornwall Calling |
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Marriott's Mixed Shaft
View Shaft The surface remains at Marriott's shaft present a complete contrast to those on Daubuz' and Pascoe's shafts. Both of these were equipped with traditional Cornish beam engines, whereas Marriott's was refitted, following a disastrous fire in1895, with more up-to-date engines. At the time of its closure in 1918 it was one of the best equipped shafts n Cornwall.. Much can be deduced from the field evidence and it is hoped that further protection will be given to this excellent site: in 1986 only the pumphouse was scheduled as an Ancient Monument. The upper section of the shaft was 16 feet in diameter and contained two sets of 18 inch diameter plunger pumps and pitwork which delivered 1,600 gallons of water per minute. These were driven from an inverted compound beam engine with 40 inch and 80 inch cylinders. It was made by Hathorn Davey of Leeds and began work in 1899. The structure of the pump house adjacent to the shaft indicates the layout of this comparatively unusual type of beam engine: there is no solid bob wall as in other engine houses, since the beam operated beneath the floor of the pumphouse, pivoted within the house itself. The cylinders rested on the first floor which was supported by massive interior buttresses. In fact, only one of the two engines planned for the pumphouse was ever installed and the slot beneath the floor for the second beam is clearly visible. Adjoining the pumphouse is the roofless boiler house which originally provided steam for the pump, winder, compressor, capstan and crusher engines. On closure, it contained six Lancashire boilers and a Green's economiser through which the flue gases passed to the integral stack adjacent to the pumphouse wall. The winding house, to the east of the shaft, is a large square building with windows at first floor level only. This contained a horizontal cross-compound winding engine made by Holman Bros of Camborne. The engine had 23 inch and 43 inch cylinders mounted on plinths each side of the drum space: it is possible to tell from the mounting bolt holes the positions of the cylinders.In between the plinths was suspended a conical winding drum, whose diameter varied from 12 to 25 feet to give a maximum winding speed in the shaft of 2,000 feet per minute. Marriott's shaft also housed pipe lines from the compressed air plant in the building west of the pumphouse. This contained a cross compound two stage plant made by Fraser and Chalmers, capable of operating thirty rock drills. The building consists of a solid concrete plinth to first floor level with a centre cut out and central flywheel recess. The plant layout can be deduced from the surviving concrete bases and the seven crow-holes each side give access to the holding-down bolts. West of the compressor house is the solidly built base of the stone breaker. Ore was brought from the shaft head on an elevated, which also enabled waste to be taken to the dumps. Crushed stone was stored in hoppers on the stone breaker base before being taken by railway waggon to the two sets of stamps near Carnkie. The stone breaker was driven from a 16 inch Tangye horizontal engine in the building adjacent, which also powered a capstan to raise pitwork in the shaft when required. Refs: The Basset Mines-Palmer and Neaverson. See Also: SOUTH WHEAL FRANCES; BASSET TRAMWAY; BASSET MINES. |
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Lyle's Mixed Shaft
View Shaft SW688401 The remains here all date from the period when it was re-equipped by the Wheal Basset company from 1879 onwards when they took over this former North Wheal Basset shaft. The shaft is sometimes known as Waddington's, and the layout is similar to Marriott's with a pump, winder, crusher and capstan houses; the winding and pumping engines were, however, of traditional Cornish beam type. The westernmost house contained the original winding engine for the shaft. At one period it also wound from Grace's shaft to the west by ropes along the ground. When the new winder in the valley to the east was commissioned in 1889, Lyle's winder was relegated to capstan duty on the shaft. The derelict ivy covered pumphouse once contained an 80 inch engine to operate 16 inch pitwork, made by Harvey's of Hayle in 1879 to Hocking designs. The engine also pumped from Grace's shaft using flat rod connections; the track for these and the winding ropes can be seen on the ground as an overgrown footpath. The adjacent boiler house served compressor engines as well as the pump and winder; it was rebuilt at least once as can be seen from surviving photographs and at closure contained six Cornish boilers. The small building immediately to the east of the pumphouse contained a 12 inch horizontal engine installed in 1888 to drive a Marsden 14 by 10 inch jaw stone breaker. This was supplied with steam from a Cornish boiler which remains in the hedge bank nearby (no longer there) and was connected to a separate chimney stack. Refs; The Basset Mines-Palmer and Neaverson. See also: NORTH WHEAL BASSET; WHEAL BASSET; BASSET MINE; BASSET TRAMWAY. |
