Railways Around Bridgnorth – Part 2

Highley and Billingsley

South of Bridgnorth in the valley of the River Severn were:

  • Alveley Sidings and Alveley Colliery with a private railway/aerial ropeway;
  • Highley Station;
  • Highley Colliery & Sidings;
  • The Billingsley Railway & Collery; and
  • Kinlet Colliery and Sidings.

These locations were all within the Wyre Forest Coalfield. All were connected to the GWR Severn Valley Railway (SVR)

Alveley Sidings, Alveley Colliery, Private Railway and Aerial Ropeway.

Of the locations looked at in this article the Alveley Sidings and Colliery were the closest to Bridgenorth. It was situated east of the River Severn, a little way north of Highley Station in the area now forming the Alveley section of the Severn Valley Country Park. [8][9]

The shaft at Alveley was sunk in 1935 to a depth of 360 yards by the Highley Mining Company. It was connected to their Highley shaft by underground workings which passed under the River Severn. Production started at the colliery in 1938. The shaft at Highley was then closed in 1939, only being retained for ventilation and as an emergency evacuation route. Alveley’s workings were very modern, with full use being made of electrical power and mechanical working at the coal face.

Coal was brought across the Severn by a rope-worked tramway across a bridge built to serve the mine, which was later replaced with an aerial ropeway in 1961. The colliery was connected to washeries, screens and sidings adjacent to the Severn Valley Railway by an endless cable-worked narrow gauge tramway which crossed the river on a concrete bridge bringing coal to the screens. The tramway was replaced later by an aerial ropeway. The sidings eventually became the location of Country Park Halt on the Severn Valley railway.

Colliery production reached “full output in 1944 with 275,000 tons raised, with that year’s record being 5,547 tons in one week, and a peak of 300,000 tons per year reached in the late 1950s. The colliery became part of the National Coal Bard (NCB) on nationalisation in 1947; at that time employment was 741, rising to over 1,250 in the mid-1950s, and falling to around 700 by the mine’s closure. A major expansion was undertaken in the late 1950s and early 1960s, completed in 1962, after large reserves of coal were found to the East of the current workings. These were purported to be enough to last the mine between 50 and 100 years, but a drop in the quality of coal combined with a reduction in demand due to a national over supply forced the closure of the mine in 1969, with the last coal being lifted on 31 January.” [8]

GWR Plan of Alveley Sidings. The GWR Severn Valley Line is shown in blue, with the sidings shown in red. The image is included here under a Creative Commons Licence, Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0). [8]
The 1943 revision of the Ordnance Survey of 1916, shows inclined plane crossing the River Severn. Alveley Village is to the right side of the map extract. The mine’s sidings can be picked out on the left of the image, to the West of the River Severn. Mine building appear not to have been recorded in any detail. [11]
The same area as it appears on the 1″ Ordnance Survey of 1963. The screens/washing plant can be seen adjacent to the Severn Valley Railway on the left of the map extract. The pithead and associated buildings are at the centre of the image. The aerial ropeway is shown operating between the two locations. [12]

A closer focus is provided on the National Grid Maps, two extracts follow, as the location runs across map boundaries. The Inclined Plane was not replaced by an aerial ropeway until 1960. [15: p16-18]

This extract is taken from Ordnance Survey SO78SE – A, Surveyed/Revised: Pre-1930 to 1954, Published: 1954. It shows the colliery site in more detail and highlights a loop of lines serving the colliery site as well as the inclined plane running down towards the River Severn. [13]
This extract is taken from Ordnance Survey SO78SW – A, Surveyed/Revised: Pre-1930 to 1954, Published: 1954. It shows the site of the screens and sidings for Alveley Colliery in more detail. [14]

George & David Poyner tell us that the “surface haulage used a 7/8th inch rope. The length of the track was 1100 yards so the endless rope was 2200 yards long. The railway was 21″ gauge with wooden sleepers 3′ apart; 9″ rollers fixed in wooden boxes supported the rope. There were eight tubs to each journey: the tubs were made of wood and later of iron and held 10 cwt of coal. The rope took the tubs to the Barker Screens.” [15: p16]

At the pit head, tubs were clipped to the haul-rope in gangs of eight. The first and last tubs, being attached to the rope and the wagons were coupled together. There was an haulage engine at the top of the incline. Initially a skilled operative manned the engine, but later it was worked by signals. when the wagons reached the creeper at the screens, the tubs were unclipped and “they were sent up the creeper into the tippler on the screens and then returned down the retarder. The chalk numbers were removed and the tubs were clipped back onto the haulage rope to go back to the colliery.” [15: p17]

The empties were sent back up the incline to the pit head where they were “unclipped off the rope and sent up creepers to the top and bottom decks of the cage. The supplies were also brought by rail so there were six men loading the tubs with pit props and unloading railway wagons. The rails needed quite a lot of maintenance, during hot weather they would expand and buckle, requiring the joints to be loosened.” [15: p17]

As the Incline became too old for continued use, a case was made for the replacement of the incline with an aerial ropeway. This was considered in 1958 by the colliery reconstruction committee. Apparently, the rope worked incline “required 54 men from the pit to the washery. It was estimated that an aerial ropeway would require 15 mean and would cost £160,568. … Figures are not available to show how much money was actually saved by the aerial ropeway. However, at least in its early days it was plagued by breakdowns.” [15: p18]

The bridge was constructed to carry the tramroad and it’s incline which linked the pit head at the Colliery to the screens and railway sidings on the West Bank of the River Severn. This photograph was shared by Margaret Sheridan on the Alveley History Bridgenorth Shropshire Facebook Group on 21st January 2023. [16]
A view from the West Bank of the River Severn looking East towards the colliery. The bottom of the old Incline Plane is ahead. The line was rope-worked throughout from pit head to screens. This photograph was shared by Margaret Sheridan on the Alveley History Bridgenorth Shropshire Facebook Group on 21st January 2023. [16]
A view from the West Bank of the River Severn, possibly from the colliery screens, which shows the 1935 bridge and the aerial ropeway which was installed in 1960. The pit head and winding gear is visible towards the rear of the photo. This image was shared by Bill Scriven in a comment on the Alveley History Bridgenorth Shropshire Facebook Group on 21st January 2023. [16]
The Seven Valley Railway, Alveley Colliery screens and sidings on the West side of the Severn. This photograph was shared by Margaret Sheridan on the Alveley History Bridgenorth Shropshire Facebook Group on 21st January 2023. [16]
The Alveley Colliery bridge across the River Severn with the aerial ropeway in use above. This picture was shared by the Shropshire Star on their Facebook Page on 28th November 2022. [38]

Further photographs can be found on the Alveley Historical Society web page:

http://www.alveleyhistoricalsociety.org/mining.html [10]

Highley Station

The Station at Highley was just a short distance to the South of the Alveley Colliery sidings.

