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February 2024 – Recent & Relatively Recent News About the Railways of Kenya and Uganda – Metre-Gauge and Standard-gauge. …

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Uganda revives colonial-era railway after Chinese funds fall through

8th July 2023 – RFI with Reuters (https://www.rfi.fr/en/africa/20230807-uganda-east-africa-railway) [5]

Uganda has begun restoring a disused branch of a railway line built under the British Empire, which it hopes will offer a cheaper way to transport goods to neighbouring countries. … Work has begun to restore nearly 400 kilometres of the tracks between Tororo in eastern Uganda, near the border with Kenya, and Gulu in the north, near South Sudan.

“Our ambition is to move all long-distance bulk cargo transportation onto rail from roads in a few years because rail is cheaper in terms of cost and time,” a spokesperson for for state-run Uganda Railways Corporation, John Linnon Sengendo, told Reuters news agency.

Uganda decided to revamp the old network after plans to build a separate, modern line failed to secure funding from China.

The government cancelled its contract with a Chinese firm earlier this year and is now seeking a new contractor for the project, which would see the construction of a standard gauge railway linking the Ugandan capital Kampala to the Kenyan border, where it would join up with Kenya’s modern lines.

Another Chinese contractor, China Road and Bridge Corporation, will repair the old line over two years at a cost of 200 billion shillings (50.6 million euros) to the Ugandan government, Sengendo said.

Uganda’s railway network fell into disrepair during the country’s economic collapse in 1970s and early ’80s.

Ugandan officials hope once the link is restored, rail will replace trucks in shipping transit goods to South Sudan and north-eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

Under its East African Railway Master Plan, the East African Community regional bloc is aiming to revive lines serving Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda and extend them to Rwanda and Burundi. Ultimately it hopes to add South Sudan and Ethiopia to the network too.

Ugandan old railway line rehabilitation on track

14th January 2024 – The EastAfrican (https://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/) [1]

Article by Kabona Esiara

A recently relaid section of metre-gauge track in Kampala, (c) Sylvia Katushabe

Uganda’s planned overhaul of the metre gauge railway to cut transport costs on the Northern Corridor and improve trade competitiveness has entered its final stages, even as the country faces a shortage of equipment, wagons, and trains.

The EastAfrican has learnt [that] Spanish firm Imathia Construction has completed replacing steel sleepers with concrete beams on the Namanve-Kampala section of the line, which is expected to be handed over this month, Uganda Railways Corporation (URC) publicist John Lenon Sengendo said, adding that the contractor will then embark on the final section, Namanve-Mukono.

This will be the second section of the track to be completed after rehabilitation of the Tororo-Namanve line, including the line to Jinja Pier, which was completed a year ago.
While the Malaba-Namanve metre gauge track is now in fair condition, importers, exporters, and shippers remain sceptical about switching to rail, citing a shortage of rolling stock and inefficiency, which has resulted in 90 percent of traffic on the Northern Corridor being carried by road and only about seven percent is carried by rail because of the poor state of rail infrastructure.

As a result, transport costs are comparatively high on the Northern Corridor, ranging from 20 cents to 25 cents per tonne per kilometre for road transport, while the cost for rail transport ranges from US cents 6 to US cent 12 per tonne per kilometre, depending on the type of cargo.

The shortage of rolling stock is partly blamed on URC. A June 2022 Uganda’s Auditor General after reviewing URC’s asset register, had 521 wagons located in different parts of Kenya.

But only 128 wagons exist, leaving a balance of 393 wagons unaccounted for, raising fears of a possibility of URC overstating its asset values in the financial statements.

[A] URC accounting officer explained that “there were many wagons left in Kenya by RVR (U) Ltd upon concession termination. A repatriation exercise to return these assets to Uganda commenced in July 2021 and by December 2021, a total of 243 wagons had been brought back.”

Under this project, Uganda is to buy 3,000 horsepower locomotives by 2026.
The number of Uganda government-owned wagon ferries is also expected to increase from the current two to four, a development set to help URC meet the growing traffic demand on Lake Victoria.

The other financiers are the African Development Bank, which will provide $233.2 million, and the African Development Fund to provide $100.7 million – both concessional loans to finance the construction and purchase of rolling stock, which includes locomotives, wagons and coaches.

URC’s target is to move cargo from road to rail, and we expect to be moving six million tonnes a year.

In its efforts to revamp the metre gauge railway, Uganda is also reviving the route from Tororo in Eastern Uganda to Gulu City in the north. The line is currently under construction. Significantly, the city also hosts the Gulu Logistics Hub, whose phase one is also under construction. … The hub – which will be rail-linked – was planned as a strategic location connecting to the growing markets of Congo and South Sudan.

Kenyan government to spend $731m on new trains, SGR revamp

11th May 2023 – The EastAfrican (https://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/) [2]

Article by Business Daily

An SGR cargo train at the Naivasha Inland Container Depot in Kenya. Kenya’s National Treasury report shows Transport ministry will receive $714.7 million for the “Development of Standard Gauge Railway” between July this year and June 2026. [2]

The government of Kenya has stepped up expenditure on the Nairobi-Mombasa standard gauge railway (SGR) with a plan to hit Ksh100 billion ($731.53 million) in the next three years to revamp the line, build new sidings and buy more locomotives and cargo wagons.

A report by Kenya’s National Treasury shows that the country’s Transport ministry will receive an additional Ksh97.7 billion ($714.7 million) for the “Development of Standard Gauge Railway” between July this year and June 2026.

This reverses a trend where the previous government had cut allocations to the SGR and will push the spending related to this line beyond KSh780 billion ($5.7 billion) by June 2026.

Beginning July, the Kenyan government has allocated Ksh37.4 billion ($275.79 million) from the Railway Development Levy Fund (RDLF) for the Nairobi-Mombasa SGR.

A Mombasa-bound SGR passenger train on the extended viaduct in the ‘Maneaters Area’. The line is set at high level to allow the safe passage of wildlife, (c) Wachira Mwangi. [2]

The bulk of the allocation, according to the breakdown shared with the Business Daily from transport, has been earmarked for the acquisition of additional locomotives and freight wagons at a cost of Ksh11.9 billion ($87.1 million).

Kenya last bought its 1,620 locomotives and wagons from China in 2018.

State had no plans for extension – The allocations to transport ministry show that the government had no plans to extend the SGR beyond Naivasha to Kisumu and finally Malaba in the next three years.

The rest of the funds, which have been allocated under the “Mombasa to Nairobi SGR” vote will largely be used to build new feeder lines and rehabilitate the old metre gauge railway (MGR) lines.

Charged at the rate of two percent, the Railway Development Fund (RDF) is levied on all goods imported into the country for home use.

“The purpose of the levy shall be to provide funds for the construction of a standard gauge railway network in order to facilitate the transportation of goods,” reads part of the Miscellaneous Fees and Levies Act which establishes the kitty.

Budgetary allocations for the acquisition of locomotives and wagons are projected to increase to Ksh16 billion ($117 million) in Financial Year 2024/25 and Ksh22.2 billion ($162.4 million) in the Financial Year 2025/26 taking the total allocations for the three years to Ksh50.1 billion ($366.5 million).

Another Ksh5.9 billion ($43.16 million) will be spent on the rehabilitation, remanufacturing or overhaul of locomotives, wagons and coaches, according to a breakdown of the Ksh37.4 billion ($273.6 million) allocation.

The new feeder lines will link some of the sections of the modern railway such as the Mombasa SGR Terminus to critical urban centres.

This includes Ksh4.48 billion ($32.77 million) for the construction of the Riruta-Lenana-Ngong Railway Line and Ksh2.96 billion ($21.65 million) for the construction of a Railway Metro Line linking Embakasi Station and Ruai town.

In the next 12 months, the government will also build a new 2.8-kilometre Metre Gauge Railway (MGR) link from Mombasa SGR Terminus to Mombasa MGR station at a cost of Ksh2.5 billion ($18.29 million).

These funds will also be used to construct a railway bridge across the Makupa causeway that links Mombasa Island to the Kenyan mainland.

New MGR line – A new Metre Gauge Railway (MGR) line linking the Naivasha Inland Container Depot to the existing Longonot Railway Station has been allocated Ksh1.6 billion ($11.7 million) in the next financial calendar.

The construction of a Railway Metro Line connecting Athi River Station to the East African Portland Cement has been allocated Ksh400 million ($2.93 million).

This is projected to rise to Ksh1.17 billion ($8.56 million) in the Financial Year starting July next year and Sh1.36 billion in Financial Year 2025/26.

Another Railway Metro Line connecting Athi River Station to NSSF and Mavoko will absorb Ksh450 million ($3.3 million), a figure that is set to increase to Ksh1.56 billion ($11.4 million) and Ksh1.89 billion ($13.83 million) in 2024/25 and 2025/26.

The money will also be used to rehabilitate the line between Longonot and the Western border town of Malaba, which is aimed at facilitating the movement of cargo from the port city of Mombasa to Uganda.

Also in this border town, which is prone to congestion, the State plans to build Malaba Cargo Handling Yard. Around Ksh474 million ($3.45 million) has been set aside for this project.

Other spending items will be the acquisition of plant and equipment, which shall take up Ksh3.8 billion ($27.8 million) in the next fiscal year, Sh1.1 billion in Financial Year 2024/25 and Ksh600 million ($4.4 million) in the Financial Year 2025/26.

Logistics Hub – A logistics hub is planned for Athi River with the state putting aside Ksh1.125 billion ($8.23 million).

The allocation for this planned logistics hub will reduce to Ksh375 million ($2.74 million) in the year ending June 2025.

Initial plans were to extend the SGR to Uganda; however, this has since stalled with the Treasury not getting funds for the extension to Kisumu and finally to Malaba.

Murkomen at the beginning of this year said the Kenya Kwanza administration in partnership with the Chinese government is keen on extending the SGR from Naivasha’s Mai Mahiu to the border of Uganda through a five-year plan that will see the multibillion-dollar railway line run through Narok, Bomet, Nyamira, Kisumu, and Malaba.

“In the long run, we would like to complete the connection of the SGR from Suswa to Kisumu through Bomet, Nyamira, parts of Kisii and later to Malaba. Later, we can think of upgrading the existing MGR via Nakuru to Kisumu and via Eldoret to Malaba,” he said on December 15, 2022.

With the additional expenditure, the government hopes the country’s most expensive piece of infrastructure will help to grow the economy and improve the standard of living for Kenyans.

The administration of former President Uhuru Kenyatta borrowed Ksh656.1 billion ($4.8 billion) in three tranches for the construction of the two phases of the SGR, contributing to a major build-up of Kenya’s stock of debt.

Kenya will use Ksh11.9 billion ($87 million) to acquire rolling stock that will be used to ferry cargo on the SGR from Mombasa to Naivasha.

Grand $15 billion plan to expand Kenya SGR to Kisumu, Malaba, Isiolo

15th May 2023 – The EastAfrican (https://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/) [3]

Article by Business Daily

The standard gauge railway line at the Naivasha Inland Container Depot, a transhipment hub for Kenya’s SGR from Mombasa, which is to extend to the proposed Malaba railway line in Uganda. [3]

Kenya has set sights on a Ksh2.1 trillion ($15.3 billion) plan to extend the standard gauge railway (SGR) to Kisumu, Malaba and Isiolo by the end of June 2027, a government document seen by the Business Daily shows.

According to the plan, the State Department of Transport will build another 2,746 kilometres of the SGR at $15.3 billion, a move that will push the total spend on the modern railway to more than Ksh2.75 trillion ($20 billion).

The plan, lifted from the Jubilee Government’s grand scheme on SGR (so far Kenya’s most expensive project), is part of the Ksh3.42 trillion ($24.9 billion) Lamu Port South Sudan-Ethiopia Transport (Lapsset).

Lapsset is aimed at opening up northern Kenya and revamping the northern corridor by spurring movement within Kenya, South Sudan and Ethiopia.

It is an ambitious scheme that will not only see the modern railway reach the border town of Malaba via Kisumu, as it was initially envisioned, but also Isiolo, Moyale and the island of Lamu.

The line will move from Mariakani in Mombasa County to Lamu to Isiolo. From Isiolo, the SGR will be connected to the northeastern town of Moyale which borders Ethiopia.

From Isiolo, the government will extend the SGR to Nairobi, connecting the country’s capital city and commercial hub to northern Kenya and finally to Ethiopia.

From Naivasha, the SGR is extended to Malaba through Kisumu.

The bulk of the financing for these additional kilometres of the SGR, around Ksh1.8 trillion ($13 billion), will be from external financiers that the document has not revealed while the rest will come from the Kenyan government.

So far, the SGR from Mombasa to Naivasha has been financed by the Chinese at a total cost of Ksh656.1 billion ($4.7 billion)

The longest stretch of the planned SGR, 753.2 kilometres, will be from Isiolo to Nakodok, a small town near the border between Kenya and South Sudan.

The Transport Ministry, headed by Kipchumba Murkomen, has cost this phase of the SGR at Ksh443.2 billion ($3.2 billion).

