The Railway Magazine of February 1922 introduced its readers to the advantages of ‘demountable flats’. ‘Demountable flats’ significantly improved the loading and unloading of consignments of goods on railways and road motor vehicles. ‘Demountable flats’ made it possible to transfer a load from one to the other or vice versa in a few minutes. The result was a significant “saving in time and labour. … The system, which [was] capable of considerable extension, [was] finding favour on several railways. It [had] recently been adopted by the London and South Western Railway with great advantage and two illustrations [were] reproduced [in their article] showing the arrangements employed.” [1: p137-138]
Demountable flat in position on stand-dray, London & South Western Railway. [1: p137]
“The old method of collecting goods was to despatch a pair-horse van with two men at 9 a.m. each day to pick up a load. The horses and men were compulsorily kept idle while the goods were loaded piecemeal, the van eventually returning to the goods yard with its load and frequently being unable to perform more than one return journey in the day. Under the new arrangement a motor lorry leaves the depôt at 9 a.m. with an empty demountable flat to pick up a load. Upon arrival the flat is pushed or lifted off the chassis and a loaded one transferred thereto by similar means. The lorry is able to return with this load at 10 a.m., the load being then transferred to the stand-dray, after which the motor sets out again on another trip at about 10.15 a.m., carrying an empty flat as before.” [1: p138]
Two men transferring a load of 50 barrels of apples (weight: 4 tons), London & South Western Railway. [1: p138]
“Horses are harnessed to the stand-dray to which the first load was, as stated, transferred, and haul it to the goods siding ready to load it on to a wagon of the goods train. By this means loads collected late in the afternoon can be delivered at far distant points early the following day per goods train. Also six return journeys can be accomplished in a day, whereas previously this might necessitate the employment of twelve men and six pairs of horses. The inward traffic or goods delivery is conducted on the same lines and with the same saving of time and labour. The wheels of the demountable flats illustrated are fitted with self-aligning ball bearings, which considerably facilitate the ease of handling of the flats, especially in their loaded condition.” [1: p138]
These revised methods of working were relatively novel in 1922. As can be seen in the text above,, working patterns were changing and manual labour was becoming less important as more mechanised operations were undertaken. No doubt, the reduced number of men required for these operations eventually saw redundancies.
“The larger the unit loads the greater the reduction in handling time for a given quantity of cargo. To make economic sense any container system has to be widely adopted, prior to the 1930s this meant that the majority of containers used were for bulk flows of minerals.” [4]
The presence of an article focussing on the use of ‘demountable flats’ in The Railway Magazine might suggest that they were a relatively early form of ‘unit load’ used on the railways. Their use was certainly a development in a flow of innovation in the movement of goods across different modes of transport. They were, though, effectively, but loosely, a form of ‘containerisation’. And containers had, by 1922, been around for some time, “various kinds were in regular use on the canals from the 1780s and wooden containers were adopted by the Liverpool & Manchester line in the 1830s for both coal and general goods.” [4]
“The Liverpool & Manchester Railway built open frame ‘skeliton (sic) wagons’ to carry rectangular bottom-door coal containers already in use of the canals but used their standard flat wagons to carry Pickfords general goods containers.” [4]
Although some of the mineral ‘containers’ “travelled on specially built wagons a lot were carried in three and four plank standard open wagons.” [4]
In 1841 Brunel introduced iron mineral boxes/containers in South Wales to protect friable coal. Cranes then lifted these containers into the holds of ships at Swansea docks. They were then emptied using bottom doors. 8ft long by 4.5ft wide, these containers were carried four to a wagon. [4]
During the pre-grouping era, containers were also used for passenger luggage where that luggage needed to be loaded onto boats travelling to the continent. Certainly, both the Great Eastern Railway and the South East & Chatham Railway provided this service. [4]
“By about 1900 road furniture vans were fitted with removable wheels so they could be moved on standard railway wagons, these evolved into covered furniture containers by the time of the First World War. Building on the work done by the pre grouping (pre 1923) companies railway container designs were standardised during the later 1920’s. The new RCH approved standard containers were based on the existing designs of the time. This move was mainly lead by the LMS who began promoting containers in 1928 in order to counter the competition from road haulage companies for door-to-door services.” [4]
By the 1930s, furniture and some high value items were being carried in containers. In the late 1930s almost all meat transportation by rail was undertaken using dedicated containers.
“British railways built many thousands of containers, mainly to the standard pre-war ‘van’ type designs. Up to the 1960’s it was usual to send containers through the system as single loads, hauled in standard mixed goods trains but under British Railways all-container ‘liner’ services began to emerge in the late 1950s.” [4]
The breweries used tank wagons of both the fixed and ‘demountable’ kind for beer and spirits. “Guinness developed a steel tank in the 1940s that could be carried in ordinary open wagons but demountable beer tanks were in effect containers and ran on purpose built chassis. Bass built up quite a fleet of these tanks, some of which were later used for other work, one example being the movement of glue to chipboard factories. This latter traffic was carried throughout the 1950s and 60s but … transferred to road in the 1970s. There were a few demountable tanks carried in pairs on a single wagon, Scottish and Newcastle had two of these and Truman’s had one (which could carry either two tanks or a single tank mounted … centrally).” [2]
‘Conflats’ were developed, in the era before nationalisation of the railways. ‘Conflat’ was the telegraphic code within the GWR’s “coding of railway wagons for a container wagon. Unlike normal wagon loads, containers were only listed to carry furniture or goods (unless they were refrigerated containers, which carried frozen products kept cold by ice) which needed to be placed on a specialist flatbed wagon which had train braking capability due to the fragile nature of the products carried.” [3]
These “wagons were removed from service (as were the containers themselves) when more modern containers came into use.” [3]
“British Railways used several standard types of wagon. The Conflat A, which could carry one type ‘B’, or two type ‘A’, containers, was the most common. It was regularly used to carry AF (frozen food) containers: while the Conflat L, which could carry three smaller containers for bulk powders, was also produced in large numbers. … The Conflat B wagon could carry 2 AFP (frozen food) containers. These were slightly wider than the standard AF containers, and were designed to carry loads on pallets.” [3]
Innovation continued through the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, but this discussion has taken us quite a distance from the ‘demountable flats’ of the 1920s and their dramatic impact on goods handling.
This article follows on from seven other articles which covered the Wellington to Severn Junction Railway and this line from Buildwas to Harton Road Station. The first three articles can be found by clicking on these links:
We noted in the last three articles that from the commencement of the building of the line between Buildwas and Much Wenlock, the directors hoped that the line could be extended to Craven Arms via Presthope on Wenlock Edge (linking with the limestone quarries/works at that location).
The directors of the Wellington & Severn Junction Railway were, however, fully occupied with the line from Wellington to Buildwas. Another company was set up to build the ‘Wenlock & Craven Arms and Coalbrookdale Extension Railway‘. The bill went through the parliamentary process unopposed and authorised the ‘Wenlock Railway Company‘ to construct the line. Work started on 23rd October 1861.
By 5th December 1864, the line was open from Much Wenlock to Presthope. (That length is covered in the last but one online article listed above.) At this time, because it was a freight-only line, the Board of Trade saw no need for an inspection of the line. It had already been agreed at a meeting held on 4th December 1863 not to proceed with the line from Presthope to Craven Arms for the time being. It was to be three years after the line reached Presthope before the connection to the Shrewsbury & Hereford Railway close to Craven Arms was completed. It was finally opened on 16th December 1867.
Harton Road Station to Craven Arms
Harton Road Station to Marsh Farm Junction as shown on the Ordnance Survey Landranger Series mapping. [20]
We start our onward journey at Harton Road Station which is now a private dwelling. The station building and platform were on the North side of the line. There was a loop to the West of the passenger facilities which could act as an unloading/loading point for goods or even, possibly, as a passing loop if required.
Ken Jones deals with much of the length towards Marsh Farm Junction by telling us that, “Shortly after leaving Harton Road there [was] a long straight stretch across Henley Common, this was once part of the common field system attached to the small hamlet of Henley. Across the common and into a tree-lined deep cutting; as the train weaves in and out of the trees and cuttings between Harton Road and Marsh Farm Junction brief glimpses can be seen of a tower rising well above the trees to the left of the line; this is the well known Shropshire landmark Flounders Folly, a mid-19th century folly. After negotiating its stone staircase tourists would be rewarded with commanding views of the surrounding Shropshire and Border countryside.” [1: p109]
From this point on, the line crosses private land and for some distance the formation has been ploughed into the fields. After some distance, to the South side of the line there is a large Solar Farm. The access track to the solar farm runs West from the farm towards the A49.
Not long after joining the main line branch trains stopped at Wistanstow Halt, the village being to the West of the Halt.
In 1901, there is no sign of Wistanstow Halt. The Halt opened in 1934 and closed in 1956. [26]The bridge over the main line on the minor road between the A49 and Wistanstow, seen from the West. The Halt was on the Northside of the bridge on the length of track visible to the left of this image. [Google Streetview, September 2021]This is the only picture of the halt that I have been able to find. It is unattributed in John Hodge’s second volume about the North & West Route. [27: p66]Just South of Wistanstow the line crosses the A489 very close to its junction with the A49. [Google Maps, August 2024]The same location as it appeared on the 25″ Ordnance Survey of 1901. [28]The A489 passes under the line from Shrewsbury to Hereford close to Craven Arms. [Google Streetview, May 2024]
Before entering Craven Arms station, on the right was Stretford Bridge Junction, for the Bishop’s Castle Railway. In the early 1930s the Wenlock branch train could be brought to a stand here, whilst a Bishop’s Castle Railway mixed train was allowed to pass, with its former GWR ‘517’ class engine and its chain-braked ex-LNWR four-wheeled coaching stock, an open-planked wagon, a cattle truck and a Bishop’s Castle brake van.
Within a very short distance the line crosses the River Onny, ran on through what was once the junction for the Bishop’s Castle Railway (Stretfordbridge Junction and under and [29]The same area on Google Maps. Earthworks associated with the Bishop’s Castle Railway are visible at the West side of the line. [Google Maps, August 2024]The view from the West along the minor road which crosses the railway at the bottom of the extract from Google Maps above. {Google Streetview. May 2024]
After passing Stretford Junction, the line crossed Watling Street, the old roman road at an oblique angle.
After passing Stretford Junction, Watling Street and Long Lane Crossing, to the right was the carriage and engine shed, and to the left the goods shed and yard.
The train pulled in on the down platform at Craven Arms, and after taking water the engine ran round the two coaches, and backed into the bay at the north end of the platform, this also being used by the Bishop’s Castle trains.
Craven Arms owes its existence to the coming of the Shrewsbury and Hereford Railway in 1852. It is truly a railway town created out of the hamlet of Newton. The S&H line passed through the Onny Valley, its route taking it past Shropshire’s famous beauty spot Stokesay Castle, and past a coaching inn named after the Lord of Manor the Earl of Craven, prompting the S&H to give the station the name of Craven Arms. The station was opened for traffic on 20th April, 1852. The parish name of Stokesay was added to the station’s name a little later.
