Ely and St Ives Railway

The Ely and St Ives Railway was a railway company that opened a line between those places (in Cambridgeshire, England) in 1878. It was an extension of the privately promoted Ely, Haddenham & Sutton Railway that had opened in 1866. It was a standard gauge single track. The line was worked by the neighbouring Great Eastern Railway but it was never profitable. The development of road transport services in the 1920s caused a steep decline in use of the line, and the passenger service was withdrawn in 1931. A goods service continued, but the line closed completely in 1964. No railway activity takes place on the route now.
Origins.
The Eastern Counties Railway opened its line from Cambridge to Ely in 1845. The Ely and Huntingdon Railway was authorised in 1845; it was to build from east to west through St Ives, but it was unable to raise sufficient money to build the whole of its line. Instead it opened only between St Ives and a station named Huntingdon, that was actually in Godmanchester, east of the River Great Ouse. The opening date was 17 August 1847, and the Eastern Counties Railway between Cambridge and St Ives was opened on the same day.
The East Anglian Railway soon acquired the Ely and Huntingdon Railway, but it did not consider that progressing the completion of the Ely and Huntingdon scheme was worthwhile, and it allowed the powers to lapse. In August 1862 the Eastern Counties Railway merged with other lines to form the Great Eastern Railway; this heralded a change of policy in that the Great Eastern Railway decided to encourage local schemes for connecting and feeder railways.
Accordingly in the Autumn of 1863 two prominent landowners, Oliver Claude Pell of Wilburton and Frederick Camps of Haddenham, generated enough support from other landowners in the area to consider building a line linking Ely and Sutton, about a third of the extent of the unbuilt Ely to St Ives line. The route was planned at first to be direct via Witchford, but Pell and Camps insisted on a route further south to serve their estates and the planned route of the line was altered accordingly. This had the incidental benefit of aligning the route on lower ground throughout, with easy gradients. The line was to be known as the "Ely, Haddenham and Sutton Railway".
The Great Eastern Railway considered assisting the promoters of the Ely, Haddenham and Sutton Railway, but they were sceptical about its potential profitability. Now the local company proposed an extension from Sutton to Somersham on the St Ives to March line and this changed the GER position, as they saw this as a threat to their strategic intentions, potentially facilitating an incursion by the Great Northern Railway.
Authorisation.
The GER were therefore anxious to dissuade the local company from the Somersham extension, and they offered to support the local scheme to the extent of one third of the required capital if they would drop it. This was agreed to, and the Ely, Haddenham and Sutton Railway got its Act of Parliament on 23 June 1864. Share capital was £36,000 with borrowing powers of £12,000. The GER was authorised to subscribe £12,000, and the EH&SR had running powers to enter Ely station.
A construction contract was let to W S Simpson of Ely in the sum of £48,000; early in 1866 the EH&SR agreed a working arrangement with the GER, for 50% of gross receipts.
Opening.
Captain Tyler made an inspection of the line for the Board of Trade on 28 March 1866. He identified numerous shortcomings, and permission for opening to passenger trains was refused. Urgent improvements were put in hand, and Tyler authorised opening on 7 July 1866 subject to completion of certain final rectification. The formal opening of the line took place on 6 April 1866, and the full public opening was on 16 April 1866.
At a shareholders' meeting in September 1866, the directors reported that receipts had been disappointing due to cattle plague, which had been prevalent in the area: passenger receipts from the opening until 30 June were £161, and the total for all traffic was £366. By the end of June 1867, £49,679 had been expended on the building of the railway and associated work. A 2% dividend was declared at the first half yearly meeting in 1868.
Passenger carryings were meagre; Gordon attributes this to the fact that "third-class facilities were restricted to the Parliamentary trains [once daily], and the normal fare from Ely to Sutton [7 miles] was 2s at a time when local wages were under 10s a week."
In May 1868 the GER informed the company that in the previous year the line had operated at a loss of £1,211. The GER demanded an increase in the charge for the working of the line but the EH&SR refused, saying that the ten-year working agreement was a firm contractual commitment and must stand.
Extending to St Ives.
The idea of an extension beyond Sutton to St Ives was revived again in 1872. The GER feared an incursion by the Great Northern Railway: the GNR had a lease of the Somersham to Ramsey branch until 1864. The possibility of the GNR using its own Ramsey branch as a springboard to get to Somersham and then to Ely was an ever-present danger to the GER. To ward this off, the GER planned an extension to St Ives for the 1876 session of Parliament; the cost was to be £62,928.
The Ely, Haddenham and Sutton Railway Extension Act was passed on 7 April 1876; the Act authorised £60,000 in share capital and borrowing powers of £20,000. The EH&SR was also authorised to change its name to the "Ely and St Ives Railway" when the extension was open for traffic.
William T Mousley got the contract for construction of the line, having tendered £17,840; materials, land etc were to be supplied by the GER. The GER was authorised to lease the company on a 999 year lease, and it would pay 4% on the £36,000 ordinary stock and 5% on the £60,000 extension stock.
Major-General Hutchinson inspected the line for the Board of Trade on 3 May 1878, and with minor criticisms, he approved the opening of the line to passenger traffic. It opened on 10 May 1878. It was leased to the GER for 999 years, authorised by Act of 21 July 1879; the GER guaranteed interest of 2% per annum on the £38,000 ordinary shares and 5% on the £60,000 extension stock; the former was to be raised to 4% from 1881.
From this time the Ely and St Ives Railway Company was simply a financial organisation, and the GER acquired it on 2 Dec 1896. The sale price was £128,000 in GER 4% debenture stock. The last board meeting of the Ely and St Ives Railway was on 3 August 1898.
After 1900.
In the 1920s fruit production gained in importance locally; a former station master at Stretham reminisced that "It was a time when... trainloads of fruit pickers would arrive to be taken to their primitive camps in the nearby fields."
Following World War I a local bus service was started in the area in 1919; the competition was an immediate blow to passenger carryings on the line; in addition there was a general depression in the agricultural sector in the locality, and financial losses were heavy. In an attempt to reduce costs, the conductor-guard system was introduced on passenger trains from December 1922, and booking offices at most stations were closed. So that the conductor-guard could patrol the whole train to take fares, six-wheel coaches were modified with centre gangways within the coaches and doors at end for the conductor-guard to use.
The omnibus services gained in strength and were disastrous for the line: in 1928 only £7,562 was taken on the line from passengers. The passenger service could not sustain the losses, and it was closed on 2 February 1931, although half-day excursions to London and elsewhere were subsequently run sporadically.
On 6 October 1958 Earith Bridge was closed and the line from Sutton to Earith Bridge station was kept in use as a siding. Sugar beet traffic sustained the line for the time being, and the line from Ely to Sutton remained in use until 13 July 1964. From St Ives (Needingworth Junction) to the mill at Bluntisham was closed on 5 October 1964.
Train services.
There were typically three return passenger train trips daily between Ely and St Ives, stopping at all stations; there was an additional return trip on Mondays and Thursdays. The time between Ely and St Ives was about 45 minutes.
Sutton and Haddenham were the busiest stations but there were few passengers overall. In 1927 the line recorded 15,000 passengers and ran 2,100 passenger trains, an average of only seven or eight passengers per train.
The goods traffic in the early years was chiefly wheat, coal and potatoes, but in the 1890s fruit became more prominent. Haddenham and Sutton were the main goods yards with extensive sidings. Sugar beet was also transported to the mill at Ely.
Location list.
Stations from Stretham to Sutton were opened 16 April 1866. Earith Bridge and Bluntisham stations opened on 10 May 1878 and Sutton station was relocated on the same day. All the stations closed to passengers on 2 February 1931; there was some subsequent use for excursions, but it is not recorded whether all the stations were used for the purpose.
Trains for the branch left Ely in a southerly direction and diverged westward at Sutton Branch Junction. The first station was Stretham; an editor writing in 2007 stated that the station building could still be seen on Stretham Station Road. Wilburton was the next station; the station building had been incorporated into a much enlarged private house. Haddenham followed, and the site was then used as an industrial estate, on the present day A1421 road between Haddenham and Sutton-in-the-Isle. At Haddenham, the railway made a sharp curve to the north.
Sutton station served the village of Sutton-in-the-Isle. When it was the terminus of the Ely, Haddenham and Sutton Railway, it ended in a northward direction. When the line was extended to Ely, the line diverged a short distance south of the former terminus, which became a goods yard. The new passenger station was a little way to the south-west of the former station, and the access road from the village was extended to reach it. Remains of the freight shed still existed in 2007, in private ownership. The line now ran west and then south-west to the next station, Earith Bridge. The station could not be located close to Earith village because of the dykes at the Old Bedford River and New Bedford River. Instead, the line ran south of the village near to the present-day marinas. The final station was Bluntisham. It was still extant in 2007 and was in use as a private dwelling.
The line ended at Needingworth Junction, where it converged with the line from March, running south to St Ives station.
The point to point distances were


Chipping Sodbury Tunnel

Chipping Sodbury Tunnel is a railway tunnel that sits on the South Wales Main Line in England.
The tunnel was constructed around 1897-1903 for the South Wales and Bristol Direct Railway. It runs under the Cotswold Hills some west of Badminton railway station and Chipping Sodbury Yard.
The tunnel is constructed with an arch brick lining and measures some 27'6" across and 20'9" high. The bricks were made from clay excavated from the tunnel. It slopes at a 1:300 gradient from Badminton falling in a westerly direction towards Chipping Sodbury. The western portal lies in the village of Old Sodbury. During WWII it was a secondary target for the Luftwaffe bombers attacking Filton Aerodrome at nearby Bristol. Above the tunnel are a series of six ventilation shafts, which were used during construction to remove soil. The places where they reach the surface are circular brick vents between and high with castelations around the top. They are all Grade II listed buildings. The brick built east and west portals of the tunnel are also listed.
The tunnel cuts through major water conduits and springs and is therefore prone to flooding. The route via the tunnel is closed on a regular basis, resulting in the cancellation and diversion of passenger and freight services. Various plans have been drawn up to improve the flooding situation and pipes to achieve a gravity dranage system involving of pipes was chosen.
As part of the modernisation of the Great Western main line, the route through the tunnel closed from 19 August to 15 September 2017 to allow work to fit overhead electrification equipment via 4,064 holes in the roof, and reduce the risk of flooding. This included the expansion of the stormwater lagoon to hold .