From Lamu to Isiolo, a distance of 544.4 kilometres, the Ruto administration plans to build the rail line at Ksh348.7 billion ($2.5 billion).

From Isiolo to Moyale, a distance of 475.9 kilometres, the country is expected to use Ksh317.8 billion ($2.3 billion) to build a new SGR line.

The line connecting Mariakani to Lamu of 325.3 kilometres will cost Ksh257.3 billion ($1.8 billion).

Locations on Kenya’s planned SGR network. [3]

There will be another line of 278 kilometres connecting Nairobi to Isiolo that will consume Ksh239.2 billion ($1.7 billion).

Phase 2B of the SGR from Naivasha to the lakeside city of Kisumu will cost Sh380 billion while the last leg, 2C, from Kisumu to Malaba bordering Uganda will take another Ksh122.9 billion ($896 million).

The document from the State Department of Transport reveals what appears like a near-impossible feat of the government wanting to complete the entire transport circuit in four years from 2023 to 2027.

Although the ministry’s document indicates that construction of these railway lines is to begin at the start of July this year, no budgetary allocation has been made for the SGR for the next three financial years.

In 2014, the government entered into a tripartite agreement with the governments of Rwanda and Uganda to construct a standard gauge railway from Mombasa through Kampala to Kigali, Rwanda.

However, the SGR ended abruptly in Naivasha with China reportedly declining to finance the last leg of the modern railway after failing to strike an agreement with Uganda.

The new administration of President Ruto has rekindled plans to complete the SGR.

Through a partnership with the Chinese government, Mr Murkomen said earlier this year the government wanted to extend the SGR from Naivasha’s Mai Mahiu to the border of Uganda through a five-year plan that will see the multibillion-dollar railway line run through Narok, Bomet, Nyamira, Kisumu, and finally Malaba.

“In the long run, we would like to complete the connection of the SGR from Suswa to Kisumu through Bomet, Nyamira, parts of Kisii and later to Malaba. Later, we can think of upgrading the existing MGR via Nakuru to Kisumu and via Eldoret to Malaba,” the CS said in a statement on December 15 last year.

The Transport Ministry has been allocated Ksh100 billion ($729 million) from the Railway Development Levy Fund (RDLF) for the next three years to revamp the existing SGR line from Mombasa to Naivasha via Nairobi and build new sidings.

The money will also be used to buy more locomotives and cargo wagons, which are aimed at improving the freight capacity of the modern railway which is still facing cut-throat competition from trucks.

Plans to revamp the SGR involve mostly building new metre gauge railway (MGR) or rehabilitating them.

New Concrete Sleepers for the Metre-Gauge in Uganda

New Vision reported that, on 1st September 2023, President Yoweri Museveni opened a new Concrete sleeper making facility at Kawolo, Buikwe District, Kampala. The sleepers are to be used in the rehabilitation of the metre-gauge railway line.

The traditional steel sleepers are no longer in favour. Thefts and vandalism mean that alternatives have had to be sought. [6]

The old steel sleepers on the right. The new concrete sleepers in ballast on the left. [7]

The sleepers are being used on the Kampala to Namanve line before being rolled out to other projects. The construction of the factory valued at over 19 million Euros (about 76 billion Uganda Shillings) started in June 2020.

On-going work on the Kampala to Namanve line. [8]

The use of concrete sleepers on the suburban lines will be supplemented by the procurement of diesel multiple units and additional coaches.

“In August 2020, URC said the Government had secured funding from the Spanish government and African Development Bank (AfDB) to the tune of shillings 1.3 trillion to revamp the Metre Gauge Railway by rehabilitating about 250 kilometres from Malaba to Kampala.” [6]

On 1st February 2024, work on the Kampala to Namanve line was close to completion and a predicted opening in March 2024. [9]

Kenya Railways puts proposed Lapsset SGR costs at $16 billion: bulk on Isiolo-Nakodok line


Monday 22nd January 2024 – The EastAfrican

(https://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/) [4]

Kenya will need at least Ksh 2.4 trillion ($16 billion) to construct a proposed Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) on the Lamu Port-South Sudan-Ethiopia-Transport (Lapsset) corridor, according to projections by the Kenya Railways Corporation.

According to the parastatal, it would cost Ksh 523.05 billion ($3.49 billion) to build a 544.4 km SGR link to connect Lamu and Isiolo and a further Ksh 476.7 billion ($3.178 billion) to extend the line from Isiolo to Moyale over a distance of 475.9 km.

The largest spending would be on constructing the SGR line from Isiolo to Nakodok town on the border between Kenya and South Sudan over a distance of 753.2 km at a cost of Ksh664.65 billion ($4.431 billion).

Kenya Railways has estimated that a further Ksh 358.8 billion ($2.392 billion) will be required to link Isiolo and Nairobi via SGR over a distance of 278.6 km and a further Ksh 385.95 billion ($2.573 billion) for the 325.35 km stretch between Lamu and Mariakani.

The entire stretch will cover a total of 2,377.45 km, translating into a cost of Ksh 1 billion ($6.667 million) for every kilometre of the SGR.

But the cost of undertaking such a colossal venture, which would be by far the most expensive in Kenya’s history, will be far higher than Kenya Railways’ estimates considering the company did the costing at an exchange of Ksh150/US dollar.

The parastatal has nonetheless expressed confidence in raising Ksh275.9 billion ($1.84 billion) or 11.4 percent of the total project cost by the financial year 2027/28 through funding from the government, collections from the Railway Development Levy Fund (RDLF) and loans.

Kenya in 2014 began construction of Phase 1 of the SGR line between Mombasa and Nairobi covering 472km. Phase 2A Nairobi-Naivasha (120km) was constructed in 2017. The project was funded by a $5.08 billion loan from China.

“The SGR line has led to expansion of the Inland Container Depot (ICD) in Nairobi at Embakasi, and construction of the ICD – Naivasha at Mai Mahiu,” said Kenya Railways.

The firm added: “This has contributed to decongestion of the seaport of Mombasa and facilitated seamless transit of goods destined to Western Kenya and neighbouring countries.”

Already, two studies have been undertaken to explore the feasibility of a Lapsset corridor railway by Japan Port Consultants in 2009 and China Civil Engineering Construction Company (2015). The latter study estimated the cost of the project at $10.4 billion with a financial rate of return of between nine percent and 12 percent.

The proposal to build an SGR line along the Lapsset corridor is however not feasible yet as the Lapsset project has failed to take off due to lack of funding as well as insecurity. Kenya is also facing a huge debt pile which has been worsened by the rapid depreciation of the Kenyan shilling leading to a surge in foreign currency external loans.

References

  1. https://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/tea/business/ugandan-old-railway-line-rehabilitation-on-track-4490790, accessed on 15th January 2024.
  2. https://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/tea/business/kenyan-government-to-spend-731m-on-new-trains-4230714, accessed on 15th January 2023.
  3. https://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/tea/business/usd15bn-plan-to-expand-kenya-sgr-to-kisumu-malaba-isiolo-4235152, accessed on 15th January 2024.
  4. https://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/tea/business/kenya-puts-proposed-lapsset-sgr-cost-at-16b-4498058, accessed on 23rd January 2024
  5. https://www.rfi.fr/en/africa/20230807-uganda-east-africa-railway, accessed on 28th January 2024.
  6. https://newvisionapp.page.link/AnZKJYD8UVVMesj46, accessed on 10th February 2024
  7. https://metrospy.net/tag/president-museveni-commissions-ugandas-first-railway-concrete-sleeper-factory, accessed on 10th February 2024.
  8. https://twitter.com/IMATHIA_/status/1732763129472250220?t=gIdF9LI4kbCV89rYCs0MGg&s=19, accessed on 10th February 2024.
  9. https://youtu.be/Hf1Rr-2FPuU?si=NTFqVs7UgqeoASR3, accessed on 10th February 2024.

The Penrhyn Quarry Railway – Part 1

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A short history of the line is followed by some information about the locomotives used on the line. This first article then focusses primarily on the horse-powered tramroad which preceded the later Penrhyn Quarry Railway.

Penrhyn is the Welsh word for ‘promontory’.

“The history of Port Penrhyn can be traced back as early as 1713 when it was recorded that 14 shipments totalling 415,000 slates had been sent to Dublin. In 1720, another 8 shipments totalling 155,000 slates were sent to Dublin, two to Drogheda (20,000) and one to Belfast (35,000). Two years later, a shipment of 80,000 slates were sent to Dunkirk. After these few shipments only coastal traffic left from Aber-Cegin (Port Penrhyn) until Richard Pennant took over the ownership of Penrhyn Estates and appointed Benjamin Wyatt in 1786 as agent.” [23]

Porth Penrhyn in the mid- to late- 19th century. [23]

The Penrhyn Railway opened as a tramroad in 1801 which ran from quarries a few miles inland from Bangor in North Wales to the coast at Port Penrhyn. The gauge of the tramroad was 2ft 0.5in. It was constructed by Lord Penrhyn at a cost of around £175,000. [1][2] The alignment was as shown on the map immediately below.

The Penrhyn Railway 1801 to 1878: rendered with Maperitive, text and integration: Pechristener Wales in United Kingdom.svg: TUBS United Kingdom location map.svg: NordNordWest • CC BY 3.0. [1]

It was thought that there was an earlier line which ran between Port Penrhyn and Llandegai. That tramway, if it existed, was constructed in 1798. Its route paralleled that of the northern end of Lord Penrhyn’s tramroad. One theory is that this earlier tramway was operational until 1831. [1] There appear to have been two inclines on the Llandegai Tramway, one close to the port and the other directly adjacent to Llandegai Penlan Mill at Llandegai at the Southern end of that line. Both are shown on the image below.

The Llandegai Tramway: rendered with Maperitive, text and integration: Pechristener Wales in United Kingdom.svg: TUBS United Kingdom location map.svg: NordNordWest • CC BY 3.0. [1]

Research in 2021 suggests that the earlier tramway did not exist. [2]. If it did, it is likely that it was subsumed into the tramroad built by Lord Penrhyn. There is also research, undertaken in 2019, which suggests that a tramway was probably constructed in 1798 in connection with the Penrhyn Mills on the lower Ogwen. [35] My thanks to David Elis-Williams for providing a link to this research by Barrie Lill.

Lill comments that the Penrhyn Mills at Llandegai had a part in the development of the tramway/tramroad which eventually served the Penhryn Quarry: “The mill had what David Gwyn believes to be part of the first iron-railed overland edge railway of any length in the world, and the first iron edge railway built for the mass movement of stone. However, whereas James Boyd conjectures that originally the Penlan railway only extended from Port Penrhyn to the mill at Llandegai, pre-dated the Penrhyn Quarry Railway by three years, and was only later extended to the Quarry, [36] Gwyn does not agree. Instead he believes that the Penlan line merely was an off-shoot from the Quarry Railway. [37] At present there is no available evidence to confirm either theory, although there is a belief that prior to publishing his book on the Penrhyn Quarry Railways, Boyd had obtained supporting documents which no longer are publicly available. Irrespective of the above it seems unlikely that the mill would have opened without an adequate transportation system such as some simple form of tramway being in place, and in this scenario it is likely that the problems encountered with the working of this system are what prompted Wyatt to adapt the system and introduce the iron-railed edge railway to which David Gwyn refers.” [35]

Lord Penrhyn was persuaded by William Jessop to build the tramroad. “Jessop and his partner Benjamin Outram were then constructing the Little Eaton Gangway in Derbyshire. Samuel Wyatt was also involved in the construction of the gangway, and his brother Benjamin was the Penrhyn estate manager.” [1][2]

“Benjamin Wyatt was put in charge of building the tramway. Construction started on 2 September 1800, with the first slate train travelling on 25 June 1801. … The track used oval rails designed by Benjamin Wyatt, and their quoted gauge of 2 ft 1⁄2 in (622 mm) was measured between the centres of the rails. The railroad was operated by horse power along with gravity and three balanced inclines – “Port” (sometimes called “Marchogion”), “Dinas” north east of Tregarth and “Cilgeraint” a short distance north of Coed-y-Parc workshops in Bethesda. The longest was 220 yards (200 m).” [1]

Before the tramroad was constructed, slate was transported to the port by horses along mountain paths. After the tramroad was brought into service the local costs of transport fell from 4 shillings/ton to 1 shilling/ton. [1][4: p42-43]

In 1832, “Wyatt’s oval rails were replaced with more conventional … rails. The gauge of this new track was 1ft 10.3⁄4in (578 mm), measured between the inner edges of the rails – the conventional way of measuring track gauge.” [1][3]

In 1876 the tramroad was “rebuilt on a new course with steel rails laid on wooden sleepers. Steam locomotives were introduced, supplied by De Winton & Co. Engineers of Caernarvon.” [5]

Thomas Middlemass tells us that De Winton supplied ten locomotives to the line. “Seven were to be used at the quarries, three were to work the ‘main line’ to the coast, and all* were vertical-boilered 0-4-0 tanks.” [6: p16] They had two cylinders secured below the running plate with direct drive to one axle. The total weight varied between 4 and 5 tons. [7]

* … It appears that Middlemass has overlooked the fact that 3 of the 10 locomotives were fitted with horizontal boilers and were 0-4-0ST locos. They were named ‘Edward Sholto’, ‘Hilda’ and ‘Violet’, and were supplied in 1876, 1878 and 1879 respectively. [34]

Between 1882 and 1909 the Hunslet Engine Company of Leeds supplied sixteen four-wheeled locomotives for use in the quarry and on the line to Port Penrhyn.” [5]

One surviving Penrhyn locomotive is 0-4-0 vertical-boiler tank engine “George Henry,” which was built in 1877 and still looks good 140 years later at the Narrow Gauge Railway Museum in Tywyn, Wales.