The importance of Craven Arms as a railway centre was given added impetus by the opening of the Knighton Railway in 1861. Although only a branch it was in reality to be the embryo of the LNWR’s march upon Swansea. Various small companies were involved in the construction of the line between Craven Arms and Swansea, these later being absorbed into the LNWR or operated jointly by the LNWR and GWR.
On 1st July, 1862 Craven Arms station came under the joint ownership of the LNWR, GWR and West Midland Railway. The station consisted of up and down main line platforms, with booking office, general and ladies waiting room, together with refreshment rooms on the down side. Also on the downside was the station master’s house. The up side consisted of general and ladies’ waiting rooms only. The north and south end bays were on the down side. The North [1: p109] end bay was utilised by the Bishop’s Castle and Wenlock branch trains. [1: p114]
An aerial photograph from the South of Craven Arms and Stokesay Railway Station in 1948. Found on eBay on 12th August 2024. [25]Craven Arms in the 21st century is much reduced. [34]
This brings us to the end of our journey from Wellington to Craven Arms along the Wenlock Branch.
References
Ken Jones; The Wenlock Branch; The Oakwood Press, Usk, Monmouthshire, 1998.
The photographs of the pre-contract drawings for the line were taken by myself and show extracts from the construction plans held in the Shropshire Archive. There is a standard charge of £10 per visit for taking photographs of their records.
Adrian Knowles; The Wellington, Much Wenlock & Craven Arms Railway; Lightmoor Press, Lydney, Gloucestershire, 2022.
The photographs of the pre-contract drawings for the line were taken by myself and show extracts from the construction plans held in the Shropshire Archive. There is a standard charge of £10 per visit for taking photographs of their records.
J. Holt Schooling produced a series of articles in The Railway Magazine after the turn of the 20th century. I came across the third of these in the July 1903 edition of the magazine. [1: p20-28] Elsewhere in the same magazine, there was a short note which highlighted the total net receipts of all Britain’s railways companies with the figures tabulated. [9: p59]
Headline figures for Britain’s railway companies for 1901 and 1902. [9: p59]
The figures show a small but significant increase between 1901 and 1902.
Holt Schooling’s article looked at some detailed statistics relating to British railways, with some comparisons made with statistics relating to the railways of the USA. …
Accidents
Holt Schooling highlighted the decrease in the chance of death or injury to railway passengers over the period from 1877 to 1901. Accidental deaths fluctuated over the period, injuries fell significantly in absolute terms (4,330 injured between 1877 and 1881 and 2,988 in 1897 to 1901) during the same period, the number of passengers carried rose significantly (2.9 billion to 5.5 billion). In relative terms, the number of deaths and injuries improved dramatically. The proportion killed, reducing from 1 in 17.9 million to 1 in 75.6 million, and the proportion injured refusing from 1 in 700 thousand to 1 in 1.2 million.
Passenger accident statistics on British railways. [1: p20]
Comparable figures in the USA show that the chance of death or injury while travelling by rail in the USA is very much higher, close to eight times higher.
Passenger accident statistics on railways in the USA. [1: p20]
Holt Schooling notes that “This result, unfavourable to the United States, is partly qualified by the fact that American railway journeys are of greater duration than English railway journeys, American passengers thus being exposed to risk of accident for a longer time than the British pas- senger, and also the American returns do not explicitly state whether or not the accidents to passengers are ‘from causes beyond their own control’ – a condition that applies to the foregoing accident facts for British railways.” [1: p21]
Holt Schooling produced a 10year summary of the causes of accidents. …
Causes of accidents in the British Isles during the ten years 1802-1901. [1: p21]
He notes that, “collisions account[ed] for 60% of all train accidents that happened, and that only two other causes of accidents had any material degree of frequency.” [1: p21] These were defects in the permanent way and trains entering stations at too great a speed.
Rates of Dividend on Ordinary Stock
In 1901, over £454 million was invested in railway companies ordinary stock. Schooling focuses on Ordinary Stock because it is the largest of the stocks under which railway capital is grouped. He explains that Guaranteed and Preference Stock amounted to more than £425 million, and Loans and Debenture Stock, just over £316 million.
Rates of Dividend Paid in 1901. [1: p22]
31% of Ordinary Stock paid a dividend between 2 and 3%. Interestingly, nearly 20% of the stock paid a dividend from 5 to 6%. [1: p22]
Working Expenditure
Railway costs per 1000 train-miles all rose between 1900 and 1901, with the exception of the cost of compensation which marginally decreased.
Railway Expenditure 1900/1901. [1: p22]
In absolute terms, the pattern is similar. Railway costs rose by just over £2.7 million between 1900 and 1901.
Railway Expenditure 1900/1901. [1: p23]
That increase in costs was only partially matched by a £1.5 million increase in gross receipts.
Train Mileage
Holt Schooling compared British and American figures for the year 1900 which was the latest year he had figures for. …
USA passenger train miles were 363.5 million, goods train miles were 492.6 million. A total of 856.1 million miles. The figures for the UK were respectively, 220 million, 180 million and a total of 400 million miles.
It is worth noting that freight mileage in the USA was considerably higher than passenger mileage. In the UK passenger mileage exceeded freight mileage. Train mileage in total in the USA was more than double that in the UK.
It is interesting, however, to consider the intensity of use of lines in the USA and the UK. This provides a very different picture. …
Train mileage per mile open for traffic. [1: p24]
Holt Schooling comments that on “average, each mile of American railroad is passed over by a train 4,400 times in the year, or twelve times per day. But each mile of British railroad is passed over by a train 18,300 times in the year, or fifty times per day. This is a striking fact, and it is another of those fundamental differences between the railway systems of the two countries … Our railways are used more than four times as often as the American lines are used, and this fact necessarily carries with it many other important differences between the two railway systems and the methods by which they are worked.” [1: p24]
Classes of Passengers
Three different classes were used on Britain’s railways. Holt Schooling tabulates the figures for each class in 1901.
Patronage of British railways passenger trains by class in 1901. [1: p24]
Holt Schooling notes “the overwhelming preponderance of the third-class passenger … 91.2 per hundred. The [highest] proportion of third-class passengers [was] in Scotland; and the lowest proportion of third class passengers [was] in Ireland, 81.4 per 100.” [1: p24-25] It is worth reminding ourselves that the whole of Ireland, at this time, was still considered to be part of the UK.
Holt Schooling goes on to note that the highest proportion of second- and first-class passengers in the UK was in Ireland and then comments that these figures suggest that Irish travellers do not feel the need for thrift in the way others in the UK do. He seems to suggest that his figures show that Ireland was not as poverty-stricken as was currently being made out in 1903.
It seems to me that this is only one way of interpreting the figures. Surely it is, at least, just as possible that these figures suggest that relative poverty was greater in Ireland given that a lower proportion of people were able to afford to travel third-class. It is also possible to infer from the figures that there was a greater disparity between rich and poor in Ireland than in the rest of the UK.
Receipts from Passenger and Goods Traffic
Gross receipts of British railway companies in 1901 were £106.5 million of which over £99.5 million were traffic receipts (passenger and goods combined). Holt Schooling notes that “Goods Traffic yielded more than one-half of this amount namely, £53 million, and passenger traffic, £46.5 million.” [1: p25-26] He goes on to state that over the 10 years (1892-1901), passengers receipts had increased in relation to goods receipts as shown in the table below.
Traffic Receipts of the Railways of Britain. [1: p26]
Overall receipts had increased year on year from £78.6 million in 1892 to £99.6 million in 1901. Despite the slight discrepancy in figures between Holt Schooling’s narrative and the table above, it is clear that the relative proportion of income changed over the 10 year period from 45% passenger/55% goods, to 47% passenger/43% goods.
Holt Schooling looks behind these overall figures and notes that close to 77% of passenger receipts came from third-class passengers! The figures were: 76.8% third-class; 10.7% second-class; 12.5% first-class.
Comparison of some Individual Railway Companies
Holt Schooling provides some details of individual railway company receipts/expenditure in 1901. [1: p26]
The lowest percentage of expenditure to receipts that he quotes is for the Furness Railway, 51%, closely followed by the Great North of Scotland Railway (52%), the North British Railway (53%), the Caledonian Railway (56%), the Great Northern Railway of Ireland (56%), the Taff Vale Railway (58%), Midland Great Western Railway of Ireland (59%) and the Glasgow and South Western Railway (61%).
The average of all British railways was 63%, a figure which also applied to the GWR, the L&Y and the LNWR. Those with higher percentage of expenditure included: the Great Southern & Western Railway of Ireland, the London & South Western Railway and the Midland Railway (64%), the North Eastern Railway (65%), the Great Eastern Railway (66%), the Great Northern Railway (67%) and the Great Central Railway (70%)
Holt Schooling suggests that these figures are counterintuitive. Rather than the larger companies being the most efficient, it seems that it was the smaller companies for whom this was true. There also appears to be a Northwest/Southeast divide with the least efficient companies being to the South and East of the country, while the more efficient were in the North and West, including Ireland!)
Holt Schooling also looks at receipts per train mile in pence/mile. …
Railway company receipts per train-mile. [1: p27]
Holt Schooling comments: “Here, again, are very large differences. The Taff Vale Railway received nearly 7s. per train-mile run from passenger and goods traffic, while the Great North of Scotland Railway received little more than 4s., the mean result for all railways in the United Kingdom being almost exactly 5s. per train-mile run. There are many important railways in the above list whose receipts per train-mile run are appreciably below the average, although upon general considerations, one would expect them to be above rather than below the average.” [1: p27]
Delayed Arrival of Trains
The most recent figures available to Holt Schooling, issues by the Board of Trade, related to some companies’ long-distance train arrivals in London in the 3 month period, June-August 1895. …
Punctuality of Railway Companies’ Trains at London termini in June to August 1895. [1: p27]
Figures for trains originating more than 50 miles from London may well feel comparable for the first four companies in the table above. Given the greater distances travelled by trains in the GWR, it is to be expected that a smaller percentage would have arrived within 5 minutes of the scheduled time than other companies in the list.
Rail Usage, January to March 2024 and earlier.
How do the statistics from 1903 compare with modern figures? The Office of Rail and Road produces quarterly statistics about rail usage. At the time of writing, the latest statistics cover the period from January to March 2024. [2]
The ORR report is dated 13th June 2024.
“A total of 1,610 million journeys (1.61 billion) were made by rail passengers in Great Britain in the latest year (1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024). This is a 16% increase on the 1,380 million journeys (1.38 billion) in the previous year (1 April 2022 to 31 March 2023). There were 405 million journeys in the latest quarter (1 January to 31 March 2024). This is a 13% increase on the 359 million journeys made in the same quarter in the previous year (1 January to 31 March 2023).” [2]
“Total passenger revenue was £10.3 billion in the latest year. This is a 13% increase on the £9.1 billion in the previous year (when adjusted for inflation). In the latest quarter, total passenger revenue in Great Britain was £2.6 billion. This is 13% more than the £2.3 billion generated in the same quarter in the previous year (when adjusted for inflation).” [2]
Included within the ORR report was a graph showing passenger numbers since 1946.
