at a much higher altitude and there is evidence at Howgill of the old embankment there having been raised several feet higher than the original in the regrading of this line.<ref name = baxter>B Baxter, Early railways in Cumberland, Journal of the Railway and Canal Historical Society, volume 7, number 6, November 1961</ref> The fortunes of coal and other mineral extraction in the area varied considerably in the following years. There were positive moves at Denton Fell and New Venture, and the company drove several new drifts at Midgeholme, which brought revitalised traffic to that end of the line from 1935; at the same time the Gairs was becoming worked out. From this time transport by lorry instead of by rail started to gain the ascendency for some traffics. Nationalisation The collieries of Great Britain were nationalised following the Coal Industry Nationalisation Act 1946, which took effect in 1947; the National Coal Board took over the management of the collieries in the area. As owner of the railway it set rates for the conveyance of shale for the Kirkhouse brickworks, and it decided to increase these substantially; this led to the immediate transfer of the traffic to road, and the portion of the Blacksyke branch accordingly became moribund. Many of the pits in the area declined, water inundation being a particular problem, and the National Coal Board increasingly used road transport to other railheads. The Brampton Railway lease was given up in March 1953, the last train running on 28 March 1953, except for some residual clearance tasks on 30 March. Notes References Further reading Locomotive Magazine, 1903, 1907 and 1908 Railway Magazine, May 1910 Stephenson Locomotive Society Journal, August 1956, and November 1958 John S MacLean, The Newcastle & Carlisle Railway'', R Robinson & Co Ltd, 1948 External links Line history Closed railway lines in North West England Rail transport in Cumbria Rail transport in Northumberland Horse-drawn railways Industrial railways in England Railway lines opened in 1775 Railway lines closed in 1953