On this extract from the 1″ Ordnance Survey of 1967 (Sheet 130: Kidderminster – B Edition
Publication date:  Revised: 1949 to 1967, Published: 1967), the mine at Alveley, the 1935 bridge over the Severn, the sidings and screens on the West side of the river are clearly shown well within a mile to the North of Highley Station. [17]

The Station was built and opened at the same time as the Severn Valley line. It “opened to the public on 1 February 1862 and closed on 9 September 1963, before the Beeching axe closures.” [18]

The Station was important as “the transport hub of a colliery district, with four nearby coal mines linked to the Severn Valley line by standard and narrow gauge lines, cable inclines and aerial ropeways . There were extensive sidings along the line, and wagon repair works at Kinlet, half-a-mile south.” [18]

The station was too far from the village of Highley to be convenient. The advent of reliable bus services and better roads soon resulted in passenger use dwindling. However, the signal box at the station remained in use until the closure of Alveley Colliery in 1969. The site of the Station remained disused until it was rejuvenated by the preservation movement.

The map extracts below show the Station in 1882 and then at around the turn of the 20th century.

Henley Station on the 25″ Ordnance Survey of 1882 published in 1884. The junction for the Colliery exchange sidings has been installed. [4]
Highley Station on the 25″ Ordnance Survey from the turn of 20th century. The junction for the colliery sidings appears to the South of the station, just beyond the Cattle Pen. [5]
Looking South through Highley Station in the years prior to preservation. Shared on the Closed Railways Facebook Group on 10th July 2021 by Chris Chiverton. [36]
Highley Railway Station & Signal Box: photo taken in association with the BBC Drama ‘The Signalman’ in the mid-1970s after the opening of the SVR heritage line. The photograph is taken looking to the South. [53]
Looking North through Highley Station in the years prior to preservation. Shared on the Closed Railways Facebook Group on 10th July 2021 by Chris Chiverton. [35]
Highley Railway Station buildings viewed from the Southwest across and engineers train. [Google Streetview]
Highley Railway Station, photographed from the South end of the station adjacent to the water tower with a Class 31 diesel locomotive standing in the Station. [My photograph, 10th February 2023]
The view South from the same point as the picture above. The modern Engine House which sits on the site of the old colliery sidings can be seen top-right. This illustrates the proximity of the old colliery sidings to the Station. [My photograph, 10th February 2023]
Just a few steps further South, we can see the gate to the road crossing at the entrance to the sidings. [My photograph, 10th February 2023]
The view from the crossing gate North towards the station. The close proximity of the sidings to the railway station is once again emphasised. [My photograph, 10th February 2023]
The gated entrance to the modern Engine House on the site of the Highley Colliery Sidings. [My photograph, 10th February 2023]
The lane crossed by the siding at the entrance to the yard is shown in this Southward facing image. The lane passes under the SVR with the line being carried by a steel girder bridge with stone abutments. Just under the bridge the lane provides access to the West bank of the River Severn. [My photograph, 10th February 2023]
A view of the bridge from close to the West bank of the River Severn. [My photograph, 10th February 2023]

Highley Colliery and the Highley Mining Company

John Tennent tells us that in early days (1883), Highley Colliery was connected to the Severn Valley Railway (SVR) at Highley Station via a standard-gauge self-acting rope-worked incline with 3 rails splitting into four at the halfway-point to allow rakes of wagons to pass. A loco may have been used at the top of the incline. [1] There is no evidence of this incline at the station site on the 1883 Ordnance Survey. It may well be that the Incline referred to is that which is shown of the later Ordnance Survey from the turn of the 20th century. That incline just sneaks onto the bottom left of the map extract from the later survey above.

By 1892, the Hindley Mining Co. opened a site a short distance to the Southwest of Highley Station. This became Kinlet Colliery and its link to the SVR was completed by 1895. An agreement between the Company and the GWR dated 27/05/1895 which required the GWR to construct a junction and sidings at the expense of the Hindley Mining Company. John Tennent tells us that these sidings “became known as Kinlet Sidings and survived as a wagon repair yard long after the colliery railways had closed.” [1: p9]

The exchange sidings for the Colliery as shown on the 25″ Ordnance Survey from the turn of 20th century.. [6]
Approximately the same area on Google Earth in 2023. The approximate route of the incline from the sidings to Highley Colliery is marked by the red line. [Google Earth, 10th February 2023]
The Colliery as shown on the 25″ Ordnance Survey from the turn of 20th century. [7]
Approximately the same area on Google Earth in 2023. The approximate route of the incline from the sidings to Highley Colliery is marked by the red line. [Google Earth, 10th February 2023]
An early image of Highley Colliery. [19]
Highley Colliery in 1942. This image was shared on the Telford & Shropshire History Facebook Group by Caren Craft on 26th January 2023. [37]
Highley Colliery pit head and buildings shortly before final closure in 1969. By this time the colliery was only in use as a ventilation and emergency egress point to  allow the escape of underground staff at Alveley Colliery. [20]

By 1900, about 240 men and boys were employed. … Main line railway trucks were filled with coal at the colliery, and then run down a standard gauge incline to the sidings, the layout of which can be seen on the extract from the Ordnance Survey Map, 1888-1913 series [above]. One of the main destinations of the coal was the carpet factories of Kidderminster.” [21]

The Highley Mining Company ran the colliery successfully for many years, with the workforce increasing to 670 by 1937. As the workings moved under the River Severn towards Alveley, a new shaft was opened at Alveley. Once the Alveley and Highley workings had joined up in 1937, men and equipment were transferred to Alveley, and by 1940 Highley Colliery itself had closed, although the pithead remained open for ventilation. The former colliery sidings then became the landsale yard for Alveley Colliery.” [8]

This extract from the National Grid Ordnance Survey mapping of 1954 shows the much reduced railway infrastructure serving Highley Colliery. The Incline has been removed a single siding serve the landsale yard referred to above. Some small elements of the internal tramway at the pit head remain, as doe a short line out onto the spoil heap. [22]

The area of the former sidings was eventually bought by the SVR and is now the site of The Engine House.