Passenger numbers on British railways since 1946 [2]
In 1946, passenger numbers were 1,270 million. A nadir was reached in 1982, just 630 million passengers. The peak since then was reached at the end of the 2010s, 1,740 million. At the turn of the 20th century Holt Schooling reported annual passenger numbers as 1,712 million, almost the same as the figure for 2019/20. The effect of the pandemic was marked. In 2020/21, passenger numbers fell to 388 million, recovering to 990 million in 2021/22, 1,380 million in 2022/23 and 1,610 million in 2023/24.
Before 1946, figures were interrupted by the two world wars. It is possible, however, to produce a similar graph to that above covering the period prior to 1946. The ORR has done so and an extract from another of their regular reports is below.
Passenger numbers on British railways from 1872 to 1947 and beyond. [8]
Peak patronage of the country’s railways occurred in 1920 when the railways carried 2,186 million passengers.
Passenger train kilometres: distances are recorded in kilometres in 2024. Between January and March 2024, “there were 126 million passenger train kilometres travelled, … an 8% increase on the 117 million recorded in the same quarter in the previous year. However, this is 93% relative to the 136 million in the same quarter five years previously (January to March 2019).” [2] These figures record full train movements.
Passenger vehicle kilometres: “include both the distance covered by locomotives and the carriages they transport. In the latest quarter (January to March 2024), there were 764 million passenger vehicle kilometres operated. This is a 6% increase on the 722 million kilometres in the same quarter in the previous year. However, this is still slightly below prepandemic levels, at 96% relative to the 800 million five years ago (January to March 2019).” [2]
The ORR report summary says that the key results of their statistical work are:
A total of 1.61 billion journeys were made by rail passengers in Great Britain in the latest year (1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024). This is a 16% increase on the 1.38 billion journeys in the previous year (1 April 2022 to 31 March 2023).
There were 405 million journeys in the latest quarter (1 January to 31 March 2024). This is a 13% increase on the 359 million journeys made in the same quarter in the previous year (1 January to 31 March 2023).
Total passenger revenue was £10.3 billion in the latest year. This is a 13% increase on the £9.1 billion in the previous year (when adjusted for inflation).
A total of 60.1 billion passenger kilometres were travelled in the latest year. This is a 13% increase on the 53.0 billion passenger kilometres travelled in the previous year.
Rail Accidents to 2024
Annual rail safety statistics on mainline rail, London Underground, and other non-mainline networks (trams, metros, other light rail, minor and heritage railways) are provided by the ORR, “reporting on fatalities and injuries to passengers, members of the public and workforce in Great Britain. It also covers train accidents and (annual and quarterly) number of signals passed at danger (SPADs). These incidents are reported to the Office of Rail and Road under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulation (RIDDOR).” [4]
The ORR reports on rail safety at the end of September each year, at the time of writing the latest report was published on 28th September 2023. [5]
“There were eight non-workforce fatalities (passenger or public) in the latest year (April 2022 to March 2023), a decrease from 11 in the previous year. These included five fatalities which occurred in mainline stations and at the platform-train interface, two passenger fatalities at stations on the London Underground and one fatality from a collision between a member of the public and a tram.” [5] The 8 fatalities in the year are lower than those reported by Holt Schooling. The total number of passenger fatalities in the years 1887 to 1901 was 520 people. The average number of fatalities per annum during that time was close to 35. But the network in the 21st century is much smaller.
“As of August 2024, the UK’s National Rail network is 10,072 miles (16,209 km) in Great Britain and 189 route miles (303 route km) in Northern Ireland. This network includes 20,000 miles of track, 30,000 bridges, tunnels, and viaducts, and around 2,500 stations.” [6]
By 1914, “the country had 23,000 miles of rail track and 4,000 stations, according to industry body Rail Delivery Group.” [7] Assuming the parameters are consistent, this means that the network in 2024 is less than 45% of that serving the country in 1914. If the network were of a similar size to that in 1914, the 8 fatalities in 2022/23 would equate to nearer to 15 fatalities after the turn of the 20th century. It is reasonable to think that, at least as far as fatalities are concerned, the modern rail network is safer than that operating in the early 20th century.
Conclusions
The statistics quoted and reviewed by Holt Schooling, provide an insight into the activities of railway companies at the turn of the 20th century. Passenger numbers were to increase further over the years and hit a peak in 1920 but then dropped to a low point in 1982 before recovering strongly. Only to see a drastic temporary reduction as a result of the pandemic.
Both passenger numbers and accidents are reported differently in the 21st century. However, as much as it is possible to compare figures from times more than a century apart, and as limited as this analysis has been, we can tentatively say that modern railways are comparably well patronised and safer than they were early in the 20th century.
References
J. Holt. Schooling; Lessons from Railway Statistics; The Railway Magazine, London, July 1903, p20-28.
The featured image above was included in a Steam Days article in September 2021. Crossing the River Tyne on approach to Border Counties Junction is Gresley ‘K3’ class 2-6-0 No 61897, a St Margarets allocated locomotive that has worked through, and the stock is different too, ex-LNER and cascaded down from main line work. In due course the condition of the Border Counties Bridge and the predicted cost of repairs was a major factor in the abandonment of this ex-NBR route, with passenger trains ceasing to run on 13th October 1956, although the passage of goods trains continued through to 1 September 1958. [37]
At the end of August 2024, we visited Kielder Water Reservoir, passing through Bellingham on the way. We noticed a disused railway for which a good number of structures and embankments/cuttings remained in place.
This was the Border Counties Railway (BCR), a line connecting Hexham in Northumberland, with Riccarton Junction on the Waverley Route in Roxburghshire. [1]
The BCR was also known as the North Tyne Railway as it ran beside the River North Tyne for much of its length.
The line between Kielder and Falstone is now under the waters of the Kielder Water Reservoir.
“In 1844 the North British Railway (NBR) was authorised to build a line from Edinburgh to Berwick to join an English line there. The NBR line ran close to the coast avoiding most high ground and opened in 1846. In 1845 the Caledonian Railway was authorised to construct a line from both Glasgow and Edinburgh to Carlisle, crossing the Southern Uplands at Beattock Summit, 1,033 ft (315 m) above sea level.” [1][2][3][4]
In 1853, talk was of a significant coal seam around Plashetts and in 1854, Robert Nicholson was engaged to survey a railway route to serve this coalfield. “His line was to run from Hexham, … through Reedsmouth to Bellingham, and on to the coal deposits at Falstone. His work was remarkably quickly done, for a bill for the Border Counties Railway was submitted to Parliament for the 1854 session. … The scheme was authorised when the Border Counties Railway (North Tyne Section) Act 1854 (17 & 18 Vict. c. ccxii) was given royal assent on 31st July 1854. The capital was to be £250,000.” [1]
The line was built as a single line, but land was acquired for later doubling, and all the bridges except the Hexham bridge, were built for double-track The full length of the authorised line was initially not built before “a public train service started on 5th April 1858; there were four passenger trains each way Monday to Saturday, and two on Sunday. They ran from Hexham to Chollerford, with an intermediate station at Wall.” [1]
It was to be only a further 16 months before the remaining length of the line was authorised when the Border Counties Railway (Liddesdale Section and Deviations) Act 1859 (22 & 23 Vict. c. xliii) got royal assent on 11th August 1859. The authorised capital for the whole line was increased by £100,000. The North British Railway were authorised to make a working arrangement with the BCR.
“From Wark, the line approached Reedsmouth, and there was a temporary goods terminus at Countess Park there while the river bridge was completed. The passenger service terminated at Wark. There was a demonstration train from Newcastle to Countess Park run on 1st December 1859. Public opening was expected ‘within the week” but this proved to be inaccurate, and the opening throughout to Falstone was delayed until 2nd September 1861.”
By 1860 the BCR was seriously short of cash; “the authorised capital had never been fully raised and the hoped-for coal reserves at Plashetts were disappointing. There seemed little chance of raising more capital now. The North British Railway was expansive, and was happy to take over the local line, and the result was the North British and Border Counties Railways Amalgamation Act 1860 (23 & 24 Vict. c. cxcv), passed on 13th August 1860; … the act regularised the use by BCR trains of Hexham station of the Newcastle and Carlisle Railway. The BCR network was known now as the NBR (Border Counties Section).” [1]
The construction of the line throughout to Riccarton was completed by mid-April 1862, but the opening of the line to Riccarton did not take place until 24th June 1862 for goods, and 1st July 1862 for passengers. [1]
On 1st May 1865, “the Wansbeck Railway was opened, between Morpeth and Reedsmouth. The Wansbeck Railway had been promoted independently but was taken over by the North British Railway in 1863.” [1]
Hexham sits on what was once the Newcastle to Carlisle Railway (NCR) and which is, in the 21st century, known as the Tyne Valley Line.
Hexham Station was opened on 9th March 1835 by the NCR which became part of the North Eastern Railway (NER) in 1862.
The original station was probably designed by the architect Benjamin Green of Newcastle-upon-Tyne. It was altered and extended between 1835 and 1871 and again by 1901. It is now a Grade II listed structure and stands in a conservation area. The station was restored in 1998/1999. [5]
After the NCR had been absorbed by the NER, the station became a junction, with the opening of the first section of the BCR, between Hexham and Chollerford in April 1858. The first section of a second branch, the Hexham and Allendale Railway, was opened for goods in August 1867. Initially promoted to serve lead mines, that line opened for passengers in March 1869. [6][7]
Since the closure of the Hexham and Allendale Railway to passengers in 1930 (completely in 1950), as well as the BCR in 1956 (completely in 1958), the station has diminished in size and importance. Both lines met with the Tyne Valley Line to the West of the station. [6][7][8: p134]
The Disused Stations website covers Hexham Station in some detail. [9]
A straight length of line brings the railway to the banks of the Tyne. The line curves round toward the West and follows the South bank of the Tyne as far as Border Counties Junction where trains for Riccarton Junction and Hawick left the Borders Railway and crossed the Tyne on an angled viaduct.
A short distance beyond the viaduct on the Border Counties Railway was a private colliery line which served Acomb Colliery.
“Mining at Acomb seemed to stop and start between the mid 19th century until 1909, when a larger complex opened until 1952.” [20]
There were various owners before the pit was taken on at nationalisation by the NCB. … Messrs. Stobart & Co. (1840s), J. Morrison & Co. (1860s), Messrs. Morrison (1880s), Tynedale Coal Co. Ltd. (1910s), Acomb Coal Co. Ltd. (1920s), National Coal Board (1947). [20]
For more information about the coal workings on the site, please consult the Durham Mining Museum. [21]
It is worth noting that the half-mile long line was worked by one engine, Black Hawthorn 0-4-0ST No. 1068 for over 30 years until closure of the mine in 1952. [13: p12]
These works sat alongside the line, just a few hundred metres North of the Acomb Colliery Railway.
Howford Brick & Tile Works. [23]The location of Howford Brick & Tile Works hosts Heidelberg Materials Ready mixed Concrete plant in the 21st century. The route of the old railway is shrouded in trees. [Google Maps, September 2024]
North Tyne Colliery
Some distance further North, North Tyne Colliery sat adjacent to the line.