Woodhead Tunnel

The Woodhead Tunnels are three parallel trans-Pennine long railway tunnels on the Woodhead Line, a former major rail link from Manchester to Sheffield in Northern England. The western portals of the tunnels are at Woodhead in Derbyshire and the eastern portals are at Dunford Bridge, near Penistone, South Yorkshire.
The first tunnel, Woodhead 1 was constructed by the Sheffield, Ashton-under-Lyne and Manchester Railway. Work on the tunnel commenced in 1837. It was designed by the railway engineer Charles Vignoles, who was later substituted by the civil engineer Joseph Locke. When opened in 1845, Woodhead 1 was one of the world's longest railway tunnels and the first trans-Pennine tunnel.
Woodhead 2 was completed in 1853. Both tunnels were difficult to maintain because of their narrowness and heavy traffic, estimated to be around 250 trains per day in either direction. As both tunnels were too narrow to allow for electrification, it was decided to construct a third tunnel in the 1950s. Woodhead 3 opened in 1953, almost 100 years after Woodhead 2.
Although the Hope Valley line was recommended for closure in the Beeching Report, instead, the government decided to cease passenger services on the Woodhead line, allegedly due to the high cost of upgrading and modernising the route. In 1970, the last passenger services ran through the tunnel but the line continued to host freight trains. The last train passed through the tunnels in 1981 when the line was closed.
The tunnels are maintained and now used for other purposes. They are owned by National Grid plc, which used Woodhead 1 and 2 to carry power cables and, in 2008, controversially installed cables in Woodhead 3, which would create difficulties in reinstating rail services and was resisted by a sizeable campaign.
History.
Woodhead 1.
The first Woodhead Tunnel, also referred to as the south tunnel, was undertaken by the Sheffield, Ashton-under-Lyne and Manchester Railway (SA&MR) company. Work commenced as soon as the line had obtained its Act of Incorporation in Parliament in 1837 and work on the tunnel commenced in October 1838, although its design was not finalised until April 1839.
Charles Vignoles was appointed engineer by the SA&MR. He surveyed the route between Sheffield and Manchester, recognising the necessity of the Woodhead Tunnel. Vignoles was responsible for the tunnel's design and specification and was involved in other activities for the company, including fundraising. His decision to use his own resources to purchase shares under an alleged understanding that he would not have to pay the full price led to controversy; he resigned from his position in 1838.
The line of the railway was marked over the ridge and five vertical shafts were sunk. From the shaft bases, a horizontal drift was driven along the line. Although sufficient land had been purchased for the construction of a pair of tunnels, it was decided that only one would be built. The tunnel's bore passed through ground largely composed of Millstone Grit interspersed with argillaceous shale and softer sandstone on a gradient of 1 in 201, rising toward the east. Wires were suspended down each shaft from which the centre line was determined by means of a theodolite. The accuracy was such that the drifts lined up with less than three inches of error.
After Vignoles withdrew, the civil engineer Joseph Locke took over as a consultant and re-evaluated the project. The estimated costs were doubled from the £98,467 figure produced by Vignoles to around £200,000 and contractors were provided with new, highly detailed specifications. Locke supervised the construction and prepared contingencies. Soon after taking over, he reported that the amount of water being encountered required more powerful pumps. Although the number of people employed reached 1,500, generally there were around 400 in the tunnel because of limited space in which to work. It was estimated that around 157 tons of gunpowder were consumed during blasting, while over 8 million tons of water were pumped out during construction. The first tunnel was completed during 1845.
When completed, Woodhead 1 was one of the world's longest railway tunnels at . It was the first trans-Pennine tunnel to be built, preceding the Standedge and Totley Tunnels which are slightly longer. The tunnel had cost roughly £200,000 () to build. The human cost was high: 30 people lost their lives, 200 workers were maimed and 450 suffered some form of injury in the harsh working conditions.
Woodhead 1 is in worse condition than Woodhead 2; it has suffered several collapses and is unsuitable for cabling or transport purposes.
Woodhead 2.
The second bore, also referred to as the north tunnel, was undertaken by the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway. Its construction was speeded up by the decision to construct 25 side access connections from Woodhead 1, in anticipation of a second bore. Although more care was exercised during its construction, in regards to safety conditions, an outbreak of cholera amongst the workforce, in 1849, resulted in 28 deaths. In January 1852, a bulge was discovered in the tunnel wall in the centre section and had to be rebuilt. Later that year, Woodhead 2 was completed.
Soon after opening, the twin tunnels saw heavy use by steam trains, an average of 250 trains per day in each direction. Traffic had a huge effect on the economy of the route well into the 1950s. The tunnels acquired a negative reputation; it was claimed that they provided a poor operating environment and were difficult to maintain, partially caused by the level of traffic.
Train crews described the tunnels as "hell holes" because of their narrow bores, which were claustrophobic and sooty. The decision to electrify the route during the 1950s was partially made to eliminate the emissions produced by steam and diesel traction. The tunnels were too narrow to accommodate the overhead line equipment (OLE) necessary for the route's electrification and it was decided to close both tunnels in 1953, after the completion of the larger Woodhead 3 tunnel.
Since 1963, Woodhead 2 has been used by National Grid plc to carry the trans-Pennine 400 kV electricity link under the Peak District National Park. A narrow gauge railway has been built inside the tunnel for service engineers. In January 2008, work started to transfer the electric cable from the north tunnel to Woodhead 3.
Woodhead 3.
Woodhead 3 was substantially longer than the other two, at . It was bored for the overhead electrification of the route, a project commonly known as the Manchester–Sheffield–Wath electrification. The line was electrified at 1,500 V DC. It was designed by Sir William Halcrow & Partners; its height of was dictated by the requirements of the Ministry of Transport.
Woodhead 3's construction was not without challenge; two roof collapses occurred during 1951, both around the same area. To resolve this weakness, a series of ribbed arches were installed in this section. Reinforced concrete lining, of minimum thickness, was installed throughout the tunnel and an adjacent bypass tunnel was built to improve access and ventilation. The new bore is separated from the nearest tunnel by ; this close proximity was advantageous as it proved convenient during track laying. The old tunnels presented an operational benefit, as water continued to seep into Woodhead 3's predecessors, the water content of the surrounding rock was lowered, resulting in less infiltration into the new tunnel.
Work on the new tunnel was completed during 1953; Woodhead 3 was officially opened by transport minister Alan Lennox-Boyd on 3 June 1954. It had cost £4.3 million (); six people lost their lives during the work.
In the 1960s, a proposal was made to close the tunnel to railway traffic and use it to carry a section of a Manchester to Sheffield motorway through the Pennines. Only a short section of the M67 motorway was built, within Greater Manchester, and Woodhead 3 was never used by road traffic.
During 1970, the final passenger services ran through the tunnel; the last train was run on 17 July 1981.
During 2007, National Grid plc, the owners of the tunnels, proposed moving electricity cables from the older tunnels to Woodhead 3. This sparked controversy as Woodhead 3 would no longer be available for reuse by railway traffic in the future. Protest groups advocated for it to be reserved to facilitate any such reopening.
Proposals to re-open the tunnel for rail traffic.
In 1999, the prospective Central Railway released a proposal to the Woodhead Tunnel as part of a scheme to link Liverpool and London with a new large-gauge freight line along the trackbed of the Great Central Main Line.
In 2002, the Trans-Pennine Rail Group, composed of county councils, unitary authorities, Passenger Transport Executives (PTE) and the Peak District National Park Authority provided evidence to a Transport Select Committee that identified interest from bidders for the Trans-Pennine rail franchise in reopening the Woodhead route (in 2007 the Trans-Pennine Rail Group was dissolved and its responsibilities transferred to the Northern Way and the North West Rail Campaign).
In July 2003, the Greater Manchester Branch of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport, presented evidence to a Parliamentary Select Committee, stating that Arriva had an interest in reopening the Woodhead Line as part of a bid for the Trans-Pennine rail franchise.
In 2006, 'Translink' proposed that the tunnel be reopened as a route for rail freight. The proposal was supported by groups who were opposing the construction of the proposed Longdendale Bypass, a £180 million scheme for avoiding Mottram in Longdendale, Hollingworth and Tintwistle. The tunnel was an alternative means of handling some of the traffic and reducing the need for the bypass.
The Victorian tunnels, rebored to a broader diameter akin to that of the Channel Tunnel, were envisioned as a key component of the main east–west route of the High Speed UK, an alternative to High Speed 2 and High Speed 3.
Current situation.
Woodhead 1 is in poor condition and unused. For several decades, Woodhead 2 has carried electrical cables for the National Grid which by the early 2000s were coming to the end of their operational life. The National Grid proposed installing new cables in Woodhead 3 which would prevent its restoration for rail traffic. The older tunnels are unsuitable for rail traffic, because of their poor state of repair.
In July 2007, the Peak District National Park expressed concern at the plans to place cables in Woodhead 3, observing that it could not be used for rail traffic. In September 2007, the Government Office for the East Midlands indicated that it was unlikely that the route would be used for rail traffic again, and declined to intervene. On 4 December 2007, 57 MPs signed an early day motion in the Commons, brought by Manchester Blackley MP Graham Stringer, expressing concern at laying cables in a tunnel that was viable for rail traffic. On 18 December, a written answer in the Commons stated that laying cables in the tunnel would not preclude opening the route to rail traffic. On 23 January 2008, the Department for Transport said that only the older tunnels, which were in poor condition, would be available. In December 2007, the Campaign for Better Transport (UK) campaigned to keep Woodhead 3 available for rail traffic. On 8 January 2008, the "Northern Way", a collaboration between three Northern Regional Development Agencies: Yorkshire Forward, Northwest Regional Development Agency and One NorthEast, called for the government to ensure the potential reuse of Woodhead Tunnels for rail use in the future. The Northern Way had previously published claims that the tunnel's economic benefit could be as much as £10 billion nationally, of which £3.5 billion had been forecast to occur in the North.
On 15 January 2008, around one hundred protesters gathered at the end of the Woodhead Tunnel, protesting against its planned reuse in carrying electricity cables. Around this time, a campaign group, originally named "Save the Woodhead Tunnel", was established; it was renamed "Re-open the Woodhead Tunnel" the following year. On 24 January 2008, preparatory work on the tunnel commenced, although this did not end the objections.
On 18 January 2012, during a debate in parliament, Angela Smith MP called for the reopening of the Woodhead route but was informed that the line was not a priority as part of the Northern Hub because of capacity available on the Hope Valley line.
In 2012, Balfour Beatty fitted new electricity cables through the tunnel which were individually laid in concrete and sand insulated ducts at the tunnel exit for connection to the first pylon. Old galvanised steelwork over the River Etherow was removed. The tunnel has a flat concrete floor and concrete-finished walls and ceiling. The cables run down both sides of the tunnel attached to metal framework. Six cables run along each wall, each about in diameter with thick insulation and other ducting and cables run along the floor. At the western end, the old concrete and tarmac platforms still stand.
On 5 November 2013, it was decided to seal the Victorian tunnels, following a decision not to purchase them from National Grid. Transport Minister Stephen Hammond, said a new tunnel would be a better option if the route should ever be used again for rail traffic, and that the Hope Valley route had the capacity to accommodate foreseeable growth.