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Thomas Mixed Shaft
View Shaft The only shaft remains on the former West Basset sett are a fragment of the bob wall of the pumphouse. The datestone "AD 1854" marks the remains as the earliest of the setts. The house contained a 60 inch Cornish engine. Ref. Palmer, M. & Neaverson, P., The Basset Mines: Their History & Industrial Archaeology, Northern Mine Research Society, 1987. |
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West Wheal Basset Tin Stamp or Dressing Floor
View Stamp or Dressing Floor SW688402 New Cornish stamps and dressing floors were erected by West Wheal Basset on the former northern part of the North Wheal Basset sett which had been abandoned in 1866. There was insufficient space on their own sett to accommodate the new floors which were required to increase stamping and dressing capacity. The site selected on the southern slope of Cam Brea had a natural fall which was conducive to dressing processes requiring gravitational flow to minimise handling. The only disadvantage of the site was the lack of water which they overcame by constructing an aqueduct to carry water pumped from Thomas' shaft to three surface reservoirs to the north of the stamps engine. This aqueduct lay alongside the tramway they laid to bring tinstone from their producing shafts to the new dressing floors. Water was conserved by recirculation from the bottom of the dressing floors where settling tanks were built underground. It was pumped back by means of a secondary beam on the stamps engine. The remains of the dressing floors are probably unique in Cornwall in presenting a palimpsest of the treatment process practiced during the 19th century. References Palmer, M. & Neaverson, P., The Basset Mines: Their History & Industrial Archaeology, Northern Mine Research Society, 1987. See also: BASSET TRAMWAY; WHEAL BASSET; BASSET MINES. |
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Basset Tramway
View Tramway Basset Tramway (SW 6844 3957 to SW 6864 3967) If the R & C railway was the umbilical cord of the mines around Carnkie the tramways were the arteries within the complex. They were a narrow 1ft 8in gauge and were horse drawn except for one engine that was introduced in 1909. This was a 0-4-0 well tank built by Orenstein and Koppel. At this time the system was operated by Basset Mines Ltd but part of the operation had been introduced at an earlier date. The engine was christened “Kimberly” after Captain William “Kimberly” James and driven by a Mr. Nicholas. When West Basset opened their new stamps in the early 1870s they also built a tramway to connect them with the main shafts. This tramway travelled south crossing under the Piece-Four Lanes road just east of Piece where it eventually split with one extension going to Grenville’s shaft and the other to Marriot’s. In Higher Carnkie the tramway started at the Basset stamps and called at Theager’s, Robert’s, Richard’s and Steven’s shafts before terminating at Samson’s. At some time around 1908 it was further extended to Marriot’s shaft making it about 1200m in length. The tunnel under the Four Lanes has been cleared and reopened. A third line was added connecting the West Basset and the Basset stamps. This entailed tunnelling under the road in Carnkie. This tunnel has been buried under mine dumps. See also: WEST WHEAL BASSET; WHEAL BASSET; BASSET MINES; SOUTH WHEAL FRANCES: WEST WHEAL BASSET STAMP OR DRESSING FLOORS; BASSET STAMP OR DRESSING FLOORS. |
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Portreath (Port) Port
View Port Portreath was an important ore port, particularly in the 19th century. Ore was exported from here and coal and other mining gear imported. Initially mules were used (up to thousand a day) but in the 19th century their duties were taken over by the Poldice Tramway and then also a branch of the Hayle railway. The most spectacular part of the system was the Portreath decline. |