North Tyne Colliery was served by a 500yd. loop off the Border Counties Railway, it also had a tramway linking it to the road network (A6079). Messrs Walton & Cooper worked a drift mine here from 1906 to 1922. This extract comes from the 25″ Ordnance Survey of 1921. [13: p13][23]Approximately the same area as shown on the OS map extract above. The site of the colliery is now heavily wooded. [Google Maps, September 2024]
For further information about this colliery, please consult Durham Mining Museum. [22]
Wall Railway Station
Wall Railway Station was 1/3 mile from the village. It sat alongside the River North Tyne on its East bank a few hundred metres North of North Tyne Colliery.
There is good coverage of Wall Railway Station on the Disused Stations website. [25]
Humshaugh Railway Station
North of Wall Railway Station there was little to interest us until the BCR reached Humshaugh Railway Station. Darsley & Lovett say that “the station was opened as Chollerford on 5th August 1858 and was the BCR’s first temporary terminus. Sidings once led to a lime depot, where a tramway, inclined at 1 in 5, led to Brunton kilns. Another tramway led to the quarry. They closed in 1895.” [13: p18]
Historic England say that the grade II listed kilns were located North of Brunton Bank near Chollerford were probably built in the early 19th century. [29] Nearby was Brunton Bank Quarry. There is no evidence of a tramway, in the immediate vicinity of the station, leading to these two sites on the Ordnance Survey of 1896.
Only a short distance beyond Humshaugh Railway Station, the old railway passed under what became the A6079 and then passed a Limekiln at the bottom of a tramroad which served Cocklaw Quarry.
Another extract from the 25″ Ordnance Survey completed before the turn of the 20th century. Shows both the location of the road bridge and the Limekiln. [28]The same location on 21st century satellite imagery. The line of the BCR can easily be made out, as can the location of the limekiln at the junction of the tramroad and railway. [Google Streetview, September 2024]An enlarged extract from the 25″ Ordnance Survey which shows the loop provided by the NCR at the limekiln. [28]This extract from the 25″ Ordnance Survey at a small scale than the previous extracts shows the full length of the tramroads serving Cocklaw Quarry. This was a 3ft gauge tramroad with an incline. [28]
A short distance further North the line bridged a road and stream at the same location. …
An enlarged extract from the 25″ Ordnance Survey of 1895/6 which shows the next significant structure on the BCR. [32]The same location in the 21st century. [Google Maps, September 2024]The line bridged both road and stream by means of a stone-arched structure. This photo of the bridge is taken from the Southeast. [Google Streetview, July 2021]Another extract from the 25″ Ordnance Survey. Another bridge, this time spanning both the road which became the A6079 and a tributary to the River North Tyne. [34]The same area on 21st century satellite imagery. [Google Maps, September 2024]The viaduct which carried the BCR over what became the A6079. [Google Streetview, July 2023]The view from the North on the A6079 of the same viaduct. [Google Streetview, July 2023]
Chollerton Railway Station
“The station was opened on 1st December 1859 by the North British Railway. It was on the west side of the A6079 at the junction with an unclassified road and immediately southwest of Chollerton village. A goods loop and a coal depot were to the south. A small goods shed was sited at the south end of the platform. Instead of extending the platform, the NBR built a new one to the north with a wooden waiting shelter. The original buildings remained in use and the siding was adjusted so that one of the two docks used the old platform. There was a three-ton crane in the goods yard. The station closed to passengers on 15th October 1956 and closed completely on 1st September 1958.” [33]
Shortly after crossing the viaduct above the line entered Chollerton Railway Station. The station sat opposite the village church, St. Giles. [35]The same area on modern satellite imagery. [Google Maps, September 2024]The northern end of Chollerton Railway Station looking North. [36]A view of the site of Chollerton Railway Station from the East on the A6079. [Google Streetview, July 2023]
Chollerton Railway Station is the end of this first part of the journey along the Border Counties Railway.
The featured image above is of the Aveling & Porter locomotive known as ‘Old Chainey’, one of two unusual steam locomotives which served the line in early days. [29]
One of the delightful things about reading early copies of The Railway Magazine is the perspective from which articles are written. In this particular case the existence of the Great Central Railway is a welcome novelty!
This article begins: “Quainton Road is a name which has of late become familiar to the railway public owing to its being the converging point of the lines of the Great Central Railway’s recently-opened extension to London with those of the Metropolitan. It is situated in Buckinghamshire, at a distance of 45 miles from London” [1: p456]
Goodman goes on to refer to the Great Central as being “destined to become a power in the land.” [1: p456]
With the benefit of hindsight, whatever could be said about the Great Central during its lifetime, we know that it has not survived as a main line!
“The Great Central Railway [GCR] in England was formed when the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway changed its name in 1897, anticipating the opening in 1899 of its London Extension.” [2]
It survived as an independent company until, “on 1st January 1923, the company was grouped into the London and North Eastern Railway.” [2]
Ultimately, “the express services from London to destinations beyond Nottingham were withdrawn in 1960. The line was closed to passenger trains between Aylesbury and Rugby on 3 September 1966. A diesel multiple-unit service ran between Rugby Central and Nottingham Arkwright Street until withdrawal on 3 May 1969.” [2]
But this article is not about the GCR. It is about what Goodman describes as a “useful but little-known line … Called the Oxford and Aylesbury Tram Road.” [1: p456] The name is somewhat of a misnomer, as the line depended on the Metropolitan service between Aylesbury and Quainton and only ever ran as far as Brill, with a population of 1,300. It was only 6.5 miles in length. It was known during its lifetime by a number of different names: the Brill Tramway; the Quainton Tramway; the Wotton Tramway; the Oxford & Aylesbury Tramroad; and the Metropolitan Railway Brill Branch.
“In 1883, the Duke of Buckingham planned to upgrade the route to main line standards and extend the line to Oxford, creating the shortest route between Aylesbury and Oxford. Despite the backing of the wealthy Ferdinand de Rothschild, investors were deterred by costly tunnelling. In 1888 a cheaper scheme was proposed in which the line would be built to a lower standard and avoid tunnelling. In anticipation, the line was named the Oxford & Aylesbury Tramroad.” [3]
The first locomotives on the line were particularly unusual. Built by Aveling and Porter of Rochester, they arrived on the line in 1872, at which time the line was known as the Wotton Tramway.
A previous article looked at these Aveling and Porter locomotives among other unusual locomotives. Goodman says that “the early locomotive stock of the tramway consisted of two four-wheeled engines, which would now-a-days present a more or less unique appearance by the side of more modern types of locomotion.” [1: p457]
“Old Chainey” is a chain and flywheel-driven loco built in 1872. It was one of two locomotives on the line between Quainton Road and Brill. It was not very successful, especially if loads were heavy. It lasted in service on the Tramway until 1895 when it was sold for use at Nether Heyford Brickworks in Northamptonshire, where it continued working until the Second World War. [5]
It is now a static exhibit. It was placed, first at the London Transport Museum and then on long-term loan from the London Transport Museum to the Buckinghamshire Railway Centre. [6]
Goodman continues: “In general design [the locomotives] were not unlike the familiar traction engine, being built upon the same principle. Each engine had only one cylinder, which was situated above the boiler. Motion was accordingly imparted to a fly-wheel placed near the foot-plate, which, being connected with the running (not driving) wheels by a chain passing round their axles, caused the engine to move. The dimensions of the cylinders were 7 in. in diameter and 10 inches stroke. The wheels on the rails were 3 ft. in diameter. Both engines had long chimneys, fitted with caps to prevent the emission of sparks. For the accommodation of the enginemen, cabs – in reality little more than weather-boards – were provided, and at each side, about 18 in. above the rail-level, a footboard was fixed. …. The speed attained by them would hardly be termed ‘express’, the time occupied on the 6.5 miles from one terminus to the other averaging about 90 minutes!” [1: p457] That is just over 4 mph.
The line was upgraded in 1894, but the extension to Oxford was never built. “Instead, operation of the Brill Tramway was taken over by London’s Metropolitan Railway and Brill became one of its two north-western termini.” [3] The Aveling and Porter locomotives appear to have remained in service until 1895.
The nickname “Old Chainey” appears to result from the noisy operation of these locos. The one on static display at Buckinghamshire Railway Centre is Aveling and Porter No. 807. It was the first of the two locomotives converted for use on the Tramway. They cost £398 each. [7: p13] It was delivered to the Tramway in January 1872. The second loco was delivered in September of the same year. [7: p18][8: p29]
Before the writing of Goodman’s article in 1899, probably as early as 1895, more advanced locomotives were introduced, allowing trains to run faster. Goodman comments that the Aveling and Porter locos were: “superseded by two smart little locomotives of a more modern design. They [were] Huddersfield No.1 and Brill No. 2. and were built by Messrs. Manning, Wardle and Co., Boyne Engine Works, Leeds, the former in 1878 and the latter in 1804. Both [had] six wheels, all coupled, saddle tanks, and inside cylinders, with a total wheel-base of 10 ft. 9 in. and when in working order they each [weighed] about 10 tons. The wheels [were] 3 ft. in diameter, and the cylinders 12 in. in diameter, with a stroke of 17 in.” [1: p458]
Manning Wardle engine Brill No.1, Huddersfield at Quainton Road in the late 1890s with the Wotton Tramway’s passenger coach of the mid-1870s, an 1895 Oxford & Aylesbury Tramroad passenger coach, and a goods wagon loaded with milk churns. [3]A rather poor photograph showing Brill No. 2, Brill. [1: p457]
The rural nature of the area meant that passenger traffic on the line was never particularly high. “The primary income source remained the carriage of goods to and from farms. Between 1899 and 1910 other lines were built in the area, providing more direct services to London and the north of England. The Brill Tramway went into financial decline.” [3]
In 1899, Goodman reported that “the traffic receipts of this little line have always been gratifying to the proprietors, and in 1894 the reconstruction of the tramway was sanctioned, and, as previously mentioned, it was decided to carry it through to Oxford. The old light rails have been replaced by flat-bottomed ones spiked directly on to transverse sleepers, but in some places bull-headed rails and chairs are utilised. The banks of earth which originally did duty for platforms have made way for small but serviceable stations, of which there are four, besides those at the two terminal points, viz Waddesden, Westcott, Wotton, and Wood Siding.” [1: p458]
Goodman also commented that “the train service was also smartened up although the speed of ten miles per hour [was] never exceeded. There [were] four trains each way daily (Sundays excepted), which [ran] at the following times: [departing Brill] 8.10, 10.30 am, 3.05, 5.05 pm, [arriving Quainton Road] 8.53, 11.10 am, 3.45, 5.50 pm; [departing] Quainton Road 9.30 am, 12.15, 4.15, 6.25 pm, [arriving Brill] 10.10 am, 12.55, 4.50, 7.00pm. … None of the trains [were] timed to stop at the intermediate stations except Wotton, unless required. Passengers and goods [were] conveyed by all trains, which [were] thus ‘mixed’, and their ‘make-up’ would certainly provoke a smile when seen for the first time.” [1: p458] The ‘consist’ was made up of a combined carriage and luggage van, one (or sometimes two) bogie coach(es) with an open interior, and an open ‘low-sided’ goods wagon which often was seen with one or two milk churns. All passengers were charged a standard 1d/mile and there was no first class accommodation. The line was worked on a single-engine in steam principal which meant no signals except on approaches to level-crossings. Goodman notes that the line was only separated from roads and adjacent property by a light wire fence.