Northampton loop

The Northampton loop is a railway line serving the town of Northampton. It is a branch of the West Coast Main Line, deviating from the faster direct main line which runs to the west. The WCML is a four track line up to either end of the Loop: the 'up' and 'down' fast tracks take the direct route while the 'up' and 'down' slow tracks are diverted via Northampton railway station.
The southern interconnect between the Northampton loop and the direct London–Birmingham main line is at Hanslope Junction, just north of Milton Keynes. The lines continue to run alongside until the two routes diverge north of Roade at the northern end of Roade cutting. The loop line then runs north east for several miles until it reaches Northampton station. After Northampton, the line heads to the north-west for around twenty miles, until it re-joins the main line at Hillmorton Junction at Rugby, just east of Rugby station. The line is a total of long.
Services and operations.
The majority of passenger services on the line are provided by West Midlands Trains using Class 350 electric multiple units. Class 319 units are used for peak-hour express services between Northampton and London Euston. The service consists of three 'semi fast' trains per hour between London Euston and Birmingham New Street. There is also an hourly local service between Northampton and Birmingham. Prior to December 2012 there was also a service to and from Crewe, but a few serve the loop line during morning and evenings and hourly on Sundays.
Avanti West Coast provide a small number of Class 390 "Pendolino" services to London at the extremes of the day. But nearly all Avanti West Coast trains use the direct main line. Line speeds on the loop line are currently limited to compared to on the fast line, making the line unattractive to the routing of fast services. As of 2011, line speeds were expected to increase to once signalling improvements are in place north of Northampton up to Rugby.
Long Buckby; the one other station on the line, is served by the London–Birmingham/Northampton–Birmingham services. The London–Crewe service does not stop at Long Buckby except on Sundays.
The line sees heavy freight traffic, as it is used by all freight trains on the southern part of the WCML. Many of these are container trains, with some serving the Daventry International Railfreight Terminal (DIRFT), which is between Northampton and Rugby (thus on the loop line).
History.
When the London and Birmingham Railway (L&BR) was constructed in the 1830s, Northampton was by-passed, with the line running on high ground to the west via Kilsby Tunnel. Traditionally this was said to have been because Northampton landowners objected to
having a railway run to the town. However, more recently, railway historians have argued that Northampton was by-passed because the gradients would have been too steep for early locomotives to easily cope with. Robert Stephenson the engineer of the London and Birmingham Railway was determined to avoid gradients steeper than 1:330. As Northampton is located in the Nene Valley, lower than Blisworth, the closest point the L&BR came, connecting the town would have required gradients steeper than this.
This meant however that Northampton, despite being a large town, did not have direct rail links to London. A branch from the main line was built to Northampton in the early 1840s, the Northampton and Peterborough Railway, from Blisworth, which gave the town indirect rail links to London and Birmingham.
The loop line was constructed in the late 1870s by the London and North Western Railway and was opened in 1881 (by this stage locomotives had become far more powerful). It was constructed to improve rail services to Northampton and give the town a direct link to London. It also had the advantage of doubling capacity on the line from Roade to Rugby without the expense of widening the tunnel at Kilsby.
The line was electrified along with the rest of the WCML during the 1960s in the wake of the BR 1955 Modernisation Plan.
Stations.
The only stations that are currently operational on the route are Northampton and Long Buckby. Previously there were five stations on the loop line, but only these two survive. The three stations closed were:
Proposed future development.
Warwickshire County Council have proposed a new station on the Northampton Loop Line called Rugby Parkway, which would be on the south-eastern outskirts of Rugby serving the Hillmorton area of the town. The purpose of this would be to accommodate the future expansion of the town. If it goes ahead the new station is planned to open in 2019.


Farnham Traincare Depot


Keighley Tramways

Keighley Tramways Company operated a tramway service in Keighley between 1889 and 1901 with horse power. The system re-opened three days later as Keighley Corporation Tramways and stayed in service until 1924 when it closed for good.
History.
Keighley Tramways Company constructed a horse-drawn tramway from Ingrow through Keighley to Utley. Services started on 8 May 1889 and were extended into Stockbridge. The company also plied a route from Coney Lane (where the successor company would build a power station) onto Marley Street via East Parade in the town. All services cost 1d (1 pence) and the interval of services was every 10 minutes stretching to 14 minutes on a Saturday." This service was originally single track, but after electrification, double track was installed.
The service was never financially successful. The only dividend ever paid by the company was when it was wound up in 1901.
The company sold out to Keighley Corporation and the 30 horses and 6 tramcars and other equipment were sold at auction for £804. The service was modernised and continued as Keighley Corporation Tramways. The route began operations with electric trams on 24 September 1901, with trial runs to Ingrow taking place the week before. The hub of the system was opposite the Mechanics Institute in the town where a triangular junction was in operation to allow trams to access all three destinations from any of the routes that they were originating from.
The system from Ingrow to Utley was electrified and a branch was added to connect Keighley railway station, Victoria Park and Stockbridge some east of the town. The extension to Stockbridge was in response to the Mid Yorkshire Tramways company who had obtained powers to install a tramway between Shipley and Keighley. The Keighley company exercised their right to build the section between Stockbridge and the town and this duly opened in February 1905. During 1921, another extension was added between Ingrow and Oxenhope. This service would run on single track and pass at a designated loop for the tracks but without a passing loop in the overhead cables, which necessitated having to transfer a small receiver car between trams travelling to and from Oxenhope.
Other extensions were added to Sutton-in-Craven and Oakworth; with all the three extension branches (Sutton, Oakworth and Oxenhope) the trams were of a trackless trolleybus type that allowed extension to those towns without resorting to tracks. These employed a special system created by an Austrian company named "Cedes-Stoll". The winding up of the Cedes-Stoll company during the First World War accelerated the demise of the special trackless trolleybuses, and they were withdrawn in 1926.
The new system took power from the Corporation Power Station in Coney Lane and was operated with electric trams until December 1924 when the system closed to trams. However, trolleybuses continued using the overhead wires until 1932, with trackless cars.


Kilmar Railway


Brighton and Shoreham Tramways

The Brighton and Shoreham Tramway operated a tramway service in Shoreham between 1884 and 1913.
History.
The Brighton and Shoreham Tramway ran from a terminus in Southdown Road, Shoreham to Westbourne Villas in Hove, on the former boundary between Hove and Portslade. It never penetrated Hove, although a connecting horse-bus (route 112, operated by the Brighton and Preston United Omnibus Company) was available from the Westbourne Villas terminus.
Construction started in 1883 and route was opened throughout on 3 July 1884, initially with steam-driven trams. After this proved unsuccessful, other methods of propulsion were tried (including, in 1887, an early battery-powered locomotive). In 1893 these were abandoned in favour of horses.
Closure.
The British Electric Traction company took over the operations in 1898, but was unable to agree with any of the local authorities on a strategy for electrification. The tramway closed in June 1913.