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Bullo Pill Railway
View Railway The Bullo Pill Railway was an early British railway, completed in 1810 to carry coal mined in the Forest of Dean to a port on the River Severn near Newnham, Gloucestershire. It was later converted to a broad gauge steam line by the Great Western Railway, and was closed in the 1960s. [link] |
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Par Port
View Port For a short period in the 1840s the owner of Fowey Consuls, Joseph Austen, alias Treffry, was the biggest mine owner and the largest employer of labour in Cornwall. He built railways and canals as well as leats for his water engines, and constructed Par harbour to bring in mine supplies and take away his copper ore |
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Morwellham Quay Port
View Port The heyday for Morwellham Quay came when the huge copper deposits were discovered at the Devon Great Consols just 4 miles to the north in 1844. £1 shares were soon worth £800 as the rush to extract the ore started. This gave rise to Morwellham's fame as the "richest Copper port in Queen Victoria's Empire" For a detailed account of the copper ore trade see Peter H. Stanier's paper "The Copper Ore Trade of South West England in the Nineteenth Century". |
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Calstock Port
View Port Mining was certainly important in Calstock from Mediaeval times, with the Duchy mining silver. The industry was booming in the late 19th century and the discovery of copper, and coupled with nearby granite quarrying made Calstock a busy port. |
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Perranwharf Port
View Port Developed by George Croker Fox in 1769 to serve the Gwennup mines. It was very successful for many years until the advent of the Redruth-Chacewater railway and Restronguet Creek silted up. |
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Torrington and Marland Clay Railway
View Railway The Torrington and Marland Railway was a narrow gauge railway built to carry clay from the quarries at Clay Moor to Torrington in north Devon. |
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Restronguet Port
View Port An important port in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Heavy machinery was transported by barges from the Perran Foundry to the deep water at the quays of Restronguet. Also import and exports of raw material from the mines. |
| North Wales |
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Ynys y Pandy Slate Mill
View Mill |
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Milwr Tunnel
View Tunnel See also HALKYN UTD and HENDRE for details of surface remains and overview. See Link for further detail- [link] |
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Ffestiniog Railway
View Railway A short history of the Ffestiniog Railway should appear here. |
| Mid Wales |
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Talyllyn Railway
View Railway Talyllyn Railway opened in 1865 to carry slates and passengers along the Fathew valley serving Bryn Eglwys Slate Quarry and the village of Abergynolwyn. |
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Corris Slate Railway
View Railway |
| South Wales |
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Cwmamman Railway
View Railway The Llanelly Railway and Dock Company, opened its line from Pontardulais to Cwmamman on 10th April, 1840. The railway was extended to Gwaun Cae Gurwen on 6th May, 1841. The track followed the River Garnant up the valley and climbed a steep hill (gradient 1 in 4.9), approximately 132 yards (or metres) long, before reaching the village. The line served two collieries on the way, one by an incline on the south side of the valley. In June, 1842, Garnant became a junction, when a railway line was opened from there to Brynamman. The opening of the railway proved to be a major boost to the industrial development of the area, with numerous small pits being opened at the upper end of the valley. By the late nineteenth century, there were a substantial number of colliers employed at Blaengurwen, Cwm-teg and Pantycelyn, and further pits were opened at Maerdy in 1886, Cwmgors in 1887 and the East Pit in 1910. [link] [link] |
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Saundersfoot Railway Coal Railway
