Tag Archives: Light Railway

The Nidd Valley Light Railway

The short paragraph immediately below appeared in the February 1952 edition of The Railway Magazine in reply to a question submitted by G. T. Kaye.

“The Nidd Valley branch of the former North Eastern Railway (which was closed to passengers on 31st March 1951) terminated at Pateley Bridge, 14 miles from Harrogate. In 1900, a Light Railway Order was obtained for a 2 ft. 6 in. gauge line from Pateley Bridge to Lofthouse-in-Nidderdale, six miles further up the valley, but the promoters had difficulty in finding the necessary capital. At that time, the Bradford Corporation was about to undertake the construction of reservoirs in the Nidd Valley, and a railway was required to carry materials to the sites. The Corporation took over the powers for the light railway, and extended it for a further 6 miles, from Lofthouse to Angram. The railway was laid to the standard-gauge, and was opened to passengers between Pateley Bridge and Lofthouse on 1st May 1907. The remainder of the line did not carry public traffic. The line was worked by two 4-4-0 tank engines and passenger coaches purchased from the Metropolitan Railway. The passenger services were withdrawn on 31st December 1929, and the line was closed completely some months later.” [1: p143]

It appeared close to the back of the magazine in the section called, “The Why and the Wherefore”. It seemed like a good idea to explore what further information there is available about the Nidd Valley Light Railway. …….

The Website ‘WalkingintheYorksireDales.co.uk’ has a page dedicated to the railway which can be found here. [2]

A number of images relating to the line can be found here. [13]

The Oakwood Press published a book by D. J. Croft about the line. [3: p3]

Croft wrote: “The valley of the River Nidd, in the West Riding of Yorkshire, is nearly 55 miles long, beginning at Great Whernside, and ending at Nun Monkton where the Nidd flows into the River Ouse. However, the area known as Nidderdale extends for only about a half of the length, and forms a compact geographical region of its own. Despite this length, and great scenic beauty, it remains to this day one of the forgotten valleys of the Yorkshire Dales.” [3: p3]

“The area of Nidderdale can be divided into roughly two equal sec tions, with the market town of Pateley Bridge between the two. The first substantial historical accounts of Nidderdale appeared in Domesday Book of 1086. However, some of the local lead mines were worked in the time of the Brigantes, whilst several surrounding localities suggest Roman occupation.” [3: p3]

“Nidderdale has several industries, notably quarrying and lead mining. and a small textile industry. There is also a small slate quarry, a marble quarry, and a long, thin ironstone vein stretching along the valley. Through-out the ages, however, Nidderdale has had prosperity alternating with decline. As the early mining industry began to decline, so textiles became important around the thirteenth century. This too tended to decline by the seventeenth century, and mining became important once more. Unfortunately, the prosperity of the lead mining era passed, and so too did the prosperity of Nidderdale.” [3: p3]

“This period of decline lasted until 1862, when the North Eastern Railway opened its line from Harrogate to Pateley Bridge, thus opening this remote valley to the outside world. Prior to this, the only roads out of the dale had been to Grassington, Riponand Kirkby Malzeard, and the only regular connection with the outside world had been the Nidderdale Omnibus, a double-deck horse bus, linking Pateley Bridge with trains of the Leeds & Thirsk Railway at Ripley. This operated from 1st August 1849, until the opening of the railway, and ran twice daily.” [3: p3]

The approach of the 20th century brought a new prosperity to the valley, which was to last for the next thirty years or perhaps a little longer. Thid was the period when the Nidd Valley Light Railway was active.

The story of the line is the story of the thirteen or so miles between Pateley Bridge and the head of the valley, for it was there “that the Nidd Valley Light Railway was conceived, constructed and closed. All this happened within a period of less than forty years.” [3: p3]

The Story of the Line

Wikipedia tells us that the origins of a railway in the upper Nidd Valley “can be traced back to 1887–88, when Bradford Corporation began to investigate the valley as a source for the public water supply. … Alexander Binnie, who was the Waterworks Engineer for Bradford at the time, and Professor Alexander Henry Green, a geologist from Oxford, visited the area, and Green advised Binnie that the valley was suitable for the construction of large dams. The Bradford Corporation Water Act 1890 was obtained on 14th August 1890, authorising the construction of four dams. … A second Act of Parliament was obtained on 27th June 1892, by which time the four reservoirs were Angram, Haden Carr, High Woodale and Gouthwaite. Gouthwaite Reservoir was designed as a compensation reservoir, to maintain flows in the Nidd further down the valley.” [4][5: p76-77]

The first reservoir, Haden Carr, was completed in 1899, together with a 32-mile (51 km) pipeline (the Nidd Aqueduct) to deliver water to Chellow Heights reservoir on the outskirts of Bradford. [4][5: p79] “Gouthwaite reservoir was built … between 1893 and 1901.” [5: p84-85] The activity in the valley attracted attention from outside the region and a company from London, Power & Traction Ltd applied for a Light Railway Order “to construct a line from the terminus of the Nidd Valley Railway at Pateley Bridge to Lofthouse. … Following a hearing at Harrogate on 9th October 1900, the Light Railway Commissioners awarded an order to Power & Traction for a 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) gauge railway.” [4] Negotiations with Bradford Corporation over a possible £2,000 investment in the scheme ultimately failed. [5: p86]

“In 1903, Bradford invited tenders for the construction of Angram Reservoir, and … reached provisional agreement with the Nidd Valley Light Railway Company to purchase the powers awarded to them to build the light railway. … Bradford wanted to ask the Light Railway Commissioners for permission to increase [the track gauge] to 3 ft (914 mm). … They also wanted to ensure that they bought enough land to allow a standard gauge railway to be constructed ‘at any future time’. The North Eastern Railway, owners of the Nidd Valley Railway, argued that it should be standard gauge from the outset, since they were running excursions to Pateley Bridge twice a week, and these could continue over the Nidd Valley Light Railway. It would also remove the necessity of transshipping goods.” [5: p86]

Then next three map extracts show the railway facilities in Pateley Bridge while the Nidd Valley Light Railway was active. …

The Nidd Valley Light Railway Pateley Bridge Carriage and Engine Shed which were to the North of the railway’s terminus. 25″ Ordnance Survey of 1907/08, published in 1908. [9]

The Nidd Valley Light Railway Pateley Bridge Terminus which was connected to the North Eastern Railway Station by a single line which joined the main line before it crossed the High Street on the level. 25″ Ordnance Survey of 1907/08, published in 1908. [9]

The North Easter Railway Station at Pateley Bridge. [9]

The red line approximates t the line of the railway which left Pateley Bridge Station (behind the camera) to cross High Street and run between Pateley Bridge Mills and Millfield Street to connect with The Nidd Valley Light Railway. [Google Streetview, May 2024]

0-6-0ST locomotive ‘Blythe’, with a passenger train at Pateley Bridge. Humphrey Household collection (1996-7886_529 DS160108), © National Science Museum and licenced for reuse under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) licence. [10]

A transfer order was eventually granted, “with powers to borrow up to £30,000 to fund the project. In May 1904, the Board of Trade agreed to a change to standard gauge, and borrowing powers were increased to £66,000 in 1908, because of the extra costs of building the wider formation. The document was signed by Winston Churchill, the President of the Board of Trade.” The contractor working on the Anagram reservoir, John Best, “was awarded a contract to build the light railway to Lofthouse for £23,000, and a tramway from Lofthouse to Angram for £5,385.” [5: p86-87]

Then the intrigue began! A contract had been awarded in April 1902 to Holme and King for the construction of a road from Lofthouse to Angram. Bradford Council “had purchased enough land to allow the light railway to be built beside the road, and although Best was awarded a contact for the railway in 1903, it appears that Holme and King built a 3 ft (914 mm) gauge contractor’s railway beside part or all of the road. They had two locomotives on site, both 0-4-0 saddle tanks, one bought second hand some years earlier and moved to the site in spring 1902, after working on several other projects, [5: p87] and the second bought new for delivery to Pateley Bridge. [5: p89] By mid-1904, there was a 6.5-mile (10.5 km) line from Angram, which crossed the River Nidd on a 20-foot (6.1 m) bridge just before it reached Lofthouse.” [4]

So, Best began extending the line towards Pateley Bridge from the River Nidd rather than starting the work again! Wikipedia tells us that “by 13th July 1904, it had reached a level crossing at Sykes Bank, 0.5 miles (0.8 km) below Lofthouse, and work had commenced at several other sites. On that date, a party of 150 members of Bradford City Council, with invited guests, arrived by train at Pateley Bridge, and were transported to Gouthwaite Dam in carriages. Here there was a ceremony in which the Lord Major cut the first sod for the Nidd Valley Light Railway.” [4] The party “proceeded to Sykes Bank, where a train was waiting, which consisted of 15 wagons fitted with makeshift seats, and two locomotives, one of which was Holme and King’s Xit and the other was Best’s Angram. It took about an hour to reach Angram, where there were presentations, and Alderman Holdsworth cut the first sod for the dam. Refreshments were then served and the party returned to Lofthouse by train and to Pateley Bridge by carriage.” [4][5: p90-91]