When the line was independent, its head offices were at Brill, as was the engine shed, which sat alongside the line on the approach to Brill Station. A further two or three sidings were dedicated to the handling of goods. The station sat about a mile from the centre of Brill.
This low resolution extract from the 25″ Ordnance Survey from the turn of the 20th century shows Brill with its station. The small town is at the bottom of the extract. The Station is around a mile North at the top of the extract. [9]An enlarged extract from the 25″ Ordnance Survey showing Brill Station. The engine shed is centre-top of the extract. Passenger facilities are. Lose to the end of the line to the Southwest of the engine shed and they sit in front of the goods facilities. [10]A similar area on modern satellite imagery. The road from Brill enters this image bottom-left, it is called Tramhill. The route of the old line enters from the rightc. [Google Maps, September 2024]Brill Station in the 1890s. [1: p460]A view from Brill Station Platform with a tram running into the station and the engine shed to the left. [1: p459]An unidentified London Transport train at Brill Railway Station in 1935. [25]
Goodman also notes that the construction of the line posed no significant difficulties. He comments that “the tram road [was] a party to the Railway Clearing House so far as goods and parcels traffic [was] concerned.” [1: p459]
In 1899, through booking of passengers was not in operation, “in fact, the neighbouring companies completely ignore[d] the existence of the tram road in their time tables, and some omit to show it on their maps.” [1: p460]
Goodman expressed confidence that “when the extension to Oxford [was] opened [the line would] necessarily assume a position of more importance.” [1: p460] As we will see below, that confidence was misplaced.
In 1933, the Metropolitan Railway became the Metropolitan line of London Transport. The Brill Tramway became part of the London Underground, despite Quainton Road being 40 miles (64 km) from London. London Transport focussed on “electrification and improvement of passenger services in London and saw little possibility that passenger routes in Buckinghamshire could become viable. In 1935 the Brill Tramway closed.” [3]
“After closure, the line was largely forgotten. Because it had been built on private land without an Act of Parliament, few records of it prior to the Oxford extension schemes exist in official archives. At least some of the rails remained in place in 1940, as records exist of their removal during the building of RAF Westcott.[139] Other than the station buildings at Westcott and Quainton Road almost nothing survives of the tramway; much of the route can still be traced by a double line of hedges.[154] The former trackbed between Quainton Road and Waddesdon Road is now a public footpath known as the Tramway Walk.” [3]
References
F Goodman; The Oxford and Aylesbury Tram Road; in The Railway Magazine, London, November 1899, p456-460.
Ian Melton, From Quainton to Brill: A history of the Wotton Tramway; in R. J., Greenaway (ed.). Underground, Hemel Hempstead: The London Underground Railway Society, 1984.
Bill Simpson; The Brill Tramway; Oxford Publishing, Poole, 1985.
Reading the November 1899 edition of The Railway Magazine, I came across an article about railways and tramways in the Forest of Dean … ‘The Severn & Wye Joint Railway’ by E.A. Clark. [1]
The article from 1899 adds something to the series of posts already made about the Forest and it railways
Clark says that “it was in the year 1809 that the initiative of the Severn and Wye took place. It had long been felt that there was great commercial scope in the Forest of Dean, and in this year Parliament sanctioned the construction of a tram road through the district. The undertaking was incorporated by the name of the Lydney and Lydbrook Railway Company, ‘for the purpose of making a railway or tramway from the River Wye at Lydbrook to the River Severn at Lydney, with various branches to serve the collieries in the Forest of Dean’. The Company finding their undertaking not complete, owing to there not being proper accommodation at Lydney for the export of coal, etc., in the following year (1810) obtained power by an Act of Parliament for the construction of a canal (over one mile in length) and docks or basins at Lydney to communicate with the River Severn, and the name of the Com- pany was changed by the same Act to the Severn and Wye Railway and Canal Company.” [1: p434-435]
A Horse Drawn Vehicle sitting on the Tramway. The stone sleeper and rail construction is evident in this image. The vehicle looks to be a passenger carriage which has the correct wheel-spacing for the track gauge – probably not typical of the routine use of the Tramway! [1: p434]
Clark goes on to tell us that “the cost of construction of the tramway was nearly £90,000. The tramway was laid with tram plates and worked by horse power until the year 1865, when the first locomotive engines were used. From 1810 to 1868, the concern worked very satisfactorily and good dividends were paid. The Great Western Railway Company had constructed a railway on the broad gauge principle to the Forest at one or two points, and this rendered it necessary for the Severn and Wye in 1868 to lay down a broad gauge railway upon that part of their undertaking which lies between the South Wales Railway (Great Western Railway) at Lydney and Wimberry Slade near to the station now known as Speech House Road. Parliamentary authority was obtained to confirm this and to extend the line from Wimberry Junction to Cinderford, also to construct a very important branch, known as the ‘loop Line’ which runs from a point known as ‘Tufts’ between Lydney and Whitecroft on the main line, passing round the eastern side of the forest with sidings to the various collieries, and meeting the main line again at a point known as Drybrook Road, where there is now a passenger station. The loop line is 6 miles 55 chains.” [1: p435]
Clark continues: “The following year, a further Act empowered the Company to convert the tramway on the Lydbrook section to a railroad, with connection with the Great Western Railway at Stowefield, now known as Lydbrook Junction. In 1872, the tramway to Milkwall was substituted by a railway from the main line at Parkend with an ex-tension to Coleford. In 1875 the ‘Foresters’ (as the natives of the district are called) had their first experience of riding behind a locomotive engine. For it was in 1872 that an Act of Parliament was passed, which sanctioned the Severn and Wye Railway conveying passengers. … The year 1872 was a very important one to the Foresters, for in addition to the powers obtained as above described, the Severn Bridge Railway Company [was] incorporated for the purpose of making a railway from the Severn & Wye Railway and the Great Western Railway at Lydney across the River Severn to Sharpness Docks … and the Midland Railway.” [1: p435-437]
The Severn Bridge Railway
“The Severn Bridge was opened for passenger traffic on 17th October 1879. That year, the Severn & Wye Railway & Canal Company amalgamated with the Severn Bridge Railway, and was incorporated under the name of the ‘Severn and Wye and Severn Bridge Railway Company’. This new departure was not a financial success, and the most important Act had yet to be passed, and that was in 1894, for vesting in the Great Western and Midland Railway Companies the whole undertaking of the Severn and Wye and Severn Bridge Railway Company (at a cost of over £447,000), and by the same Act the Midland Company were empowered to transfer to the joint Committee (fe. the Great Western and Midland Com-panies), their branch known as the ‘Gloucester and Berkeley New Docks Branch’ rom Sharp- ness to Berkeley Road, joining the Midland main line.” [1: p437]
One of the large soans of the Severn Bridge during construction at Liverpool. [1: p439]A postcard view of the Severn Bridge with Severn Bridge Station in the foreground. [1: p439]
There was much local opposition which meant compromise was necessary. Several conditions were therefore enjoined in the Act, one was the extension of the railway into Cinderford Cinderford, should be extended into the town.
At the time of the writing of the article (November 1899) there were over 40 collieries; two large tin-plate works; several iron ore mines; and numerous quarries. “Total traffic carried by Severn and Wye Railway Company:- 1875, 492,931 tons; 1890, 674,545 tons; 1898, 1,149,631 tons. Of course the great increase in the 1898 figures, as compared with the 1890 figures, [was] due to some extent owing to the traffic from Sharpness not being accounted for in the 1890 figures – the Berkeley Branch then belonged to the Midland Railway. … Passenger traffic [had] doubled during the last two years as compared with ten years [before].” [1: p438-439]
‘Little John’, its Class Mates and Later Locos
Clark provides two pictures of what he says was the first broad gauge locomotive belonging to the Severn & Wye Railway (‘Little John’). The pictures below show it as an 0-4-0WT locomotive. It is possible that, a few years earlier, the Company purchased a single loco on a trial basis. “This locomotive was [possibly] ‘Little Nell’, an 0−4−0 saddle tank, the first locomotive built at the Boyne Engine Works, Leeds, by Manning, Wardle & Company, and delivered to Sheepbridge on 5th February 1859.” [4]
Clark indicates that these photographs depict ‘Little John’, the first broad gauge locomotive owned by the Severn & Wye Railway Company. The loco shown was an 0-4-0WT loco. [1: p437]
Some notes on the Western Thunder website suggest that ‘Little John’ was one of three locomotives of the same design which were supplied to the Severn & Wye Railway (S&WR). The three locos were ‘Will Scarlet’, ‘Little John’ and ‘Alan-a-Dale’. The writer of those notes assumed that ‘Little John’ and its class-mates were 0-6-0WTs and mentions that the three locos were divided between the GWR and MR when the S&WR was taken into joint ownership in July 1894, ‘Will Scarlet’ (FJ 122) became GWR 1356, ‘Little John’ (FJ 140) became Midland 1123A, and ‘Alan-a-Dale’ (FJ 157) became Great Western 1355. [3]
It seems from the discussion on that website that six 0-6-0T locos were purchased by the S&WR, these were of various designs from different suppliers. Fletcher Jennings supplied locos as shown below.
Illustrations showing details of the six 0-6-0T locomotives supplied to the Severn & Wye Railway by Fletcher Jennings. These illustrations and the quoted text below appeared in the 30th April 1869 copy of ‘The Engineer’ [2]
The notes associated with the two images above say: “This somewhat remarkable engine – illustrated above … which is of the broad, or 7ft. gauge, has been specially constructed with a view to its being readily altered if occasion should require to suit the ordinary narrow gauge, and with as little expense as possible. To this end the axles are made, as will be seen by reference to the plan and section, with a third journal and wheel seat in positions proper for 4ft. 8.5 in. gauge, the coal-box, water tanks – except the one under footplate – fire-box, smoke-box, side foot-plates, and other parts are all made to suit the narrow gauge, so that when the alteration, which is anticipated, is required, little more is needed than to shorten the frame stays and buffer beams, remove certain brackets which support the fire-box and smoke-box, place the frames nearer together, shorten the axles, and remove one of each pair of wheels to its inner wheel seat. The cylinders are 14in. diameter, and the stroke is 20in.; the wheels 4ft. diameter, and extreme wheel centres 11ft. 3in.; tires, piston-rods, motion bars, crank pins, &c., are of steel. The fire-box is 3ft. 3in, long, 3ft. 3in. broad, and 4ft. 10in. deep. The boiler barrel, which is telescopic, is 3ft. 6in. mean diameter, and 8ft. Shin. long; the tubes are of brass . long, 2in. outside diameter, and 105 in number. … The total weight with a full supply of water and fuel is 28 tons 6 cwt., and this is distributed as follows:- Leading wheels, 9 tons; driving wheels, 9 tons 1 cwt.; trailing wheels, 10 tons 5 cwt. With partially filled tank and coal-box, the weight is equally distributed on the wheels.” [5]
Another source on ‘rmweb’ provides the following notes which were sourced from the RCTS publication, ‘Locomotives of the GWR – Part 3’. “Severn and Wye loco history is not simple. … They started to get steam engines in 1865, when there was thirty miles of 3’8” tramway. By 1867 they had five locos, and decided to go broad gauge, converting three engines. Two broad gauge engines were obtained, but in 1872 they decided to go to standard gauge, so the five broad gauge engines were converted to standard. The S&WR amalgamated with the Severn Bridge Railway in 1879. A receiver was appointed in 1883, and the railway was taken over jointly by the MR and GWR in 1894. … The first five engines were Fletcher Jennings 1864, with flangeless wheels for the tramroad. 1-4 were 0-4-0WT, 2-3 being the ones that were converted, 1 becoming a canal dredger. 5 was an 0-6-0ST which also went through two gauge conversions. All these had gone by the time of the receivership.