View Railway THE SAUNDERSFOOT RAILWAY GR Given is top of Bonville's Court Incline at Winding House. The 4 foot gauge Saundersfoot Railway was built in 1829 to carry primarily coal in the developing Daucleddau coalfield where Saundersfoot was rapidly developing as an industrial centre, by 1846 7 collieries were using the line. It was the first railway in Pembrokeshire and remained independent until the end. It consisted of two main mineral lines and a number of small branches and was originally worked tramway style by pairs of horses pulling 3 loaded drams. One main line connected Stepaside/Kilgetty Collieries & Ironworks (a mile east of Kilgetty railway station) to Saundersfoot Harbour, running along the coast through a series of short tunnels. In Saundersfoot itself the Street now known as The Strand was originally Railway Street where it passed thru the town. The other line ran from Saundersfoot Harbour to Reynalton. It went up an incline of 1 in 5 approx a ½ mile from the harbour, passed beneath the GWR station in a narrow long tunnel and contined in a north westerly direction to Broom and Thomas Chapel Collieries. The line then swung west to Reynalton Colliery. The lines success was based on the continuing success of the collieries in the area and as such by 1874 it became necessary to relay the whole line with flat bottom rails on wooden sleepers enabling the use of locomotives. By the late 1920’s the industry was in recession and the line at a standstill but in 1932 a brief renaissance in the local mines lead to the line becoming active again, but once again economic and geological conditions prevailed and by 1939 the mines were silent for good. The 2 Locomotives were used on the line these being a low profile (for the tunnel) Kerr Stuart 0-4-0ST named Bulldog (Wks No 2040 of 1915) and a classic Manning Wardle O-4-0ST named Rosalind (Wks No 476 of 1874) When the line finally closed in 1939 the rolling stock (71 drams and the Manning Wardle) along with the lines were scrapped just after the outbreak of WW2. Bulldog however survived and lasted until 1951 at Llanelly steel works. A long section of the route follows the coast from Saundersfoot to Wisemans Bridge and is very attractive as it weaves thru 3 small tunnels in the cliffs at one point. Substantial sections of the route can be walked today as part of the Miners Path trail. Significant remains can be found at the following GR’s: Bonvilles Court Incline Winding House SN 126053 Tunnel under Saundersfoot Railway Station SN 124060 Saundersfoot Harbour at SN 136047 Coastal Section Hean Castle to the Tunnels at SN 142056 to SN 140054 Main Colliery and industrial sites served by Railway apart from Harbour were at the following GR’s (assume levelled unless otherwise stated) Grove Colliery (Eng House Preserved) SN 138071 Kilgetty Iron Works (Preserved Building) SN 140073 Kilgetty Colliery SN 138078 Lower Level Colliery SN 133075 Bonville’s Court Colliery SN 124052 Woolson Colliery– inc Hean Castle Brick Works and Woodside Fdy SN144059 Broom Colliery SN 109081 (approx) Thomas Chapel Colliery SN 104087 (approx) Reynalton Colliery SN 090086 (approx) |
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Saundersfoot Coal Port
View Port The Saundersfoot Railway and Harbour Company was formed in 1829 to take coal from Begelly, Bonville’s Court, Thomas Chapel and Stepaside, and iron from Wiseman’s Bridge on 5 specially built jetty's. An incline plane ran down to the portl from Bonville’s Court with the Saundersfoot Rly running along the coast from Wiseman’s Bridge. The Strand which is now the main shopping street, was once called Railway Street as the line ran along its length. In the port area there was much industry including blacksmiths, iron foundries and shipbuilders. |
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Dyffryn Llynfi and Porthcawl Railway
View Railway The origins of the present-day community in the Llynfi Valley date from the late 1820s when the area’s considerable coal and iron-ore resources were developed on an industrial scale for the first time. In 1828 a fifteen-mile horse-drawn railway was completed between a new harbour at Porthcawl and Garnlwyd in the Llynfi Valley. This was the Dyffryn Llynfi and Porthcawl Railway (DLPR); it was extended to the Coegnant district near the head of the valley in 1830.[4] The railway opened-up the district and prompted the formation of an iron company which began building a works on Maesteg Uchaf Farm, near the site of the present-day town centre, in 1826. Source Wiki. |
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Melingriffith to Pentyrch Mixed Railway