The narrow gauge had hardly reached Pateley Bridge and Angram begun its regular duties along the line when standard gauge rails began to be laid starting at Lofthouse and working both up and down the line from there. “When the first standard gauge locomotive arrived, it was towed along the road to Sykes Bank by a Foden steam lorry, its flanged wheels making a mess of the road surface. The main line and sidings became mixed gauge for a while, although the third rail was gradually removed from 1906.” [5: p91 & 93] There was a veritable network of rail lines at the Angram Dam site where, as well as a village built for the workers, “the railway terminated in several sidings, which included a locomotive shed. The sidings were at a similar level to the crest of the dam. A branch left the main line and descended to the valley floor, where there was a cement mixing plant and more sidings. This line included a winch-operated incline which descended on a gradient of 1 in 15 (6.7%). Another incline, of 3 ft (914 mm) gauge, ascended the far side of the valley, giving access to Nidd sluice and lodge. A third incline brought rock down to the main line from a quarry, some 2 miles (3.2 km) below the terminus.” [4][5: p93 & 97]

The village of Lofthouse and its railway station as it appears on the 25″Ordnance Survey of 1907, published in 1909. [6]

0-6-0 side tank steam locomotive ‘Milner’ with a carriage and van at Lofthouse-in-Nidderdale station, ready to leave for Scar House. Humphrey Household collection (1996-7886_531 DS160110), © National Science Museum and licenced for reuse under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) licence. [10]

‘Milner’ crossing the bridge above Lofthouse-in-Nidderdale station and beginning the steep climb alongside the road on the private section to Scar House. It is likely that this was taken soon after the previous photograph. Humphrey Household collection (1996-7886_523 DS160104), © National Science Museum and licenced for reuse under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) licence. [10]

At the other end of the Light Railway, “at Pateley Bridge, the Nidd Valley Light Railway station was to the north west of the North Eastern Railway’s Pateley Bridge railway station, close to the River Nidd. The two were connected by a single track which crossed a level crossing. There were a series of sidings immediately after the level crossing, with the station and more sidings beyond that. A carriage shed and a locomotive shed were located a little further along the valley of the Nidd.” [4]

Ramsgill Village was served by a stationary Bouthwaite which sat on the opposite side of the River Nidd. This map extract comes from the 25″ Ordnance Survey of 1907, published in 1909. [7]

“Best built two-storey stone buildings for the stations at Pateley Bridge, Wath, Ramsgill and Lofthouse. He built a signal box at Pateley Bridge, with the other stations having ground frames and simple signalling. Operation of the line was controlled by the Tyer’s Electric Train Tablet system, and six machines were ordered at a cost of £360. [5: p101] Both intermediate stations had goods sidings on the eastern side of the main track, while Lofthouse had a passing loop and sidings to the west.” [4]

The Station at Wath sat between the village and the River Nidd. The 25″ Ordnance Survey of 1907/1908 and published in 1909. [8]

“Best had a number of locomotives, both 3 ft (914 mm) gauge and standard gauge, which operated over the entire line from Pateley Bridge to Angram during the construction phase. For the opening of the Nidd Valley Light Railway proper, the 6.5 miles (10.5 km) from Pateley Bridge to Lofthouse, Bradford Corporation ordered six open wagons and two brake vans from Hurst Nelson of Motherwell. Locomotives and carriages were obtained second-hand from the Metropolitan Railway in London. These consisted of ten 4-wheeled coaches and two 4-4-0 Beyer Peacock side tank locomotives. All had become surplus to requirements, as electrification of the line had been completed in 1905. The locomotives were fitted with condensing equipment, for working in the tunnels under London, but the price of £1,350 for the pair included removal of this, and the fitting of cabs. All twelve vehicles arrived at Pateley Bridge, with one engine in steam … The locomotives were named ‘Holdsworth’ and ‘Milner’ after two Aldermen who had served Bradford Waterworks since 1898.” [4][5: p101, 102]

“An official opening took place on 11th September 1907, when a train consisting of three carriages and the Corporation saloon were hauled by ‘Holdsworth’ from Pateley Bridge to Lofthouse, with stops at Wath and Gouthwaite reservoir. At Lofthouse the engine was replaced by one of Best’s engines, and continued to Angram where luncheon was served in the village reading room.” [4][5: p102, 105]

“The two locomotives were much too heavy to comply with the Light Railway Order, which specified a maximum axle loading of 6.5 tons. They weighed 46.6 tons in working order, with 36.7 tons carried by the two driving axles. The Corporation applied for an increase in the axle loading, specifying the weight as “over 42 tons”. Milner, the newest of the two locomotives, dating from 1879, [5: p102] did not perform well, and was replaced by a Hudswell Clarke 0-6-0 side tank, also named Milner in May 1909. The original Milner was sold to the North Wales Granite Company at Conwy in 1914. [5: p102, 111] Following discussions with the Board of Trade in 1906, the Corporation and the North Eastern Railway had obtained permission for three passenger trains per week to pass over the goods yard and sidings at Pateley Bridge, so that excursions could continue up to Lofthouse between June and September only. Despite the agreement, when the first excursion was due to make the journey on 14th September 1907, the NER decided not to allow their stock to pass onto the Nidd Valley Light Railway, nor to allow the Corporation engine and carriages to come to their station, and so the passengers had to walk between the two stations. [5: p110] In order to avoid confusion for parcels traffic, Lofthouse station became Lofthouse-in-Nidderdale on 12th December 1907, and Wath became Wath-in-Nidderdale in February 1908 for similar reasons.” [4][5: p107-108]

Work on Angram reservoir was finally completed in 1916. “Bradford Corporation had already obtained an Act in 1913, allowing them to abandon their plans for a reservoir at High Woodale, and instead to build a much larger one at Scar House. It would submerge the site of Haden Carr reservoir, and the Act allowed them to start construction “when appropriate”. The cost of the new works was estimated at £2,161,500, and although three tenders were received, they decided on 14th May 1920 to build it themselves, using direct labour. Scar village was built between 1920 and 1921, consisting of ten hostels for a total of 640 men, a school, canteen, recreation room, concert hall, mission church and some bungalows.” [4][5: p115]

Scar Village © Nidderdale Museum, courtesy of the RealYorkshireBlog.com. [11]

Plans to electrify the railway using hydro-electric power, were considered in March 1920, but rejected as being too expensive. uneconomic. Holdsworth, was taken out of service in 1866 because it was too heavy for the line, but when no buyers could be found, it was used as a stationary steam supply for another 14 years. There were plans to overhaul Milner, to obtain another lighter engine, and to purchase two railmotor cars. Only one railmotor (‘Hill’) was eventually purchased in 1921. It can be seen in the two images immediately below.

Steam railmotor car ‘Hill’ approaching Wath station on the descent from Ramsgill. It worked the Pateley Bridge to Lofthouse public passenger service. Humphrey Household collection (1996-7886_522 DS160103), © National Science Museum and licenced for reuse under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) licence. [10]

Pateley Bridge locomotive shed and water tower, showing steam railmotor ‘Hill’ beside the shed and 0-6-0 steam locomotive ‘Blythe’ at the entrance. Humphrey Household collection (1996-7886_521 DS160102), © National Science Museum and licenced for reuse under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) licence. [10]

“From August 1920, work was carried out to improve the line between Lofthouse and Angram. This included easing the alignment on many of the curves, the addition of loops near Lofthouse and at Woodale, just below the Scar House site, and the construction of a 180-yard (160 m) tunnel near Goyden Pot, which was used by up trains only.” [4][5: p119-122]. “The line at Angram was extended to a small quarry in 1921, along the trackbed of Best’s 3 ft (914 mm) gauge line beyond the dam. Stone was extracted for remedial work, caused by wind and wave erosion of the southern bank of the reservoir near the dam.” [4][5: p123]

The entrance at the lower end of Goyden tunnel. The nature of the terrain was challenging, as is evident in this picture, and downhill trains used the original line, which can be seen alongside the road. Humphrey Household collection (1996-7886_527 DS160107)), © National Science Museum and licenced for reuse under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) licence. [10]