This modern satellite image shows a very similar area to that on the map extract above. The preserved station on the SVR is visible at the top-right of the extract. The SVR’s Engine Shed sits on what were once the colliery sidings and much of the Colliery site has reverted to nature. There is a modern carpark on the site of the old colliery in the top-left of this image [23]
The view South into what was the Highley Colliery site which has been utilised as a car park for the SVR and the local nature reserve. To the left of this image, off scene are the carpark facilities which include a display board about the colliery site. [My photograph, 10th February 2023]
The Severn Valley Country Park display board at the Highley Colliery site. The car park is to the left of the display and the line of the incline down to the colliery sidings is shown in a sandy colour. [My picture, 10th February 2023]

The next sequence of photographs show the path which follows the incline between Highley Colliery and the colliery sidings adjacent to the SVR.

The incline leads away Southeast from the Colliery site. [My photo, 10th February 2023]
The incline continued towards the Southeast. [My photo, 10th February 2023]
Creating the incline required excavation through the rock walls which flanked the valley of the Severn. [My photo, 10th February 2023]
Beyond the valley side, the incline continued to fall steeply to the exchange sidings. [My photograph, 10th February 2023]

The Billingsley Railway

Highley, and the area immediately around, it has a long industrial history and the remains of numerous railways and tramways can be seen today. At the end of the 18th century coal mines and a blast furnace were opened in Billingsley. The coal and iron were brought alongside the Borle Brook through Highley by a horse-worked tramway to the River Severn where they were sent downstream in boats. The “tramway worked for no more than 15 years, but its route can still largely be traced on the North side of Borle Brook, running via shallow embankments and cuttings. A little later the Stanley Colliery (1804-1823) opened close to the site of the present Highley Station and this was also served by tramways, as were the numerous sandstone quarries by the river.” [26]

Stanley Colliery was just to the South of Highley Station. It was worked for that short period at the beginning of the 19th century in the sulphur coal at a depth of about 100 yards; the Brooch seam worked by the Highley Colliery was a further 200 yards below this. Stanley Colliery “is partially overlain by the trackbed of the Severn Valley Railway and sidings built by the HMCo. [Highley Mining Company] There are also extensive remains of the stone quarries which worked in this area from perhaps the Middle Ages to the 19th Century.” [21]

The old plateway/tramway/tramroad route is covered in an earlier article in this short series about railways to the South of Bridgenorth:

Railways Around Bridgenorth – Part 1

The tramroad was the first transport venture alongside the Borle Brook. It was some time before industrial development at Billingsley warranted the construction of another railway. In the early 1870s, a new mine had been sunk at Billingsley. The mine site was to the East of the Cape of Good Hope Inn. It “reached ‘Sweet Coal’ at 160 yards depth by Christmas 1872 (Sweet coal is low sulphur coal).” [24]

In the 1875 a public limited company, the Billingsley Colliery Company, was formed to work the mine and a decision was taken to link Billingsley Colliery to the Severn Valley Railway (SVR). [31]

Progress was slow, but eventually, in March 1877, a lease permitting the railway to cross land belonging to the Duke of Cleveland between the mine and the River Severn was signed. Further access rights were granted over land in Kinlet by February 1878 and, in December 1878, the GWR agreed a connection could be made to the SVR. [31]

The mine suffered significant cashflow problems in the late 1870s and the Company was bought out in 1878 by “Samuel Norton Dimbleby. The next year Dimbleby renamed it the Severn Valley Colliery Company and by various means … he raised enough money to allow construction of the railway to begin.” [31]

Work commenced in October 1880. The line was to follow the Borle Brook on its South side as far as New England. There it was to continue alongside the Borle Brook for a short distance “before striking due west to reach the colliery by a chain-worked incline, over half a mile long.” [31]

The line was due to be completed by the end of January 1881 and open by 31st March. This was an ambitious target but the contractors, Messrs Drewitt and Pickering of Stoke on Trent, seem to have made good progress, quickly constructing all the earthworks as far as New England. Then work stopped.” [31] It seems likely that “Dimbleby and the company never had enough money to pay for the completion of the line.” [31]

For two years, Dimbleby strove to complete the railway but without success. “Finally, in October 1882, the materials on the line were sold, probably by Drewitt and Pickering in an attempt to get some of their money back.” [31]

Dimbleby’s endeavours left a local landscape scarred by embankments and cuttings. The fruit of his labours is illustrated below on another series of extracts from the 6″ Ordnance Survey published in 1883.

The 6″ OS Map (published in 1883), shows the remnants of Dimbleby’s intended railway at it’s planned junction with the SVR. Some embankments and cuttings remain along the proposed railway alignment heading West away from the River Severn. [27]
The planned route continued West away from the River Severn. [27]
The intended line followed the Borle Brook as its valley ran to the Northwest. [27]
The route of the intended railway ran close to Borle Brook as it turned to the North near Borle Mill. [27]
The line of Dimbleby’s railway continues to be marked by the red line imposed on the 6″ Ordnance Survey published in 1883. [27]
The proposed railway’s alignment crossed the corners of four different Ordnance Survey sheets. I have resorted to using the later Ordnance Survey of the turn of the 20th century to show its route as the NLS (National Library of Scotland) kindly pieces the sheets for that series together. The different 6″ map sheets were published in 1904 and 1905. The route of the line becomes indistinct after it crossed the tributary of the Borle Brook into an old quarry. [28]

Dimbleby’s efforts were, ultimately, not to be wasted. The mine was purchased, along with Dimbleby’s Severn Valley Colliery Company, in 1882 by Alfred Gibbs. He continued to operate the mine successfully on a small scale until, after the turn of the 20th century, a new company, the Billingsley Colliery Company, was created. [24]

The Billingsley Colliery on the 1902 25″ Ordnance Survey which was published in 1903. [25]

This new company brought great optimism and quickly sought to establish the mine as a significant local player. A connection to the SVR once again became paramount in their plans for the Colliery and a light railway order was sought under the 1896 Act.