Carnforth MPD

Carnforth MPD (Motive Power Depot) is a former LMS railway depot located in the town of Carnforth, Lancashire.
Completed in 1944 on the site of the former Furness Railway depot, its late construction in the steam locomotive age resulted in its long-term use and conservation by British Railways. Targeted as part of a preservation scheme, when this failed it was developed as major visitor attraction Steamtown Carnforth. Today, closed as a museum, it acts as the major national operational base of West Coast Railways.
Importance of Carnforth.
Carnforth was not an important or well developed village before the Victorian era railway age, but was geographically strategically located to make it so. While supplies of limestone made it interesting, access into Westmorland, the Lake District and the coast of Cumberland beyond made it an ideal transport hub point.
Carnforth railway station opened as a single platform wooden structure for access to the then village, but was made into a permanent stone structure by the Lancaster and Carlisle Railway (L&CR) in 1846. In 1857 it became a junction station when the Ulverston and Lancaster Railway used it, as did the Furness Railway soon afterwards after taking control of the ULR. The Furness Railway built their own Engine Shed west of the Station; and it is this Shed which was later developed into the present facility. In the 1870s architect William Tite redesigned the station and layout, allowing Midland Railway trains access. The regionally competing London and North Western Railway (LNWR) took over the L&CR, and created a jointly -
This growth continued from the late-Victorian era to post World War II and into the early 1950s. At its height Carnforth handled up to 100 trains a day of holidaymakers, commuters, freight and fuel bound for the seaside, cities, ports and industrial centres.
History.
When the Midland Railway reached Carnforth in 1857, it developed a small roundhouse depot and maintenance shed to service its locomotive stock. In Midland days, the Shed was coded "31". The building is still in use as a light industrial facility. In the 1880s the LNWR had rebuilt the small 2-road L&CR facility south of the station into a standard-pattern LNWR 6-road facility.
At the railway grouping in 1923, the London Midland and Scottish Railway was created by amalgamation of the MR and the LNWR, together with other railway companies. About 1925, the Furness Shed at Carnforth was closed - the LNWR [Code, Sub of Preston No 27] and Midland Sheds continuing in use for the time being. It was only the largest three constituents of the LMS [LNWR, L&YR and Mid] which used Shed Codes. In 1935, the LMS reorganised the Operating Department; and introduced one composite list of Codes to cover the entire system. And Carnforth became 11A - even though the Depot was spread over two different sites. Resolution of that deficiency had to wait until after the advent of War.
From 1936 onwards under instruction from the Air Ministry's Sir Kingsley Wood, in a programme headed by Herbert Austin many key industries in London and the industrialised Midlands, had created a shadow factory to enable production should war break out. Many of these shadow factories, plus a number of Royal Ordnance Factories, were located in Cumbria and the Northwest coast, out of range of the bombers of the Nazi Luftwaffe. Consequently, when World War 2 did break out, staff moved and additionals were recruited to these facilities. The raw materials going in and requirement of distribution of output, the transport result was a relative boom in both freight and passenger traffic.
With the United States involved in the war from 1941, planning for Operation Overlord the invasion of Europe began. The Port of Liverpool and the west coast ports of Scotland were key to importing war machinery and supplies from North America, as well as distributing US Army and Canadian Army troops across England for training, initially in the northwest and northeast. The combination of these factors put a huge strain on local locomotive servicing facilities at Carnforth. Therefore, in late 1942, the Government agreed to fund the construction of a new shed at Carnforth, to allow for the new and planned level of locomotive servicing requirement. Built on the site of the former Furness facility and opened in 1944, it allowed for the servicing of many more locomotives, and together with highly mechanised supporting infrastructure greatly reduced the need for operational manpower. Both the LNWR and the Midland Sheds were closed at this juncture. The new facilities included a 70-foot turntable, which could turn LMS Pacifics.
On nationalisation in 1948, British Railways inherited an almost brand new depot (Code:11A), which was bigger—due to a lack of war activity—than was required. This allowed them to close a number of other local and older or less efficient sheds, and secondly to keep the shed open longer than many when the decision to modernise traction to electric and diesel came. The Code was changed to 24L in 1958; and became 10A [the code it is known by nowadays] in 1963. Carnforth MPD remained relatively unchanged from its reconstruction in 1944, until it closed in 1968.
Steamtown Carnforth.
BR closed the Lakeside branch to passengers on 6 September 1965, and to all traffic two years later.
A group of enthusiasts chaired by Dr Peter Beet formed the Lakeside Railway Estates Company, with the idea of preserving both the line and Carnforth MPD, to provide a complete steam operating system. Negotiations with BR resulted in an agreement to buy the majority of the Lakeside branch, and at Carnforth rent out: the former wagon works; west side sidings; and 3-roads of the former MPD. Beet formed Steamtown Railway Museum Ltd, and the resultant visitor attraction Steamtown Carnforth became a mecca for steam enthusiasts, then facing a national ban on steam traction on the BR network. With the assistance of the Lancaster Railway Circle, an increasing number of steam engines arrived at Steamtown from 1967 onwards.
However, although backed by then transport minister Barbara Castle, the need to build a number of motorway bridges and re-routing of the A590 road from Haverthwaite via Greenodd to Plumpton Junction, meant that the complete vision was unsuccessful. This caused a split within the Lakeside Railway society in 1970, with one part of the group forming the Lakeside & Haverthwaite Railway to operate the residual line, taking four of the engines with them.
Steamtown continued under the leadership of Dr Beet, who developed it as a major regional visitor attraction. This included the purchase of both SNCF Chapelon Pacific No. 231.K.22, Deutsche Bundesbahn oil-fired 012 Pacific No. 012 104-6 (né 01 1104), and the development of an extensive miniature railway.
In 1974 Sir Bill McAlpine became a shareholder in the company, allowing his LNER A3 Pacific 4472 "Flying Scotsman" to make Carnforth its home for many years. Subsequently, McAlpine acquired a controlling interest in the company, in order to fund the purchase of the complete site including the track from BR.
Even after the mainline steam ban was removed in the early 1970s, the site remained a hub for both enthusiasts and major servicing point for steam locomotives and associated rolling stock. The museums own stock developed with the purchase of some ex-industrial shunters, and three hulks from Woodham Brothers scrapyard at Barry Island: GWR 6959 Class No.6960 "Raveningham Hall"; SR Merchant Navy class No.35005 "Canadian Pacific"; GWR 5600 Class No.5643.
West Coast Railways.
McAlpine's interest declined, and resultantly so did Steamtown through lack of investment. In 1990 McAlpine's controlling stake in Steamtown Railway Museum Ltd was sold to David Smith, who over the following years has bought out the majority of the minority shareholders.
With increasing Health and Safety Executive regulations, and an increased reliance on revenue from supplying and servicing steam locomotives to power enthusiast trains, the commercial decision was taken not to reopen Carnforth as a museum or visitor attraction for the 1998 season.
Steamtown Railway Museum Ltd still exists today as a holding company, and operates an extensive railway repair and operating facility on the site. Smith later set up West Coast Railways, which operates heritage steam and diesel trains across the national UK railway network.
Steam locomotives based at Carnforth.
A number of steam locomotives are based at Carnforth Motive Power Depot and either stay at the shed for winter maintenance or are based and operate off the shed 24/7.