Close to the Scar House dam site, “a network of sidings were constructed, zig-zagging down to the Nidd, and back up the other side of the valley. A double track self-acting incline provided access to the Carle Fell Quarry, to the north of the reservoir, and as the quarry was worked, two further inclines were constructed. One was single track, with a winding engine at the top, and around 1930, an incline worked by locomotives was added. Above the later quarry face, a Simplex petrol locomotive worked on a 2 ft (610 mm) track, removing overburden.” [4][5: p118]

The Scar House dam construction site viewed across the valley from the south. The zigzag tracks linking the site with the quarries and stoneyard can be seen, with a locomotive in steam with three trucks in the centre of the picture. Beyond is the extensive stoneyard. In the foreground is a row of new large pipe sections manufactured by Glenfield & Kennedy Ltd of Kilmarnock, Scotland. Humphrey Household collection (1996-7886_537 DS160116)), © National Science Museum and licenced for reuse under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) licence. [10]

A general view of Carle Fell quarry above the Scar House dam construction site, showing several railway tracks with two steam cranes, a locomotive and a number of trucks. Humphrey Household collection (1996-7886_539 DS160119)), © National Science Museum and licenced for reuse under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) licence. [10]

Power for the works “was generated using water from Angram reservoir, which was discharged into Haden Carr reservoir. A 4,775-foot (1,455 m) pipeline supplied the turbines. This was later supplemented by a steam generating station. [5: p123-124] Two locomotive sheds were built, one near the village and another on the north side of the River Nidd, with a further two at Carle Fell Quarry. All had two tracks. Twelve four-wheeled carriages were bought from the Maryport and Carlisle Railway, to provide transport for the workers and their families from Scar House to Lofthouse, and a two-track carriage shed was built to the east of the main complex.” [4][5: p125]

Scar House dam under construction, showing the full length of the structure viewed from a distance down in the valley. Four steam cranes are seen on top of the dam, and another one below it alongside railway tracks, a truck, a water tank, and a stack of large stone blocks. Humphrey Household collection (1996-7886_535 DS160114)), © National Science Museum and licenced for reuse under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) licence. [10]

“Six locomotives worked in the quarry. Allenby, Beatty, Haig and Trotter were based at the shed at the top of the main self-acting incline, while Ian Hamilton and Stringer were based in a shed at a higher level. Three steam navvies were used to load stone into the railway wagons, and there were nineteen or twenty steam cranes, all of which were self-propelled and ran on the tracks either in the quarry or on top of the dam.” [4][5: p129]

The masons’ yard above the Scar House dam construction site, with 0-4-0 saddle tank steam locomotive ‘*Craven*’ and a steam crane lifting blocks of stone. Humphrey Household collection (1996-7886_540 DS160118). Craven does not appear in Bowtell’s list of locomotives above), © National Science Museum and licenced for reuse under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) licence. [10]

A wide view of the Scar House dam construction site across the valley from the quarries high up on the north side, showing the dam below and looking across to the buildings of Scar village, where the workers lived. The zigzag rail tracks linking the construction site with the quarries and stoneyard are clearly visible. Humphrey Household collection (1996-7886_538 DS160117)), © National Science Museum and licenced for reuse under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) licence. [10]

The main engineering work at Scar House reservoir closed to completion in September 1931 but it was not until July 1935 that filling of the reservoir commenced. “The official opening was on 7th September 1936. Scar House, which gave its name to the reservoir, was demolished. A new Scar House was built, at the foot of the incline from Carle Fell Quarry, which provided a home for the reservoir keeper, and a boardroom for official visits. [5: p130-131] A project to re-route the waters from Armathwaite Gill and Howstean Beck through a tunnel and into the reservoir began in May 1929. A 2 ft (610 mm) gauge line was laid, on which two battery-electric locomotives and twelve wagons ran.” [4][5: p131]

Two 0-6-0ST locomotives ‘Gadie’ and ‘Illingworth’, head a goods train on the line. [12]

Decline

“The start of work on Scar House Reservoir led to an overhaul of existing stock. Seven of the original Metropolitan Railway coaches were upholstered and repainted, while the remaining five were used for the workmen. [The] steam railmotor [Hill] … obtained in 1921, … had previously been owned by the Great Western Railway. It … was fitted with electric lights in 1923. It worked on the public section of the railway, and never travelled beyond Lofthouse. Numerous new and secondhand locomotives were purchased, most for use on construction work, but two, Blythe and Gadie, were fitted with vacuum brakes, and so worked goods trains from Pateley Bridge to Scar House, as well as passenger trains between Scar House and Lofthouse and sometimes Pateley Bridge.” [4][5: p133]

“Passenger trains for the residents of Scar village ran on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, the mid-week ones connecting with ‘Hill’ at Lofthouse, and the Saturday ones running through to Pateley Bridge. The 1927 printed timetable showed five trains a day between Pateley Bridge and Lofthouse, but also showed the trains onwards to Scar Village, with a note that these were for exclusive use of residents. Saturday trains were hauled by Blythe or Gadie, but were banked at the rear by another engine above Lofthouse because of the steep gradients.” [4][5: p134]

The ‘Scar House special’, 0-6-0T locomotives ‘Milner’ and ‘Blythe’ with a goods train, banked in the rear by two other locomotives for the steep climb alongside the road towards Scar House. This was possibly a more substantial train than usual as it required 4 locomotives rather than the 3 mentioned above. Humphrey Household collection (1996-7886_526 DS160106), © National Science Museum and licenced for reuse under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) licence. [10]

“Traffic returns showed 106,216 journeys by workmen in 1921, and 41,051 by ordinary passengers. The figure for workmen was not declared after 1922, as the accommodation at Scar Village was available. The peak year for journeys was 1923, with 63,020, after which there was a gradual decline, with 24,906 journeys for the final nine months before closure. The line made a total operating loss of £36,435 between 1908 and 1924, and then made a modest profit until 1929. Fares were cut by one third in early 1929, in the face of competition from motor buses, and a decision was taken to close the line in April 1929.” [4][5: p

“An approach to the London and North Eastern Railway to take over the railway was unsuccessful, and on 31st December 1929, the railway closed to public passenger and goods services. The sections below and above Lofthouse continued to be run as a private railway. [5: p135] The Saturday train to Pateley Bridge for the residents of Scar Village continued until 1932.” [4][5: p133]

The line to Angram was severed by the works at Scar House in 1933. “By 1936, with construction completed, the railway was lifted, and a sale was held at Pateley Bridge on 1st March 1937, where everything was sold as a single lot. … At its peak, the Scar House reservoir project had employed about 780 men, and the population of Scar Village had been 1,135. By 1936, there were just eight houses occupied, and seven pupils at the school, which closed on 31st January 1938.” [4][5: p130 & 138]

A Journey along the Line

“The railway began in Pateley Bridge, close to the River Nidd, with the goods yard just to the north of the B6265 road. The passenger station was a little further north, and is now occupied by a road called ‘The Sidings’.” [4]

The Nidd Valley Light Railway Station, Transshipment Yard and Goods Yard at Pateley Bridge. 25″ Ordnance Survey of 1907/08, published in 1908. [9]

The Nidd Valley Light Railway Station Platform at Pateley Bridge in 1907. This image was shared on the Railways Around Harrogate & Yorkshire Facebook Group on 18th January 2024 by Ian McGregor, (c) Public Domain. [17]

The same area in the 21st century. ‘The Sidings’ is the cul-de-sac directly above the centre-bottom of the image. The new build further to the North is an extension to Millfield Street. [9]

The Sidings. [Google Street view, May 2024]

The extension to Millfield Street. [Google Streetview, May 2024]

The line’s Carriage Shed and Engine Shed sat to the North of the Station. 25″ Ordnance Survey of 1907/08, published in 1908. [9]

The same area in the 21st century. The area of the Carriage and Engine Sheds has now reverted to farmland. [9]

The line headed North “along the east bank of the river, and this section of it now forms part of the Nidderdale Way, a long-distance footpath. Wath station was just to the south of the minor road that crosses Wath Bridge, and had two sidings.” [4]

Wath Railway Station was on the South side of the road between the Corn Mill and Wath Bridge. 25″ Ordnance Survey of 1907/08, published in 1908. [14]

The same area in the 21st century. ESRI satellite imagery provided by the National Library of Scotland. [14]

Looking South from the minor road into the site of Wath Station. The station building is now a private home. [Google Streetview, May 2024]

The line North of the minor road was on a low embankment. [Google Streetview, May 2024]

“The footpath leaves the course of the railway before the station, and follows the bank of the river, crossing over the railway trackbed by Gouthwaite Dam.” [4]

The line passed close to the Northeast end of Gouthwaite Dam. 25″ Ordnance Survey of 1907/08, published in 1908. [15]

A very similar area in the 21st century. [Google Maps, October 2025]