The cover of the Order under the Light Railways Act 1896 for the Stottesdon, Kinlet and Billingsley Light Railway, which was made in 1907. [29]

Billingsley Colliery Co. “undertook a major transformation of the mine, including a complete reconstruction of the surface buildings and alteration of the layout – adding a fan-house, lamp room, an electrical powerhouse, carpenters and fitters shops. Electric haulage was installed underground and a rope-hauled narrow gauge tramway built to drop coal tubs down to new railway sidings in a valley at Priors Moor about half a mile away and 300ft lower than the mine site. A new Garden Village was also built for the miners at Highley.” [24]

The Railway was built by 1913. The colliery screens were built at the head of the railway at Priors Moor. Coal came down the Incline was processed and loaded onto wagons. Waste from the screens and pit materials were sent up the Incline to the mine. [24][31]

Leaving the sidings alongside the SVR, the line initially ran parallel to the Kinlet railway, but continued for an extra 1½ miles to the colliery screens at Prior’s Moor. “This had no severe gradients although it did have a number of sharp curves. To work this railway, the Billingsley Colliery Company purchased a second-hand 0-4-0 saddle tank. No 599 built by Peckett’s of Bristol.” [41: p13]

In 1915. Billingsley Colliery was taken over by the Highley Mining Company, this means that they inherited No. 599. As we will see later in this article, they favoured No. 599 over their own locomotive ‘Kinlet’.

Much of the Railway from Kinlet to New England used the earthworks built by Drewitt and Pickering. From New England a spur was created which followed Bind Brook to Priors Moor where it met the narrow gauge ropeway. [31]

This extract from the Bartholomew 0.5 inch to the mile mapping shows the full extent of the Billingsley line. The reversing point at New England can be picked out close to the ‘Ford’ and Billingsley Colliery is at the extreme top-left of the image. There is little detail on the map, which is unsurprising given its scale. [33]

A brickworks opened in Billingsley in the late 1860s and was in use until the start of WW1. An aerial ropeway from the brickworks brought bricks, tiles and other products down to the sidings with coal for the kilns going back to the brickworks. [24][34]

The Colliery itself was relatively prosperous in the years around WW1. It was employing more than 200 men at that time. This prosperity was short-lived, Billingsley Colliery was taken over in 1915 by the Highley Mining Company after it had, had a number of financial and geological difficulties – they also took over the Garden Village housing development in Highley. [24]

The Colliery closed very early in the 1920s. The railway to Priors Moor remained in use until the late 1930s, serving a landsale yard at its terminus near the colliery screens close to Priors Moor. A few of the mine buildings survive and have been turned into farm buildings. The track bed of this railway and some of the bridges survive largely intact. [24]

The landsale yard closed in the 1930s and the railway had been dismantled by the end of 1938. Much of the Billingsley line is now a public footpath; the stretch from Billingsley to New England in Highley forms part of the Jack Mytton Way, a long-distance bridleway. [24][32]

Although initially separate, the Billingsley and Kinlet (see further below) railways were later connected and worked until the closure of Kinlet Colliery in 1937, when the railway was closed. [24]

The Billingsley Railway was about 3 miles in length. It ran along the valley of Borle Brook as far as New England. For much of its life the first section of the line followed the Kinslet line only a metre or two to the North, closer to Borle Brook. The sketch map below is based on a map provided by John Tennent [1: p8] Both the Billingsley Railway and the Kinlet line were gated close to the sidings.

My sketch, based on a segment of a drawing in Tennent’s article. [1: p8]

In its latter years the loop and sidings shown above were removed and along with the branch mainline and a connection was made to the Kinlet line closer to the point at which the steepest gradient of the Kinlet line commenced.

The Billingsley Railway is not shown on any of the extracts from the 25″ (1901/1902) and 6″ Ordnance Survey of 1925 shown in the notes about the Kinlet Colliery further below. I have imposed the approximate route of the line on the 25″ Ordnance Survey of 1901, published in 1902. A red line is shown on the 25″ Ordnance Survey extracts below.

The 25″ OS map extract above shows Kinlet Colliery and its line, the red line imposed on it is the approximate line of the Billingsley Railway. The modern day satellite image shows that the Colliery site and the railway routes are now shrouded in woodland. It is difficult to make out any features. The tributary of Borle Brook which passed under the railway, can just about be made out on the satellite image in the bottom-right. [43]
The view East along the line of the old railway from the point where the Billingsley Colliery line and the Kinlet Colliery line diverged. At the time of the photograph, the area had only very recently been cleared of trees and undergrowth. [My photograph, 10th February 2023]
The line to Billingsley Colliery is indicated by the red line to the right, that to Kinley Colliery by the red line to the left. The line to Kinlet Colliery climbed steeply from this point. [My photograph, 10th February 2023]
A short distance to the West as the Kinlet Colliery line begins its climb to the colliery, it crosses a tributary of Borle Brook. This is the remaining bridge structure (the abutments and pier and a single iron beam (as the picture below shows). This is the structural remains as seen looking South from the formation of the Billingsley Railway. [My Dolton John Smith, 10th February 2023]
A closer view of the East abutment and the central pier of the bridge. It seems to have been strengthened by a lower brick arch close to the level of the stream. The remaining bridge beam can be seen in this image. [My photograph, 10th February 2023]
Looking back to the East along the line of the Billingsley Railway from a point on the line adjacent to the bridge pictured above. [My photograph, 10th February 2023]

There was a culvert provided for this stream when the Billingsley Railway was built. A photograph of the culvert can be seen by following this link. [59]

The SVRWiki website has this picture of a bridge on the line of the Billingsley Railway. I initially thought that this was at this location but the link above indicates that this must be at another location on the line. I have not been able to establish where. The topography does not appear to suit the significant bridges at New England. I’d appreciate any further information that anyone can offer which will allow the location of this photograph to be confirmed. It shows the bridge in 1963 with the trackwork lifted, © Copyright The Selleck Collection and used here under a Creative Commons Licence (CC BY-SA 3.0). [57]
The view ahead to the West from the same point. [My photograph, 10th February 2023]
The old railway route can be picked out easily on the next 25″ OS Map extract (above) – there are earthworks from the much earlier attempt to build a line to Billingsley and the track/footpath which follows the line of the railway can be picked out on the map and on the modern satellite image. The most prominent feature on the satellite image however, does not appear on the map extract – New Road (B4555). [44]
As can be seen on the map extract and the satellite image above, the railway continued but curved round to a northwesterly direction. [My photograph, 10th February 2023]
Further to the Northwest and looking in the same direction. [My photograph, 10th February 2023]
Again, further Northwest the line begins to turn West-Northwest. [My photograph, 10th February 2023]
The approach to the bridge under New Road.
This OpenStreetMap extract, also provided by the NLS, shows the footpath (which follows the railway route), Borle Brook and New Road. The OpenStreetMap also shows the two bridges which carried New Road over Borle Brook and the railway. Neither can be seen easily from the road. [44]

Tennent tells us that there was a single siding on the South side of the line before the railway passed under a concrete bridge built for New Road. [1: p9] There is, unsurprisingly, no evidence of the sliding at the location in 2023!