‘George Henry’: a vertical-boilered 0-4-0 locomotive now on display in the Narrow Gauge Museum at Tywyn, Wales once played it’s trade in the Penrhyn Quarries. Both pictures © rlkitterman. [7]

The new route to suit steam-power obviated the need for the inclined planes, maintaining the easiest possible gradients. “Between coast and quarry it rose 550 feet, and, allowing for a stretch of 1/4 mile at 1 in 37 and 3 miles at 1 in 40, the average gradient emerged as 1 in 91. Flat bottomed rails were laid at first, but these were replaced in 1894 by the 50 lb bullhead variety.” [6: p15-16]

The new route of the Penrhyn Railway which opened in 1879: rendered with Maperitive, text and integration: Pechristener Wales in United Kingdom.svg: TUBS United Kingdom location map.svg: NordNordWest • CC BY 3.0. [1]

“The first locomotives used on the new railway were three De Winton’s. … Although successful, these locomotives were not powerful enough for the substantial traffic that passed down the line.” [1]

In 1882 the railway ordered ‘Charles’, a large 0-4-0ST from Hunslet. Charles proved very successful and was followed by ‘Blanche’ and ‘Linda’ in 1893 to the same basic design. These locomotives were the mainstay of the railway for the rest of its life.

In 1882 Penrhyn switched to more conventional locomotion, ordering “‘Charles’, a large 0-4-0ST from Hunslet. Charles proved very successful and was followed by ‘Blanche’ and ‘Linda’ in 1893 to the same basic design. These locomotives were the mainstay of the railway for the rest of its life.” [1]

“Between then and 1909 a positive spate of tank locos flowed, new, from Hunslet Engine Co. All were 0-4-0 saddle tanks, with weight and power variations introduced to meet specific Penrhyn requirements. Three were designed to work the ‘main line’, three were employed shunting at Port Penrhyn. Four of the smallest were confined to quarry work, and these were supplemented a few years later when six larger tanks arrived. As it happened, the latter were the last new purchases by Penrhyn.” [6: p16]

Among the Hunslet locomotives were the Penrhyn Port Class of three locomotives “built for the Penrhyn Quarry Railway (PQR). These locomotives were built by the Hunslet Engine Company between 1883 and 1885 and supplied specifically to work at Port Penrhyn near Bangor, North Wales. They were a variant of the standard Dinorwic Alice Class design.” [8]

Quarry Hunslet Lilian (No. 317, 1883) at the Launceston Steam Railway (June 2010) ©FritzG This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license – CC BY-SA 3.0.

“The Penrhyn Main Line class was a class of three narrow gauge steam locomotives built for the Penrhyn Quarry Railway (PQR). These locomotives were built by the Hunslet Engine Company between 1882 and 1893 and supplied specifically to work the railway that connected the Penrhyn Quarry near Bethesda in north Wales to Port Penrhyn on the Menai Strait.” [9]

“All three locomotives were preserved after the closure of the PQR. Charles was donated to the Penrhyn Castle Railway Museum. Linda was loaned to the nearby Ffestiniog Railway in July 1962. For the 1963 season the locomotive was re-gauged to the Ffestiniog’s 1 ft 11.5 in (597 mm) and purchased, along with Blanche at the end of the year. Both have since received extensive modifications including tenders, pony trucks and superheating.” [9]

Ex-Penrhyn Ffestinog Railway 0-4-0 saddle-tank Linda at Blaenau Ffestiniog railway station (2004) ©Thryduulf This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license – CC BY-SA 4.0.

The post-First World War years brought such economic instability that second-hand locos were not hard to find. Penrhyn bought 15 such from 1922 onwards. [5]

In 1923, three ex-US Army Baldwin 2-6-2Ts were also imported for ‘main line’ use, but, as happened elsewhere in Britain, they were never popular, and their working life was short.

The railway was private, providing no public service for either goods or passengers. Quarrymen’s trains were run, paid for by the quarrymen themselves.” [5]

“Today Porth Penrhyn in Bangor still serves the Penrhyn Quarry at Bethesda. Although today slate production and exports are not at 19th century levels it continues to be a key part of the business of slate. Exports of crushed slate (aggregate) by Penrhyn Quarry, through Porth Penrhyn  currently to Rotterdam, or ports along the south coast of England, have grown to become a significant proportion of Welsh Slate sales in addition to several containers  of roofing slates being shipped every month to Australia alone (taking approximately 45 days).” [23]

“Welsh slate is now covering the roofs of buildings as prestigious as the New South Wales Supreme Court and historic as Unwin’s Stores, both in Sydney Australia, as well as the Arts Centre in earthquake-hit Christchurch, New Zealand 2012. Europe also is a prime destination for Welsh slate with shipments of slate and decorative aggregate within Europe continuing to grow and evolve in particular.” [23]

All rail connections to the quarry disappeared in the mid-20th century under competition from road transport

The Post-1879 Route of the Railway

We start at the North end of the old railway at Porth Penrhyn. Porth Penrhyn) is a harbour located just east of Bangor in north Wales at the confluence of the River Cegin with the Menai Strait.

We follow the route on the Ordnance Survey 6″ Maps from around the turn of the 20th century as supplied by the National Library of Scotland (NLS). [10]

The railway layout at Porth Penrhyn on the 6″ OS Maps from around the turn of the 20th century. [11]
Approximately the same area as shown on the OS Map above, this time on the ESRI satellite imagery provided by the NLS [11]
This photograph was taken from a point Northeast of University College (shown on the 6″OS map extract above. [21]
Linda departing with a train of empties from Porth Penrhyn in September 1961. The standard-gauge line is on the right, © Jim Fraser. [16]
A little further North, this picture shows a Standard Class 2MT (41200) on the standard-gauge and two narrow-gauge locomotives. The one almost hidden by the 2MT is a Ruston Diesel locomotive
(ex-works May 1953, no. 383820). It is a 40HP, Ruston 0-4-0 with 3VRH diesel engine. The narrow-gauge steam locomotive is ‘Blanche’, © Eric Foulkes. [17]
The view looking South from the port area at Porth Penrhyn along the line of the old railway which is now the Sustrans Cycle Route No. 82. [Google Streetview, 2015]
The view looking South from the road bridge at Porth Penrhyn along the line of the old railway which is now the Sustrans Cycle Route No. 82. [Google Streetview, 2022]
The view looking South along the line of the old railway from about 100metres South of the road bridge, © Ian S and licenced for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic Licence (CC BY-SA 2.0) [12]
The railway layout Southeast of Cegin Pool on the 6″ OS Maps from around the turn of the 20th century. [15]
The same area as shown on the OS 6″ Map above. The alignment of the old tramroad is illustrated by the red line. The newer railway is shown light-blue. Parallel and immediately adjacent to the East of the Penrhyn Quarry Railway was the standard-gauge LNWR line. The two lines began to separate to the Southwest of the A5 road. [15]
The Old Railway Bridge close to Cegin Pool: Originally carried the Standard-Gauge Branch and Penrhyn Quarry lines to Port Penrhyn. Now a footpath/cycle path. In the foreground is part of the earlier bridge carrying the horse tramway from Penrhyn Quarry, © Copyright Chris Andrews and licensed for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-SA 2.0) [13]
Cegin viaduct: A view from the cycle track of the viaduct crossing the Afon Cegin just on the Southeast side of Cegin Pool, on the original line of the Penrhyn Quarry Railway. This view is taken from the Southern end of the viaduct. The re-engineered line took a more gently inclined route that avoided the rope-hauled incline just to the south. The abutments of the more recent bridge are much wider than the modern path because it carried the parallel tracks of both narrow gauge and standard gauge lines to Port Penrhyn, © Copyright Jonathan Wilkins and licensed for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-SA 2.0) [14]
Two further photographs at this location. The views were taken in 2015 after refurbishment work, © Daniel Richard Goodman. [22]
My sketch of the Tramroad route and its two bridges over the Afon Cegin based on a drawing in James Boyd’s book. The old main road crossed the Cegin at the same location as the tramroad. [36]
The old Tramroad Arch Bridge over the Afon Cegin to the South of the bridges above. The picture is taken from the later bridge which carried the two railways. Just to the right of this image was the bottom of the tramroad incline, © Ian S and licenced for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic Licence (CC BY-SA 2.0) [20]
Looking Southwest towards the modern Llandudno Road (A5) bridge spanning the cycleway which follows the route of the old Railway. At this point the old Railway alignment is also part of the Coastal Path, © Copyright Ian S and licenced for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic Licence (CC BY-SA 2.0) [16]
The same location on the A5 London to Holyhead road as it appeared prior to the construction of the modern bridge, when both the standard-gauge line and the quarry railway were still in place. The photograph comes from the Railway Magazine of October 1961, © J.M. Dunn.
This picture was taken in late 1963. The Penrhyn Quarry Railway bridge looking North, also at Maesgierchen. The standard-gauge line is out of sight to the right above the line, the Afon Cegin to the left below the line. A year later the rails had gone to the Ffestiniog Railway and the whole embankment was destroyed and rebuilt as part of a road-widening scheme, © M. Costello (courtesy of the Ffestioniog Railway Archives (where it is mislabelled as a photograph of the Welsh Highland Railway trackbed). [18]
The routes of three railways can be seen on this extract from the 6″ OS Maps from around the turn of the 20th century. It shows the area South of the A5 road bridge referred to above. On the right of the image, running South from the Incline Cottage at the top of the extract, field boundaries define the alignment of the old Tramroad.  To the West of the A5, which runs down the centre of the extract, are two lines which were in use when the survey was undertaken. Running closest to the A5 is the be LNWR standard-gauge branch. The narrow-gauge Penrhyn Quarry Railway is to the West of the standard-gauge line and follows the East bank of the Afon Cegin. [19]
The same area as shown on the OS 6″ Map above. The alignment of the old tramroad is illustrated by the red line. The newer narrow-gauge railway is shown light-blue. Parallel and immediately adjacent to the East of the Penrhyn Quarry Railway was the standard-gauge LNWR line. The two lines began to separate to the Southwest of the A5 road. The approximate alignment of the standard-gauge line is shown in purple. The A5 runs down the centre of the image. [19]
The approximate location where the old tramroad crossed the line of the modern A5.  The A5 is, here, viewed from the South looking toward Bangor. [Google Streetview, 2022]

Before the future A5 was developed as a turnpike in 1820, the tramroad ran within the width of the old highway from this point for a few hundred yards. When the turnpike was created, the road level was lifted and the tramroad crossed beneath the renewed highway and ran along the Southwestern side. The sketch below shows this.

The old tramroad which was operational until 1879 was diverted to accommodate the construction of the turnpike. We start following the route of that old Tramroad. This sketch is based on a drawing in James Boyd’s book. [36: p11] He refers to the diversion in the text of the book as well.[36:p22]
In this extract from the 6″ Ordnance Survey from around the turn of the 20th century, the short standard-gauge branch meets the mainline. The route of the old tramroad has now crossed the A5. The Penrhyn Quarry Railway only appears fleetingly in the top left corner if the map extract.  [24]
The same area as shown in the 6″ OS map above, as recorded on the ESRI satellite imagery provided by the NLS. The colour coding remains the same as in previous satellite images. [24]

A. The old tramroad

Beyond this point, we first follow the line of the old Tramroad to Penrhyn Quarries. …..