Beyond the North end of Gouthwaite Reservoir, the route of the old railway can be seen from the minor road which links Coville House Farm to Bouthwaite. This view looks South from the road. The route of the old line is beyond the drystone wall in a shallow cutting. [Google Streetview, May 2024]

Turning through 90° to face West, the end of the cutting can be seen on the left of this image, the line ran on beyond the tree at the right side of the photograph. [Google Streetview, May 2024]

Further North along the same minor road, the old railway ran to the left of the drystone wall, between it and the electricity pole. [Google Streetview, May 2024]

“The trackbed was close to the shore of the reservoir, and the footpath rejoins it after a deviation to the north west. Ramsgill Station was at Bouthwaite, rather than Ramsgill, just to the south of Bouthwaite Bridge, where the Ramsgill to Bouthwaite road crosses Lul Beck.” [4]

Ramsgill Railway Station at Bouthwaite. 25″ Ordnance Survey of 1907/08, published in 1908. [16]

Approximately the same area as it appears on 21st century satellite imagery. The line can easily be picked out close to the bottom-right of this image, to the West of the minor road. The station area remains quite distinct! The route of the line continues Northwest on the North side of the minor road which enters centre-left. [Google Maps, October. 2025]

The Station Building at Ramsgill Railway Station in Bouthwaite, the main running line was to the right of the building and crossed the road to the right of the camera. [Google Streetview, May 2924]

Looking Northwest from approximately the same place these trees sit on the line of the old railway. Just North of the road, the line bridged the stream running through the village. [Google Streetview, May 2924]

“The footpath rejoins the trackbed briefly at Low Sikes, where there was a level crossing over the Ramsgill to Lofthouse road.” [4]

The level crossing adjacent to the River Nidd at Low Sikes. 25″ Ordnance Survey of 1907/08, published in 1908. [18]

The same location in the 21st century. Note the gap in the drystone wall bottom-right which sits on the line of the old railway. [18]

Looking Southeast along Nidderdale at Low Sikes. The redline approximates to the line of the old railway in the photograph. Foreshortening of the image significantly tightens the curve of the line. [Google Streetview, May 2024]

Looking Northwest alongside the River Nidd from Low Sikes. The line ran approximately straight ahead from the sign post in the foreground. [Google Streetview, May 2024]

The next significant location along the line was Lofthouse Station which sat on the South side of the village of Lofthouse, between the road and the river.

Lofthouse Railway Station sat on the Northeast bank of the River Nidd. The railway crossed the River Nidd on a bridge shared with the highway. [6]

Lofthouse Railway Station building in 21st century, seen from the Southeast. [Google Streetview, May 2024]

Lofthouse Railway Station building in 21st century, seen from the Northwest. The railway and platform were on the right of the building. [Google Streetview, May 2024]

This road bridge over the River Nidd was once shared with the light railway, the red line shows the route of the line. [Google Streetview, May 2024]

Once across the river the line turned sharply to the North to follow the road to Scar House. It followed the West shoulder of the road with the River Nidd off to the East of the road. [Google Streetview, May 2024]

The metalled road is owned by Yorkshire Water but open to the public. The line continued North remaining on the West shoulder of the road.

The same location in the 21st century. This bricked up tunnel was designed to avoid possible accidents. Northbound trains used the tunnel, Southbound trains used the original railway alignment which included a sharp bend just North of this location. [Google Streetview, May 2024]

“The bricked up tunnel can be seen about 2 miles (3.2 km) from Lofthouse, where the road and river turn sharply west. There is a picnic spot near the southern portal of the tunnel.” [4]

Beyond Goyden Tunnel the original line (still used by Southbound trains after the tunnel was built) bears sharply to the West. [Google Streetview, May 2024]

Before the tunnel was constructed a short passing loop was provided on the sharp bend. It was not long enough to allow any significant trains to pass but it mitigated the risk of collision! [19]

Images from two different OS sheets surveyed in the late 1920s show the tunnel noted above. [20]

The line from this point on travelled in a westerly direction. Originally the railway ran through the site of Scar House Reservoir as far as Angram Reservoir. Travellers on the railway would have been able to look down and see a small reservoir formed to secure the intake of the pipeline which served Bradford. Its Dam was called the Nidd Intake Dam.

The Nidd Intake Dam and Reservoir. 25″ Ordnance Survey of 1907/08, published in 1908. This reservoir was swamped by the later Scar House Reservoir. [22]

This map extract comes from the 6″ Ordnance Survey of 1907 which was published in 1910. The Light Railway has been built but there is no sign of construction work on the Angram Reservoir. [23]

A much later OS Map (1956) showing Angram Reservoir with the route of the old railway marked by red dashes. Note that Scar House Reservoir intrudes at the top-right of this map extract. [24]

At Scar Village there is another picnic spot and a car park. The railway followed the most northerly of the two tracks at this point.

A relatively low grade image showing the area close to Scar House Reservoir on which Scar Village was built. The original line of the railway in the track on the northside of the site of the village. The village historical survey report from which this image has been taken provides details (In some depth) of the site of the village and can be found here. [25]

“At Scar Village there is [a] picnic spot and a car park. The railway followed the most northerly of the two tracks at this point. Another track down to the weirs follows the course of one of the zig-zag tracks across the valley. A footpath crosses the dam to the north side of the lake, where the incline to the quarry is still clearly visible. Another road, open to the public on foot, follows the trackbed along the southern edge of Scar House Reservoir, to reach Angram dam. The course of the railway is clearly visible on the modern 1:25,000 Ordnance Survey map for almost the entire length of the railway.”[4]

A short video about Scar Village and the work on Scar House Dam. [21]

References

The Why and the Wherefore; in The Railway Magazine, February 1952; Tothill Press, Westminster, London, p142-144.
https://www.walkingintheyorkshiredales.co.uk/Nidd%20Valley%20Light%20Railway.htm, accessed on 8th October 2025.
D. J. Croft; The Nidd Valley Railway, Locomotion Papers No. 55 (Revised); Oakwood Press, 1987.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nidd_Valley_Light_Railway, accessed on 8th October 2025.
Harold Bowtell; Lesser Railways of the Yorkshire Dales; Plateway Press, Gainsborough, 1991.
https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=17.0&lat=54.15660&lon=-1.84733&layers=168&b=ESRIWorld&o=100, accessed on 9th October 2025.
https://maps.nls.uk/view/125631997, accessed on 10th October 2025.
https://maps.nls.uk/view/125632021, accessed on 10th October 2025.
https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=16.0&lat=54.09027&lon=-1.76397&layers=168&b=ESRIWorld&o=100, accessed on 10th October 2025.
https://blog.railwaymuseum.org.uk/in-pictures-constructing-the-scar-house-dam, accessed on 11th October 2025.
https://www.realyorkshireblog.com/post/the-story-of-scar-house-reservoir-the-pop-up-village-of-scar-and-the-lost-village-of-lodge, accessed on 11th October 2025.
https://chasewaterstuff.wordpress.com/tag/pateley-bridge, accessed on 11th October 2025.
https://transportsofdelight.smugmug.com/RAILWAYS/RALWAYS-EXCLUDED-FROM-THE-1923-GROUPING/NIDD-VALLEY-RAILWAY, accessed on 11th October 2025.
https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=16.8&lat=54.10586&lon=-1.77865&layers=168&b=ESRIWorld&o=0, accessed on 12th October 2025.
https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=16.5&lat=54.11162&lon=-1.78536&layers=168&b=ESRIWorld&o=92, accessed on 12th October 2025.
https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=17.1&lat=54.13617&lon=-1.81524&layers=168&b=ESRIWorld&o=100, accessed on 12th October 2025.
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=7478382078862607&set=gm.1030871587986998&idorvanity=371639250576905, accessed on 13th October 2025.
https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=17.0&lat=54.14957&lon=-1.83232&layers=168&b=ESRIWorld&o=100, accessed on 13th October 2025.
https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=17.0&lat=54.18475&lon=-1.85057&layers=168&b=ESRIWorld&o=100, accessed on 13th October 2025.
https://maps.nls.uk/view/125630530 & https://maps.nls.uk/view/125630539, accessed on 13th October 2025.
https://youtu.be/8K0yOBaESSo, accessed on 13th October 2025.
https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=16.0&lat=54.18780&lon=-1.90902&layers=168&b=ESRIWorld&o=100, accessed on 13th October 2025.
https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=16.2&lat=54.18299&lon=-1.93299&layers=6&b=ESRIWorld&o=100, accessed on 13th October 2025.
https://maps.nls.uk/view/189181725, accessed on 13th October 2025.
http://uppernidderdale.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Scar-Village-Historic-Environment-Survey-Report.pdf, accessed on 13th October 2025.