Looking Northwest on the approach to the relatively modern overbridge which carried New Road over the old railway. Borle Brook flows off to the right of the image. [My photograph, 3rd February 2023]
Looking back to the Southeast under the road bridge. [My photograph, 3rd February 2023]
This photograph shows the culverted Borle Brook as it passes some distance below New Road. The photographer is standing close to the track bed of the old railway on the Northwest side of New Road and looking East, but perhaps 3 metres lower than the line of the Billingsley Railway. [Photograph taken by J.H. Farnworth on 10th February 2023 and included here with kind permission]
About a third of the way along the trackbed between the New Road and Borlemill Bridge, looking North. [My photograph, 3rd February 2023]
Approaching Borlemill Bank and Borle Mill Bridge along the line of the railway. [My photograph, 3rd February 2023]
Looking South along the route of the old railway from Borle Mill Bank. [My photograph, 3rd February 2023]

The railway encountered the old road a few hundreds of yards to the Northwest of New Road. It crossed the road on the level. The old road, Borle Mill Bank, was very steep at either side of Borle Brook’s valley. Tennent says that, “the crossing gates were linked by wires to two semaphore signals at the top of the gradients on each side of the valley. When the gates closed to the road, the signals went to danger and road users stayed at the top of the hill if they had any doubts about the effectiveness of their brakes. Strangely, the signal arms were painted white or grey but not the usual red. They did, however, display the usual red or green lights at night. The west one was level with the top of Borle Mill Cottage garden and the east one was by the bend in the road near the house at the of the hill.” [1: p9]

This next segment of the mapping and satellite imagery shows the railway crossing Borlemill Bank close to Borle Mill and Borlemill Bridge. [45]
Looking West-southwest along Borl Mill Bank across Borlemill Bridge towards the location of the Billingsley Colliery Railway Crossing which was just to the West of the Bridge. [Google Streetview]
Still looking West-southwest, the red line shows the route of the old railway which is followed by a public footpath. There is a styal for the footpath just this side of the vehicle closest to the camera. [Google Streetview]
A gate protects the footpath as it heads North away from Borle Mill Bank on the line of the old railway. [My photograph, 3rd February 2023]

The railway continued North alongside Borle Brook.

North of Borle Mill the line of the old railway crosses what is now open farmland. I have shown the approximate line of the railway on the satellite image as well as the 25″ Ordnance Survey as the route is indistinct. One of the short cuttings is still visible on the satellite image at the third point from the top of the image. [46]
The first field boundary along the line of the old railway. [My photograph, 3rd February 2023]
The line cut across the fields, alternately running close to the brook and then further away. [My photograph, 3rd February 2023]
Borle Brook from the line of the old railway. [My photograph, 3rd February 2023]
The line of the old railway follows Borle Brook closely on the way to New England, a small hamlet which was located just off the North West corner of these map and satellite extracts. [47]
The styal at the entrance to the woodland shown above. The formation of the old railway runs ahead, now close to the brook. [My photograph, 3rd February 2023]
The railway route alongside Borle Brook as it approached New England. [My photograph, 3rd February 2023]

About a mile from Borlemill Bridge, the line crossed a tributary stream and entered a short reversing line. Two bridges crossed the tributary and the ongoing line needed to curve sharply to the South to follow the tributary. The location was known as New England.

An enlarged extract from the 1901 25″ Ordnance Survey which was published in 1902. Note the ford across Borle Brook, the tributary to the South and the row of terraced cottages. This was a reversing point on the line to Prior’s Mill. [48]
The area remains deeply wooded. Most of the evidence of the terrace of cottages has gone, the quarry workings and the route of the old railway are completely hidden by vegetation. An archaeological unit undertook a dig at the site and uncovered the remains of one of the end cottages. The remains are still on display. [48]
The remains of New England Cottages. the reversing point was a few 10s of metres to the South of the lane at this location. [Google Streetview, August 2021]

In 1807 two rows of stone cottages were built at right angles to each other. The cottages were occupied by colliers, woodsmen and labourers. There was also a brick washhouse on the site. By 1918 the cottages were empty and demolished. The footprint of one of the cottages can still be seen,” (as shown in the Google Streetview image above). [49]

The ford on New England Lane crossing Borle Brook. [Google Streetview, August 2021]

In addition to the cottages, there is a ford near the location and the remains of Highley’s first sewage works. The ford by which New England Lane crossed Borle Brook can be seen above. The site of the sewage works can be seen immediately below.

Picnic benches sit at what was the site of the Highley Sewage Works! [My photograph, 3rd February 2023]
The information board at the picnic site. [My photograph, 3rd February 2023]

Three bridges at this location are shown on the Ordnance Survey below. All are shown with footpaths crossing them. The footpaths over the bridges crossing the tributary are now closed.

The location on Ordnance Survey Digital Mapping in 2023. The footpaths shown follow the old railway’s routes, entering the extract from the right, trains would have crossed the tributary before then reversing up the line to the South. Borle Brook flows from the top-left to the centre-right of this image, the tributary flows from the south towards a confluence with Borle Brook © Crown Copyright. [49]
The Donkey Bridge over Borle Brook. This is the bridge shown on the modern digital OS Map extract above close to the right side (east) of the extract. This bridge carries the Jack Mytton Way and South of it the Jack Mytton Way follows the old railway formation, © Copyright Noisar and licensed for reuse under a Creative Commons Licence (CC BY-SA 2.0). [50]
The more northerly of the two rail bridges over the tributary. The deck has collapsed and is now partially blocking the stream. The short length of footpath which crossed the bridge is now closed! [My photograph, 3rd February 2023]

A sequence of three photos of the second bridge follows …..

A view from the footpath to the East of the stream, facing Southwest. [My photograph, 3rd February 2023]
A view along the Eastern edge-girder of the bridge deck taken from the South. My photograph, 3rd February 2023]
A view from the South across the bridge deck. The footpath beyond the bridge, to the North, is barriered-off but it remains possible to walk out over the bridge to look up and down the stream. [My photograph, 3rd February 2023]

After reversing at New England, trains crossed the tributary stream and followed its East bank to Priors Moor. There it terminated at the colliery screens.