This next extract from the 6″ Ordnance Survey shows the route of the old tramway flanked by walls and passing in front of the Grand Lodge of Penrhyn Castle at Llandegai. [25]
The same area now shown on the ESRI satellite imagery provided by the NLS. The lodge can be made out just to the Northeast of the red line which shows the approximate route of the old tramway crossing the roundabout on the A5 at Llandegai. [25]
The approximate route of the old tramway is marked on this picture, as before, with a red line. The photograph is taken from the roundabout on the A5 at the entrance to Llandegai Industrial Estate which is in the top left of the satellite image above. The line ran just a few metres to the Southwest of what is now the A5. [Google Streetview]
The approximate line of the old tramway runs across the next roundabout on the A5 before curving round to the South. [Google Streetview]
Looking along the line of the old Tramroad from the modern roundabout, with the A5 heading South on the right. [Google Streetview]
This is a repeat of the sketch shown earlier which is based on a drawing from James Boyd’s book. [36: p11] After being diverted from its original route, the tramroad ran on the Southern side of the highway before turning away to the South. The Smithy shown in the sketch appears on the 6″ map extract below. Just to the North of the Smithy there was a branch from the old tramroad which served the bottom of the Llandegai Incline which connected the Upper Penrhyn Mill to the tramroad. There were two level crossings at this location, one of which became an over ridge when the turnpike was built in 1820.
The route of the old tramway continues on this next extract from the 6″ Ordnance Survey. At the top of the extract it is just to the left (West) of the Smithy. It crosses the standard-gauge line which is in tunnel at this point the Llandegai Tunnel). Further the south the formation, at the time of the survey was being used as an accommodation road to access ‘Bryn’ and then even further South, it was being used as a footpath. [26]
This is an extract from ‘RailMapOnline’ which shows the route of the old railway plotted on modern satellite imagery. The purple line close to the top of the image is the line of the Llandegai Tunnel on the standard-gauge mainline. [27]
Just to the South of the underground route of the standard-gauge mainline (Llandegai Tunnel), the old tramroad alignment crosses the access road to the A5 and runs South along the accommodation road visible to the left of the road in this image. [Google Streetview]
The old tramroad route followed this lane South. [Google Streetview]
At the end of the lane, a footpath can be seen running South. The hedge ahead in this image partially blocks the route but allows pedestrian access. [Google Streetview]
The route of the old tramroad and the later footpath remain on the same alignment as far as the top corner of the woods shown in this map extract. From that point southwards the Tramroad route crossed the fields in a Southeasterly direction. [28]
The same area as shown on the 6″ Ordnance Survey extract above. The North Wales Expressway is the notable modern addition to the image [27]
The obvious features on this next extract from the 6″ Ordnance Survey which mark the line of the tramroad are the walls to the rear (West) of the cottages at Tyddyn-Iolyn. South of these properties the tramroad ran alongside the road for a very short distance. After which it curved away to the Southwest before curving back towards the Southeast to a point to the South of Llan-isaf Cottage. [29]
The route described in the notes to the 6″ map extract immediately above are illustrated on this satellite image. [27]
Facing South along the lane to the South of Tyddyn-Iolyn, showing the approximate line of the old tramroad in red. [Google Streetview]
Looking back to the North along the lane to Tyddyn-Iolyn showing the point at which the old tramroad crossed the line of the lane. To the East of this point the Tramroad turned to the South and then to the West. [Google Streetview]
The walled route of the Tramroad can still easily be picked out on the 6″ Ordnance Survey. After a short distance travelling in an West to East direction and before reaching the banks of the Afon Ogwen at a point to the North of Tyddyn-Dicwn it turned once again towards the South. [30]
On the modern satellite imagery from RailMapOnline, the tramroad route appears to be within the width of the modern A5. There are signs that the actual formation of the old tramroad runs through the woodland to the South of the A5. Boyd shows this diversion on his map of the route. [36: p11] Its route can be picked out some metres to the South of the A5 but then rather than following a curving hedge line to the North and the East of Tyddyn-Dicwn at the bottom right of this satellite image. It continued towards the road junction, crossing the Southbound road just to the South of the junction. [27]
The probable route of the old tramroad at the point where it crossed the road South towards Tregarth. From this point it travelled South between the road and the Afon Ogwen for a few hundred yards. [Google Streetview]
The route of the old tramroad can again be picked out easily on the West Bank of the Ogwen passing an old quarry and then running immediately adjacent to Pen-isa’r-allt and on to meet Lon Ddinas. [31]
RailMapOnline shows the tramroad crossing fields to the South of Lon Ddinas to join the route of the later Penrhyn Quarry Railway. This extract shows that route. Looking at the gradients involved and the 6″Ordnance Survey, it seems possible that this was the case only if an incline was used. There is no evidence of this on the ground. It seems more likely that Lon Ddinas runs along the line of the old Tramroad and may well, in times past have shared the same formation. The gradient along Lon Ddinas would have been much more suitable. However, records indicate that there was an incline at this location – known as the Ddinas Incline. [27]
The lane which can easily be confused with the route of the old tramway is clearer on the 6″ Ordnance Survey. However, the Ddinas Incline followed the present field boundaries from close to Ddinas Farm up the relatively steep escarpment to meet the later Penrhyn Quarry Railway route. [32]

“The Ddinas Incline was one of three gravity-worked inclines on the original line of the Penrhyn Railway, built 1800-1801 to transport slate from the Penrhyn quarries to Port Penrhyn. … About half-way up the incline was an overbridge carrying a minor road, now widened and straightened at this point. To the north a cutting can still be seen, but the lower part of the incline has been destroyed by construction of a sewage works. To the south the line is visible as a terrace in the field. A ruined wall constructed of large roughly squared stone blocks near the top of the incline may be a surviving fragment of the winding house.” [33]
W J Crompton, RCAHMW, 5 November 2009.

From this point on, the old Tramroad and Penrhyn Quarry Railway followed approximately the same route. The second article about these lines will follow the Penrhyn Quarry Railway to this point at Tregarth.

References

  1. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penrhyn_Quarry_Railway, accessed on 27th December 2022.
  2. Dan Quine; The development of Port Penrhyn, Part One: 1760-1879; Archive. No. 110. Lightmoor Press, June 2021.
  3. James I.C. Boyd; Narrow Gauge Railways in North Caernarvonshire, Volume 2 The Penrhyn Quarry Railways; The Oakwood Press, Usk, 1985. (The British Narrow Gauge Railway No. 5.)
  4. Susan Turner; The Padarn and Penrhyn Railways; David & Charles; Newton Abbot, 1975.
  5. https://narrowgaugerailwaymuseum.org.uk/collections/industrial-railways/penrhyn-quarries, accessed on 27th December 2022.
  6. Thomas Middlemass; Encyclopaedia of Narrow Gauge Railways of Great Britain and Ireland; Patrick Stephens Ltd., Sparkford, Yeovil, 1991.
  7. Both these photographs can be found on the DeviantArt website: https://www.deviantart.com/rlkitterman, accessed on 27th December 2022.
  8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penrhyn_Port_Class, accessed on 27th December 2022.
  9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penrhyn_Main_Line_class, accessed on 27th December 2022.
  10. https://maps.nls.uk/os/6inch-england-and-wales/index.html, accessed on 27th December 2022.
  11. https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=15.8&lat=53.23498&lon=-4.11253&layers=6&b=1, accessed on 27th December 2022.
  12. https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/4180528, accessed on 27th December 2022.
  13. https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/6960097, accessed on 27th December 2022.
  14. https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/6554213, accessed on 27th December 2022.
  15. https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=16.0&lat=53.22925&lon=-4.11044&layers=6&b=1, accessed on 28th December 2022
  16. https://m.facebook.com/groups/418992338717208/permalink/1139980376618397, accessed on 28th December 2022.
  17. https://m.facebook.com/groups/narrowgauge/permalink/6708832335795404, accessed on 28th December 2022.
  18. https://m.facebook.com/groups/narrowgauge/permalink/5131244703554183, accessed on 28th December 2022.
  19. https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=16.0&lat=53.22458&lon=-4.11050&layers=6&b=1, accessed on 28th December 2022.
  20. https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/4180575, accessed on 28th December 2022.
  21. https://m.facebook.com/groups/417502465072892/permalink/2232508116905642, please see the comments on this thread. Accessed on 28th December 2022.
  22. https://m.facebook.com/groups/417502465072892/permalink/529969163826221, accessed on 28th December 2022.
  23. https://m.facebook.com/groups/417502465072892/permalink/1512499952239799, accessed on 28th December 2022.
  24. https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=16.0&lat=53.21987&lon=-4.10971&layers=6&b=1, accessed on 28th December 2022.
  25. https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=16.0&lat=53.21884&lon=-4.10291&layers=6&b=1, accessed on 28th December 2022.
  26. https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=16.0&lat=53.21309&lon=-4.10235&layers=6&b=1, accessed on 29th December 2022.
  27. https://www.railmaponline.com/UKIEMap.php, accessed on 29th December 2022.
  28. https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=16.0&lat=53.20823&lon=-4.10044&layers=6&b=1, accessed on 29th December 2022.
  29. https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=16.0&lat=53.20527&lon=-4.09580&layers=6&b=1, accessed on 29th December 2022.
  30. https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=16.0&lat=53.20204&lon=-4.09043&layers=6&b=1, accessed on 29th December 2022.
  31. https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=16.4&lat=53.19818&lon=-4.08442&layers=6&b=1, accessed on 29th December 2022.
  32. https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=15.9&lat=53.19386&lon=-4.08259&layers=6&b=1, accessed on 29th December 2022.
  33. W J Crompton, RCAHMW, 5 November 2009, accessed via: https://coflein.gov.uk/en/site/409718, accessed on 31st December 2022.
  34. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Winton, accessed on 3rd January 2023.
  35. Barrie K Lill; Richard Pennant, Samuel Worthington and the mill at Penlan: a history of the Penrhyn Mills on the Lower Ogwen; Bangor University, 2019, accessed via https://research.bangor.ac.uk/portal/files/22801787/2019_Lill_B_PhD.pdf, accessed on 5th January 2023.
  36. J.I.C. Boyd; Narrow Gauge Railways in North Caernarvonshire, Vol.II, The Penrhyn Quarry Railways; The Oakwood Press, Usk, 1985.
  37. Personal correspondence dated 20th November 2017 alluded to by Barrie Lill in reference [35]
  38. Permission sought to share some further photographs of Porth Penrhyn (https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/293353217633?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=vFhrxofnRnO&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=afQhrar7TGK&var=592202447151&widget_ver=artemis&media=CO)

2018-2022: Railway News from Kenya

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This post includes a selection of news items about Kenya Railways in the period from 2018 to the Autumn of 2022. The items included are by no means exhaustive but they might be of interest! ……..

The Birth of a Nation: preserving records on the Kenya-Uganda railway line (EAP1143)

In 2018 the British Library funded a small pilot project undertaken in Nairobi Railway Museum’s archive. This was a low cost 6 month pilot which identified the condition of the archived documents and photographs and improved storage and access to them.

The photographs which were digitised all seem to predate the construction of the railway and document the life and times of people who lived on its route. [1]

The Standard-Gauge Line

In 2018, NPR reported that the “Standard Gauge Railway station in Nairobi is easily the most impressive public building in Kenya.” [8] The station is “adventurous. It’s all gray and modern. Geometric shapes form an abstract locomotive, and red neon announces the “Nairobi Terminus.”” [8]

The Standard-gauge Railway Station at Nairobi. [8]

NPR continues: “The train runs 293 miles from Kenya’s capital city to the port of Mombasa and back twice a day and represents the biggest infrastructure project since Kenya’s independence 54 years ago. The Chinese financed it; a Chinese company built it; and the Chinese will operate it for many years to come. … The project, which launched in the summer of 2017, has not only come to signify Kenya’s ambitions, but also China’s ambitions on the African continent. In the past decade, China has become the biggest lender to governments in Africa. The money has helped build ports, roads, bridges, airports and trains. But critics warn the loans are full of traps that could leave African countries in the lurch. Kenya alone owes $5.3 billion to China.” [8]

On 16th October 2019, VOA News reported that Kenya opened the second phase of the Standard Gauge Railway Project: “Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta officially opened on Wednesday the second phase of his flagship infrastructure project: a Chinese-funded and built railway that will eventually link the port of Mombasa to Uganda. … The latest stretch of track cost $1.5 billion and runs from Nairobi to the Rift Valley town of Naivasha.” [9]

After the official opening, the president then joined the first ride along the line. … “The train stopped at every station, where a cheering crowd awaited the president. He promised them that the new railway will bring prosperity. … Kenyatta said that if the railway comes here, development also comes here.” [9]

The new track is 120 kilometers (75 miles) long and has 12 stations. Passengers can ride the trains, but the railway is mainly for cargo. The track will eventually lead to an inland container depot, (see below) from where containers will be distributed to Uganda and Rwanda, and to South Sudan. [9]

On 20th August 2021 the Ugandan newspaper, ‘The Independent’ reported that Kenya’s Standard-gauge railway line transported 2.31 million tons of cargo between January and the end of May that year: “an increase of about 45 percent from the similar period in 2020, according to data released on Thursday from the Kenya Railways Corporation.” [10]

“The rise in cargo volumes saw an increase in revenue generated during the months to 6.2 billion shillings (about 57 million U.S. dollars), up from 41.4 million dollars generated from January to May in 2020, it said. … The number of passengers using the train during the first five months of 2021 nearly doubled amid COVID-19 pandemic. … Some 601,201 passengers were ferried between the capital Nairobi and the coastal city of Mombasa during the period, up from 330,232 in 2020 when the country grappled with COVID-19 pandemic, the corporation said. … This generated revenue of 5.9 million dollars, up from 3.3 million dollars generated between January and May in 2020.” [10]

Refurbishment of Nairobi Central Station

Major renovations at Nairobi Central Station began on 27th July 2020. By January 2021, the work was well-advanced. Kenya Railways reported that the work would facilitate the use of the new DMUs due to arrive in the country.