The Burton and Ashby Light Railway – Part 2

References

Seymour Glendenning; The Burton and Ashby Light Railway; in The Railway Magazine, London, July 1906, p53-57.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burton_and_Ashby_Light_Railway, accessed on 12th October 2024.
https://www.midlandrailwaystudycentre.org.uk/twochainplans/small/RFB00809sm.pdf, accessed on 16th October 2024
https://rogerfarnworth.com/2024/10/19/the-burton-and-ashby-light-railway-part-1/
https://maps.nls.uk/view/114591362, accessed on 17th October 2024.
https://lmssociety.org.uk/topics/tramways.shtml, accessed on 18th October 2024.
https://www.southderbyshire.gov.uk/our-services/things-to-do-and-places-to-visit/arts-and-culture/heritage-trails/midway-heritage-trail, accessed on 18th October 2024.
https://www.tramwayinfo.com/Tramframe.htm?https://www.tramwayinfo.com/trampostcards/Postc200.htm, accessed on 18th October 2024.
https://www.dfhs.org.uk/filestore/2019_June_137.pdf, accessed on 17th October 2024.
https://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/burton/man-who-job-righting-tram-2345427, accessed on 19th October 2024.
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/2R6vHdibthqy15xd, accessed on 18th October 2024.
This image was shared on the Newhall, Stanton & Bretby Yesteryears Facebook Group by Kevin Hallam on 19th February 2023, https://www.facebook.com/groups/1074190616309168/search/?q=tram, accessed on 18th October 2024.
https://gsq-blog.gsq.org.au/travel-on-my-mind/swadlincote-tram_ed/, accessed on 17th October 2024.
https://www.southderbyshire.gov.uk/assets/attach/5004/Swadlincote-Heritage-Trail-Town-Centre-leaflet-FINAL2.pdf, accessed on 19th October 2024.
https://maps.nls.uk/view/114591365, accessed on 19th October 2024.
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=286971863140713&set=gm.3943789782373007, accessed on 19th October 2024.
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=7921013811278470&set=p.7921013811278470, accessed on 19th October 2024.
https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=18.0&lat=52.76966&lon=-1.53509&layers=168&b=ESRIWorld&o=100, accessed on 19th October 2024.
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=712114870626408&set=pcb.5768333646585269, accessed on 19th October 2024.
https://maps.nls.uk/view/114591374, accessed on 20th October 2024.
https://maps.nls.uk/view/114592296, accessed on 20th October 2024.
https://maps.nls.uk/view/114592356, accessed on 20th October 2024.
https://maps.nls.uk/view/114592383, accessed on 20th October 2024.
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1341193816054846&set=pcb.2997610126945848, accessed on 20th October 2024.
https://freepages.rootsweb.com/~brett/genealogy/photos/eng/dby/scarratt/fwscarratt0099.jpg, accessed on 20th October 2024.
https://www.britainfromabove.org.uk/image/EPW015157, accessed on 20th October 2024.
https://www.britainfromabove.org.uk/image/EPW015158, accessed on 20th October 2024.
https://uk.pinterest.com/stephen_baldwin/burton-ashby-light-railway, accessed on 20th October 2024.
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/469359592409742050, (the original image appears to have come from the National Railway Museum but the link is broken), accessed on 20th October 2024.
https://www.britainfromabove.org.uk/image/EPW015162, accessed on 21st October 2024.
https://picturethepast.org.uk, accessed on 21st October 2024.
http://www.burton-on-trent.org.uk/page/2?p=hkwnwgtg, accessed on 21st October 2024.
https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=10213834165548649&set=pcb.2048907168550697, accessed on 21st October 2024.
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10221709102377148&set=gm.5146941508747232&idorvanity=356398021134962, accessed on 21st October 2024.

The Burton and Ashby Light Railway – Part 1

4 Replies

An article by Seymour Glendenning in the July 1906 issue of The Railway Magazine focussed on the newly opened Burton & Ashby Light Railway. [1]

The light railway was a 3ft 6in gauge electric tram line supplied with electricity from a diesel generator plant near Swadlincote. [17] The power plant sat alongside the tram depot. [1: p56]

Glendenning explains that the rail network in the area between Burton and Ashby-de-la-Zouch was, of necessity design round the topography of South Derbyshire which resulted in the Midland Railway bypassing some significant industry and associated communities. A branch, built by the Midland Railway, off the main line penetrated the South Derbyshire Hills to serve Bretby Colliery. Another Midland Railway branch line described a rough horseshoe alignment, leaving the mainline not far from the Bretby Colliery line. This second branch served Newhall, Swadlincote and Woodville with a short branch designated as the Woodville Goods Branch.

This network of lines meant that the journey from Burton to Ashby was longer than the two towns might have hoped, and that transport to and from Ashby and Burton and the villages in the hills was much longer than it might be if an alternative could be designed which could cope with the steeper gradients necessary on a more direct route.

Initially local interests brought a bill before Parliament for the construction of a Light Railway. The Midland Railway opposed the bill which was then withdrawn with the Midland Railway agreeing to construct the line. Glendenning notes that it took only two years from the Midland’s agreement to carry out the project to its completion in 1906.

The Light Railways was “an electric railway, laid upon the public highway, with stopping places at all penny stages and intermediate points, while the various villages and towns through which it passes will practically serve as stations. … [Some] of the line … resembles that of a branch railway, fenced or hedged in on either side, this being necessary in consequence of short cuts across fields or garden plots. … The electric current is taken from an overhead cable, suspended from steel poles or standards, placed at frequent intervals along the line of route.” [1: p54]

Two photographs which look along lengths of the Light Railway which run remote from local highways. The image above illustrates some severe gradients close to Bretby and is taken looking towards what eventually became the A511. The one below shows a cattle grid and fencing to the East of Bretby Road looking towards Newhall. Both © S. Glendenning, 1906. [1: p55]

Glendenning tells us that “the greater part of the track [was] laid singly and on one side of the public highway, a double road being laid at frequent intervals to serve as crossing places. An enormous expense, however, [was] incurred in widenings and clearance. For nearly half-a-mile in Newhall the street … had to be widened, involving the demolition of a number of houses and the clearing away of numerous front gardens. In Ashby itself, also, where the tram [had] to take some very abrupt curves on its tortuous way to the station, valuable property [was] cleared away in Bath Street and Market Street, in order to afford a safe route for the cars.” [1: p54]

The route of the line(s) is shown in black on the map extract below.

The Light Railway alongside the road to the East of Burton – 569 ft. above sea level, © S. Glendenning. [1: p56]

The line runs through 3 counties – Staffordshire, Derbyshire and Leicestershire. In 1906, Glendenning starts to describe the route:

“At the western extremity is Burton, with its huge breweries which supply a great part of the world’s beer. It was intended at first that, after crossing the Trent Bridge, the railway should leave Burton up a steep slope between the Winshill and Stapenhill roads, but eventually it was mutually agreed between the town and the railway that the Corporation track should be used as far as Winshill. The new line, therefore, begins at High Bank Road, with a very deep curved gradient up to Moat Bank, where a height of 250 ft. above Burton is reached. A fine stretch of hilly country then opens to view, with Brizlincote Hall on the right; next the line dips 60 ft. to cross a lateral valley. Then it rises again, and follows a number of switchback undulations until it enters Newhall, which is 400 ft. above ordnance survey datum line. Newhall furnishes a strong contrast to the fair country west of it. Collieries, brick yards, and pipe works abound. Newhall displays the characteristics of mining villages, i.e., it is dingy, squalid, and untidy. However, its teeming population will doubtless find the new line a very great convenience, both for business and pleasure purposes, and there seems little doubt but what the Midland Railway Company will reap a continued harvest of fares from the thousands of miners and their families. From Newhall, the level of the track gradually descends until it is below 200 ft., and then leaves the Ashby main road to take a right-angled turn into Swadlincote. Here the line, after going due south for a time, is carried over the old railway the single loop to Swadlincote and Woodville before mentioned on a long bridge of steel girders, resting on blue brick piers. The bridge [as can be seen below] has a switchback appearance, while the [second view below] taken from Swadlincote goods yard, shows a Midland Railway train passing under [the bridge there]. Shortly after crossing the bridge the track takes an abrupt turn to the left, in order to resume its eastward direction. At the same place, there is a branch about two miles long, going first south and then south-west to Gresley. The road towards Ashby rises continuously until it reaches a height of 569 ft. above sea level. It passes through the heart of the Derbyshire Potteries, where a great industry is carried on in the manufacture of furnace bricks, sanitary pipes, and common earthenware. Furnaces and kilns abound in Swadlincote, and the subsidiary industry of crate making is also much in evidence.” [1: p54-55]

The bridge over the Midland Railway at Swadlincote with light railway construction close to completion, © S. Glendenning. The tram depot and the generating house can be see on the right side of this image[1: p54]

Before continuing to follow Glendenning’s description of the line East from Swadlincote, it is worth looking at the first part of the line already described by Glendenning on contemporary mapping from the early 20th century, and as it appears in the 21st century.