The green dotted line on this extract from the OpenStreetMap shows the approximate line of the public footpath which follows the old railway formation. The detail at the confluence of Borle Brook with its tributary stream (top-right) does not quite match the Ordnance Survey extract above. This length of the railway formation now carries part of the Jack Mytton Way. [51]
Ths extract from the OpenStreetMap website shows the main areas of interest on this section of the line. [54]
After running to the South, the line turned to the West, heading toward Priors Mill. [My photograph, 3rd February 2023]
For a time, the footpath along the route was no more than a narrow path, but it widened out to cover the full width of the formation of the old railway. Ahead, the formation crosses the line of a stream on the bridge shown below. [My photograph, 3rd February 2023]
A small-span girder bridge which carried the old railway over a minor stream. [My photograph, 3rd February 2023]
The same bridge in monochrome, shared on the Highley Forum by ‘badgerbrad’ and included here by kind permission of the photographer. [61]
Approaching the Priors Mill site near Ray’s Bridge the line passed over the site weighbridge. This is what remains of the weighbridge office. [My photograph, 3rd February 2023]
After the weighbridge, the line curved to the right. [My photograph, 3rd February 2023]
The line then curved round to run alongside the screens. [My photograph, 3rd February 2023]

Priors Moor, the terminus of the standard-gauge Billingsley Railway: The railway terminated at the Billingsley Colliery screens at Priors Moor. Tennent tells us that “just before the terminus, a single road engine shed was passed on the right. The colliery was situated some 200 feet above the valley near Billingsley village and was connected to the screens by means of a rope-worked narrow-gauge tramway incline. The screens and railway yard were partly constructed on a girder bridge above the stream and this structure can still be seen from the adjacent road.” [1: p9-10]

We did not see any remnants of the engine shed on our site visit on 3rd February 2023. We found the channelled length of the stream and the culvert which carried the stream under the screens.

The walled channel of the diverted stream. [My photograph, 3rd February 2023]
Another view of the walled channel of the diverted stream. [My photograph, 3rd February 2023]
The East end of the culvert which supported the screens. The walled channel of the diverted stream. [My photograph, 3rd February 2023]
Another view of the East portal of the culvert. [My photograph, 3rd February 2023]
A view across the far end of the culvert towards Ray’s Bridge. [My photograph, 3rd February 2023]
The West end of the culvert which supported the screens, seen from the North. [My photograph, 3rd February 2023]

The yard was also the terminus of a short-lived aerial ropeway serving a brick works near the Cape of Good Hope Inn. It seems that the brickworks were reopened in 1914. Tennent tells us that this was intended to “provide bricks for miners’ houses at the “New Village” at Highley … [The ropeway had a short working life as, following a dispute with the local council, building work ceased and the ropeway closed just a year after opening. It was not dismantled until 1937-38 when the railway was lifted. … The delivery of bricks was unbelievably complicated – ropeway to Priors Moor, Billingsley Railway to Kinlet Sidings, GWR to Highley Station and steam lorry to the building site. The latter caused complaints as it cut up the roads.” [1: p11]

The AditNow website has a number of photographs of the Priors Moor location, all of these were provided by I.A. Recordings. Rather than showing the images here, links are provided to the most relevant pictures to the Priors Moor site: [52]

Tennent provides an excellent monochrome postcard view of the Priors Moor site [1: p10] which shows that the sidings had four lines. The same image (below) was shared on the Bewdley Past Facebook Group in 2018.

Billingsley Colliery screens and sidings in around 1915. This image was shared by Andy Pye on the Bewdley Past Facebook Group on 29th March 2018. The image was published as a postcard in 1916. The screens and aerial ropeway were driven by electric motors powered by a steam generator at the colliery, © Reg Southern. [55]

Steam on the Billingsley Railway

Peckett & Sons Ltd. W4 Class 0-4-0ST (Works No. 599)

This locomotive was built in May 1895 for “Christopher Rowland, a shunting contractor of Swansea Docks: the works photograph shows that it carried “R No. 4” on its tank indicating that it was his fourth locomotive. In August 1891 Rowland was given a contract by the Swans Harbour Trust to load and discharge ballast and cargoes at the docks. … His business continued until his death in 1910 when it is probable that his work was taken over by Powesland and Mason, the main shunting contractors at the docks.” [41: p13]

No. 599 seems to have become surplus to requirements at this time and “was sold to C.D. Phillips, an engine dealer of Newport. … [by] May 1913 … the engine had probably been acquired by the Billingsley Colliery Company. William Foxlee, a director of the Billingsley Colliery Company was also a railway engineer who admired the products of Peckett’s Atlas works; he may have recommended purchase of [No.] 599.” [41: p13]

Several hundred of Peckett’s W4 Class locos were built over a period of 20 years from 1886. “As built, it was of peculiar appearance as it was adapted for extensive street running. … The wheels and coupling rods were hidden behind hinged panels and the exhaust steam from the cylinders was not discharged into the air but was led back by pipes to the tank where it was silently condensed. It is likely that, if these modifications still exited in 1913, they were removed by the Billingsley Colliery Company. The cab had no side panels above waist height as originally built, it is possible that more protection would have been offered to the crew when the engine ran to Billingsley.” [41: p13]

The Highley Mining Company bought Billingsley Colliery in 1915. When Billingsley Colliery closed in 1921. Poyner suggests that they favoured the 0-4-0ST which it seems was more than capable of managing the 1 in 15 incline and was more able to negotiate the sharp curves on the Billingsley Colliery line. It was retained and ‘Kinlet’ was sold.

Kinlet Colliery and Railway

Kinlet Sidings as shown on the 6″ Ordnance Survey as revised in 1925 and published in 1929. The line running to the West at the top of the extract serves the Colliery. The bridge shown at the top of this map extract is the Viaduct over Borle Brook which is illustrated in the section of this article about the Billingsley Railway. There is a signal box shown immediately South of the Viaduct and to the East of the SVR. [30]

The first siding for the Highley Mining Company’s Kinlet Colliery was sanctioned for use by the Board of Trade on 9 October 1895. It was situated a short distance south of Borle Viaduct, and had a single south-facing connection to the main line. The GWR subsequently entered into a contract for coal from the colliery, and in 1899 the sidings were greatly enlarged and connected to a 320 yard loop off the main line, accessed by a ground frame at each end. The Kinlet Sidings North ground frame was located on the left (west of the line) at 142 miles 9 chains, and Kinlet Sidings South ground frame on the right (east of the line) at 142 miles 3.9 chains.” [58]

When the New Billingsley Colliery Company applied to the GWR for siding accommodation in 1911. This was provided at the point where Kinlet traffic was already dealt with.