Railways in Plymouth

The network of railways in Plymouth, Devon, England, was developed by companies affiliated to two competing railways, the Great Western Railway and the London and South Western Railway. At their height two main lines and three branch lines served 28 stations in the Plymouth area, but today just six stations remain in use.
History.
The first uses of railway in the area were wooden rails used during the construction of docks facilities. Some were in use in the Naval Dockyard in 1724, and in 1756 John Smeaton laid some more to help move materials in his workyard on the mainland which was preparing stonework for the Eddystone Lighthouse. In 1812 John Rennie laid a gauge metal tramway to help with the construction of the Plymouth Breakwater; rails were laid in the quarry at Oreston and on the breakwater, and loaded wagons were conveyed between the two on ships.
A more conventional tramway was opened on 26 September 1823. The Plymouth and Dartmoor Railway ran from Princetown to Sutton Harbour and the Cattewater. Branches were opened to Cann Quarry in 1829 and to Plympton in 1834, followed by the Lee Moor Tramway in 1854. Haulage on these lines in Plymouth was always by horses and the Lee Moor line remained in use until 1960.
Broad gauge lines.
The first main line railway to arrive was the South Devon Railway (SDR), which brought its line from Exeter to a temporary terminus as Laira on 5 May 1848. The line was a broad gauge line backed by the Great Western Railway (GWR) and was completed to Millbay on 4 April 1849, although it had originally been conceived that the terminus would be on the high ground at Eldad. A siding into the Plymouth Great Western Docks was opened from Millbay station in 1850.
The SDR was authorised by Act of Parliament to construct a branch from Millbay to Devonport which would have been more convenient for the naval dockyards but instead the powers were transferred to the Cornwall Railway (CR). This was another broad gauge line which was originally designed to cross the River Tamar on the Torpoint Ferry but these plans were thrown out by Parliament and so Isambard Kingdom Brunel designed the Royal Albert Bridge to carry the line instead. Construction was protracted due to a lack of finance but the railway eventually opened on 4 May 1859.
The South Devon and Tavistock Railway (SD&TR) was opened a few weeks later on 22 June 1859 and was extended by another company to Launceston on 1 July 1865. In 1867 a short branch was laid from the CR at Keyham to connect with the rail system in the Naval Dockyard, where permanent rails had been in use since at least 1860.
The SD&TR was amalgamated with the SDR on 1 July 1865, and the SDR in turn was amalgamated with the GWR on 1 February 1876. The CR, however, remained nominally independent of the GWR until 1 July 1889 although the GWR already held a large number of shares.
London & South Western.
The standard gauge London and South Western Railway (LSWR) arrived in Plymouth on 18 May 1876. Initially their trains arrived over the SD&TR line, along which a third rail had been laid to allow mixed gauge working, to call at Mutley before continuing on the new Cornwall Loop Line and a new branch to their own station at Devonport. A new joint station was opened at Plymouth North Road on 28 March 1877.
These arrangements changed on 2 June 1890 when the Plymouth, Devonport and South Western Junction Railway (PDSWJ) opened a new line from Lydford along the Tamar valley. LSWR trains now ran through Devonport, North Road and Mutley in the opposite direction, and soon continued to a new terminus at Plymouth Friary which opened on 1 July 1891.
A branch across the River Plym to Plymstock opened on 5 September 1892 and was extended to Turnchapel on 1 January 1897.
After 1892.
The broad gauge was removed from the GWR after 20 May 1892 and the single track west of Devonport was doubled over the next few years. This heralded the expansion of services in the towns around Plymouth over the next dozen years, including a new branch to Yealmpton which opened on 17 January 1898, and a station at Keyham to serve the dockyards which opened on 1 July 1900.
In 1904 a number of new halts were opened that allowed a suburban service to be operated between Plympton and Saltash in response to competition from street tramways. The LSWR instigated a similar service between Friary and St Budeaux.
The LSWR became part of the new Southern Railway (SR) in 1923.
The first contraction of passenger services was seen when the GWR's Yealmpton branch was closed on 7 July 1930, although it was reopened in 1941 to allow Plymothians to reach the safety of the countryside during The Blitz. This period during the Second World War saw the closure of Millbay station to passengers following bombing and some of the smaller halts were closed, apparently as their wooden structures were considered a fire risk. A new connection between the GWR and SR was put in at St Budeaux to allow flexibility of routing in the event of bomb damage; other connections were installed at Lydford and Launceston.
Mutley station had closed on 2 March 1939 to allow reconstruction of the approaches to the adjacent North Road station. Because of the interruption by the war, work on the new North Road station was not completed for over twenty years. The new panel signal box at North Road was commissioned in 1960 and, since 1973, controls all movements in the Plymouth area.
The GWR and SR were nationalised into British Railways on 1 January 1948 but the lines around Plymouth remained parts of two different regions until 1963. The Yealmpton branch had closed again to passengers on 6 October 1947, followed by the Turnchapel branch on 10 September 1951, Friary station on 15 September 1958, Plympton on 3 March 1959, and the Tavistock line on 31 December 1962. The old LSWR line through Devonport was closed on 7 September 1964 with remaining trains to Gunnislake running over the CR route to St Budeaux where they used the wartime connection to rejoin the old PDSWJR route. The remaining suburban services to Saltash, which had been reduced after 1961 following the opening of the Tamar Bridge for the A38 road, were withdrawn in 1972.
Current services.
Plymouth railway station is an important station on the Exeter to Plymouth line. Great Western Railway (GWR) trains from London Paddington station either terminate here or continue to Penzance along the Cornish Main Line. Other services on this route are operated by CrossCountry from as far as Manchester or Aberdeen. Local services are operated by GWR, both on the main line and on the Tamar Valley Line to .
Typical journey times are: Ivybridge 15 minutes; Liskeard 24 min.; Gunnislake 45 min.; Exeter St Davids 55 min.; Truro hours; Newquay hr.; Penzance or Bristol Temple Meads 2 hr.; London Paddington or Birmingham New Street hr.; Edinburgh Waverley hr.
List of stations.
Opening and closing dates are for passenger services. Goods traffic, if handled, may have started and finished on different dates.
Estimated station usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at each station from Office of Rail and Road statistics. The methodology for calculating the number may vary between years. Closure dates refer to passenger services, goods traffic may have continued to a later date.
Dock and harbour lines.
Quays on the Cattewater, on the River Plym on the east side of Plymouth, were first served by the P&DR. A standard gauge connection was later established by the LSWR and this is still open for goods traffic, trains having to reverse in a spur outside the old Friary station.
Sutton Harbour, the old harbour in the centre of the town, was also served by a P&DR line to Coxside, on the north-eastern side of the harbour. With the arrival of the SDR in 1848 this line was taken over by the new company but mixed gauge was retained until 1857 after which it became a broad gauge only line; a short branch to a yard at Sutton Harbour, a little to the west of Coxside, was opened at around the same time.
The LSWR opened a route from Friary station to North Quay on 22 October 1879 and this was connected to the GWR's Sutton Harbour yard on 6 November 1879 and trains of both gauges could shunt the quays. These lines carried on beyond North Quay to Sutton Wharf and Vauxhall Quay; a short piece of this mixed gauge track still survives on this section.
The Plymouth Great Western Docks, like the broad gauge railways, were engineered by Isambard Kingdom Brunel and were connected to Millbay station in 1850. Over the years the network of lines were expanded around all sides of the dock. Ocean Special Mail trains were run direct from the docks to London Paddington; it was one of these in 1904 that saw "City of Truro" exceed .
The LSWR established their own Ocean Terminal on the west side of Stonehouse Pool, reached by a short branch from their Devonport station. Fast passenger trains ran from here to London Waterloo in connection with trans-Atlantic liners.
The naval dockyards at Devonport were connected to the CR at Keyham in 1867. At first these were worked by the CR but the Dockyard built up an extensive locomotive fleet to operate the various yards, including the South Yard which was reached through a tunnel. A free passenger service was operated which had six different classes of accommodation.
Engine sheds.
The temporary SDR terminus at Laira had equally temporary locomotive accommodation which was relocated to Millbay when the line was extended to there in 1849. This was the main GWR engine shed at Plymouth until 23 July 1924, although the site was used to stable locomotives until 1931. A small shed was opened in the adjacent docks around 1869 and was used to house the small shunting locomotives used there until about 1955.
A new GWR shed was opened at Laira about 1901 and this was the main shed for the area following the closure of Millbay. It is still in use today, servicing Great Western Railway's High Speed Trains and Class 150 DMUs and CrossCountry Class 220s and Class 221s.
The LSWR opened its main shed at Friary in 1890 but this was replaced by a new larger shed (close to the later site of Lucas Terrace Halt) in 1908. It was closed in 1963 and its remaining locomotives transferred to Laira. The LSWR also had a smaller shed at Devonport; initially the only shed in the area, it was kept on to provide engines for the Stonehouse Pool line.
Engineering.
Tunnels.
The South Devon line passes through Mutley Tunnel (beneath Mutley Plain) on its approach to North Road station. This tunnel now appears much longer than it really is due to the cutting on the west side being covered by a concrete raft supporting a car park.
The Cornwall line passes through the short Devonport Tunnel just west of Devonport station. The PDSWJ route had two tunnels at a lower level, Devonport Park Tunnel and Ford Tunnel, between which was a short deep cutting which was the location of Albert Road Halt.
There were also a number of tunnels on the freight lines. The P&DR had a tunnel at Leigham; the Devonport Dockyard lines ran through a tunnel to reach South Yard; and the LSWR's North Quay branch had a tunnel beneath Exeter Street.
Bridges and viaducts.
Millbay station was built in an elevated position with a short viaduct and bridge across Union Street immediately beyond the platform end. The arches of this viaduct were rented out to local traders for storage and were even used as a garage for the buses used on the GWR road motor services.
The CR line passed over three of the many Cornwall Railway viaducts. These were originally built from timber but were all rebuilt in more durable materials between 1899 and 1908. The first was the long Stonehouse Pool viaduct which was rebuilt in brick with iron girders in 1908 and, since it no longer carries trains, its girders have been replaced an abstract artwork that is said to represent the railway as it passes along the Sea Wall. The next two structures were either side of Keyham station. Keyham viaduct (432 ft) was rebuilt in brick with girders in 1899 and later with steel girders in 1937. The longer Weston Mill viaduct (1,200 ft) crosses Camel's Head creek was replaced in 1903 with short brick viaducts either side of a four-span bowstring girder structure. The railway then crosses above the River Tamar on the 2,187½ feet-long Royal Albert Bridge.
Pennycomequick Viaduct was brought into use on 18 May 1876 with the new Cornwall Loop line. This was built from limestone and joined the western end of Stonehouse Pool Viaduct.