The Burton terminus of the line was in Wellington Street, although as we have already noted the route within Burton ran not on Midland Railway metals but on those of the Corporation.

Burton-on-Trent’s tramway network opened on 3rd August 1903. “The system comprised four routes going out from Station Street to Horninglow, Branston Road, Stapenhill, and Winshill. The depot was in Horninglow Road. … The initial 20 tramcars were built by the Electric Railway & Tramway Carriage Works of Preston. A further four cars were obtained in 1919. … The system was closed on 31 December 1929.” [3]

The Burton-on-Trent tramway network. The terminus of the Burton and Ashby Light Railway was to the West of the railway station which sits, in the adjacent map extract, below the second ‘n’ of Burton-on-Trent. The terminus of the tramway was close to the Town Hall on Wellington Street, just beneath the second ‘o’ of Burton-on-Trent.

The terminus of the Burton and Ashby Light Railway was outside the post office on Wellington Street, just a stone’s throw from Burton Town Hall and the railway station just a short distance to the Southeast. The lilac line superimposed on the 1920 25″ OS map (published in 1922), shows the route of the line which ran along the town’s tramway network. [4]

The same area in the 21st century. [Google Earth, October 2024]

The railway station, seen from the Northwest in 1927. Burton-on-Trent Railway Station Passenger Facilities were at road level above the station platforms. Borough Road ran across the front of the station building, at the centre of this extract from Britain From Above aerial image No. EPW019724. The route followed by trams from the Burton and Ashby Light Railway started off the bottom of the image on Wellington Street and followed Borough Road. [11]

The 1920 25″ OS mapping shows the route continuing along Station Street and turning up High Street. [5]

Approximately the same area in the 21st century. [Google Earth, October 2024]

Burton and Ashby Light Railway trams continued Northeast on High Street. [6]

The Light Railway trams continued to follow the track of the Corporation Tramways across Trent Bridge. [7]

The Light Railway’s trams continued to the East along Bearwood Hill Road. [7]

Trent Bridge and Bearwood Hill Road to the East.

A series of images showing Trent Bridge in tramway days follows below.

Electric Tram on Trent Bridge, © Public Domain. [10]

The view West across Trent Bridge towards the centre of Burton-on-Trent during roadworks in 2018. These historic tram tracks were used by the trams of both the Corporation and the Burton and Ashby Light Railway. [8]

The Lilac line shows the Burton Corporation Tramway route with the vivid green line marking the route of the Burton and Ashby Light Railway after it turned South along High Bank Road. [7]

A similar area in the 21st century – Bearwood Hill Road and High Bank Road Junction. [Google Earth, October 2024]

High Bank Road turns to the East and rises to meet Ashby Road (A5110. [12]

Ashby Road (A511). Both these map extract come form the 1920 revision of the 25″ Ordnance Survey. [12]

Approximately the same area as is covered by the two 1920 25″ OS map map extracts above. [Google Maps, October 2024]

Trams ran up/down the centre of High Bank Road. This photograph looks East towards the point where High Bank Road meets the present A511, Ashby Road. The A511 is just to the right of this image behind the hedging. [Google Streetview, July 2023]

Looking East along the A511, Ashby Road. [Google Streetview, August 2023]

The Burton and Ashby Light Railway appears to run down the centreline of Ashby Road. 1920 25″ Ordnance Survey. [13]

A distance further along Ashby Road the Light Railway crossed the Midland Railway Colliery Branch which, in 1920, only ran a little further Northeast of the road bridge and served a coal wharf just Northeast of the bridge. The Midland Railway Branch served Bretby Brick & Stoneware Works which sat to the Southwest of this location and, further to the South, Bretby Colliery. [13]

A similar area in the 21st century. The green line shows the route of the Light Railway.

Looking Southeast on Ashby Road/Burton Road (A511). The parapets of the Midland Railway Branch Line Bridge can still be seen. [Google Streetview, August 2023]

The view Southwest towards Bretby Colliery along the line of the abandoned Midland Railway Bretby Colliery Branch from the A511 road bridge in 2021, © Ian Calderwood and licensed for reuse under a Creative Commons Licence (CC BY-SA 2.0). [16]

Looking Northwest along what was eventually to become the A511. The Stanhope Arms is on the left of the photograph. [This image was shared on the Newhall, Stanton & Bretby Yesteryears Facebook Group by Marcus Payne on 10th September 2020, (c) Public Domain for the original image. [24]

A tram on what was to become the A511 close to Bretby Colliery. This image was shared on the Newhall, Stanton & BretbyYesteryears Facebook Group by Keith Townsley on 5th December 2020, (c) Public Domain. [24]

A tram turns onto the Ashby Road, later the A50 and later still, the A511 from the dedicated length of the line leading to Sunnyside. This image was shared on the Newhall, Stanton & Bretby Yesteryears Facebook Group by Marcus Payne on 10th September 2020, (c) Public Domain. [24]

A tram close to Bretby Colliery. It appears to be turning South off what was to become the A511. This image was shared on the Newhall, Stanton & Bretby Yesteryears Facebook Group by Marcus Payne on 5th August 2020, (c) Public Domain. [24]

A slight diversion from the route of the Burton and Ashby Light Railway allows us to see Bretby Colliery as it appeared in 1899. It sat alongside Newhall Park Road. The line on the West side of this image is the Midland Railway Branch which further to the North we have seen passing under the route of the light Railway. See the map extract above this one. [14]

Pre-contact plans for the construction of the Midland Railway Bretby Colliery Branch Line. The Burton and Ashby Light Railway crossed this line at the bottom right of the plan. [15]

After crossing the Midland Branch the Burton and Ashby Light Railway turned of the road that became the A511 (Burton Road) to the South and rather then following a highway picked its own route through the fields.

The Burton and Ashby Light Railway turned South off Burton Road (A511) to the East of what was the Stanhope Arms. [Google Streetview, August 2023]

A tram on what appears to be the length of the line between the A511 and Sunnyside, (c) Public Domain. [9]

The Burton and Ashby Light Railway followed its own fenced route South as Far as Sunnyside where it turned to the East. [16]

The modern satellite image has the approximate route of the tramway superimposed in green. Before reaching Sunnyside, the railway followed what is now the line of ‘The Tramway’ a modern small estate road. It then turned towards the East running down Sunny side and across it junction with Bretby Road. [Google Maps, October 2024]

Looking Northwest from Sunnyside, the green line shows the route of the old railway. [Google Streetview, March 2023]

A view looking Northwest on Sunnyside – on the right of this image a tram can be seen approaching Sunnyside from the North. This image was shared on the Newhall, Stanton & BretbyYesteryears Facebook Group by Keith Townsley on 5th December 2020, (c) Public Domain. [27]

On this very similar image, a tram is turning onto Sunnyside. This image was shared on the Newhall, Stanton & Bretby Yesteryears Facebook Group by Marcus Payne on 10th September 2020, (c) Public Domain for the original image. [24]

Looking Southeast along Sunnyside towards Bretby Road with the Light Railway rails in the road surface. This image was shared on the Newhall, Stanton & Bretby Yesteryears Facebook Group by Marcus Payne on 12th September 2020, (c) Public Domain for the original image. [24]

Looking Southeast from Sunnyside across its junction with Bretby Road and along the line of the Light Railway which ran next to Matsyard Footpath. This image was shared on the Newhall, Stanton & Bretby Yesteryears Facebook Group by Julie Brown on 14th August 2022, (c) Public Domain [25]

A similar view in 2024. The Light Railway ran along the line of the footpath. {Google Streetview, February 2023]

The view towards Newhall from Bretby Road. This image was shared on the Newhall, Stanton & Bretby Yesteryears Facebook Group by Marcus Payne on 10th September 2020, (c) Simnett, Public Domain for the original. [24]

This further extract from the 1920 25″ Ordnance Survey shows the line entering Newhall village alongside Matsyard Footpath and then running along the High Street. [16]

Approximately the same area as it appears on Google Maps satellite imagery. The line entered at the top left corner of this image and then ran onto and along High Street (B5353). [Google Maps , October 2024]

Looking Northwest from High Street, Newhall along Matsyard Footpath. The green line shows the approximate line of the old railway. [Google Streetview, February 2023]