The RCTS publication, ‘The Locomotives of the Great Western Railway Part 3 Absorbed Engines 1854-1921‘, details the following locomotives as well:
Robin Hood, Fletcher Jennings 1868, MR 1121A – was broad gauge originally.
Ranger 0-6-0 (rebuilt ST), GWR 1358 – very complicated history.
Raven 0-6-0ST, Boulton, 1876 – sold on.
Wye 0-4-0T, Fletcher Jennings, 1876 GWR 1359.
Sharpness, Vulcan, 1880 MR. 1124A.
Severn Bridge, Vulcan, 1880 GWR 1354.
Sabrina, Vulcan, 1882 MR 1125A.
Forester, Vulcan, 1886 MR 1126A.
Gaveller, Vulcan, 1891 GWR 1353.
Four locos were hired from Boulton’s siding at different times.
The net result of these different notes is that the 0-4-0WT loco shown in Clark’s article in the Railway Magazine is unlikely to be ‘Little John’. ‘Little John’ was probably one of the later 0-6-0T locos and may well not have been a broad gauge engine at any time during its working life.
‘Forrester’, which Clark says was the first six-wheeled broad gauge locomotive of the S&WR. [1: p438] As the notes above suggest, ‘Forrester’ was actually one of the later purchases by the S&WR. [6]‘Robin Hood’ – Clark says that this was a six-coupled broad-gauge locomotive. [1: p438] The loco was built in 1868 as a broad-gauge locomotive. [6]
References
E.A. Clark; The Severn & Wye Joint Railway; in The Railway Magazine, London November 1899, p434-441.
This is the earliest Railway Magazine that I have so far been able to view. A rather tatty copy with both front two and at least the back two pages missing.
The first thing to note is the four pages of advertising given over to removal and storage companies! …
First page of advertisements by Removal & Storage Companies [1: pIII]Second page of advertisements by Removal & Storage Companies [1: pIV]Third page of advertisements by Removal & Storage Companies [1: pV]Fourth page of advertisements by Removal & Storage Companies [1: pVI]
The fifth page of advertising is headed by what appears to be a dubious cure for deafness. Perhaps a third of the page is given over to an advert for an Organette with the remainder of the page devoted to The Railway Magazine’s publisher’s needs/offers: cases for binding The Railway Magazine; a request for return to the publisher of early editions of The Railway Magazine; the second edition of G.A. Sekon’s ‘Evolution of the Steam Locomotive‘.
The fifth page of advertisements in my possession. [1: pVII]
Advertisements for J.H. Moore’s Deafness Aerial Medication were relatively common in periodicals in the late 19th century. The offer of three months free treatment was also frequently made. Here is a second example, this time from 1894. ….
1894 Advert for J H Moore’s Treatment – Deafness Aerial Medication. [2]
Searches online produce a series of references to these advertisements but no indication as to the veracity of the claims made in them!
The 4 Guinea Organette on the market for just 35 shillings was a relatively common place advertisement. Draper’s factory in Blackburn was claimed to be the largest such works in the world. The Journal The Music Box carries the story of the company. [3]
The next page of adverts focussed mainly on publications. ….
The sixth page of advertisement in my possession. [1: pVII]
The journals which appear on this page are a mixture of British and American publications. A couple of the adverts are for publications sold by F. Moore of Finsbury, London. As we have noted in an earlier article, ‘F. Moore’ was not the name of a real artist, but rather the name adopted by the Locomotive Publishing Company, which employed the services of the rather reclusive Edwin Thomas Rudd to do the actual painting. [4]
That sixth page of adverts is followed by a page of notices of in-house publications by the publishers of The Railway Magazine. A sister journal was the ‘Railway Herald’. It was a weekly journal published between 1887-1903 which “reported on the activities of the General Railway Workers’ Union, the Railway Clerks’ Association and the United Pointsmen and Signalmen’s Society (and criticised the rival Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants). The newspaper included branch and district news for unions and welfare societies; general reports on the railway industry, including technical developments and descriptions of working conditions; information about railway-related accidents (fatal and non-fatal) and criminal offences; ‘The women’s corner’ (including recipes and household tips); correspondence and advertisements (including for clothing and patent medicines).” [5]
The seventh of these images includes Railway Herald publications and a book by Rev R.W. Scott. [1: pIX]
Alongside its weekly publication, the Railway Herald also produced a series of illustrated albums of Locomotives and Stations.
The next page consists of two adverts for train services. The first for GWR winter services to Cornwall and Devon, the second for the new timetable for express services between Manchester and Liverpool provided by the Cheshire Lines Committee. …
The eighth of these images. [1: pX]
The contents page for the journal follows with a number of interesting articles which may well feature on this blog in due course. This page includes an advertisement by W.S. Laycock of Victoria Works, Sheffield.
The ninth of these images includes an advert by W.S. Laycock Engineering Ltd. [1: pIX]
W.S. Laycock Engineering Ltd., was based in Sheffield. The company is covered in some detail by Grace’s Guide. [6]
The final page of adverts at the front of this edition of The Railway Magazine contains a full-page advert by the Linotype Company of Fleet Street, London.
“The Linotype Company was set up in 1889 by a group of British businessmen in order to buy Linotype and other patents from American interests. These men included the publisher Sir Joseph Lawrence, founder of the Railway Magazine, later Sheriff of London and an MP; Lord Kelvin, the famous scientist, and other well-known men of the time. In 1889, Lawrence and Stilson Hutchins, a representative of the American manufacturer, brought three experimental machines to England. These caused great interest amongst the printing and newspaper industries. In 1895 Lawrence became chairman of the Linotype Company and remained so until his death in 1919.” [7]
“Funding for the project did not come from British banks, but from the American Mergenthaler Company, which granted the Linotype’s licence in return for shares. (By 1909 Mergenthaler controlled the British company and by 1921 both the chairman and the managing director were American.) The British company’s head office was at 188-9 Fleet St, London until 1947 when it moved to John Street, London, WC1.” [7]
The UK company started life at “Hulme Street, Oxford Road, Manchester, where a factory for assembling machines and making some of the simpler parts was built. Manchester had an abundance of skilled labour and also had good rail and canal networks for transporting raw materials, such as iron and coal, and for distribution of the completed machinery. As the company became more successful, the Hulme Street factory became overcrowded. In 1896 the Linotype Company took land at Broadheath, Altrincham for a new factory, which was formally opened by Lady Kelvin on Friday 14 July 1899. The Altrincham plant was sited next to the Bridgewater Canal which brought coal for the furnaces directly from the Worsley mines to the works.” [7]
The works in Altrincham were accompanied by a large housing development for the company’s staff which included social amenities. Morning can be found out by clicking here. [7]
References
The Railway Magazine, November 1899, London, 1899.
Wherever possible permission has been sought for the use of images in this talk. If an omission has been made, please accept my apologies. If you would like an image with your copyright removed from this post please contact the author on rogerfarnworth@aol.com.
Before resuming our journey along the Whitland & Cardigan Railway, just a few comments about Locomotives and Rolling Stock. …
Locomotives
In early days the line operated with three locomotives. These were all constructed by the same company, Fox, Walker & Co. of Bristol.
“The company was founded by Francis William Fox and Edwin Walker who opened an engineering works at Atlas Locomotive Works in Bristol in 1864.
They built four and six-coupled saddle tank engines for industrial use. They also built stationary engines and pioneered steam tramcars, the first being tested in Bristol in 1877.
Much of their output was exported.
By 1878 the company had made over 400 small tank engines.
In 1878 they produced six narrow gauge 2-4-2 trench engines for the Royal Engineers at Chatham using Henry Handyside’s steep gradient apparatus. They also produced nine 0-6-0 saddle tank engines for the Somerset and Dorset Railway.
They were taken over by Thomas Peckett in 1880, becoming Peckett and Sons, Atlas Engine Works, Bristol.” [1]
These locomotives were:
No. 1, John Owen, (Works No. 170 of 1872).
No. 2, (Works No. 271 of 1875) – sold by GWR to Bute Works Supply Co., and East Kent Light Railway in 1911. Working until the early 1930s, last known in steam on 22 September 1934, scrapped by September 1935. [10][11][6: p91]
No. 3, (Works No. 340 of 1877) – rebuilt by GWR in 1896; rebuilt again and renumbered 1331 in 1926. Withdrawn in 1950. [11] A story about the building of a model of this locomotive in 00 Gauge can be found here. [12]
Two images of the rebuilt GWR No. 1331 which appeared on ‘X’. [13]
Nos. 1 and 2 were 0-6-0ST locos of a similar design. No. 3 was a larger 0-6-0ST locomotive. All three were rebuilt by the GWR. No.1 was rebuilt in 1894. [6: p91]
“Soon after the GWR began operating the railway in 1886, a valuation of W&CR stock was made.No.1 was valued at £450, No. 2 at £600 and No. 3 at £850.” [6: p97]
M.R. Connop Price tells us that:
“Small Great Western tank locomotive types soon put in an appearance and the Whitland and Cardigan engines were moved away. Amongst the designs in evidence at the turn of the century were ’19XX’ 0-6-0 saddle tanks and Armstrong 0-4-2 tanks of ‘517’ class. Pannier tanks were frequently seen as well, but during World War I one of the 0-6-0 saddle tanks, either No. 1939 or No. 1999, was stationed at Cardigan. On the freight side a ‘Dean Goods’ 0-6-0 regularly arrived at Crymmych with the monthly cattle train. This was probably the only working to bring a tender engine onto the branch with any frequency, but tender engines were never common. About 1950 a ‘Dean Goods’ was seen standing on the Cardigan line at Cardigan Junction, in the company of a composite coach and a Siphon ‘G’ van: this is the last known instance of the class on the W&C route. Larger tender locomotives were prohibited by virtue of the line having a yellow colour weight restriction.
For many years ‘2021’ class pannier tanks were active on the line, and between the wars the more powerful ’45XX’ 2-6-2 tank locomotives appeared. These held sway on the Cardigan branch until the complete closure in 1963, although latterly they were supported by more modern pannier tanks in the ’16XX’ series. Amongst the engines seen on the railway in the post-war period were 0-6-0PTs Nos. 2011, 1637, 1648, 1666 and 2-6-2Ts Nos. 4550, 4557, 4569, 5550, 5571. In the final weeks of operation Nos. 4557 and 4569 were the most common performers on the railway.” [6: p99]
Carriages
Connop Price tells us that, “The Whitland & Taf Vale Railway owned six four-wheeled carriages, all constructed by the Gloucester Wagon Co. The first four were completed in June 1875, and comprised two composite coaches each having a first and two second class compartments, and a luggage compartment. The other two were brake thirds – that is to say comprising three third class compartments and a compartment for the guard. … Two more coaches were supplied by the Gloucester Wagon Co. in September 1875, and these vehicles comprised three third class compartments and a luggage compartment.” [6: p99]
After the GWR takeover of the line, standard GWR coach types began to appear.