Winsford and Over branch line

The Winsford and Over branch line was a railway line serving the town of Winsford in Cheshire. It was operated by the Cheshire Lines Committee (CLC) from 1870 until the railways were nationalised under the Transport Act 1947, which took effect on 1 January 1948. Thereafter the branch was operated by British Railways London Midland Region until the line's closure in .
Beginnings.
In , the West Cheshire Railway Company (WCR) presented a bill to parliament for the construction of a railway from Northwich to Chester with a branch to Helsby. The route was approved, with the exception of the section from Mouldsworth to Chester. The following year, the WCR presented another bill, once again seeking authorisation to build the line to Chester, but also proposing two branches, one of which would run from a junction with the WCR west of Cuddington to Winsford. This would allow the WCR access to the traffic generated by the salt works lining the west bank of the River Weaver near the town. The Chester line was again rejected but the branches were authorised.
Work on construction started early in . By this time, the WCR had been absorbed by the Cheshire Lines Committee. The branch was completed and opened to goods traffic on . Passenger services began on .
The route.
The branch left the CLC's Manchester to Chester line at Winsford Junction, about ¾ of a mile west of Cuddington railway station. The junction was a double junction facing towards Cuddington but the line became single track almost immediately and headed off in a south-westerly direction, turning gradually towards the south-east and climbing steadily for a mile before levelling off. The route continued on a level for a further mile and then started to descend into the Weaver valley before reaching Whitegate, the only intermediate station, two and a half miles from Winsford junction. The facilities there were a loop (not used as a passing loop) and two long sidings. A single platform face was provided.
The line continued its descent for a further two and a half miles until Falk's Junction was reached. Here a branch line diverged to the North-east to serve the H.E. Falk Meadowbank salt works. The main line turned south continued for the last mile along the west bank of the River Weaver until reaching the southern terminus.
This final stretch was doubled in , and sidings all along this section served the many salt works to be found by the river. This portion of the branch was built on land previously owned by Lord Delamere and one of the terms of sale was that if the railway continued on to Winsford, the company would be obliged to operate services for the benefit of the townspeople. This became important later during the wrangles between the CLC and the Winsford Local Board caused by the withdrawal of the passenger service.
The Winsford terminus was named Winsford and Over to distinguish it from the station already serving the town on the London and North Western Railway's main line between London and the North.
By , some of the sidings at Winsford were extended southwards into Hamlett's Central Saltworks and J Garner and Co.'s Bridge Saltworks bringing the length of the branch to a maximum of 6 miles 12 chains and 19 yards.
Though salt was the lifeblood of the branch, it was also a constant hindrance. The salt was extracted by pumping water through the salt and extracting it as brine. This led to much subsidence, which at times caused parts of the branch to be closed.
Operation.
Goods and passenger services were originally to be operated from Northwich, but in the event nearly always started and terminated at Cuddington. This caused some operational problems with passenger services as the station there was not provided with a bay platform. This meant that branch passenger trains had to wait in the goods sidings until main line services had cleared the platforms.
Most of the goods traffic was generated by the salt works. Coal was carried towards Winsford and salt toward Cuddington. By , five goods trains in each direction per day were required.
All services were initially operated by the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway (MSLR) which later became the Great Central Railway (GCR). The MSLR supplied locomotives while the CLC provided passenger and goods stock.
The traffic was regulated and safeguarded using the staff and ticket system and later, after passenger services had been withdrawn, one engine in steam. Trains could only pass at Falk's junction.
Passenger services.
Passenger services on the line commenced on and consisted of a single carriage attached to two weekday goods services making up a mixed train. These trains were of necessity slow and not many passengers were attracted to use the service. The service was seen as interfering with the goods services by the CLC and they withdrew it on . Despite the low numbers of passengers which had used the service, there was considerable local petitioning for it to be reinstated. The CLC were reluctant to do this and passenger services did not run again until once again as mixed trains. This was as a result of the Winsford Local Board invoking the covenant on the original land sale which required the CLC to provide such a service.
The only accident of note on the branch occurred on when a mixed train ran into a siding in error. The guard was quite seriously hurt but passengers suffered only minor injuries. The report resulting from the subsequent enquiry castigated the CLC for running passenger services on a line with insufficient signalling and demanded that interlocking be installed before passengers were to be carried again. The CLC immediately gave notice that passenger services would be withdrawn, citing the cost of the installation. The Winsford Local Board once again campaigned for a reinstatement, eventually bringing a legal case based on the Delamere covenant before the Royal Courts of Justice on . The courts found in favour of the Board and the CLC was forced to upgrade the branch accordingly. A second line was laid alongside the line leading to the sidings where the accident happened. This was reserved for passenger trains, which the CLC now ran in place of the mixed trains. Additional signal boxes and signalling were installed and on after having passed an inspection, passenger services resumed. The level of passenger workings was increased and the branch remained relatively busy, with workmen's trains supplementing the timetabled service.
From the mid-1920s onward, road competition began to take its toll on the passenger revenue. Bus services were introduced which ran direct from Winsford to Northwich town centre quicker than the train. The CLC introduced a Sentinel steam railcar in in an attempt to reduce costs, but despite this, in they announced their intention to withdraw the passenger service once again.
Winsford Urban District Council, the successor to the Local Board, made recourse to the law once more. This time however the court ruled in favour of the railway company, declaring the ruling of 1891 a "mistake in law". The passenger service succumbed for the final time on .
A few excursions and special trains did visit the branch after this date. On , a football excursion from Winsford to Chester was organised. On , an enthusiasts' special organised by the Railway Correspondence and Travel Society (RTCS) visited the branch, consisting of an ex-GCR two coach push-pull set with GCR Class 9K (LNER class C13) no. 67436 in charge. The final excursion was on , again organised by the RTCS, consisting of five corridor carriages hauled by LMS Ivatt Class 2 2-6-0 no. 46472. This is almost certainly the only time that corridor carriages had been used on the branch. The train stopped short of Winsford and Over station but the locomotive continued into the station to run round its train.
Locomotives.
As noted previously, motive power on the branch was provided by the MSLR (later the GCR). The first recorded use of locomotives used on the line is in when goods and mixed trains were handled by Charles Sacre's Class 23 0-6-0's. Shortly after the turn of the century, these were superseded by Sacre class 18's. Passenger services were initially handled by a Sacre Class 24 2-4-0 then by similar Class 12A 2-4-0's.
At the end of the first decade of the 20th century, the Sacre locomotives started being replaced by Thomas Parker designs, in particular GCR class 9B and GCR Class 9D (LNER Class J9) 0-6-0's. Passenger trains at this period were worked by older Parker GCR Class 3 (LNER Class F1) 2-4-2 tank engines.
In the 1920s, the workmen's trains were discontinued and only one passenger locomotive and set of carriages were required to work the branch. The F1 tank engines were replaced by one of the GCR Class 2A (LNER class D7) locomotives then allocated to Northwich shed. The F1's returned in 1928 but were in turn supplanted by Sentinel Waggon Works steam coach no 602 which worked the branch until passenger services ceased at the end of . This vehicle was one of four owned by the CLC; the only motive power ever owned by the company. During this period, there was no longer any requirement for stabling facilities at Winsford as the first and last passenger trains started and finished at Northwich and it was arranged that the goods services also followed this pattern. Thus the CLC could now close the small locomotive shed at the terminus, which up until this point had been a sub-shed of Northwich motive power depot.
From the mid-1920s, the ubiquitous GCR Class 9H (LNER Class J10) and GCR Class 9J (LNER Class J11) 0-6-0 tender locomotives began to appear hauling good services on the branch. These were gradually displaced after nationalisation by ex-LMS Fowler Class 4Fs, LMS Class 2MT 2-6-0s, BR standard class 2 2-6-0s and it is possible that occasionally a Northwich-based LMS Stanier Class 8F was rostered.
British Rail Class 24 and 25 diesels based at Northwich hauled the trip freights that used the branch three times a week on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays in the 1960s but only one other diesel-electric locomotive was ever known to have traversed the branch. This was a British Rail Class 40 which travelled down to Wade's Crossing, between Falk's Junction and Winsford and Over, in Spring 1968 shortly after the branch was closed to provide a British Rail presence during some road works near there by the Winsford council. Any track removal trains would have been diesel-hauled by that date of course, steam locomotion on British Rail ceasing on , but these are not recorded.
Decline and closure.
After withdrawal of the passenger service, the operation of the branch was simplified and economies made. The locomotive shed at Winsford closed in July 1929 and was demolished, the double track section of the branch near Falk's Junction was reduced to a single line and various signal boxes were downgraded to ground frames or removed altogether.
The salt industry in the area began a slow decline from as early as 1905, as the traditional open pan method of extracting salt was superseded. The decline continued apace during the 1930s depression and goods traffic on the branch dwindled to the extent that in 1953 British Railways considered closing the line completely. An arrangement with Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI), who by then owned some of the surviving salt works in the area, allowed the railway to soldier on with two goods trains per weekday, although Winsford goods yard had closed on 1 September 1953.
The line closed to general goods on 4 November 1963 when Whitegate station was closed completely. The only services now were to the salt works and mines. Further trimming of the branch followed when on 1 May 1965 the section between Falk's junction and the salt works to the south was closed. On 13 March 1967, rail traffic finally ceased and the branch officially closed on 5 June 1967.
The line today.
Cheshire County Council purchased five and a half miles of the trackbed on and converted it into a linear park which became known as the "Whitegate Way". The station building and platform at Whitegate survive and are now a visitor centre and the main access point for walkers.