To handle the increased traffic from both collieries, a new signal box was opened in December 1913. Unlike all other signal boxes on the line, it was able to switch out, presumably only being open when required. The Signalling Record Society holds a document (SRS200701006) dated 16/08/1911, which references the new connection to Billingsley Colliery, including the provision of the new signal box. There are records of new tablet machines being provided in Arley and Highley signalboxes, used for long section working (short section working was by staff). The tablet machines on the long section were later replaced by token instruments. The box is recorded by the SRS as having 38 levers, making it one of the largest on the SVR. Of these, 32 were operational and 6 were spare. Presumably the existing ground frames were removed when the signal box was commissioned.” [57][58: p133]

Both of the lines to Billingsley Colliery and Kinlet Colliery “were removed at some time before 1941. The Highley Mining Company established a wagon repair works at the location, so when the signal box was closed in March 1943, it was replaced by two ground frames, once again referred to as Kinlet Sidings North ground frame and Kinlet Sidings South ground frame. These were locked by the electric train token for the Arley-Highley section. There was also an intermediate token machine provided in a cabin in the middle of the loop. Working Time Tables from 1948, 1949 and 1960 refer to these arrangements.” [57][58: p97]

The Kinlet Colliery Railway followed the line of the abortive earlier railway to Billingsley an reuses the groundworks highlighted on the 1883 Ordnance Survey as discussed ib the section about the Billingsley Railway above. This extract is also from the 1925 Survey. [30]
Passing to the South of Logmill Cottages the Colliery Light Railway continues westward towards Kinlet Colliery. [30]
The site of Kinlet Colliery as shown on the 1925 6″ Ordnance Survey. For some reason there is no record on this map series of the line to Priors Mill which was still in place until the mid- to late-1930s! The colliery incline started to the East of the bridge shown on the right of this map extract. [30] My pictures of this bridge are included in this article in the section about the Billingsley Railway above.

Further pictures of the bridge in the map extract above and of Kinlet Colliery buildings as they were in 2013 can be found by following this link and then scrolling through to the relevant pictures. [60]

In June 1885, agreement was reached with the Kinlet Estate of William Lacon Childe to bore for coal at the site of the proposed colliery. But it was not until 1892 that a shaft reached “the Brooch Seam – a good quality coal seam about 3ft. 9in. thick. Production started in the late 1890s, with the completion of the railway.” [39]

The Aditnow website records that “a large horizontal steam winding engine house was built in 1896, which wound from the Upcast shaft. Steam was provided by 4 Lancashire boilers. A fan house at the rear of the large winder house worked on the Downcast or ‘Back’ shaft – a small horizontal winder also worked this shaft.” [40]

Screens were erected around the upcast shaft, with coal being loaded into railway wagons and sent down an incline to join the branch line from Billingsley Colliery and eventually the GWR main line of what is now the Severn Valley Railway.” [40] David Poyner notes that the 300-yard length of the colliery line closest to the pit was at a gradient of 1 in 15. [41: p13] He further suggests that the locomotive ‘Kinlet’ (see below) was able to bring empty wagons up the 1 in 15 gradient. [41: p13]

‘Aditnow’ also notes that “there was a brickworks on the West side of the large horizontal winding engine house, with the colliery loco shed at the top of the incline with a spur running round the hillside between the winder and headframe.” [40]

There were hopes of finding additional seams, but these never materialised. Much of the seam consisted of basalt, which formed a hard rock mass difficult to cut through and destructive of the colliery screens.  Conditions did eventually improve to the north of the shafts, but working Kinlet was never easy. Nevertheless it grew from employing about 150 men at the turn of the century to twice that by the start of the First World War with an output of about 50,000 tons a year.” [39]

The colliery closed in 1935 [1: p12] and was subsequently abandoned “in September 1937, when the leases on the Kinlet Estate expired. The mine had proved impossible to mechanise, and there were continued problems with basalt having burnt out the coal; ironically, at the time of closure, the workings entered some of the best ground ever encountered at the mine.”  [39]

Steam at Kinlet

‘Kinlet’ – Andrew Barclay 0-6-0ST (Works No. 782)

Andrew Barclay 0-6-0ST (Works No. 782) ‘Kinlet’ (1896) at Blists Hill, Ironbridge Gorge Museum in 2009,
(c) Copyright Gillett’s Crossing, authorised for use here under a Creative commons Licence (CC BY 2.0) [56]

Andrew Barclay built a locomotive in 1896 which was supplied to Kinlet Colliery and named ‘Kinlet’ it was an 0-6-0ST loco (Works No. 782). In the 21st century, it is held undercover at Blists Hill.  

The locomotive was sold to H S Pitt & Co at Pensnett near Dudley and moved there in 1938 to work at the coal depot. It worked there until around 1966 when it was replaced by a Rushton diesel. Whilst at Pesnett the locomotive carried the name Peter.” [39]

Tennent is less sure about the date when the locomotive moved to H S Pitt and Co. suggesting that the date might have been earlier since he records the purchase of a replacement engine in 1929. [1: p13]

Poyner suggests that the date of sale was probably the end of December 2021. [41: p14]

Peckett & Sons Ltd. W4 Class 0-4-0ST (Works No. 599)

This locomotive (see the details provided above under the heading ‘Steam on the Billingsley Railway’) was inherited by the Highley Mining Company when they took over the Billingsley Colliery in 1915. It worked alongside ‘Kinlet’ until ‘Kinlet’ was sold and No. 599 then continued working for the Company until 1929 when a Hawthorn Leslie 0-4-0ST was purchased.