A tram approaching High Street, Newhall from the Northwest. This image was shared on the Newhall, Stanton & Bretby Yesteryears Facebook Group by Marcus Payne on 10th September 2020, (c) Public Domain for the original image. [24]

Tram No. 13 entering Newhall at the same location as the Google Streetview image above, (c) Public Domain. [18]

High Street, Newhall. This image was shared on the Newhall, Stanton & Bretby Yesteryears Facebook Group by Marcus Payne on 10th September 2020, (c) Public Domain for the original image. [24]

A tram on Newhall High Street. This image was shared on the Newhall, Stanton & Bretby Yesteryears Facebook Group by Julie Brown on 16th January 2023, (c) Public Domain [26]

The line ran on Southeast along High Street, Union Road and Newhall Road (B5353) passing St. Peter & St. Paul’s Catholic Church (which appears bottom-right on this map extract). [16]

A tram on High Street/Union Street, Newhall. This image was shared on the Newhall, Stanton & Bretby Yesteryears Facebook Group by Julie Brown/Keith Townsley on 15th February 2023, (c) Public Domain. [24]

Much the same location in the 21st century. [Google Streetview, August 2022]

Approximately the same area as that shown on the extract from the 1920 25″ Ordnance Survey. [Google maps, October 2024]

Looking Southeast along Newhall Road, B5353 with St. Peter and St. Paul Roman Catholic Church on the right of the image. The Button and Ashby Light Railway ran down Newhall Road towards Swadlincote. [Google Streetview, Aril 2019]

Another extract from the 1920 25″ Ordnance Survey. Trams from Burton-on Trent remained on Newhall Road for only a short distance, turning South along Midland Road. [16]

The same area in the 21st century, as shown by Google Maps satellite imagery. [Google Maps, October 2024]

This next extract from the 1920 25″ Ordnance Survey shows the Burton and Ashby Light Railway heading South towards Swadlincote Market Place along Midland Road. Sitting to the West of the Light Railway Bridge and at a lower level was Swadlincote Railway Station. To its North were some Sanitary Earthenware Works. [20]

The North end of the bridge on Midland Road, a tram is approaching from the North. Three trams are waiting to head out from the depot access road towards the Market Place. [29]

Glendenning provided a photograph of the bridge in this photograph under construction (see above). The bridge appears on the map extract immediately above and is seen here in use by the Burton and Ashby Light Tramway, (c) Public Domain. [19]

The bridge over the Swadlincote and Woodville Branch seen from the East. A Midland Railway locomotive is about to depart the yard through Swadlincote Railway Station which is on the far side of the bridge. The station footbridge can be seen beneath the Light Railway Bridge. [1: p57]

A similar view in the 21st century. [Google Streetview, August 2022]

The tram depot for the Burton and Ashby Light Railway was accessed at high level off the bridge shown above.

The tram depot off Midland Road, Swadlincote, seen from the West. The trams on the depot are (left to right) Nos. 18, 5, 14, 9 and 10. On the left of the depot is the horse-drawn trolley tower. The map extract immediately below shows the depot (top-left). [17]

We digress a little here to take a quick look at the Midland Railway’s Swadlincote and Woodville Branch which passes under the Light Railway in the image above.

This extract from the 1921 revision of the 252 Ordnance Survey shows the Swadlincote and Woodville Brach to the East of the Light Railway overbridge. Note the Mineral Railway leaving the Branch approximately at the centre of this extract. [21]

To the East of the overbridge a Mineral Railway left the Swadlincote & Woodville Branch in a southerly direction, it served a number of industrial concerns including: Anchor Glazed Brick and Sanitary Pipe Works (which sat to the Southwest of Swadlincote High Street and which were served by means of a bridge under High Street); Swadlincote Sanitary Pipe Works (on the East side of the High Street/Hill Street); Jack i th’ Holes Pottery (by means of a tunnel under Hill Street and Granville Colliery); Middle Sinks & Chimney Pots Works; and Hill Top Works (by means of a tunnel under Granville Colliery.

To the West of the overbridge sat Swadlincote Railway Station and the branch line headed away from Swadlincote to the West-southwest.

Swadlincote Railway Station sits on the West side of Midland Road close to the Light Railway Bridge. The map extract shows the Swadlincote and Woodville Brach heading away to the West-southwest. [20]

West of Swadlincote, the Swadlincote and Woodville branch served a number of industrial concerns, those closest to Swadlincote included: Swadlincote Old Colliery (and associated Brick & Pipe Works); Stanton Colliery (and Hawfields Brickworks); and Cadley Hill Colliery.

Returning to the Light Railway, we note that at Swadlincote Market Place a branch left the main line to Ashby-de-la-Zouch which ran South from Swadlincote to serve Castle Gresley.

The Castle Gresley Branch

The branch line to Castle Gresley first ran West-southwest along West Street and then, by means of a relatively wide arc (see the small image below), turned down Alexandra Road. Track was dualled along these two streets as far as a point a little to the South of the Public Library. [20]

The Light Railway turned South into Alexandra Road by means of a wide arc. The green line gives the approximate alignment of the double track tramway at this location. [Google Streetview, March 2023]

Tram No. 10 dropping down Alexandra Road towards Swadlincote Town Centre. Sharpe’s can be seen at the bottom of the hill. This image was shared by Keith Townsley on the New and Old of Swadlincote & Burton on Trent Facebook Group on 10th April 2021. [28]

The line ran South from Alexandra Road into Church Avenue. It then turned to the South-southeast along Wilmot Road before sweeping round to the West on York Road before turning sharply into Market Street. [20]

The Light Railway ran off Wilmot Street in a wide arc through what is now park land. [Google Streetview, March 2023]

The Burton and Ashby Light Railway (Gresley Branch) swept round from Market Street into Church Street. [20]

Trams swept round from Market Street into Church Street. [Google Streetview, April 2019.

The line continued in a generally westerly direction passing Church Sanitary Earthenware Works and Church Gresley Colliery. Sharp right and left curves took the railway through the square at the colliery gates and onto Castle Street. [22]

The light Railway served the square outside Castle Gresley Colliery which is now a roundabout. It turned sharply towards the North and then back to wards the West as it left the square. [Google Streetview, March 2023]

A short distance along Castle Street took the line as far as Gresley Railway Station where the Gresley Branch terminated in front of the Station buildings.

The branch line terminated outside Gresley Railway Station buildings. [22]

These two views shows the Gresley Station buildings before closure of the Station. Both show the platform elevation of the station, (c) Public Domian, found on the Burton-on-Trent Local History site maintained by Kevin Gallagher. [23]

Gresley Station is long-gone, the railway remains in place in the 21st century.

The location of Gresley Station seen from High Cross Bank Roundabout on the A444. [Google Streetview, March 2023]

References

Seymour Glendenning; The Burton and Ashby Light Railway; in The Railway Magazine, London, July 1906, p53-57.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burton_and_Ashby_Light_Railway, accessed on 12th October 2024.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burton_upon_Trent_Corporation_Tramways, accessed on 12th October 2024.
https://maps.nls.uk/view/115473366, accessed on 12th October 2024.
https://maps.nls.uk/view/115473402, accessed on 12th October 2024.
https://maps.nls.uk/view/114591101, accessed on 12th October 2024.
https://maps.nls.uk/view/114591071, accessed on 12th October 2024.
https://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/burton/tram-tracks-removed-burton-bridge, accessed on 13th October 2024.
https://www.mediastorehouse.com/mary-evans-prints-online/tram-burton-trent-staffordshire-14196889.html, accessed on 13th October 2024.
http://www.burton-on-trent.org.uk/category/surviving/trentbridge/trentbridge5, accessed on 13th October 2024.
https://www.britainfromabove.org.uk/image/EPW019724, accessed on 13th October 2024.
https://maps.nls.uk/view/114591101, accessed on 16th October 2024.
https://maps.nls.uk/view/114591110, accessed on 16th October 2024.
https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=17.0&lat=52.77838&lon=-1.59835&layers=168&b=ESRIWorld&o=100, accessed on 16th October 2024.
https://www.midlandrailwaystudycentre.org.uk/twochainplans/small/RFB00809sm.pdf, accessed on 16th October 2024.
https://maps.nls.uk/view/114591323, accessed on 16th October 2024.
https://lmssociety.org.uk/topics/tramways.shtml, accessed on 17th October 2024.
https://www.dfhs.org.uk/filestore/2019_June_137.pdf, accessed on 17th October 2024.
https://gsq-blog.gsq.org.au/travel-on-my-mind/swadlincote-tram_ed/, accessed on 17th October 2024.
https://maps.nls.uk/view/114591362, accessed on 17th October 2024.
https://maps.nls.uk/view/114591365, accessed on 17th October 2024.
https://maps.nls.uk/view/114591395, accessed on 17th October 2024.
http://www.burton-on-trent.org.uk/category/amenities/railway/railway5, accessed on 17th October 2024.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1074190616309168/search/?q=tram, accessed on 18th October 2024.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1074190616309168/permalink/1629307357464155, accessed on 19th October 2024.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1074190616309168/permalink/1749624235432466, accessed on 19th October 2024.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1074190616309168/permalink/1200997590295136, accessed on 19th October 2024
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=270915844746315&set=gm.3880045305414122, accessed on 19th October 2024.
https://www.search.staffspasttrack.org.uk/search.aspx?&PageIndex=4&SearchType=2&ThemeID=475, accessed on 20th October 2024.