Wagons
The Company’s wagons were all constructed by the Bristol Wagon Co. In October 1872, “in anticipation of the opening of the line, the W&TVR ordered a 4-wheel goods brake van and six 4-wheel open goods wagons. … In May 1874, as traffic developed, it was decided to order four more 4-wheel open wagons. … A 4-wheel covered van [was] … Ordered by the company in October 1974, for use on the Crymmych freight service.” [6: p101]
Records of the Gloucester Railway Carriage and Wagon Co. Ltd show that a number of private owner wagons were in use on the line. Connop Price mentions: a five-plank wagon obtained by William Thomas, Coal, Lime & Manure merchant in March 1903; a seven-plank wagon delivered to the Cardigan Mercantile Co. Ltd. in March 1904. A near identical seven-plank wagon was supplied to G.D. Owen, Coal and Lime Merchant of Cardigan in April 1904. Another seven-plank wagon was supplied to S.J. Phillips of Crymmych Arms, Coal and Lime Merchant in September 1908. [6: p101-103]
Connop Price continues: “One other vehicle had a claim to be an item of Cardigan line rolling stock, although at a later date. This was the water tank wagon provided by the GWR in the 1920s or early 1930s to convey water to Cardigan where the supply was sometimes too low to fill the tank. … It was a standard 4-wheel tank wagon, painted white with the initials GW painted in black on the side. The underframe was also black.” [6: p103]
This unusual short goods at Cardigan contains a tank wagon between two coal wagons. There are stories of water supply problems at Cardigan. Although the station sits on the bank of the River Teifi, being tidal water was only available at low tide as salt water damaged the locomotives. A tank wagon was used to bring water down to Cardigan presumably from Glogue. This image was shared on the Login Railway Station Facebook Page on 12th March 2018. [9]An enlarged extract from the image above. The tank wagon referred to in the text above is between the two mineral wagons. Connop Price indicated [6: p103] that no photograph of this tank wagon had been identified by the date of the 2nd Edition of his book (August 1990). This image may therefore be the only one of the tank wagon! [9]
Llanglydwen to Whitland
We restart our journey to Whitland at Llanglydwen Railway Station. …
Wikipedia tells that “the original station only had a wooden shed as a station building. A new station was built in 1886. This had a two-storey station building, incorporating the station master’s house, the booking office and a waiting room. The down platform had a timber waiting shelter. Behind this platform was the goods yard, which had one siding. Access to this was enabled by the signal box, which also controlled the level crossing and was at the south end of the up platform. There was also a busy coal yard near the station. The station closed to passengers on 10th September 1962 but remained open for goods until 27th May 1963. The coal depot closed on 2nd February 1963.” [17]
This extract from the 6″ Ordnance Survey of 1887 shows the old railway left Llanglydwen following the Southeast bank of the Afon Taf. [23]The same area on railmaponline.com. [3]Continuing on the Southeast bank of the Afon Taf. [24]And the same length again on railmaponline.com’s satellite imagery. [3]Continuing alongside the Afon Taf, the old railway ran past the Dol-Wilym bridge which appears close to the top of this extract from the 6″ Ordnance Survey of 1887. [25]The same area as shown on the railmaponline.com satellite imagery. An area of forest close to the Dol-Wilym Bridge. [3]
The first significant location South of Llanglydwen is the Dol-Wilym bridge over the Afon Taf. This appears at the top of the OS Map extract above and is shown below.
Connop Price says that between Llanglydwen and Login “the gradients continued to change often as the track followed the lie of the land; the steepest grade on this section was 1 in 40. About half a mile north of Login was the tightest curve on the railway: it was short but built to a mere 8 chains radius.” [4: p68]
Further to the South the old railway curves around to the West before beginning to switch back to the South. The 6″ Ordnance Survey of 1887. The Dol-Wilym woods sit on the far side of the Taf. [26]Heavily camouflaged by the forest this railmaponlone.com extract does the same area. [3]Further South still and the OS map shows the mileage from London – 266 miles. [27]The same area as shown on the railmaponline.com. Rather than being in the middle of the woodland, it now proves the eastern border of the area of trees. [3]Still on the East side of the Afon Taf, the old railway continues to head for Login. [28]Again, the same length of line as shown on railmaponlone.com’s satellite imagery. [3]Now on the run down to Login Railway Station the old railway heads due South. [29]The same length of line on the railmaponline.com satellite imagery. [3]Login Railway Station appears at the bottom of this next extract from the 1887 6″ Ordnance Survey. [30]The open area at the bottom of this extract from the railmaponline.com satellite imagery is the station site. [3]Login Railway Station as it appeared on the First Edition of the 6″ Ordnance Survey. [19]The same area on the ESRI satellite imagery from the NLS. [19]
At Login, “a short platform was dignified by the large station building serving the tiny hamlet perched on the hillside just across the river. The goods loop was protected by a ground frame at each end, that at the south end being just a single lever unlocked by the Cardigan Junction – Llanglydwen electric tablet. The ground frame at the north end, however, also controlled the level crossing, and it was housed in a wooden hut of typical Great Western design.” [4: p68]
South of Login the valley of the Taf begins to widen out and the hillsides become less steep. However, gradients continued to change. On the East of the Taf, the railway ran through Penclippen level crossing and past its wooden crossing keeper’s hut.
The Whitland & Cardigan Railway continued South to Llanfalteg (3 miles 48 chains from Whitland). “In the early years of the line … this place had some importance. Until the reconstruction of the mid-1880s the layout consisted of a loop, with a siding parallel to it to serve the goods shed, and a further siding for the locomotive shed and for coal traffic. In its heyday, the locomotive shed had a forge for day-to-day repairs, but it was not big enough to be able to undertake major overhauls. After the Great Western took over the W&CR the shed at Whitland assumed most of the responsibilities of Llanfallteg shed, and gradually the latter fell into disuse. For a while it was occupied by Mr J. Williams’ carpenter’s shop, but this ceased and decay set in until eventually the shed fell down in about 1939.” [4: p68]
Llanfallteg Railway Station as it appeared on the First Edition of the 6″ Ordnance Survey. [37]The same location on the ESRI satellite imagery provided by the National Library of Scotland (NLS). [37]
“At closure in 1962, the station building and the wooden ground frame box were intact, and a dilapidated iron goods shed still stood by the level crossing. The layout, however, was reduced: the loop had been replaced by a siding, and although the siding to the goods shed remained the rest of the trackwork had long gone. A length of rusting cable in the undergrowth provided the only evidence of the practice at Llanfallteg of cable-shunting. The site was cramped and inconvenient, and for many years the most effective way of moving wagons in and out of the sidings was by a cable linking them to a locomotive on a parallel track.”
0-6-0PT at Lanfallteg Railway Station in May 1959, (c) Unknown. [38]A similar view of Llanfallteg Railway Station in 1961, from the Rokeby Album IV ref 5a. [47]Looking North from the location of the level-crossing in Llanfallteg. {Google Streetview, November 2021]Looking South from the location of the level-crossing. Residential properties have been built over the line of the old railway and the station site. [Google Streetview, November 2021]
South of Llanfallteg a run of just over a mile brought the single track line to its junction with the main line known latterly as Cardigan Junction. There were no significant features on this length of the line. It remained on the Northeast bank of the Afon Taf.
Taf Vale Junction as shown on the 6″ Ordnance Survey. The name of this junction was changed to ‘Cardigan Junction’ later in the life of the old branch line. [39]The same location on the NLS ESRI satellite imagery. [39]
“At Cardigan Junction the signal box, opening in 1873 and closed in 1964, was whitewashed, pebble-dashed and austerely domestic in appearance, being built entirely in stone or brick. The window overlooking the tracks was a modest rectangle with two uprights in the window frame. The name-board ‘Cardigan Junction’ was located directly under it. The door was on the east side of the box, with another window, and the pitched roof was surmounted by a single chimney. A gaslight was situated outside.” [4: p68]
Cardigan Junction (formerly Taf Vale Junction) where the Cardigan Branch left the main line. This photograph was taken on Saturday 25th May 1963, significant because the goods only rail service on the branch was withdrawn on the following Monday (27th May 1963). This picture was shared on the Login Railway Station Facebook Page on 20th June 2024. It looks Southeast. [8]
The last 2 miles 21 chains of the route was along the main line from Cardigan Junction (originally Taf Vale Junction) to Whitland.
Close to Taf Vale Junction (Cardigan Junction) the main line crossed rivers twice. This is the location of the first of the bridges (Sarn-las Bridge) which crossed the Afon Daulan, a tributary of the Afon Taf. [40]The same location on the ESRI satellite imagery. [40]The second bridge crossed the Afon Taf (Tre-wern Bridge). [41]The same location in the 21st century. [41]The line then crossed what was a minor road. [42]The crossing and it’s keeper’s cottage remain in the 2st century. [42]The crossing seen from the South in the 21st century. [Google Streetview, November 2021]What is now the A40 then bridged the mainline. [43]The same location on the NLS ESRI satellite imagery. [43]Looking East from the A40 roadbridge towards Whitland Railway Station. [Google Streetview, March 2022]
There were no further significant features on the line before it entered Whitland Station.
Whitland Railway Station as it appeared on the 6″ Ordnance Survey from the turn of the 20th century. [44]A similar area as shown on the map extract above as it appears in 2024. [Google Maps, September 2024]
“After the opening of the Pembroke and Tenby and Whitland and Taf Vale Railways the station at Whitland had four platform faces. Two of these served the main line, one served a loop round the down island platform and the other a bay behind the up platform, access to which was from the west. The main station buildings were on the up side and nearby, close to the bay platform, there was a goods shed and a few sidings. All these changed little until British Railways’ days when the station was extensively modernised. In addition, in the 1960s the down loop was disconnected and became a bay for Pembroke Dock trains. On the down side, too, there was a small goods vard originally constructed for the use of the Pembroke and Tenby Railway, and for the exchange of traffic between that company and the GWR before the Great Western took over the working of the P&T in 1896. A short distance west of Whitland station the locomotive shed stood until the mid-1960s. Passenger trains from Cardigan ran into either the bay or the up main platform at Whitland, but trains departing for Cardigan customarily shared the outer face of the down island platform with P&T line trains.” [4: p61]
Whitland Railway Station in 1971 (c) Roger Griffith (Public Domain). [45]Whitland Railway Station in 1979, (c) John Mann Collection and used with the kind permission of Nick Catford. [46]Whitlad Station seen from Station Road, the B4328 in 2021. This view looks West along the modern railway line. [Google Streetview, November 2021]
The August 1905 edition of the Railway Magazine was the 98th issue. In preparation for its 100th edition, it carried this advert. …
A reminder to Railway Magazine Readers that the 200th edition will not have an unlimited print run. [1: p176]
The Railway Magazine had been established for over 8 years. … The above image can be read easily with the exception of the central portion which, in my copy, is damaged. As far as I can tell that portion reads:
“As a memento of this success of the RAILWAY MAGAZINE, we propose to make the 100th Number (October, 1905), a special issue, containing, in addition to the usual articles, several contributions by the leading experts in various phases of railway working, locomotive development, etc. A feature of these special articles will be the reference to improvements in train services, locomotive working and railway management that have taken place during the past 8 years. The RAILWAY MAGAZINE is entitled to the credit of suggesting many of these improvements. With the 100th Number of the RAILWAY MAGAZINE will be issued a Large Presentation Plate, specially drawn, showing the evolution of the steam locomotive from 1803 to the present time, by means of typical engines of various periods.” [1: p176]
The practice of modern railway magazine special supplements and celebratory issues clearly goes back right to the very earliest months of publication of railway magazines.