Renovation work at Nairobi Central Station in January 2021. [5]

Kenya Railways stated on 13th January 2021 that, “as the rehabilitation works continue[d], stringent measures [were] put in place to safeguard daily commuters as they access[ed] the station.” [5]

Designated boarding points were set for various trains to facilitate safe movement of passengers within the Nairobi Central Station. For instance, Kikuyu and Ruiru trains, the boarding point was designated on the Western end of the Nairobi Central Station and it was to be accessed from Railways Police station. While passengers boarding Syokimau & SGR Link trains boarded the trains from the Eastern end of the station with the access point being adjacent to Guava restaurant.

Kenya Railways stated that, “The rehabilitation of Nairobi Central Station will not only give it a new face but also show KR is dedicated in making transportation better.” [5]

Plans for the full renewal of Nairobi Central Station were published in May 2022. The project has been sponsored by both the British and Kenyan Governments.

Design office view of the proposed renewed Central Station. [6]

THE British and Kenyan governments unveiled the final design of Nairobi’s new Central Railway Station and surrounding public area, which has been developed as part of the Nairobi Railway City redevelopment programme. [6]

The IRJ reported that, “The design was developed by SNC-Lavalin subsidiary Atkins and submitted to Kenya Railways and the Ministry of Transport. … The station is designed to accommodate up to 30,000 passengers per hour at peak periods, and will have 6000m2 of concourse space. The station will offer a new covered public space for the city with retail outlets and other amenities …. It features separate entrance and exit routes to avoid conflicting flows and ensure passengers can get to and from the platforms efficiently. … Three existing platforms will be joined by six additional passenger platforms, and four dedicated freight lines will be built. Two platform bridges will be built, with one for passengers entering the station and one for passengers exiting.” [6]

A few design office perspective views are shown below:

The SGR to MGR link at Naivasha

In July 2022, President Uhuru Kenyatta officially commissioned the Standard Gauge Railway – Metre Gauge Railway Passenger Rail Link at the Kenya Railways Mai Mahiu Station in Naivasha, Nakuru County. The ceremony took place on Tuesday, 26th July 2022.

The 5km link will enable passengers traveling to Western Kenya by train to switch from the standard-gauge service to that of the metre-gauge and vice versa. Kenya Railways reported that it would as a result be possible to travel exclusively by rail from Mombasa through Kilifi, Kwale, Taita Taveta, Makueni, Machakos, Kijiado and Nairobi onwards to Nakuru, Kisumu, Eldoret, Kitale, Nyahururu, Nanyuki, Malaba and Bungoma. [2]

Naivasha Inland Container Depot

On the same day (26th July 2022) the Naivasha Inland Container Depot (ICD) was officially opened by President Uhuru Kenyatta.

The Naivasha ICD facility which incorporates both the Standard Gauge Railway and the Metre Gauge Railway line will handle mainly transit cargo to the Great Lakes Region including Uganda, South Sudan, DR Congo, Northern Tanzania, Rwanda, and Burundi, which account for around 30% of imports and exports through the Port of Mombasa.

The SGR/MGR Link referred to above will greatly facilitate the transshipment process. All Transit cargo can now be delivered to the facility straight from the Port of Mombasa as either Through Bill of Lading (TBL) or merchant haulage (Non-TBL), while exports and empty containers can also be consolidated at the Naivasha ICD and railed to the Port of Mombasa for onward shipping.

Kenya Railways reported that, “The depot is linked to the Mombasa Port container terminal by a rail-tainer service on the Mombasa to Suswa Standard Gauge Railway line. It will serve to bring port services closer to customers and reduce congestion at the Port of Mombasa, Nairobi Inland Container Depot and on the roads. It is convenient for East African partner states who will not have to cover an entire 572 kilometres by road between Mombasa and Naivasha. From Naivasha ICD to Malaba Railway Yard, cargo will be transported over 36 hours and it will cost $860.”

Kenya Railways also affirmed that, “The Naivasha ICD includes a one-stop centre for ease of operations and efficient service delivery. The port houses all the Government agencies involved in handling of cargo namely Kenya Railways, Kenya Ports Authority, Kenya Revenue Authority, Kenya Bureau of Standards, Port Health (Public Health) and Revenue Authority officers from partner states of Uganda, Rwanda and Tanzania.” [3]

Nakuru Railway Station

President Uhuru Kenyatta officially commissioned the revitalized 217km Nakuru-Kisumu Metre-Gauge Railway (MGR) and the 465km Longonot–Malaba segment as well as the refurbished Nakuru Railway Station.

Kenya Railways reported on 28th July 2022 that the re-commissioning had taken place: “The iconic Nakuru Railway Station is a key transit station for cargo and passenger train services to and from Western Kenya, and is the aggregation hub for farm produce from the agriculturally rich Central Rift region for onward freight to the Coast for export.” [4]

“Nakuru town started as a railway station on Kenyan-Uganda railway line at the turn of 20th century. It was built in 1900 and later expanded in 1957. It sits on the east side of the centre of Nakuru. The town is part of the famous ‘White Highlands settlement’ areas established by the British during the colonial era. The areas surrounding Nakuru town are mainly known for their vast agricultural potential especially cash-crop farming i.e wheat, barley, pyrethrum, sisal, maize and beans. Nakuru Railway Station was built in order to serve the rapidly growing economy of the town.” [4]

Refurbished Nakuru Railway Station [7]

“Later branch lines were built to link the station to farming areas. Among these was the line linking the station to the sisal producing Solai area. Just 6.9 kilometres from Nakuru town lies Nakuru Junction station. This is the point at which the lines to Malaba and Kisumu diverge.” [4]

Suburban Services in Nairobi

Nairobi Commuter Rail Services now run regularly to Ruiru, Embakasi Village, Limuru, Syokimau and Lukenya in Kitengela. There is also a Madaraka Express Commuter Service that operates between Nairobi Terminus and Ngong station and a link service between Nairobi Central Station and the Standard-gauge Station runs at 0630hrs, 1200hrs and 2010hrs each day. [11]

References

1. https://eap.bl.uk/project/EAP1143, accessed on 9th September 2022.

2. https://krc.co.ke/sgr-mgr-passenger-rail-link-officially-opened, accessed on 12th October 2022.

3. https://krc.co.ke/h-e-president-uhuru-kenyatta-commissions-the-standard-gauge-railway-metre-gauge-railway-lines-passenger-rail-link, accessed on 12th October 2022.

4. https://krc.co.ke/rehabilitated-nakuru-railway-station-officially-open, accessed on 12th October 2022.

5. https://krc.co.ke/nairobi-central-station-gets-a-face-lift, accessed on 11th October 2022.

6. https://www.railjournal.com/passenger/main-line/design-unveiled-for-new-nairobi-central-railway-station, accessed on 11th October 2022.

7. https://www.capitalfm.co.ke/news/2021/09/kenya-railways-to-commence-mgr-passengers-operations-to-kisumu-in-december, accessed on 12th October 2022.

8. https://www.npr.org/2018/10/08/641625157/a-new-chinese-funded-railway-in-kenya-sparks-debt-trap-fears, 12th October 2022.

9. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.voanews.com/amp/africa_kenya-opens-second-phase-massive-railway-project/6177699.html, accessed on 12th October 2022.

10. https://www.independent.co.ug/kenyas-modern-railway-transports-2-31-mln-tons-of-cargo-between-january-and-may, accessed on 12th October 2022.

11. https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid0eJvJuK7FVebaLxcuouXFSBviZhHu5yAE5ySPC4kRDoimGvyx5BG5QtGkVLN87KjQl&id=100064281415632, 12th October 2022.

Railways in West Wales Part 1C – Pembrokeshire Industrial Railways – Section C – RNAD Trecwn

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A holiday in West Wales in the early Autumn of 2022 led to a little research on the railways in the area.

This is the sixth article about Pembrokeshire’s Railways. The first focussed on the pre-railway age, the second focussed on the mainline railways of the county. The third article focussed on the industrial railways in the vicinity of Milford Haven. The fourth and fifth on the Saundersfoot Railway in Pembrokeshire. The links to these posts are provided below. This article concentrates on the railways associated with RNAD Trecwn (the Royal Navy Armaments Depot at Trecwn).

Railways in West Wales Part 1A – Pembrokeshire – Before the Railway Age

Railways in West Wales Part 1B – Pembrokeshire – the Mainline Railways

https://rogerfarnworth.com/2022/09/20/__trashed-3/

Railways in West Wales Part 1C – Pembrokeshire Industrial Railways – Section B – The Saundersfoot Railway (First Part)

Railways in West Wales Part 1C – Pembrokeshire Industrial Railways – Section B – The Saundersfoot Railway (Second Part)

The Royal Navy Armaments Depot at Trecwn (RNAD Trecwn)

RNAD Trecwn is, in the 21st century, a decommissioned Royal Navy Armaments Depot, south of Fishguard in the village of Trecwn, Pembrokeshire, West Wales.

It was built in 1938 to store and supply naval mines and munitions ordnance to the Royal Navy. The depot apparently came into its own during the cold war. During those times 400 permanent workers were employed at the site, housed in an MoD built small town. The site had an on-site, 2ft 6in (762mm) narrow gauge railway, built using copper to reduce sparks. Weapons were both delivered to the site and then distributed using standard gauge rail to Fishguard, Neyland for Milford Haven, and latterly Pembroke Dock. [56]

Trecwn as shown on the 1948 revision of the 6″ Ordnance Survey published in 1953. A series of three sidings are shown to the South of the main RNAD site. [57]

The Standard-gauge Branch Line and Sidings – Just south of the main entrance to RNAD Trecwm and the main security fence to the site was a single railway platform, for workers access to the depot. Within the security fence, a marshalling yard of 8 parallel loops existed, shunted by a dedicated MoD diesel hydraulic shunting locomotive. The line then extended on down the valley, through a gauge exchange shed for access to the narrow gauge network, and then provided direct access to the 58 cavern storage chambers via a series of herring-bone shaped sidings. [59]

Supply trains would run along the dedicated branch-line from the site: to Fishguard Harbour; to Neyland for Milford Haven; and Pembroke Dock. At Fishguard the line extended beyond the ferry terminal at Fishguard Harbour railway station, continuing along the breakwater to a single line spur, allowing for transfer of munitions to Royal Navy ships. [59]

These next few images show the Trecwn branch-line. The first shows its junction with what was the GWR line to Fishguard from which the branch runs Northeast towards Trecwn …

The Trecwn branch-line junction with the old GWR as shown on the 1951 1:25,000 Ordnance Survey. [60]
The ESRI satellite image from the National Library of Scotland has the route of the Trecwn Branch-line imposed on it. [80]
The view at the junction from a train window in 9th August 2007, (c) Ceridwen, authorised for use under a Creative Commons Licence (CC BY-SA 2.0). [238]
A little to the South of the junction, a lane crosses the branch. This photograph looks along the line to the accommodation crossing on 5th May 2010, (c) Ceridwen, authorised for use under a Creative Commons Licence (CC BY-SA 2.0). [239]
The view East along the line on 23rd July 2006. (c) Stephen McKay, authorised for use under a Creative Commons Licence (CC BY-SA 2.0). Stephen comments: “Taken from an accommodation level crossing looking along what was once a meandering branch to Clunderwen. [241] That route was abandoned in the 1940s, but a stub was retained to give access to the Royal Naval Armaments Depot at Trecwn.” [240]
The view from the North along the A40 of the bridge carrying the branch over the road. [Google Streetview, March 2022]
The view of the same bridge from the South [Google Streetview, March 2022]
After a short distance running Northeast, the standard-gauge line runs adjacent to the main gates of Trecwm on an East-West axis before turning South and the East again. [60]

The depot was decommissioned in 1992. All 58 cavern storage bunkers and the extensive above ground network of storage sheds and other military buildings remain in place. Ownership of the site was transferred from the Ministry of Defence to Anglo-Irish consortium Omega Pacific in 1998, and then by court order to the Manhattan Loft Corporation in 2002. The site is being redeveloped as an industrial park. [56]

Dashed-red lines show the approximate route of the old standard-gauge line which was lifted in the early 21st century. [82]
The remaining length of the Trecwm branch-line as shown on the 1951 1:25,000 Ordnance Survey. [60]

The same area as shown in the OS Map above[230]
Coflein provides this map of the main site in 2021.  Careful inspection will show that the standard-gauge branch-line has been lifted by the date of this Ordnance Survey edition. [61]
The 1906 6″ Ordnance Survey shows no sign of either the standard-gauge branch nor the infrastructure that made up RNAD Trecwn. [231]
The same area on modern satellite imagery shows much of the infrastructure of the Depot remaining after closure. The standard-gauge sidings remain at the date this image was produced. [231]
Just before reaching Trecwm, the line passed under the lane which can be seen at the left side of the satellite image above. The bridge parapets have been extended upwards for safety reasons using galvanised metal fencing. [Google Streetview, October 2021]
The concrete bridge carrying the standard-gauge branch-line over a local road just prior to its entry into the Depot. [Google Streetview, March 2022]
The same structure viewed from the North. [Google Streetview, October 2021]
Google Maps in 2022 still shows the sidings in place in RNAD Trecwn. No doubt this will get updated in due course. [Google Maps, 29th September 2022]
The site extends across the join between two OS Maps. This 1948 revision of the 6″ OS Mapping shows the West end of the Depot. The map was published in 1953. [232]
At approximately the same scale, the next OS Sheet shows only the standard-gauge line and not the internal narrow-gauge lines. It is shown terminating at the same location as the mapping further above. [233]
The fan of standard-gauge sidings just inside the Depot fencing, (c) Dave Mansell, taken in 2003. This image is used with the kind permission of the Subterranea Britannica website. [234]

Three aerial photographs are provided by the Fishguard and Goodwick Local History Society. Posted by Ian Evans, they are used here by kind permission.