Horwich

Horwich ( ) is a town and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Lancashire, it is southeast of Chorley, northwest of Bolton and northwest of Manchester. It lies at the southern edge of the West Pennine Moors with the M61 motorway passing close to the south and west. At the 2011 Census, Horwich had a population of 20,067.
Horwich emerged in the Middle Ages as a hunting chase. Streams flowing from the moors were harnessed to provide power for bleachworks and other industry at the start of the Industrial Revolution. The textile industry became a major employer and after 1884 the construction of the railway works caused the population of the town to increase dramatically. The old industries have closed and urban regeneration has been led by out of town developments, particularly at Middlebrook, which, since 1997 has been the base of Bolton Wanderers football club, who play at the University of Bolton Stadium, having moved from Burnden Park near Bolton town centre.
History.
The name Horwich derives from the Old English "har" and "wice", meaning the place at the grey wych-elm and in 1221 was recorded as "Horewic". The name was recorded as "Harewych" in 1277 and "Horewyche" in 1327.
In the Middle Ages Horwich originated as a hunting chase for the barons of Manchester. It was held by Albert de Gresle between 1086 and 1100. In 1249 Henry III granted Thomas Gresle free warren over his lands in "Horewich". The barons appointed foresters and trespassers in the forest were brought before the court baron or court leet for punishment. In 1277 Robert Gresle the 7th baron prosecuted Martin de Rumworth for carrying off deer in Horwich Chase which was described in 1322 as being within "a circuit of sixteen leagues, and is yearly worth in pannage, aeries of eagles, herons and goshawks, in honey, millstones, and iron mines, in charcoal-burning, and the like issues, 60 shillings; of which the vesture in oaks, elms and wholly covered with such, 160 marks."
In 1598 a number of men were presented at the court leet for tithing and in 1621 the court leet recorded "paid for hue and crye that came from Horwich after the man who made an escape forth of ye stocks for stealing certain lynen cloth 8d." By the 17th century the amount of woodland in the Horwich forest was reduced by house building and for fuel. Horwich Moor was enclosed between 1815 and 1818 and race meetings were held between 1837 and 1847.
The manor became the property of the Andertons of Lostock Hall, Lostock, who purchased it in 1599 from Nicholas and Elizabeth Mosley. These lands were confiscated by The Crown in 1715 after the Battle of Preston. They were leased to the Blundells whose coat of arms is displayed above the door at the Blundell Arms on Chorley Old Road.
The Pilkingtons were farmers who became gentry, Richard Pilkington was owner of rights in the Horwich Manor. William Pilkington (1765–1831) became a physician and apothecary in St Helens and his sons Richard (1795–1869) and William (1800–1872) were the founders of Pilkington Glass.
Industrial Revolution.
In the 1770s brothers, John and Joseph Ridgway, land agents to the Blundells, moved their bleach works from Bolton to Wallsuches. Their works was the oldest and one of the few stone-built mills in the Bolton borough. The firm was one of the earliest users of chemical bleaching using chlorine.
In 1798 the firm installed a Boulton and Watt steam engine.
Horwich Vale Printworks, founded in 1799 by the River Douglas, printed cloth using machines and handblocks. On the slopes of Winter Hill, stone was quarried and there were several small collieries and a firebrick and tile works. In 1896 the Montcliffe Colliery was owned by Adam Mason and Son and managed by Joseph Crankshaw and Joseph Kenwright. It employed 26 men underground and seven surface workers getting coal and fireclay from the Mountain coal seam. Crankshaws pipeworks used the fireclay and had had several beehive kilns at their works at Tiger's Clough. In the mid 19th century cotton mills were built by W. & W. Bennett and Peter Gaskell.
Ridgways provided land for the early 19th century Club Houses, a grid pattern development of streets of stone built cottages south of Church Street. Some had basements for hand loom weaving. In 1851 the occupants were crofters, stovers and bleachers. In 1881 the population of 3,761 lived in 900 houses, and had remained stable for fifty years. A rapid increase in population over the next ten years was caused by the arrival of the railway works and W.T. Taylor's cotton mill. In the late 19th century, brick terraced houses, in streets named after famous engineers, were built near to Horwich Works on both sides of Chorley New Road (A673) on company land. The arrival of the railway and locomotive works to Horwich created a boom in population by 1891 to 12,850 people and was the most significant change to the town in the first Industrial Revolution, Horwich became a railway town.
In 1937 the de Havilland Aircraft Company built a factory which supplied aircraft to Cobham's Flying Circus. During World War II the factory manufactured variable pitch propellers for Spitfires, making it a target for German bombers, who in July 1942 attempted to raid the factory by employing some of Germany's best pilots and crews in two Junkers JU 88 bombers in a mission using the Rivington reservoirs as landmarks to navigate at low level flying over the water then rooftops of Lever Park to find its target. The raid went off course due to low level cloud. The company was taken over by Hawker Siddeley and subsequently British Aerospace, the site was halved and moved to the south side of Hall lane Lostock when taken over by MBDA in 1997 it is still in 2013 making missiles and the site is now used for integration and test purposes.
Horwich Works.
In spring 1884 the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway (L&YR) began construction of a large complex for building and maintaining locomotives to replace its works at Miles Platting. Horwich Works was built on 142 hectares of land bought for £36,000. The first workshop, Rivington House opened in February 1887. It is 106.7 metres long by 16.8 metres wide. The long brick built workshops had full-height arched windows and were separated by tram and rail tracks. Work to construct the three-bay, 463.3 metres long, 36 metres wide, erecting shop began in March 1885. Inside it were 20 overhead cranes. By November 1886 the first locomotives arrived at the works for repair. The first Horwich built locomotive, Number 1008, left the works in 1887 and is preserved at the National Railway Museum.
In the First and Second World War, the works played a part in the war effort manufacturing tanks and munitions.
The L&YR amalgamated with the London and North Western Railway in 1922 becoming a constituent of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway, (LMS) in 1923. Horwich Works continued to build and repair locomotives for the LMS until the company was nationalised in 1948 by the Transport Act 1947, becoming British Railways. In 1962, British Railways transferred control of its main works to British Railways Workshops Division, with its headquarters in Derby. In 1970 it was renamed British Rail Engineering Limited (BREL).
The last steam locomotive built at Horwich Works left on 27 November 1957 and the last diesel built there left on 28 December 1962. It was reduced to repairing engines and maintaining railway wagons. On 18 February 1983 BREL announced that the works would close at the end of the year. Protest marches and spirited trade union resistance failed to alter the decision and at 1 pm on Friday, 23 December 1983 Horwich Works closed after 97 years. The freehold of the railway works site was transferred from British Rail to Bolton Council in the mid-1990s.
A proposal to demolish the works and build 1,700 homes and a school was submitted to Bolton Council in early 2010. The initial phase of the development commenced in 2019.
Asbestos used to insulate steam engines and railway carriages linked to mesothelioma has been a legacy affecting former workers and their families with asbestos dust also being carried in clothing. The redevelopment of the site required it to be cleared of contaminants before building commenced. Part of the site is planned for demolition for the creation of a link road in 2019, linking the Middlebrook Retail Park, M61 and Horwich Railway Station.
Governance.
Lying within the county boundaries of Lancashire since the 12th century, Horwich was a township in the historic ecclesiastical parish of Deane, in the Hundred of Salford. In 1837 Horwich joined with other townships and civil parishes to form the Bolton Poor Law Union and took joint responsibility for the administration and funding of the Poor Law in that area and built a workhouse in Farnworth. The Horwich Local board of health was established in 1872 and was superseded by Horwich Urban District of the administrative county of Lancashire in 1894. Under the Local Government Act 1972 Horwich Urban District was abolished in 1974 and its area became a successor parish of the newly created Metropolitan Borough of Bolton in Greater Manchester.
On 9 January 1974 Horwich was granted a Town Charter by the Earl Marshal, giving Horwich the status of a town, a town council and the ability to elect a Mayor. An official coat of arms was granted and assigned on 6 December 1974 by the Earl Marshal.
Horwich is covered by two electoral Wards of the Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council, the Horwich and Blackrod, and Horwich North East Wards. Each Ward elects three councillors to the Metropolitan Borough Council. Horwich Town Council, formed in 1974, has six Wards; Vale, Bridge, Lever Park, Church, Claypool and Brazley, which elect 14 representatives to the Town Council.
Horwich is part of the Bolton West Constituency. Its Member of Parliament is Chris Green who won the parliamentary seat at the 2015 General Election.
Geography.
Suburban localities in Horwich include Wallsuches and Middlebrook.
Horwich extends to and measures from north to south and west to east. The River Douglas flowing in a south westerly direction forms part of its northern boundary. The landscape to the north is dominated by Winter Hill, Rivington Pike and the West Pennine Moors. The highest point is on the moors in the north from where the ground slopes down towards the south and west, where the lowest land is about . On Wilders and Horwich Moors the underlying rock is Millstone Grit, and in the intermediate slopes are found the Lower Coal Measures of the Lancashire Coalfield. The Middle Coal Measures are found in the southwest of the township.
Red Moss, 1.5 km south of the town centre, is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) which was designated in 1995 because of its biological interest. Red Moss is the best example of lowland raised mire in Greater Manchester and is one of 21 SSSIs in the area. The site is managed by the Wildlife Trust for Lancashire, Manchester and North Merseyside.
Demography.
At the 2001 UK census, Horwich had a population of 19,312 of which 9,370 were male and 9,942 were female. The 2001 population density is lower than Bolton at 12.5 people per hectare compared to 18.7 in Bolton. At the 2011 UK census, Horwich's population increased to 20,067 of which 9,777 were male and 10,290 were female. The 2011 census recorded a total of 9,013 households, of which were 1,979 detached houses, 2,642 semi-detached houses, 3,254 terraced houses, 971 purpose-built flats, 160 other flats (including bedsits), and 7 caravans (or other mobile or temporary structure).
Population change.
Until the late 18th century, Horwich was a small rural community. In 1774, it had a population of 305, comprising 156 females and 149 males. After 1780 the population increased as the Industrial Revolution brought changes to the town but remained constant until 1885 when the locomotive works were built more than trebling the population in ten years.
Economy.
Many of Horwich's traditional industries, Horwich Works and W.T. Taylor's cotton mill closed in the late 20th century. Regeneration was led by the construction of the University of Bolton Stadium for Bolton Wanderers at Middebrook in 1995. The development which stretches into neighbouring Lostock, attracted industrial and commercial users including Hitachi, generating jobs to replace those lost in the old industries and the area is now dominated by small and medium enterprises. E.ON and RBS have set up offices close the University of Bolton stadium. Watson Steel Structures founded in 1933 and BAe's successor company, Matra BAe Dynamics operates from the Middlebrook area. Georgia Pacific has a paper manufacturing plant close to the University of Bolton Stadium. Halbro, manufacturers of sportswear and equipment for both codes of rugby, is based on Chorley New Road.
There are Tesco and Asda stores on the outskirts of town and Aldi and Iceland stores closer to the town centre. EU grants have contributed to new "traditional style" shop fronts in the town centre, which has many small specialist shops. The Horwich indoor market building was closed and demolished in 2009 but there is a weekly outdoor market.
Transport.
Public transport is co-ordinated by Transport for Greater Manchester. The nearest railway stations are at Blackrod and Horwich Parkway adjacent to the University of Bolton Stadium where there is a Park and Ride facility with trains to Bolton, Manchester and Preston. Blackrod station is nearer the town centre. The original Horwich railway station closed to passenger traffic on 27 September 1965.
Frequent buses operate between Horwich and Bolton. The 575 is operated by Arriva North West, with Arriva services terminating in Wigan. Stagecoach Lancashire provide service 125 between Preston and Bolton via Chorley and Adlington. Bus links to Middlebrook Retail Park are provided by Diamond Bus North West services 516 (Evening and Sunday services only), 517 and 518 which all between Horwich and Leigh via Westhoughton and Atherton. Service 576, which operates from Bolton to Wigan via the Middlebrook and Blackrod areas in Horwich also runs in the evenings.
Horwich is situated close to the motorway network with access at junction 6 of the M61 motorway. The A673 Bolton to Preston road passes through the town which is accessed by the B6226 and B5238.
Manchester Airport is 50 minutes by direct train from Horwich Parkway railway station.
Education.
The Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Company built the Railway Mechanics Institute in 1888. It became the Technical College but has been demolished.
Horwich secondary school students years attend either Rivington and Blackrod High School, a Specialist Technology College which was originally the Rivington & Blackrod Grammar School on a site in Rivington close to the boundary with Horwich, or St Joseph's RC High School on Chorley New Road. The oldest school building is the old Horwich Parish School which was built as a National, Infant and Sunday School in 1793 and now used as a parish hall and is a Listed building. Horwich Parish Church of England Primary School occupies the listed premises built in 1832.
Our Lady's school was built in 1886 on Chorley New Road and Holy Family Primary School on Victoria Road in 1894. Holy Family was the first Lancashire County Council school to be granted aided status under the 1944 Education Act. The schools merged on the Victoria Road site as St. Mary's RC Primary School.
Religion.
Prior to the reformation a chapel of ease existed dedicated to St Mary's Church in Deane. In 1565 the commissioners for "removing superstitious ornaments" took various idolatrous items from the chapel. The local population were forced by various means to conform to the Church of England and as with all other towns and villages across the country Catholicism was suppressed and it was not until 1886 when Father Hampson opened St Mary's Roman Catholic Church on Chorley New Road that the local Catholic population had a formal place of worship. The presbytery there was built by Father McGrath in 1906.
After the English Civil War, with the contrivance of the vicar of Deane, the Chapel of Horwich was used by nonconformists and in 1669 a conventicle, meeting of nonconformists, was reported at Horwich and the ringleaders were prosecuted. In 1672 a nonconformist service was held at Old Lord's Farm, the home of the puritan Major Thomas Willoughby, a soldier of the Protectorate of Oliver Cromwell, who later become 11th Baron Willoughby of Parham. In 1716 Bishop Gastrell of Chester recovered the chapel for the established church. The chapel was replaced in 1782 and rebuilt as Holy Trinity Church, a Commissioners' Church, in 1831. Until 1853 became a parish in its own right with Holy Trinity as the parish church. After the non conformists were ejected from Horwich Chapel, Richard Pilkington built "New Chapel" between 1716 and 1719. It was enlarged in 1805. In 1890 the Unitarian Free Church was built on Church Street. In the 18th and 19th centuries other nonconformist churches and chapels were built.
Lee Lane Congregational Church, founded in 1754, closed in 2005 and was converted into a flats. It was originally built in 1856 on the site of an earlier build known as Horwich Lee Chapel built in 1774 on the site of an earlier house, also owned by Thomas Willoughby and was used for meetings from 1682 by Presbyterian members splitting away from the Rivington Unitarian Chapel as its doctrine changed.
The Independent Methodist chapel in Lee Lane was built in 1867, Methodism had been practised from 1810. Primitive Methodists had a chapel on Horwich Moor and where a Baptist church was built in 1890.
Sport.
Bolton Wanderers F.C. play at the University of Bolton Stadium having moved from Burnden Park near Bolton town centre in 1997. Indoor facilities for sports training and major racket sports tournaments are provided at Bolton Arena, which was used for badminton events in the 2002 Commonwealth Games.
Several of the town's sporting organisations have origins in the sport and social clubs of Horwich Locomotive Works. Horwich RMI Harriers and Athletic Club founded in 1924, is based at Middlebrook and participates in road, fell and cross country races, track and field athletics.
Horwich Cycling Club was founded in 1934 as the Horwich Wheelers. It is involved in the organisation of the Horwich Carnival Road Races, held in the town centre. Horwich RMI Cricket Club was founded in 1892. The club plays in the Bolton Cricket League which it joined in 1934.
Twin town.
In March 1990, Horwich and Crowborough, East Sussex entered into a unique twinning arrangement when they became the first towns within the United Kingdom to sign a town twinning charter. It was signed by the Mayors of Horwich and Crowborough at a ceremony in the Public Hall, Horwich on 22 March 1990 and the Town Hall, Crowborough on 27 March 1990. On the 25th Anniversary of the Town Twinning, in March 2015, the Mayor of Horwich, Cllr. Richard E W Silvester and the Mayor of Crowborough, Cllr. Ronald G Reed signed 25th Anniversary celebratory Town Twinning documents in Crowborough Town Hall on Tuesday 10 March 2015 and in Horwich Public Hall on Thursday 19 March 2015, to re-new the twinning agreement. Horwich Cycle Club members travelled down to Crowborough on Friday 15 May 2015 and cycled with members of Wealden Cycle Club over that weekend as part of the celebrations.