The Kelvedon and Tollesbury Light Railway

9 Replies

I am continuing to read through old copies of ‘The Railway Magazine’. This time it is the December 1950 edition. It contains a short article about the Kelvedon and Tollesbury Light Railway in Essex. This article held my interest because it relates to a line not too far from Braintree in Essex where we lived between 1970 and 1972. A scan of the article in the Railway Magazine is reproduced at the end of this post below the References …

The Kelvedon and Tollesbury Light Railway was an 8-mile-42-chain (13.72 km) standard-gauge light railway in Essex, England. It was authorised under the Light Railways Act 1896 and operated between the two villages of Kelvedon (on the Great Eastern Main Line) and Tollesbury to the south of Colchester on the coast. The line, which was part of the Great Eastern Railway (GER), was authorised on 29 January 1901, although its opening was delayed until 1 October 1904. [1][2][3]

The approximate route of the line shown on OpenStreetMap.

The area served by the railway lay between the GER main line and the coast, mostly agricultural land, with fruit being a main crop. At Tiptree, Wilkin & Sons, the jam-making firm, founded in 1885,[4] provided a large amount of the freight traffic; it had also been hoped that a tourist trade would ensue from the yachts moored near Tollesbury. The line became known locally as The Crab and Winkle Line, although the original railway to bear that name was the Canterbury and Whitstable Railway, which used a play on the initial letters of the line.

Arthur Wilkin, the proprietor of the jam making family firm, was intent on having the railway built because Tiptree was only a farmstead in a large heathland. Fruit had to be taken to Kelvedon, the nearest village, by horse and cart, which took time. There were no made roads, just rugged tracks. For the company, it was imperative that they had a railway. In fact, Arthur Wilkin threatened to move his jam company to Dagenham if the railway was not built. [2]

Tiptree, Tollesbury and Tolleshunt D’Arcy had substantial buildings; the other intermediate stations had an old passenger coach for accommodation. [1] All the platforms were at a low level; there was no signalling, since only one locomotive worked the line; and only local tickets were issued on the trains; there were no through tickets to mainline stations. [4]

The 1.75 miles (2.8 km) extension to Tollesbury Pier never brought the expected traffic. During World War I it was used for troop training on the river and was subsequently closed to passengers in 1921.The government took it over during World War II and erected defences along it.[2] Final closure to passenger traffic took place on 5^th May 1951, just 6 months or so after the article in The Railway Magazine was written. Freight traffic continued between Tollesbury Pier and Tiptree until 29^th October of the same year. The section between Tiptree and Kelvedon continued in use for freight traffic until 28^th September 1962. [1]

The total construction cost of the line from Kelvedon to the River Blackwater was estimated at £45,000 or £4,667 a mile. The maximum speed allowed was 25mph and 10mph through villages and ungated level crossings. Fares on the first journeys were only offered as third class. For the full excursion from Kelvedon to Tollesbury, you would have been charged 9d (about 4p), and the journey would have taken 40 minutes if there were no accidents or animals on the line. [2]

On the last day of the passenger service: “On the engine’s smokebox door were chalked ‘Born 1904. Died 1951’, and on the bunker was the solemn warning, ‘There be many a poor soul have to walk’. This last train to Tollesbury arrived on time at 6.25pm, and on departure for the last time to Kelvedon was accompanied by as much noise as the departure on the outward journey.” [1] Following the last passenger train from Kelvedon, a black coffin from Kelvedon with wreaths, one of which was shaped in the letters of BR, was laid along Tiptree platform. On the side of the train, someone had chalked: “Crab and Winkle, sorry to say, you died because you did not pay.” [2]

Access at the Kelvedon terminus was by a footway running across the road bridge and descent to the Low Level Station. The Low level station is shown in the two images above. [5] Passengers waited here for their train in a wooden shed.

A mixed train behind a GER 0-6-0 tank near Kelvedon on the Kelvedon & Tollesbury Light Railway in around 1910. [6]

The stations/halts served by the line were, Feering, Inworth, Tiptree, Tolleshunt Knights and Tolleshunt D’Arcy, before reaching Tollesbury and finally Tollesbury Pier. [1]

The route meandered through the Essex countryside, the maximum gradient being 1 in 50. The tightest curves occurred on the final section between Tolleshunt D’Arcy and Tollesbury and included an agricultural siding at Old Hall. The stations at Tiptree and Tollesbury were the most attractive on the line. The latter consisted of a small goods yard, complete with loading gauge and cart road and wooden buildings.

Tiptree Station. [6]

Tollesbury Station. [5]

Tolleshunt Knights Halt. [1]

The line then crossed the road, Station Road, by an open crossing on the other side of which was a run-round loop. [1]

The extension to Tollesbury Pier was completed on 15^th May 1907 about two years after the rest of the line. It remained open for less than 20 years and skirted the village before dropping steadily to the River Blackwater. Two roads, Woodrolfe Road and Woodrolfe Farm Lane were crossed by this final section of the line. The terminus facilities included an old coach body and a red brick hut about 40 yards from where the pier began. [1]

The Tollesbury Pier Station. [7]

In 1939, the pier extension, which had only remained open until 1921, was taken over by the then War Department. Part of the structure was blown up in 1940 as an anti-invasion precaution. The overgrown track was terminated in a sand-drag and used by four locomotives to service the mobile guns that were stationed along the estuary. Part of the extension had been used previously for the storage of rolling stock, but the wooden pier had been allowed to fall into disrepair after closure nineteen years earlier. [1]

During war-time, a pill-box of thick reinforced concrete was built on the land end of the pier, and a control tower for the many electrically controlled mines, which effectively blockaded the estuary against enemy attack, was built about mile inland on the seaward side of the line. The old pier was finally demolished when the line was taken up in 1951, and any traces that might have been left were washed away when the great floods of February 1953 inundated the north bank of the Blackwater for about mile inland. Even the few rotting stumps of timber which stood above the mud at low tide have now disappeared. [1]

“Services were neither rapid nor very frequent. A majority of the trains were mixed and the time allowed for the journey was between 30 and 40 minutes. No trains ran on Sundays.” [1]

“By 1937 branch traffic was in steady decline. Ten years later passenger journeys had reached their lowest ebb – averaging only 33 return journeys along the entire route each day.” [1]

Searching the internet, I have found a number of texts relating to the line which I have not yet been able to read:

N.J. Stapleton; The Kelvedon and Tollesbury Light Railway; Forge Books; 2nd Revised edition edition, December 1975.
M. House; The Kelvedon to Tollesbury Railway: A Pictoral History;
Vic Mitchell; Branch Lines Around Witham and Kelvedon: Bishop’s Stortford, Maldon, Tollesbury; Middleton Press, 2010.
Peter Paye; The Tollesbury Branch; Oxford Pub Co, 1985.

I have also had this link to a video pointed out to me:

References

Keith Lovell; The Crab and Winkle Line; http://www.tollesbury.org/history/crab_winkle.html, accessed on 29^th January 2019.
http://www.tiptreeturner.co.uk/crabandwinkle.html, accessed on 29^th January 2019.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kelvedon_and_Tollesbury_Light_Railway, accessed on 29^th January 2019.
R.C.J. Day and R.K. Kirkland; The Kelvedon & Tollesbury Light Railway; The Railway Magazine Tothill Press Ltd, Volume 96 No. 496, December 1950, p838-842, p847.
http://railthing.blogspot.com/2015/11/tollesbury-kelvedon-low-level-top-two.html, accessed on 29th January 2019.
https://spellerweb.net/rhindex/UKRH/OtherRailways/Tollesbury.html, accessed on 29th January 2019.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tollesbury_Pier_railway_station, accessed on 29th January 2019.
The Railway Magazine article on which this post is based can be found in the Railway Magazine archives on line if you do not have access to the original edition of the magazine. A subsequent note in The Railway Magazine of June 1951 (p422) says that all passenger services were withdrawn from the line in May 1951. The last passenger train ran, it notes, on the evening of 5th May.

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