The first one shows the main entrance to the depot at it’s southern end. It can be dated to the mid-1950’s. “At the bottom right of the image can be seen the main railway line into the valley, leading to the railway sidings. The buildings to both sides of the railway sidings included a number of specialist workshops and storage facilities, there were no live explosives handled in this area.” [247]

This aerial photograph looks from the West along the valley of the Afon Aer. To the right of centre, the fan of standard-gauge sidings can be made out. An enlarged image taken from this picture follows below. The picture was taken in 1955 and is used with the kind permission of Ian Evans and the Fishguard & Goodwick Local History Society. [247]
An enlarged section of the photograph above which shows the bridge which carries the line over a minor road close to the Depot gates, in the bottom-right. The fan of sidings feature prominently towards the top of this extract. The branch beyond the sidings first curves away to the South  [247]

The second “shows the workshops and stores buildings in more detail. The building at the bottom right with the tall chimneys was the southern boiler house which supplied steam to most of the buildings seen here. It was in this area that the narrow gauge railway system started, it extended right up the north end of the site.” [247]

This aerial photograph looks from the Southwest across the same fan of sidings. Enlarged images taken from this picture follow below. Again, the picture was taken in 1955 and is used with the kind permission of Ian Evans and the Fishguard & Goodwick Local History Society. [247]
There is some good detail in this extract from the aerial image above. The types of wagons used to supply the Depot can be seen but so also can part of the narrow-gauge network be discerned running between the buildings towards the top of the extract. [247]
The standard-gauge yard at Trecwn. This is an enlarged extract from the same aerial image. Note the bridge carrying the standard-gauge line across the narrow-gauge line. [247]
From beyond the sidings in the last few photos, looking back West over the Depot with the fan of standard-gauge sidings evident at the top of the image, © (Coflein) RCAHMW. [61]
Taken a little further to the East, this shows the buildings at the Western end if the Depot along with the fan of sidings and the standard-gauge buildings on the left. This image was used by RD Wales to advertise the Depot site for sale. The standard-gauge extends eastward from the sidings within the trees on the left of this image. [250]

Of interest, to me at least, is that when I load Google Earth onto my desktop I automatically get the railway tracks at Trecwn added. I am not sure how that happened, but it is useful for this article. ….

A Google Earth extract with the network of lines in the valley of the Aer shown in black. This is the first length inside the Depot. [Google Earth, 29th September 2022.
The remaining length of the Depot in the Aer Valley. [Google Earth, 29th September 2022]

The third of three aerial images from the mid-1950s appears below. It “shows the red area where live explosives were handled and stored, everything from .303 Rifle bullets to 1 Thousand pound bombs were processed here and stored in 58 Magazines built into each side of the valley, If you zoom in you can see a number of the tunnel entrances quite clearly. A lot of the smaller buildings have blast walls surrounding them. The complex extended further north from this photo to the north end Boiler House and security gates.” [247]

The remaining length of the Depot taken from the air looking North along the valley of the Aer. Again, the picture was taken in 1955 and is used with the kind permission of Ian Evans and the Fishguard & Goodwick Local History Society. These images can be found at http://www.hanesabergwaun.org.uk/ [247]
These two images are enlarged extracts from the last of the three aerial images above. It is possible to see something of the network of lines which existed in the valley. [247]

The OpenRailwayMap [235] is also of great help in establishing what railways existed inside the  Depot. It is clear that the standard-gauge line extended much further to the Northeast along the valley of the Afon Aer than the Ordnance Survey mapping records.

To complete this section on the Standard-gauge line, I have included a series of screen-dumps from the OpenRailwayMap [235][236]. Having them at this point in the article should hopefully minimise scrolling when we look at the Narrow-Gauge network at the depot. The sequence of the map extracts runs from the Depot gates in the West, closest to the hamlet of Trecwn, eastwards to the point where the valley turns to the North and then follows the valley northwards.

Rail network inside Trecwn – Image 1. [235]
Rail network inside Trecwn – Image 2. [235]
Rail network inside Trecwn – Image 3. [235]
Rail network inside Trecwn – Image 4. [235]
Rail network inside Trecwn – Image 5. [235]
Rail network inside Trecwn – Image 6. [235]
Rail network inside Trecwn – Image 7. [235]
Rail network inside Trecwn – Image 8. [235]

This final image is the key/legend provided by the OpenRailwayMap [235][236] editors. The Trecwn branch as far as the depot gates is shown in yellow above. The standard-gauge lines within the Depot are deemed industrial lines and are therefore shown as thin brown lines. The length of these line inside the Depot is significantly longer that that shown on the Ordnance Survey maps. Abandoned standard gauge lines are shown as thick dashed brown lines (not grey as in the key).

The narrow gauge lines are shown as thin dashed brown lines. It is possible that by the time the mapping was undertaken these had been abandoned and are hence shown dashed. There are a very few lengths of narrow-gauge track shown solid brown.

The extent of the network of these lines is, for me, the most engaging element of this mapping. RNAD Trecwn had a very significant internal narrow-gauge network. …

The Narrow Gauge (2ft 6in) Lines – A 2ft 6in (762 mm) gauge network traverses the entire site, with direct access to the 58 cavern storage chambers. All rail infrastructure was built in copper to reduce the risk of sparks. Serviced via its own on-site locomotive shed and works, the line was equipped with a series of specially provided wooden enclosed wagons, with sliding roof covers. This allowed sea mines and other munitions to be directly placed within the wagons from overhead gantries, and transported over the entire site without access via any form of side door, hence enhancing safety. The narrow gauge line therefore became the main method of on-site distribution, with standard gauge rail or road the off site access method. [56]

Storage Chamber  No. 20 © Marc Thomas, 19th August 2014. This image shows one of the storage chambers’ entrance doors. This is typical of other entrances to the storage chambers on site. A remnant of the narrow-gauge rail system can be seen in the rails which protrude beyond the chamber’s doors. [243]

The next few aerial images can be found on the Coflein website and show elements of the narrow-gauge system running along the site. In places the standard-gauge and narrow -gauge sit side-by-side.

This next aerial image comes from before the narrow-gauge tracks were lifted. The most obvious lines are standard-gauge lines but careful inspection will show the narrow-gauge network as well. This photograph was taken in 2006. [61]
Turning through 180° this next aerial image from 2009 comes from the time when large parts of the narrow-gauge system had been lifted but before the narrow-gauge tracks at locations crossing site roads or standard-gauge lines were lifted. Careful inspection will identify a number of such locations. [61]
View from the North in 2006 looking down on the upper area of the Depot with both standard-gauge and narrow-gauge lines visible. [61]
Also taken in 2006 from the North, this view shows a number of the storage bunkers on site and the rail system. [61]
Again taken in 2006, this photograph looks from the Southeast showing more of the bunkers in the northern length of the Depot. [61]

In 2003, David Mansell, writing about the site commented: “About a mile into the site the narrow gauge railway facilities commence with maintenance sheds and a covered transfer building. There are a total of 58 storage chambers, each extending into the hillside for 200 feet, arranged in a herringbone formation along both sides of the valley. Each one has alarmed steel doors with its own siding off the narrow gauge railway.” [234] … His opinion at the time, was that RNAD Trecwn was “a railway enthusiasts dream with both standard and narrow (2ft 6in) gauge lines. The depot has its own branch off the Fishguard to Carmarthen line and after a small platform area outside the depot for staff the line enters the site via lockable steel gates into the main marshalling yard where the line splits into 8 parallel loops. The standard gauge line then travels the entire length of the valley alongside the narrow-gauge line which has points for the siding to each storage chamber.” [234] …

The wooden wagons used for the transport of munitions within the Depot had sliding roofs to allow top-loading © Dave Mansell, 2003 and used by kind permission of the Subterranea Britannica. [234]

The narrow gauge rolling stock then consisted of the “well known ‘Trecwn’ wooden wagons with sliding roofs to enable mines to be lowered in and flatbed trucks for other munitions. Some of the stock can now be seen on the Welsh Highland and [Welshpool and] Llanfair light railways.” [234]

At the time Dave Mansell was writing, there was still a substantial amount on site. Locomotives included small diesel shunters and battery units; some derelict examples of which were still on the site in 2003. Points on both gauges were manually operated and still well greased. [234]

The next few photographs were all taken early in 2003 by Dave Mansell and are shared with his kind permission and that of Subterranea Britannica…..

The entrance to Storage Cavern No. 25 with the narrow-gauge rails still in place, © Dave Mansell [234]
The narrow-gauge point probably leading to Storage Cavern No. 25, © Dave Mansell [234]
The transfer shed with both standard-gauge and narrow-gauge rails still in place, © Dave Mansell [234]
Narrow-gauge locomotives and rolling-stock sitting in storage and no longer on the rails. © Dave Mansell [234]

Locomotives – a series of narrow-gauge locomotives were employed at the site. These are surviving examples:

Ruston & Hornsby 187069 – was a Class 25/30hp locomotive with a Ruston 3VSO engine and weighing 3.25 tons. It left the works on 28th October 1937. “It was one of forty of that type working on the Nuttall-Pauling Consortium contract to build the … Depot at Trecwn. … Construction was complete by 1941 but this locomotive was evidently still in the West of Wales in 1950, because a spares order was placed by Pauling on 26th May 1950 to be sent to Geo Bros Ltd., East Burrows Yard, Swansea, which may have been repairing it. In 1951 it was noted at Pauling’s Park Royal plant depot, Middlesex, numbered P250 in the Pauling list. It was later sold or scrapped at an unknown date. [229: p1-2]

Baguley-Drewry Locomotives – Baguley-Drewry of Burton-on-Trent built a number of locomotives for this narrow gauge network.

Statfold Barn Railway – RNAD Trecwn A10. This is a 4wDH locomotive built in 1984 by Baguley-Drewry of Burton-on-Trent for the Royal Navy Armaments Depot at Trecwn near Fishguard. As built it was 2′ 6″ gauge but has now been re-gauged to 2′, © Chris Allen/Statfold Barn Railway – RNAD Trecwn A10 (CC BY-SA 2.0), 13th September 2014. This locomotive was transferred from the Statfold Barn Railway to the Amerton Railway in 2017. It is not in regular use on passenger trains, it requires some engine work to improve starting and emissions, and requires air brake modifications to make it compatible with the railway’s existing stock. You will however see A10 out in force at their Everything Goes Gala events, where it hauls passenger and freight trains using a braking system adapter. It is also used fairly regularly on engineering trains as it is far more powerful than any of the other diesel locomotives in the fleet. [58][248][249]
Talyllyn Railway No. 11 Trecwn on 16th June 2018, © Voice of Clam, made available as Public Domain. [
The body of former RNAD Trecwn narrow gauge Baguley-Drewry diesel hydraulic locomotive T 009 00 NZ 35 (works number 3781) at Tywyn Wharf on the Talyllyn Railway. [56]

The Talyllyn railway purchased two of Trecwn’s narrow-gauge locomotives …. Diesel No.11 “Trecwn” & No.12 “St Cadfan” were purchased by Talyllyn volunteers from RNAD Trecwn in 2008. The names were decided by ballot in 2014 by the group that originally purchased the locomotives for the Talyllyn. Both Locomotives were re-gauged from 2ft 6in to the Talyllyn’s 2ft 3in Gauge. Talyllyn members also purchased over a mile of track from RNAD Trecwn complete with rail, sleepers, spikes and fishplates in June 2008. [251]

The Talyllyn’s Facebook Page provided photographs of these locomotives. These two images were included. [251]

References

1. M.R. Connop-Price; Pembrokeshire: the Forgotten Coalfield; Landmark Publishing, Ashbourne, Derbyshire, 2004

32. D S M Barrie, revised Peter Baughan; A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain: volume 12: South Wales; David St John Thomas, Nairn, 1994.

36. Wing Commander Ken McKay; A Vision of Greatness: The History of Milford 1790-1990; Brace Harvatt Associates, 1989.

56. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/RNAD_Trecwn, accessed on 13th September 2022.