View Railway Originally a tramroad operating from 1812 connecting Pentyrch Ironworks to Melingriffith tinplate works. Converted to a railway in 1871 and extended North to meet the Taff Vale Railway. NGR ST143803-ST120833 |
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Brecon Forest Tramroad Coal Tramway
View Tramway The Brecon Forest Tramroad was the brainchild of John Christie. His ultimate plan was to link the collieries in the Onllwyn area to limestone quarries around Penwyllt, and to carry lime northwards as far as Sennybridge to improve the land in the upper Usk valley. With limekilns at Sennybridge as well, some coal and limestone traffic made the journey northwards to the end of the line as well as the burnt lime. The first part of the line was short-lived, running from high in the hills at Pwll Byfre to Sennybridge, and was abandoned quickly when no coal deposits were found in the area. Geological knowledge was pretty rudimentary at the time! When the rural market for coal and lime proved to be limited, the line was extended southwards to the Swansea Canal which enabled a more profitable line in coal exports to be pursued. Even so, Christie was declared bankrupt in 1827. Joseph Claypon took over the running of the BFT, and built a further extension southwards to Gurnos. The line continued to carry coal to the canal and to new iron furnaces in the area, along with limestone for use in the blast furnaces. The line continued to function until 1863 when the Neath to Brecon Railway was opened. |
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Tranent to Cockenzie Coal Tramway
View Tramway The Tranent to Cockenzie Waggonway was the first railway in Scotland, opened in 1722. It was 2½ miles long and connected two towns in East Lothian, transporting coal from the pit heads at Tranent to Cockenzie harbour via Meadowmill. Horse drawn wagons were used which held 2 tons of coal. On the return journey the horses would pull 5 empty wagons back to Tranent making around 3 round trips per day. |
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Wemyss Private Railway Coal Railway
View Railway Wemyss Private Railway In 1879 the plans for what was to become known as the Wemyss and Buckhaven Railway were set out. Its route was from Thornton Junction to Methil where the intention was to improve the Harbour before the Leven Harbour Company could develop theirs as the coal port of the district. RGE Wemyss successfully managed to achieve both the building of the railway with the redeveloped Harbour at Methil opening in 1887. By 1897 R.Wemyss had decided to build the Wemyss Private Railway, thus an agreement was made in 1899 such that the Wemyss Coal Co. Ltd would build a railway to link the lines between Methil dock and the adjacent, Denbeath Colliery. The plan being for the coal traffic generated by Lochhead, Earlseat and Michael Collieries to moved without using the North British Railway Company’s routes. The main centre of operations being at the Baum mechanical coal preparation plant built near to the docks in 1905 with the intention of servicing all the Wemyss Collieries.When it was realised that the capacity of Methil Dock was in sufficient to meet the amount of demand Wemyss persuaded the NBR Co. to build a new dock known as No. 3 dock, opening in 1913.When WW1 started shipping from Methil harbour saw a considerably reduction. In the early 1920's the Wemyss Coal Co. Ltd sank a much deeper shaft at their Michael Colliery opening in 1932 to work the deep seams under the Firth of Forth thus making it the deepest and most productive pit in Scotland. It was producing some 1,000,000 tons a year but tragically a terrible fire bought about the closure of the mine for ever. Some 70 years after the opening of the line and with the closure of Michael Colliery there was insufficient traffic to justify the lines existence and it closed. NGR given is for the docks at Mithil |
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Dunaskin Central Washer Coal Mill
View Mill Stand alone coal washery and preparation plant with slurry feflocation plant. Built by Coppee Company Ltd forBairds & Dalmellington Ltd (plant owners), new in 1941, closed in 1988. |
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Montgomeryfield Colliery Coal Mill
View Mill |
MSF Quick Links
North West England
Nenthead Mill
Haltwhistle to Alston Mineral Railway
Shap Works Granite Mill
Lindal Ore Iron Mill
North East England
Flockton Coal Tramway
Darwin Ironworks - Iron Smelt Mill