The August 1905 edition of the Railway Magazine contains a number of third party adverts which are interesting. ….
In addition to a good number of railway company adverts for particular train services and holiday destinations which are themselves worth looking at, are a number from companies which supplied the railway industry, provided services for railway passengers, or catered for the wider public. …
A. Hotel Cecil
Hotel Cecil, London. [1: pI]
The Hotel Cecil advertised itself as the only first class hotel in London with a garage on the premises. Tariffs included: a single room at 5 shillings, a double at 9 shillings, and a suite at 25 shillings. Food was equally inexpensive to modern eyes, breakfast, lunch and dinner could be purchased for a total of 11 shillings. A single person could stay full board for 16 shillings! (80 pence!)
A loaf of bread cost 5d in London in February 1905, [2] around 2p in today’s money. If we accept that supermarket prices for a 800g loaf are about £1.35 in 2024 we can make a simplistic comparison with modern day costs for full board in London. £1.35 would have bought close to 70 loaves in 1905. That factor of 70 would suggest that a comparable price for full board would be £56!
Five-star accommodation in 2024 at the Shangri-La at The Shard, London costs upwards from £602 which could include breakfast!
B. A Motoring Atlas
The British Motor Tourists ABC, published in the same premises as The Railway Magazine. [1: pIII]
The British Motor Tourists ABC, could be purchased as a paperback (limp) for 5 shillings – the same price as a single room at the Hotel Cecil! If you were using it as a chauffeur, then a special edition could be purchased far cheaper – just 1s 3d.
This ‘Indispensible’ volume included ‘Hints to Motor Tourists’, by S.F. Edge – 57 pages of clear Main Road Maps, Alphabetical List of Towns and Villages in Great Britain and Ireland. with Best Hotels, Garages, Spirit Stores, Charging Stations and Repairing Depots, Hints on Tyres. Customs Tariff and Regulations, Steamer Freights, Railway Regulations, re Petrol and Carriage of Motor Cars, Motor Car Act, Motor Signs, Racing Fixtures, Lighting-up Table, Yacht and Golfing Clubs, Automobile Clubs, Fishing and Hunting Centres.
C. Postcards
These Post Cards represented locomotives of the latest designs, they could be obtained at all railway bookstalls and through any newsagent, price 6d. per set/packet, or direct from the Railway Magazine office, post free, 7d. per packet. [1: pVI]
D. Railway Inspection Cars
Oldsmobile advertised two inspection cars. The first was a self-drive vehicle with space for 4 people. Weight: 800lbs. The second was a larger vehicle which could carry 6 to 8 people or carry tools and material. [1: pX]
Inspection Car, No. 1 was already in use by over 100 Railroads in the United States and other countries. for Bridge and Track Inspectors, Road-masters, and other officials. The Company claimed that it was economical to run and had a range of 100 miles.
Production was limited to only 127 units, the Olds Rail Road Inspection Car was built by the Olds Motor Works from 1903 to 1905 and sold exclusively by the Railway Appliance Company of New York and Chicago. [3]
Inspection Car No. 2 was a larger vehicle with a 7 hp engine. It weighed in at 1200lbs, was designed for standard-gauge track but could be reduced to a minimum of 3ft 6 in gauge. A top speed of 30 mph was possible. Its range was comparable to Inspection Car No. 1 at 100 miles. [3]
There were a number of converted road vehicles in use over time as inspection vehicles in the USA. More can be discovered here. [4]
Ford produced one which included its own turntable. A 1925 Ford Model T Railway Inspection Car was on display on a short 30m section of track outside the Collections Centre at the British Motor Museum at Gaydon on 16th July 2024.
A Ford Model T Rail Inspection Car with inbuilt turntable. [5]
E. A Mug or Two of Cocoa
Dr. Tibbles’ Vi-Cocoa was a popular energy restorative in the Victorian era. At its height it was one of the highest-selling cocoa-based drinks in Britain. [6]
Dr. Tibbles’ advert in the Railway Magazine. [1: pXI]
Adverts for Dr Tibbles Vi-Cocoa, which was a mixture of malt, hops, kola and cocoa, first appeared in 1893. He registered the company at that time and later re-registered as Dr Tibbles’ Vi- Cocoa (1898) Ltd in 1898. Tibbles retired soon afterwards.
“Land was purchased in North Watford to expand Vi-Cocoa production in 1899. A fire devastated the factory in 1903 but the site was rebuilt and became an important local employer making cocoa and chocolates.” [7]
The business was renamed the Watford Manufacturing Company in 1907.
“The Watford Manufacturing Company produced munitions during the First World War. Following the War, the company expected an increase in business and invested in the construction of a huge, new factory. However the business did not materialize. The new factory became a white elephant, was left unfinished and bankrupted the company in 1922.” [8]
In 1918, Lord Leverhulme became the largest shareholder. In 1922 the Company entered into liquidation and Lord Leverhulme purchased the Company. Virtually straight-away, Leverhulme sold up to Planters Products Ltd, a Lever Brothers subsidiary. Vi-Cocoa production continued, the factory was employing 400 people in 1929, and was one of the largest employers in the area. [6]
In 1930, the factory was sold and Unilever absorbed by Unilever, the new incarnation of Lever Brothers. Vi-Cocoa was still being advertised in 1945.
Dr. Tibble’s Vi-Cocoa “achieved remarkable success through a combination of innovative marketing techniques, including health claims, scientific endorsements, extensive print advertising, free samples, and targeted marketing. These strategies not only propelled Vi Cocoa to commercial success but also influenced broader trends in advertising and consumer culture in late Victorian Britain.” [9]
F. Thomas Firth & Sons Ltd.
Firths’ Steel of Sheffield. [1: pXII]
Wikipedia tells us that, “In 1902, Sheffield steelmakers John Brown & Company exchanged shares and came to a working agreement with neighbouring company Thomas Firth & Sons, the companies continuing under their own management until they finally merged in 1930.” [10] At the merger they formally became Firth Brown Steels.
G. W.S. Laycock Ltd.
W.S. Laycock Ltd. [1: pXIII]
W. S. Laycock of Levygreave Road and Victoria Works, Gell Street, Sheffield were Railway Carriage Fittings and Appliance Manufacturers in 1901. First established by Laycock in Victoria Street, Sheffield in 1884. In 1893, the Company “introduced a system for train heating using steam from the locomotive with storage reservoirs in each compartment.” [11]
By 1900, the Company was incorporated as a limited company. Grace’s Guide tells us that the company “supplied equipment to every railway company in the world, the main specialities being carriage blinds, buckeye automatic couplers, vestibule gangway connections, and steam-heating equipment for complete trains.” [11]
In 1902, the Company opened new works at Millhouses, adjoining the Midland Railway. The Company produced munitions during WW1 and in time became Laycock Engineering Co. and later still Laycock Engineering. The company was still exhibiting at the Motor Show in the late 1980s.
H. Giant Motor Spirit
Motor Spirit is Petrol or Gasoline. Meade-King, Robinson & Co., of Liverpool place the advert below in the Railway Magazine. For more information about early Petrol-powered rail vehicles, click here. [12]
Meade-King Robinson [13] is still in business in 2024. “It is a privately owned chemical distribution company with over 140 years experience in the supply of a wide range of oils and chemicals.” [14]
An early advert for Petrol! [1: pXIV]
I. Brown, Bayley’s Steel Works, Ltd.
Wikipedia tells that “Brown Bayley Steels was a steel-making company established in Sheffield, England in 1871, as Brown, Bayley & Dixon. They occupied a site on Leeds Road which was later occupied by the Don Valley sports stadium.” [15]
[1: pXV]
Brown, Bayley’s Steel Works had three main sites: Leeds Road, East Works, and Brighton Bar Shop.
Wikipedia tells us that “the Leeds Road site included: a spring shop, a hammer shop, a ring rolling shop with Telpher Crane, a machine shop for railway axles & tyres, an axle & railway tyre drop test plant, a heat treatment department, creep laboratories, a tyre blank press, a blacksmiths shop, a loco Shed, a drawing office, and a generator converter house creating direct current for cranes.” [15]
East Works: had “a sheet rolling mill, a sheet pickling plant, sheet polishing and guillotine shops andSteckel mills (slitting machines).” [15]
Bright Bar Shop: undertook “bar drawing, had centreless turning machines, centreless Lidkoping grinding machines, a 5 ton hammer, a 500 ton press and a railway tyre rolling mill.” [15]
NB: “A Steckel mill is also known as a reversible finishing mill, it is similar to a reversing rolling mill except two coilers are used to feed the material through the mill. One coiler is on the entrance side and the other on the exit side. The coilers pull the material through the mill, therefore the process is more similar to drawing than rolling. The material is fed back and forth through the mill until the desired thickness is reached, much like a reversing rolling mill.” [16]
NB: “The Lidkoping centerless grinder is designed and manufactured to meet practically any challenge in precision grinding. More details of the most modern form of this equipment can be found here. [17]
J. A Few Small Ads
The last page of adverts at the front of the magazine includes these four small adverts. [1: pXVI]
Goddard’s Plate Powder was developed by Joseph Goddard in the early 19th century and 180 years later Goddard’s is still a going concern. [18]
Real Devonshire Washing Serge was sold by G. Bale & Co. of Topsham, Devon. I guess they anticipated sales to railway companies subsequent to their advert. I have not been able to find out anything about the company.
Whelpton’s Purifying Pills “were supplied by G. Whelpton and Son, London. They were advertised as being able to arouse the stomach to action, promoting the flow of gastric juice, and giving tone to the whole system. Headache flies away. Biliousness, Kidney Disorders, and Skin Complaints disappear, while cheerful spirits and clear complexions follow in due course!” [19: p1325]
“The pills had an average weight of 21 grains. Chemical and microscopical examination showed the presence of aloes (apparently Socotrine), powdered colocynth, ginger, and gentian. The last-named ingredient being less positively indicated than the others. No evidence of the presence of mercury or calomel was obtained.” [19: p1326]
I could not find any convincing evidence either that they were effective, or that they caused any real harm.
The Railway Officers and Servants Association was, until 1974, a Friendly Society, it was removed from the Charity register in November 1974.
Roger Farnworth 
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