57. https://maps.nls.uk/view/102188136, accessed on 13th September 2022.

58. https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Statfold_Barn_Railway_-RNAD_Trecwn_A10(geograph_4220678).jpg, accessed on 13th September 2022.

59. https://alchetron.com/RNAD-Trecwn, accessed on 14th September 2022.

60. https://maps.nls.uk/view/91857083, accessed on 14th September 2022.

61. https://coflein.gov.uk/en/site/96059, accessed on 14th September 2022.

229. Martin Shill; Number 250; in the Industrial Railway Record, Industrial Railway Society Volume 250 September 2022, p1-6.

230. https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=15.0&lat=51.95523&lon=-4.93724&layers=6&b=1, accessed on 29th September 2022.

231. https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=16.0&lat=51.95468&lon=-4.95372&layers=6&b=1, accessed on 29th September 2022.

232. https://maps.nls.uk/view/102188136, accessed on 29th September 2022.

233. https://maps.nls.uk/view/102188163, accessed on 29th September 2022.

234. https://www.subbrit.org.uk/sites/trecwn-royal-naval-armaments-depot, accessed on 29th September 2022.

235. https://www.openrailwaymap.org, accessed on 29th September 2022.

236. OpenRailwayMap (previously called “Bahnkarte”) is a detailed online map of the world’s railway infrastructure, built on OpenStreetMap data. It has been available since mid-2013 at openrailwaymap.org. This project was founded in December 2011 in order to create a world-wide, open, up-to-date and detailed map of the railway network, based on OpenStreetMap. The domain was registered on April 27th, 2013 and the corresponding website was launched in mid 2013. Since then it has received constant improvement. In February 2014 the project moved to a new server. In April 2014 a dedicated map for mobile phones was launched. [237]

The OpenRailwayMap includes all rail-mounted and automotive vehicles, e.g. railways, subways, trams, miniature railways and funiculars. The map does not include aerialways, monorails, and maglevs. The name OpenRailwayMap mostly refers to the online map, but the project also aims to support railroad-related data in OpenStreetMap. By developing a consistent data model, providing a mailing list for discussions, developing editor plugins, etc. the collection of these data is boosted and the data are made usable for other applications and developers. [237]

OpenRailwayMap is Open Source software and is freely available for download under the GPL version 3. It is runs on Linux and services its contents via Apache web server, PHP and Javascript. It is furthermore based on Leaflet, KothicJS, NodeJS, node-tileserver, osmfilter, osmconvert, osmupdate, osm2pgsql, PostgreSQL and PostGIS. There is also a changelog.

237. https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/OpenRailwayMap, accessed on 29th September 2022.

238. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Old_branch_line_to_Trecwn_-geograph.org.uk-_520836.jpg, accessed on 29th September 2022.

239. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Level_crossing_on_dead_railway_-geograph.org.uk-_1855840.jpg, accessed on 29th September 2022.

240. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Branch_to_Trecwn_-geograph.org.uk-_208673.jpg, accessed on 29th September 2022.

241. This statement needs a minot clarification. The Trecwn Branch used to leave the line between Fishguard and Clynderwen just South of where that line diverged from the route from Fishguard tthrough Clarbeston Road. The North Pembrokeshire line was lost many years before the Trecwn branch closed. The tracks visible in the image above led only to Trecwn.

This plan appears at the head of the article on the Disused Stations website about the Fishguard to Clynderwen route – a.k.a the North Pembroke shire and Fishguard Railway. it shows the Trecwn branch leaving this railway just South if its junction with the line through Clarbeston Road. [242]

242. http://disused-stations.org.uk/features/north_pembrokeshire_and_fishguard_railway/index.shtml, accessed on 29th September 2022.

243. https://m.facebook.com/groups/trulypembrokeshire/permalink/755957217781489, accessed on 30th September 2022.

244. https://www.flickr.com/photos/rocketron7/albums/72157647842795154, accessed on 30th September 2022.

245. https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100065502640813 … Ron Weatherall 17th. August 2017, accessed on 30th September 2022.

246. https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Talyllyn_Railway_No_11_Trecwn_-_2018-06-16.jpg, accessed on 2nd October 2022.

247. https://www.hanesabergwaun.org.uk/places/industry-businesses/trecwn-aerial-views-rnad-trecwn, accessed on 2nd October 2022.

248. https://amertonrailway.co.uk/locomotives/diesel/a10, accessed on 10th October 2022.

249. https://amertonrailway.co.uk/events/everything-goes-gala, accessed on 10th October 2022.

250. http://www.rdwales.co.uk/trecwn-valley.htm, accessed on 2nd October 2022.

251. https://www.facebook.com/167680895449/posts/pfbid0wU9efHT2NErDUrXJpn7cf1nf9v8aXwQZBU7WR1qCEpwcpDTgM4bKhMNxJV8N8JD3l/?app=fbl, accessed on 10th October 2022.

The Micklehurst Loop – Part 1

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I am indebted to Alan Young for a number of the images in this and the following articles about the Micklehurst Loop. This is his drawing of the Loop which appears at the head of his article about the Loop on the ‘Disused Stations‘ website. It is used with his kind permission, (c) Alan Young. [7]

During January 2021, my wife and I walked the majority of the length of the Micklehurst Loop from Stalybridge to Diggle. This was the goods relieving line for the main Stalybridge to Huddersfield railway line. It had been hoped to alleviate congestion by making the mainline into a 4-track railway but the geography mitigated against this and a route on the other side of the Tame Valley was chosen instead.

The maps used in this sequence of articles are predominantly 25″ OS Maps from 1896 through to 1922 and have been sourced from the National Library of Scotland. [1] There are a number of websites which focus on the Loop which are excellent. The sites concerned are noted immediately below and the relevant link can be found in the references section of this page or by clicking on the highlighted text here:

  1. The most detailed treatment of the line and its stations can be found on the Disused Stations – Site Records website. The particular pages on that site which cover the Loop were provided by Alan Young. One page covers the route and pages covering each of the stations can be accessed from that page. [7]
  2. Particularly good for old photographs of the Loop is the Table 38 webpage about the railway. [12]
  3. 28DL Urban Exploration has pages about Stalybridge New Tunnel under Cocker Hill [19] and about Hartshead Power Station. [20]

Part 1 – Stalybridge to Staley & Millbrook Station and Goods Yard

This first map extract shows the Western end of the Micklehurst Loop. It left the mainline at Stalybridge Station which can be seen on the left side of the extract. Both the mainline and the loop entered tunnels under Stamford Street, Stalybridge. [1]This modern satellite image covers approximately the same area of Stalybridge as the map extract above. The route of the former Micklehurst Loop is highlighted by the red line.Looking west towards Stalybridge Station circa 1960 from Stamford Street BR standard Class 5 No.73162 takes the Micklehurst Loop as it pulls away from Stalybridge Station with a Huddersfield-bound freight and approaches Stalybridge New Tunnel. Photo by Peter Sunderland courtesy of Alan Young. [7]

The Western portal of Stalybridge New Tunnel sits just to the East of the Bridge that carries Stamford Street over the route of the Loop. It is difficult to photograph and access is not easy. While search for images of the line I came across a video on YouTube:

This video shows the Western end of the tunnel and then covers a walk through the full length of the tunnel and a glance out of the Eastern Portal. [8]

This next map extract shows the Micklehurt Loop emerging from the tunnel under Cocker Hill. The main line is in tunnel further North. Just South of the tunnel mouth Old St. George’s Church can be picked out, an octagonal church building which has now been replaced by St. George’s Church which is off the map extract to the North. Immediately to the East of the tunnel entrance, the Loop crossed the course of the River Tame and the Huddersfield Narrow Canal on a Viaduct.Much has changed in the satellite image above which covers approximately the same area. The canal basin can just be picked out, as can Knowl Street. The course of the River Tame is unchanged. Old St. George’s is long-gone. There is no evidence left of the Viaduct which carried the line.

Old St. George’s Church was located almost directly over the tunnel. It was an unusual church building and over its life was rebuilt twice on essentially the same plan. “The first was built in 1776. It was the first recorded church in Stalybridge and it did fall down shortly after it was built. The next church was demolished around a hundred years later because of structural problems and the last church was demolished in the 1960’s as it was no longer used.” [3]The last incarnation of Old St. George’s Church on Cocker Hill. This coloured monochrome image is held in the archives of Tameside MBC. The Micklehurst Loop can be seen exiting the tunnel below the church to the right and immediately crossing the River Tame on Knowl Street Viaduct. [4]This monochrome image is provided with permission,  courtesy of Alan Young, once again. [7] He comments: “looking north up the River Tame the western end of Knowl Street Viaduct in Stalybridge is seen in this undated view. Having crossed this 16-arch viaduct the Micklehurst Loop promptly plunged into Stalybridge New Tunnel through Cocker Hill (left). This section of line ceased to handle traffic in 1972, when coal movements to Hartshead Power Station (near Staley & Millbrook) ceased, and the line was taken out of use in July 1976, but it was not until 1991 that the viaduct was demolished.” [7]

The Eastern Portal of the tunnel, which was directly below the church can still be reached with a little careful clambering. The image below has a Creative Commons Licence. (CC BY-SA 2.0).The East Portal of Stalybridge New Tunnel which is directly below the site of Old St. George’s Church © Copyright Tom Hindley and licensed for reuse under a Creative Commons Licence. (CC BY-SA 2.0). [5]

Knowl Street Viaduct carried the Loop over the River Tame, Knowl Street and the Huddersfield Narrow Canal and a series of arches in between. There were 16 arches in all.This photograph taken from the East alongside Knowl Street Viaduct is included with permission, courtesy of Alan Young. [7] Alan comments: “The Micklehurst Loop diverged from the original Huddersfield-Manchester line a short distance east of Stalybridge station, entered Stalybridge New Tunnel (about 300yd in length) then promptly crossed the broad valley of the River Tame on Bridge No.3 (also known as Knowl Street Viaduct). This impressive curving viaduct, in the blue engineering brick used by the LNWR on the Loop’s major structures, was 330yd in length with 16 arches. In addition to crossing the River Tame, the viaduct also strode across Huddersfield Narrow Canal and three roads. In this undated westward view, the viaduct and Stalybridge New Tunnel through Cocker Hill are shown. Coal trains that served Hartshead Power Station ceased to run over the viaduct in 1972, but it was not until July 1976 that the line was officially taken out of use. Fifteen years elapsed before the viaduct was demolished in 1991.” [7]A further image used with permission, courtesy of Alan Young. [7]  Alan comments: “Looking north-east from a point close to the eastern portal of Stalybridge New Tunnel. The Knowl Street Viaduct, 330yd in length and with 16 arches, is seen crossing the River Tame then curving away towards the next station of Staley & Millbrook. The local passenger service on the Micklehurst Loop, on which this viaduct was located, ceased in 1917, but occasional passenger trains and many freight workings continued into the 1960s; coal traffic continued to pass over the viaduct until 1972 en route to Hartshead Power station near Staley & Millbrook station and the line was officially taken out of use in 1976. Nature is taking over the former trackbed as seen on this undated photograph. The viaduct was demolished in 1991.” [7]A modern view of Knowl Street taken from Google Streetview. Knowl Street Viaduct crossed Knowl Street at this location. The spandrel walls on the North side of the Viadct passed very close to the gable end of the terraced building to the East of Knowl Street, the righthand side in this view.

After crossing the Huddersfield Narrow Canal the Loop line regained the embankment shown on the next OS Map extract below. Just to the North of the point where the viaduct crossed the canal is a stone bridge carrying what is now (in the 21st century) the canal-side walk. That bridge is shown at the centre of the Google Streetview image below and at the bottom left of the OS Map extract. It is named Knowl Street Bridge and carries the number 97. [8]

After crossing the Canal the line was carried on embankment, passing to the West of Brookfield House and running North by Northeast parallel to the Canal with Huddersfield Road a distance away to the South. Across the valley of the River Tame to the West were Riverside Mills.The approximate line of the railway, shown in red, runs parallel to the canal. We parked in a small car park just off the south of this satellite image, as illustrated below. The image shows that the site of the Riverside Mills is now occupied by the premises of Smurfit Kappa, Stalybridge. [9]Stalybridge and the Southwest end of the Micklehurst Loop.

Brookfield House was  “a large detached house built in the early 19th century for James Wilkinson, and shown on the 1850 Stayley Tithe Map. All that remains is the former mid-19th century lodge house at 93, Huddersfield Road, with the entrance to the former drive with stone gate piers on its south side. The grounds of Brookfield House are clearly shown on the 1898 OS Map, and included an oval lake and glasshouses, …. Brookfield House was demolished and the lake filled in between 1910-1933. The grounds are now overgrown with self-set woodland.” [2]This next OS Map extract illustrates, at the the top right, how tightly the river, railway and canal follow each other at times up the Tame Valley. The railway sits above the canal which in turn sits a little above the river. Also evident is the name used on this series of OS Maps for the Loop Line – the “Stalybridge and Saddleworth Loop Line.”