Rookhope Old Lead Smelt Mill
Midlands
Pentrich and Oakerthorpe Coal Tramway
Crich Mineral Railway - Butterley Co Limestone Railway
Crich Mineral Railway - Clay Cross Company Limestone Railway
Denby Ironworks Iron Smelt Mill
Loscoe and Erewash Coal Tramway
Little Eaton and Denby Gangway Coal Tramway
Gospel Oak Ironworks Iron Smelt Mill
Blists Hill Ironworks Iron Smelt Mill
Dowlow Works Limestone Mill
Lodge Furnaces Ironworks Iron Smelt Mill
Finedon Furnaces Iron Smelt Mill
Irthlingborough Ironworks Iron Smelt Mill
Wellingborough Ironworks Iron Smelt Mill
Wellingborough East End Ironworks Iron Smelt Mill
Rutland Railway Iron Museum
Butterley Company Mixed Railway
Barnsley Coal Railway
Ticknall Mixed Tramway
Butterley Ironworks Iron Smelt Mill
Brymbo Ironworks Iron Railway
Leicester and Swannington Coal Railway
Cromford & High Peak Railway Limestone Railway
Cromford Canal Museum
Towcester Ironworks Iron Smelt Mill
Stowe Ironworks Iron Smelt Mill
Heyford Ironworks Iron Smelt Mill
Hunsbury Ironworks Iron Smelt Mill
South East England
Croydon Merstham and Godstone Iron Railway
South West England
New Roskear Mixed Shaft
Liskeard and Caradon Railway
Gweek Tin Port
Greenhill Works Arsenic Factory
Redruth and Chasewater Railway
Coombe Arsenic Mill
Looe Copper Port
Crew's Hole Copper Smelt Mill
Poldice Tramway
Dark Hill Iron Smelt Mill
Kilmar Railway
East Cornwall Mineral Railway
Par-Luxulyan Railway
Marriott's Mixed Shaft
Lyle's Mixed Shaft
Thomas Mixed Shaft
West Wheal Basset Tin Stamp or Dressing Floor
Basset Tramway
Portreath (Port) Port
Bullo Pill Railway
Par Port
Morwellham Quay Port
Calstock Port
Perranwharf Port
Torrington and Marland Clay Railway
Restronguet Port
North Wales
Ynys y Pandy Slate Mill
Milwr Tunnel
Ffestiniog Railway
Mid Wales
Talyllyn Railway
Corris Slate Railway
South Wales
Cwmamman Railway
Saundersfoot Railway Coal Railway
Saundersfoot Coal Port
Dyffryn Llynfi and Porthcawl Railway
Melingriffith to Pentyrch Mixed Railway
Brecon Forest Tramroad Coal Tramway
Scotland
Tranent to Cockenzie Coal Tramway
Wemyss Private Railway Coal Railway
Dunaskin Central Washer Coal Mill
Montgomeryfield Colliery Coal Mill
North West England
Nenthead Mill
Haltwhistle to Alston Mineral Railway
Shap Works Granite Mill
Lindal Ore Iron Mill
North East England
Flockton Coal Tramway
Darwin Ironworks - Iron Smelt Mill
Rookhope Old Lead Smelt Mill
Midlands
Pentrich and Oakerthorpe Coal Tramway
Crich Mineral Railway - Butterley Co Limestone Railway
Crich Mineral Railway - Clay Cross Company Limestone Railway
Denby Ironworks Iron Smelt Mill
Loscoe and Erewash Coal Tramway
Little Eaton and Denby Gangway Coal Tramway
Gospel Oak Ironworks Iron Smelt Mill
Blists Hill Ironworks Iron Smelt Mill
Dowlow Works Limestone Mill
Lodge Furnaces Ironworks Iron Smelt Mill
Finedon Furnaces Iron Smelt Mill
Irthlingborough Ironworks Iron Smelt Mill
Wellingborough Ironworks Iron Smelt Mill
Wellingborough East End Ironworks Iron Smelt Mill
Rutland Railway Iron Museum
Butterley Company Mixed Railway
Barnsley Coal Railway
Ticknall Mixed Tramway
Butterley Ironworks Iron Smelt Mill
Brymbo Ironworks Iron Railway
Leicester and Swannington Coal Railway
Cromford & High Peak Railway Limestone Railway
Cromford Canal Museum
Towcester Ironworks Iron Smelt Mill
Stowe Ironworks Iron Smelt Mill
Heyford Ironworks Iron Smelt Mill
Hunsbury Ironworks Iron Smelt Mill
South East England
Croydon Merstham and Godstone Iron Railway
South West England
New Roskear Mixed Shaft
Liskeard and Caradon Railway
Gweek Tin Port
Greenhill Works Arsenic Factory
Redruth and Chasewater Railway
Coombe Arsenic Mill
Looe Copper Port
Crew's Hole Copper Smelt Mill
Poldice Tramway
Dark Hill Iron Smelt Mill
Kilmar Railway
East Cornwall Mineral Railway
Par-Luxulyan Railway
Marriott's Mixed Shaft
Lyle's Mixed Shaft
Thomas Mixed Shaft
West Wheal Basset Tin Stamp or Dressing Floor
Basset Tramway
Portreath (Port) Port
Bullo Pill Railway
Par Port
Morwellham Quay Port
Calstock Port
Perranwharf Port
Torrington and Marland Clay Railway
Restronguet Port
North Wales
Ynys y Pandy Slate Mill
Milwr Tunnel
Ffestiniog Railway
Mid Wales
Talyllyn Railway
Corris Slate Railway
South Wales
Cwmamman Railway
Saundersfoot Railway Coal Railway
Saundersfoot Coal Port
Dyffryn Llynfi and Porthcawl Railway
Melingriffith to Pentyrch Mixed Railway
Brecon Forest Tramroad Coal Tramway
Scotland
Tranent to Cockenzie Coal Tramway
Wemyss Private Railway Coal Railway
Dunaskin Central Washer Coal Mill
Montgomeryfield Colliery Coal Mill
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