Hawthorn Leslie 0-4-0ST (Works No. 3424)

It seems that No. 599 was replaced by this locomotive which probably remained in service until the closure of the colliery. This loco was built in 1919 and “obtained,” says Tennent, “from Thos W. Ward in 1929. Later, this locomotive went to the Steel Company of Scotland via Thos W. Ward. Possibly it was about when the colliery closed but another engine was acquired from Ward’s Charlton Works at Sheffield in 1937.” [1: p13]

The history of the locomotive is interesting. I was sent new “to India, to work on a railway system belonging to the City of Bombay Improvement Trust. When this was wound up it was returned to the UK probably being purchased by Wards for resale. … it had very similar specifications to the Peckett. The probability is that by 1929, the Peckett was considered to be at the end of its working life: its fate is not known but it may have been scrapped after over 15 years service at Billingsley and Kinlet. An added consideration is that from 1929-30 the Billingsley railway saw extra traffic connected with the construction of a new road following the valley of the Borle Brook by Shropshire County Council. It may be that [No.] 3424 was purchased with one eye on these extra duties. It probably had a short tenure at Kinlet. For, in 1933, Ward supplied another engine to the Highley Mining Company.” [41: p14]

Hudswell Clarke 0-4-0ST (Works No. 1401)

This locomotive was built in 1920 and worked at first for the Darton Main Colliery Company in Yorkshire It was purchased by the colliery from Thos W. Ward. Tennet indicates that this purchase took place in 1937. Tennent suggests that it may have been required for the clearance of the railway and colliery “because it left in 1941 for W. Gilbertson & Co Ltd, Pontardawe in Glamorganshire.” [1: p13] Poyner’s view, above, is that this locomotive replaced No. 3424 as early as 1933. [41: p14] He goes on to suggest that No.1401 may well have left Kinlett in 1937, rather than 1941. Poyner provides details of a further locomotive which saw employment with the Highley Mining Company at Kinlet.

Andrew Barclay 0-6-0ST (Works No. 1113)

This locomotive was built in 1907 for the Shelton Iron and Steel Company in Stoke and named ‘Bowood’. Poyner says that “the existence of this locomotive at Kinlet is known only from a photograph, showing the engine with a footplate crew of Highley Mining Company staff, and the associated oral evidence.” [41: p14]

Poyner goes on to explain that ‘Bowood’ must have arrived at Kinlet after May 1936, as it was photographed at the previous owners premises on 16th May 1936. [41: p14][42] He goes on to relate how the locomotive arrived at Kinlet: “The Shelton Iron and Steel Company operated the nearby Holditch Colliery via a subsidiary. In July 1937, this was put out of use by an explosion. This may have resulted in the steel company having surplus locomotives at exactly the time the Highley Mining Company was looking for a new engine to work their salvage trains. The board of the Highley Mining Company was mostly made up of individuals from north Staffordshire, and so they may have had links with the Shelton company, making it easy for them to either purchase or, more likely, hire the engine, Bowood was substantially more powerful than any machine that had previously worked at Kinlet. … It is possible it was obtained specifically to work heavier than usual trains to help the dismantling work. This stretched well into 1938; hard core was used from Kinlet pit mound for earthworks at the new screens being built for Alveley Colliery. It is not known what happened to 1401 after Bowood arrived: it may have been left straight away although it is possible that it was retained to work alongside Bowood to help with salvage. perhaps allowing recovery work to take place simultaneously on both the Kinlet and Billingsley lines. In 1938 Bowood returned to North Staffordshire, arriving at the Florence Colliery of the Florence Coal & Iron Co Ltd. a subsidiary of the Shelton company. It eventually [was] transferred to Holditch Colliery in March 1960 by the National Coal Board, where it was scrapped in 1964.” [41: p14-15]

The Later Years of Highley Mining Company

In the late 1920s, the Highley Mining Co was looking for new reserves of coal in the area. It established that the coal beyond the River Severn at Alveley was of good quality. A single shaft was  (11) sunk there in 1935 but the Highley Colliery shafts were retained for ventilation and emergency access because there was good underground communication between the two pits. Alveley Colliery involved the use of modern equipment with coal cutters, electricity and underground conveyors progressively replacing pit ponies. It was connected to a new set of screens next to the Severn Valley Railway by an endless cable-worked narrow gauge tramway which crossed the river on a concrete bridge. The tramway was replaced later by an aerial ropeway. All coal and men haulage transferred to Alveley in 1940 marking the end of Highley Colliery.

Kinlet Colliery had closed in 1935 and been abandoned in September 1937 when the lease on the estate had expired. It had proved difficult to modernise the colliery and there were geological problems. The railway was lifted about 1940 and it had all gone by July 1941.

Kinlet Sidings had consisted of three parallel loops to the west of the Severn Valley Railway line just south of the bridge over the Borle Brook. A signal box was provided on the east side of the layout and the Kinlet and Billingsley railways had separate exits at the north end of the yard. Each exit was provided with a gate. The lines then ran parallel to each other along the valley of the Borle Brook. Both became double on leaving the yard but soon singled again. There was latterly one, possibly two, connections between the lines hereabouts and a weighbridge on the Kinlet track. The Kinlet railway soon began to climb the south side of the valley, while the Billingsley railway remained on the valley floor alongside the brook. The One Inch Ordnance Survey map of the period mistakenly shows only one line here. The Billingsley Railway suffers the indignity of not appearing on large scale maps as it came and went between two surveys; the One Inch detail being taken from a corrected earlier large scale sheet, now destroyed. The Kinlet Railway soon reached Kinlet Colliery perched high on the valley side and terminated at a single-road engine shed, the various sidings trailing back from a point just short of the shed.

As to the locomotives used on the Kinlet line, the Highley Mining Co purchased the new Andrew Barclay six-coupled saddle tank number 782 in 1896 presumably for the opening of the colliery. It had the following inscription painted on its tank – HIGHLEY MINING CO LD “KINLET”. The apostrophes appear to indicate that it was named KINLET and that the word was not just part of the address. It was sold to Guy Pitt & Co Ltd of Shutt End, Staffordshire at some date, being noted there by November 1946. Named PETER, it remained at Shutt End for the rest of its working life before being transferred to the Ironbridge Gorge Museum for preservation. It was replaced at Kinlet by Hawthorn Leslie 0-4-0 saddle tank, maker’s number 3424 of 1919, obtained from Thos W. Ward in 1929. Later, this locomotive went to the Steel Company of Scotland via Thos W. Ward. Possibly it was about when the colliery closed but another engine was acquired from Ward’s Charlton Works at Sheffield in 1937. This was a four-coupled saddle tank, Hudswell Clarke 1401 of 1920; it may have been needed for the site clearance because it left in 1941 for W. Gilbertson & Co Ltd, Pontardawe in Glamorganshire.

The loss of Highley and Kinlet Collieries was not felt by the mining company as, by 1945, Alveley was producing almost 250,000 tons of coal, more than the output of the earlier two combined. With the market for coal contracting, Alveley Colliery closed in January 1969, but remained active until March for clearance operations and so ended coal production in the area. The waste tips at Alveley have been landscaped into a country park and, amongst the relics on display, are two tramway tubs, one old wooden type and one modern metal one.

References

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