Alan Young explains: “Although described as both the ‘Stalybridge & Saddleworth Loop‘ and ‘Stalybridge & Diggle Loop‘ on Ordnance Survey maps, the line is more commonly known as the ‘Micklehurst Loop’.” [7]

River Meadow Cotton Mills were owned by Henry Bannerman who was a successful farmer in Perthshire, Scotland At the age of 55 in 1808 he “moved with his family to Manchester, determined to get involved in the burgeoning Lancashire cotton industry.” [10]

At one time the company had “four cotton mills in the Manchester area: Brunswick Mill in Ancoats, Old Hall Mill in Dukinfield and the North End Mill and River Meadow Mill, both in Stalybridge.” [10]

In 1929, the Lancashire Cotton Industry was struggling. It had not regained its markets after the First World War. In an attempt to save the industry, the Bank of England set up the ‘Lancashire Cotton Coroporation’. Bannermans’ mills were taken over a few years later. The mills were acquired by Courtaulds in 1964 and all production ceased in 1967.” [10] After closure the four-storey mill which was Grade II Listed “was used by Futura before they moved to Quarry Street and then S. A. Driver warp knitters, dyers , printers and finishers.” [11] As can be seen in the satellite image below, the Mill is now demolished.Souracre and River Meadow Cotton Mill and Souracre in the 21st century .

North of Souracre and visible at the bottom left of this next OS Map extract were Hartshead Calico Print Works East of Printworks Road and close by Heyrod Hall. Also visible on this map extract are Stayley Hall and the first Station on the Micklehurst Loop – Stayley and Millbrook Station.

Hartshead Print Works – is visible just below centre-left on the OS Map extract above. The works was listed in the Stalybridge Directory of 1891 as owned by John L. Kennedy &Co. Ltd, Calico Printers. lt was purchased in 1899 by the Calico Printers Association. [18]

Heyrod Hall – is shown on the top left of the OS Map extract above.

Stayley Hall – is a Grade II* Listed Building which dates back to at least the early 15th century.[14] The first records of the de Stavelegh family as Lords of the Manor of Staley date from the early 13th century. Stayley Hall was their residence. [15]

It came into the possession of the Assheton family through marriage and united the manors of Stayley and Ashton and thence into the family of Sir William Booth of Dunham Massey. In the middle of the 16th century. [15]

Stayley Hall 1795. [21]

In the middle of the 18th Century the Earldom of Warrington became extinct and the Hall, alonng with all the Booth’s estates passed to Harry Grey, 4th Earl of Stamford. Stayley Hall was owned by the Booth family until the death of  Roger Grey, 10th Earl of Stamford in 1976. [15]

Wikipedia concludes its history of the Hall as follows: “In 2004 the Metropolitan Borough Council announced that they had granted permission to a developer to build 16 homes next to Stayley Hall. A condition of the planning consent was that the hall be restored.[3] The developer has converted the hall and outbuildings into houses and apartments, most of which are now occupied.” [15]

Early 25″ OS Map covering the length of the passenger facilities and most of the goods facilities at Staley & Millbrook Station. [1]

Staley and Millbrook Station – Alan Young’s on his webpage about the Station comments as follows: “Staley & Millbrook station stood on a steep slope immediately south of Spring Grove Viaduct.  The two facing platforms were equipped with waiting rooms, most likely of timber construction, with glazed awnings, as is thought to have been the building style at all four of the Loop’s stations. The platforms, too, were most likely of timber construction as that material was used for the platforms at Micklehurst, where they were also on an embankment, and timber would be a much lighter load than masonry for an embankment to support. The stationmaster’s house and adjoining single-storey office range to its west faced Grove Road across a small, triangular forecourt. The station house was constructed of dark red brick with string courses of blue engineering brick and pale stone lintels.” [18]Staley & Millbrook Station building and the Sprong-grove Viaduct take from the East on Grove Road in the early 20th century. The picture shows a clean and relatively well maintained site, very different to what remains in the 21st century, please see the pictures below. [18]Staley and Millbrook Railway Station and Spring-grove Mill. [16]

Staley and Millbrook Station buildings have long-gone as has the Viaduct, the first arch of which spanned Grove Road and looked to be a graceful structure. Also of interest in the monochrome picture of the Station and Viaduct above is what appears at first sight to be evidence of a tramway or industrial railway in the cobbles of Grove Road. I have not as yet been able to find out anything about what this feature actually is. The feature is not marked on the map extract immediately above. Closer examination of the picture above suggests that rather than being part of a short industrial line the cobbles may have been laid to facilitate a particular movement around the Spring-grove Mill.

In the 21st century, this length of Grove Road has been tarmacked – a thin layer of tarmac covers the original sets. The next two pictures were taken on 30th January 2021 on a second visit to the site after walking the route of the Loop.

Taken from East of the route of the Micklehurst Loop, this photograph shows the location of the old station building. It sat facing the road on the left-hand side of the panorama. The Southern abutment of the viaduct sat adjacent to the station building, in the area of trees between the 5-bar field gate and the stone wall towards the right of the picture. The masonry wall is in the location of what were terraced houses between the canal and the railway viaduct. (My photograph, 30th January 2021)Another panorama, this time taken from the canal bridge to the West of the Loop. What is left of Spring-grove Mill can be seen on the left side of the image. Grove Road, heading towards Millbrook is central to the image. The masonry wall is the location of the terraced houses mentioned above. The first trees beyond it mark the line of the viaduct. The station building was sited beyond to the West. (My photograph, 30th January 2021)

Spring-grove Mill – As we have already noted, Spring-grove Mill is shown straddled by the viaduct on the OS Map extract above. When Staley & Millbrook station opened, “there was already some population and industry in the immediate neighbourhood. Spring Grove Cotton Mill faced the station across Grove Road, and map evidence suggests that the railway’s viaduct sliced through the existing mill building. A terrace of three cottages, also pre-dating the railway, stood immediately north of the platforms, and Stayley Hall was about 100yd south of the station. Millbrook village, with three cotton mills, was about ten minutes’ walk uphill east of the station.” [16] [18]The remaining buildings of Spring-grove Mill. The lighter (cream painted) brickwork is the part of the mill shown on the map extracts as being on the East side of the viaduct. The portion of the Mill to the West of the viaduct has been demolished. The red-brick portion of the remaining building would have been under the arches of the viaduct. The Western spandrels of the viaduct arches would have followed a line running from the intersecting kerb-stones in the right-foreground over the redbrick part of the present building. (My own photograph – 30th January 2021)

Spring Grove Mill was a cotton mill from 1818 to 1868 and then was a woollen mill for 100 years, it was the last steam-powered mill in the area. [17] The image of Hartshead Power station below, includes Spring-grove Mill in the bottom right-hand corner. By the time the aerial photograph was taken Grove Road appeared to extend across the Canal and the River Tame towards Heyrod.

Hartshead Power Station was also located North of Souracre to the West of the River Tame. It was a coal-fired station and was served by trains on the Micklehurst Loop up until the 1970s. The picture immediately below was posted by Tameside Council on their Facebook page in 2015.An aerial picture of Hartshead Power Station taken before the Second World War. It was opened by the Stalybridge, Hyde, Mossley and Dukinfield (SHMD) Joint Board in 1926 and the cooling towers were erected in the 1940s. The station closed in 1970 and was demolished in the 1980s. Although the Good Shed visible to the top right of the image still stands. The Micklehurst Loop curves from the bottom right to the top left of the picture. [13]This enlarged extract from the image above show the coal transfer facilities and railway sidings associated with the power station . [13] The resolution of the image is not wonderful but it does highlight the traffic which was brought to the site throughout the middle 50 years of the 20th Century.

OS 1:25,000 Map form the early- to mid-20th century, sourced from the National Library of Scotland – Hartshead Power Station. One of the two cooling towers is not shown in full as it crosses the map join. [14]

The full extent of the Hartshead Power Station site at Souracre can be seen on the adjacent OS Map extract from the middle of the 20th century, which also shows the location of Stayley Hall and the Stayley and Millbrook Station build just North-northwest of Stayley Hall.

Approximately the same area is shown below on a relatively recent extract from the ESRI World Image website which is the satellite mapping used by the National Library of Scotland. [13]

The Good Shed which is considered further below is visible on both the map extract and the satellite image and the extent of the railway sidings on the East side of the Loop line is evident.

ESRI Satellite Image extract showing the current status of the Hartshead Power Station site with the approximate route of the Micklehurst Loop Line shown in red. The Goods Shed is still standing and can be seen just to the right of the red line. Along with the Loop line all of the lines in the sidings have ben lifted. [13]A view from the East looking across the power station site with the Good Shed and coal transshipment facilities in the foreground. the lack of trees compared with the satellite image and all other pictures of the site in the 21st century is striking, © Copyright David Dixon and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence. [23]

The substantial Goods Shed was built at the same time as the Loop initially with two sidings to its East. These sidings were expanded with the advent of the power station in the early 20th century. The site is now overgrown and is returning to nature. The only exception being the Goods Shed itself. There is an excellent video showing its current condition on ‘Martin Zero’s’ YouTube Channel which is embedded below. My own pictures of the site also follow below.

The Goods shed at Stayley and Millbrook Station presided over a large expanse of sidings which served Hartshead Power Station on the opposite side of the Huddersfield Narrow Canal and the River Tame. [22]Looking South towards the location of the passenger facilities at Staley and Millbrook Station. The Goods shed is on the left (the East side of the Loop line). (My photograph, 18th January 2021).The Goods Shed taken from the same location as the last photograph – a substantial three-storey structure. (My photograph, 18th January 2021).

The next part of this walk following the line of the Micklehurst Loop sets off from this goods shed traveling North.

References

  1. https://maps.nls.uk, accessed on 18th January 2021.
  2. Copley Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Proposals; Tameside MBC, March 2013, p9-10.
  3. https://cockerhill.com/2010/07/06/old-st-georges-church-cocker-hill, accessed on 23rd January 2021.
  4. https://public.tameside.gov.uk/imagearchive/Default.asp & https://cockerhill.com/2010/07/06/old-st-georges-church-cocker-hill, accessed on 23rd January 2021.
  5. https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/3119673, accessed on 22nd January 2021.
  6. http://nwex.co.uk/showthread.php?t=6918, accessed on 27th January 2021.
  7. http://disused-stations.org.uk/features/micklehurst_loop/index.shtml, accessed on 25th January 2021.
  8. https://canalplan.org.uk/waterway/cjdf & https://canalplan.org.uk/place/1hv4, accessed on 27th January 2021.
  9. https://www.smurfitkappa.com/uk/locations/united-kingdom/smurfit-kappa-stalybridge, accessed on 28th January 2021.
  10. http://cosgb.blogspot.com/2010/12/henry-bannerman-sons-limited.html, accessed on 28th January 2021.
  11. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mills_in_Tameside#Mills_in_Stalybridge, accessed on 28th January 2021.
  12. http://www.table38.steamrailways.com/rail/Micklehurst/micklehurst.htm, accessed on 24th January 2021.
  13. https://scontent.fman2-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/10923473_10152970711638376_5311634515634523408_n.jpg?_nc_cat=102&ccb=2&_nc_sid=9267fe&_nc_ohc=TvOmLmn5KTcAX_Ayq7O&_nc_ht=scontent.fman2-1.fna&oh=2306db45618ba15e6bc27d582f00e643&oe=6037BA9F, accessed on 29th January 2021.
  14. Mike Nevell; Tameside 1066–1700; Tameside Metropolitan Borough and University of Manchester Archaeological Unit. p. 112 & 141, 1991.
  15. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stayley_Hall, accessed on 29th January 2021.
  16. https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=784689891661955&id=121283594669258, accessed on 29th January 2021.
  17. https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.tameside.gov.uk/countryside/walksandtrails/lowerbrushes.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwjXrum3xMHuAhVMTBUIHYmQAeQ4ChAWMAJ6BAgSEAI&usg=AOvVaw2DR5SZ9N3AM7__DD-ZN0Bv, accessed on 29th January 2021.
  18. https://gracesguide.co.uk/John_L._Kennedy_and_Co, accessed on 29th January 2021.
  19. https://www.28dayslater.co.uk/threads/stalybridge-new-tunnel-stalybridge-july-2012.72653, accessed on 26th January 2021.
  20. https://www.28dayslater.co.uk/threads/hartshead-power-station-heyrod-and-millbrook-2015-2019.119500, accessed on 29th January 2021.
  21. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1795-Antique-Print-Stayley-Hall-Stalybridge-Greater-Manchester-after-E-Dayes-/292642997239, accessed on 29th January 2021.
  22. https://youtu.be/VdmWydx4VBw & https://www.facebook.com/martinZer0/?comment_id=Y29tbWVudDoxNTU4MjI2MDIxMDExNzUxXzE1NjA0NDMwMjQxMjMzODQ%3D, accessed on 31st January 2021.
  23. https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/2204271, accessed on 31st January 2021.