Walsall Corporation Tramways

Walsall Corporation Tramways operated a tramway service in Walsall between 1904 and 1930.
History.
Faced with a likely takeover of the South Staffordshire Tramways Company by British Electric Traction, Walsall Corporation made their own agreement with the South Staffordshire Tramways company, and on 1 January 1901, for the sum of £18,500 (equivalent to £ in ), Walsall Corpopation became owners of the tramway system. They leased the tramway back to the former company who operated for the next 3 years.
From 1901, contracts were awarded for the modernisation, electrification and extension of the system.
On 3 December 1903, Lieutenant Colonel Sir Horatio Arthur Yorke carried out an inspection of the new extensions and passed them fit for service. The official opening ceremony took place on 31 December 1903, when the Mayor, the Council, officials and Justices of the Peace were conveyed in four special cars, covering most of the routes of the new network.
Fifty drivers and fifty conductors were employed to start the corporation services which began on 1 January 1904.
In June 1905, an agreement was made with the Wolverhampton District Electric Company whereby Walsall Corporation tramcars would be allowed to work over their tracks into the Market Place at Willenhall. A junction was constructed at the Willenhall Board Schools, and Walsall tramcars first ran through to Willenhall Market Place on 19 July 1905.
1 May 1907 through running to Wednesbury and Darlaston was begun.
Reduced services were operated in the evenings in 1916 after the Zeppelin raids. In one of these raids by LZ 61 (Zeppelin 'L 21') on 31 January 1916 tramcar 16 was on Bradford Street with the Mayoress, Mrs. Mary Julia Slater on board. In Bradford Place a bomb fell and the glass in the car was shattered. The Mayoress was severely injured and died from her injuries on 20 February.
In 1920-21 the route from Pinfold to Bloxwich was doubled at a cost of £14,313 (equivalent to £ in ). In 1922, the corporation took over responsibility for the lines from Pleck to Wood Green and James Bridge.
Closure.
The first abandonment took place on 1 April 1928 when the route to Walsall Wood was converted to motor bus operation.
In 1928 the Wolverhampton District Company routes were sold to the Wolverhampton Corporation Tramways.
The Birmingham Road route was abandoned on 30 September 1928, and the Willenhall route on 4 February 1929. The routes to Darlaston and Wednesbury were abandoned on 5 March 1931.
The last tram operated on 30 September 1933 when No 44 left the Bridge for Bloxwich at 11.15pm. On 1 October 1933 the Walsall trolleybus service opened to the public.


Benwick Goods Railway

The Benwick Goods Railway was a Great Eastern Railway line serving the village of Benwick, Cambridgeshire.
History.
The Great Eastern Railway(GER) was pro-active in helping agriculture recover after a poor first half of the 19th century and enable Fenland farmers get their products to market. However the area of Benwick was poorly served by road and rail and during the 1880s local farmers lobbied the GER board for a new railway. Initially reluctant the GER provided a siding and goods shed at Three Horsehoes (pictured). Lobbying continued and finally the GER built a single track goods only line opening to Burnt House on 1 September 1897 and Benwick on 2 August 1898.
It left the Ely to Peterborough line at Three Horseshoes Junction in Turves, Cambridgeshire, just east of the level crossing on Burnthouse Road. Passenger services were never provided, and the line closed to goods in 1966.
Route.
After leaving the main line at Three Horseshoes Junction, the line headed east just south of the Turves to March road. The curve of the line can be seen from the property boundaries of the houses just east of Poplars level crossing. The line then curved south towards Bottom Hake's farm. Quaker's Drove station was at the eastern end of Quaker's drove just west of the point where the metalled road ends. The next station was West Fen Drove, this was at the east end of West Fen Drove at the point where the metalled road ends.
The third station was Burnt House, this was on the road now known as Burnthouse Sidings which heads east from Burnthouse Farm. After this the line curved slightly to the west and followed what is now a byway to Jones Drove station, near Garton House where the byway makes a sharp bend.
After this, the line is difficult to trace. The next station, White Fen, was near Keyworth House Farm, and Benwick station itself was north west of the village on the road to Whittlesea.
The line terminated at Benwick and the GER provided a small wharf on the River Nene Old Course for interchange of traffic.
Bibliography.
There are two books which cover the Benwick line: