East Cornwall Mineral Railway

The East Cornwall Mineral Railway was a gauge railway line, opened in 1872 to connect mines and quarries in the Callington and Gunnislake areas in east Cornwall with shipping at Calstock on the River Tamar. The line included a rope-worked incline to descend to the quay at Calstock.
Following the opening of a main line railway at nearby Bere Alston, a connecting line from there to Calstock was opened, and the existing line converted to standard gauge, opening throughout as a passenger line in 1908. When rural lines in the area were closed in the 1960s, a short section of the original ECMR line was retained to keep open a connection from Plymouth to Gunnislake, and that section remains open at the present day.
Origins.
In the middle decades of the nineteenth century, mineral extraction in the Callington and Gunnislake area of East Cornwall reached a peak. The trade was limited by the difficulties of conveying the products to market; this was done by pack horse to Calstock, where there was a quay on the tidal River Tamar for onward coast-wise shipping transport. The chief mineral was copper ore, with some tin and arsenic also; timber and coal was brought in to serve the mines. Although the Tamar was tidal at Calstock, the passage to the sea was difficult, involving poling the ship past shoal stretches.
A railway connection was considered to be the solution, and a "Tamar, Kit Hill and Callington Railway Company Limited" was formed in 1864. The Company was to build a standard gauge line from Callington to Kelly Quay at Calstock, with an inclined plane to descend to the quayside there. The Company applied for Parliamentary authority and obtained it on 29 July 1864. Construction was soon under way, and the following year a broad gauge "Saltash and Callington Railway", and in 1866 the Kit Hill company obtained authority to build on the broad gauge instead, so as to connect with the Saltash company. However a financial crash took place in that year, and although much work had been done on the Kit Hill line, nothing further was done on either route.
Foreign competition in mineral extraction worsened the position of the local mines, and a Callington & Calstock Railway was formed, obtaining Parliamentary authority on 9 August 1869. This was to adopt the abandoned works of the Kit Hill company, and to have a capital of £60,000, with borrowing powers of £20,000. It was to be nearly 8 miles (13 km) in extent, including short lengths on the Quay at Calstock and the incline. Passenger traffic was not authorised. Purchase of the quay at Calstock, and improvements to it, were included in the authorised powers.
Construction work proceeded steadily, and an Act of 25 May 1871 authorised a change of name to the East Cornwall Mineral Railway. The line was soon ready, and opened for traffic on 7 May 1872.
Route.
The line was 7 miles 4 furlongs and 5 chains (12.17 km) long running from Kelly Bray to Calstock. Kelly Bray, about a mile (about 1.5 km) north of Callington, was at an altitude of 640 feet (195 m) above sea level and was the railhead for a considerable agricultural hinterland. The line fell all the way to Calstock except for a short sharp climb. There were public depots (i.e. goods stations) intermediately at Monks Corner (later the site of Luckett station), Cox's Park (later Latchley), and Drakewalls (later Gunnislake). There were numerous sidings connecting with mines and quarries, in particular Kit Hill, Hingston Down, Gunnislake Clitters Mine, Plymouth Depot, Pearson's Quarry (at West of England Siding). The locomotive-operated part of the line ended at Incline Station, where there were sidings for forming trains at the head of the incline.
Calstock incline and quay.
The incline at Calstock had been built in 1859 by the Tamar Coal, Manure & General Merchandise Co to bring supplies to mines on the higher ground, and to bring their products down. It was 2,310 feet (704 m) long on a gradient of 1 in 6. It was self-acting, but a stationary steam engine was provided at the top. It was single track with a passing loop halfway, and a three-rail section above it. A two wagon lift was usual, each conveying 3 tons.
When the ECMR line was built, the incline was taken over by the railway company. There is evidence of realignment of the incline: the later route was higher up the hillside and reduced the sharp curve near the bottom. It is likely that this was done at the time of adoption of the incline as part of the ECMR. A 14 hp (9 kW) stationary steam engine was provided by the ECMR. An electric bell system was installed for the operation of the incline, later replaced by a telephone. Two loaded or three empty wagons were moved on the incline at a time.
The ECMR extended the quay at Calstock, and it was 1,359 feet (414 m) long. Horses performed wagon movement on the quay.
Connection to the main line.
Navigation on the Tamar was difficult, but when the line opened, the nearest main line railways were the Cornwall Railway at Saltash, and the South Devon and Tavistock Railway, across the Tamar and Tavy rivers. Extension to connect to them was considered, but was impossibly expensive. However, on 25 August 1883 the Plymouth, Devonport and South Western Junction Railway (PD&SWJR) obtained Parliamentary authority to build a line from Lydford to Devonport via Tavistock and Beer Alston. That line opened on 2 June 1890, and it was to be worked by the London and South Western Railway (LSWR).
The promoters of the PD&SWJR had included in its authorising Act the powers to acquire the East Cornwall Mineral Railway, and in its later Act of 7 August 1884 these powers were converted to an "obligation". Accordingly, the ECMR was "taken over" as from 1 June 1891, although the formalities of the purchase were not completed until 4 January 1894. "Payment was made by the issue of £48,250 in ordinary shares, £12,500 in cash, and a rent charge of £250 per annum".
The Light Railways Act was passed in 1896, designed to facilitate the construction of new lines where there was no controversy over routing, and in 1898 the PD&SWJR investigated the possibility of connecting the ECMR line to its own line as a light railway. This proved feasible, and the Bere Alston and Calstock Light Railway Order was confirmed by the Board of Trade on 12 July 1900; as well as the new line, the Order authorised the acquisition of the ECMR line and its operation as a passenger light railway (excepting the incline). The gauge was to remain . In fact finance was impossible to obtain, and eventually the LSWR was persuaded to guarantee borrowings.
A new company, the "Bere Alston and Calstock Railway" (BA&CR) as a subsidiary of the PD&SWJR, was set up and a new Act of 23 June 1902 authorised it to build the connecting line and to acquire the East Cornwall line. A Light Railway Order was made on 12 October 1905 authorising a change of the track gauge to standard gauge. The position now was to be that the Okehampton - Devonport line would be owned by the PD&SWJR and worked by the LSWR, and the Bere Alston to Callington line would be owned by the BA&CR, a subsidiary of the PD&WJR, and worked by the PD&SWJR.
Regauging and some realignment of the ECMR line was undertaken in 1907-1908; ordinary traffic was only interrupted for two days during the conversion, and the new line from Bere Alston to Callington opened throughout to passengers and freight traffic on 2 March 1908. Although the main line of the PD&SWJR was worked by the LSWR, becoming outwardly part of the main line network, the PD&SWJR worked the branch itself, under the management of Colonel Stephens.
The original ECMR line was operated as an intrinsic part of the branch, although the incline at Calstock was abandoned. As the PD&SWJR branch crossed the Tamar at a high level on viaduct, a wagon lift was provided there to continue access to the quay.
The PD&SWJR continued to operate the line itself, forming one of the Colonel Stephens group of minor railways, remaining independent until the "Grouping" of railways in Great Britain under the Railways Act 1921, effective on 1 January 1923, when it became part of the Southern Railway, and later British Railways.
Closure.
With the decline in usage of rural railways in the second half of the twentieth century, the viability of the line decreased and it was proposed for closure. However the poor road network around Calstock, and the topographical barrier of the Tamar, resulted in retention of the line from Plymouth to Gunnislake via Bere Alston and Calstock. The short section of original ECMR approaching Gunnislake is therefore still in regular passenger operation. The remainder closed on 5 November 1966.


Coley branch line

The Coley branch line (ELR:COY), also known as the Coley goods branch, was a single-track branch railway running from the Reading to Basingstoke line at Coley Branch Junction to Reading Central goods depot.
History.
The railway was built by the Great Western Railway and was authorised for construction by the "Great Western Railway (Additional Powers) Act 1905", as a means to reduce goods traffic on the main line, and to reduce cartage by providing a goods facility on the opposite side of the town centre to the main railway station. The depot was built by Henry Lovatt of Wolverhampton and was partly on the site of a Masonic Temple. The line and depot opened in 1908.
The line never had a regular passenger service, although occasional railway enthusiast's specials reached the line. After a reduction in demand, the line and depot closed in July 1983. Since the line's closure, part of the route of the line at the goods depot end has been reused by the A33 road, whilst the rest has become a de facto walking route although not an official public right of way.
Route.
After diverging south-eastwards from the Reading to Basingstoke Line at Coley Branch Junction, which was adjacent to Southcote Junction, the track was crossed by a brick and iron footbridge that formed a pedestrian link between the Reading suburbs of Coley Park and Southcote. Since the line has been closed, the bridge has been demolished and replaced by a ramp and footpath across the trackbed of the branch, which also gives access to the walking route along the trackbed.
The line then entered a cutting. Emerging from the cutting, the line traversed an embankment which raised it from the surrounding Kennet flood plains. A skew arch bridge took the line over the Holy Brook, after which a semaphore signal from the junction was situated. A number of ditches and channels were culverted under the embankment, which reduced in height as the line entered Reading.
At about from the junction, the line reached its first lineside industry, a jam factory belonging to the Co-operative Society that was served by sidings. At the same point today, the walking route along the trackbed finishes, and the trackbed disappears under the busy dual carriageway road that is the A33 road. After serving a sawmill, the line passed under Berkeley Avenue on a typical iron railway bridge. This bridge still exists, but today carries Berkeley Avenue over the A33. Just before the bridge, the line started to spread out into a number of sidings, which after the bridge became Reading Central Goods depot
Located between the River Kennet and the Holy Brook, the depot yard had 12 sidings—located in six pairs—with accommodation for approximately 300 wagons carrying goods such as coal, timber, brick, stone, hay, straw and fertiliser. The yard served local businesses such as the Anglo-American Oil, Gascoignes (manufacturers of dairy machinery and inventors of the Kee Klamp), Baynes's timber yard and several coal merchants. The yard closed with the rest of the line in 1983, and most of the space it occupied is now occupied by the A33 road and its junction with the town's Inner Distribution Road, together with an apartment block.
Originally one siding continued north-east to Simonds Brewery crossing Fobney Street on the level. At Bear Wharf, adjacent to County Lock on the Kennet, another siding was built to allow trans-shipment of goods between rail and barge, with locomotives sometimes being used to tow vessels short distances against the current. With the decline of the river's use for goods transport the wharf closed in 1969, whilst the brewery siding was severed by the building of the Inner Distribution Road, opened the same year. Today the brewery and wharf sites are occupied by housing.


Bristol and Gloucestershire Railway

The Bristol and Gloucestershire Railway was an early mineral railway, opened in two stages in 1832 and 1834, which connected collieries near Coalpit Heath with Bristol, at the river Avon. Horse traction was used. It was later taken over by the Bristol and Gloucester Railway, and much of the route became part of the main line between Birmingham and Bristol, though that was later by-passed and closed. Part of it now forms the Bristol and Bath Railway Path.
This railway should not be confused with the later Bristol and Gloucester Railway, which opened in 1844.
Origins.
As a large and flourishing city, Bristol had a huge demand for coal, for domestic use and industrial purposes, in the latter part of the eighteenth century; although there were some limited coal resources in the immediate area, a more fruitful source of coal was in the district called Coalpit Heath, north-east of the city. Before the era of reliable roads, transport of the mineral to Bristol was difficult and expensive, and this seriously limited commercial activity.
A number of attempts were made over several years to have a form of guided transport—a wooden wagonway or a tramway—built, but nothing was successful until on 27 October 1827 a meeting of interested businessmen resolved to form a company to build a double line of railway between Bristol and Coalpit Heath. The cost was considered to be £49,727; a single line would be about £9,000 less. The meeting adopted a proposal from the Kennet and Avon Canal company that a branch should be added to the River Avon (with which the canal connected) near Keynsham. It appears that the meeting decided to make the Keynsham line a separate undertaking, heavily sponsored by the Canal company, and that line became the Avon and Gloucestershire Railway.
The line was to be called the Bristol and Gloucestershire Railway, but in the early days it seems to have been referred to also as the Coalpit Heath Railway. The engineer W H Townsend was appointed as surveyor and engineer, and he prepared a formal estimate for a single line from Cuckold's Pill in Bristol to Orchard Pit at Coalpit Heath, in the sum of £41,819 14s 2d. (In fact the construction cost about double that sum.)
The scheme received the Royal Assent for its Act of Parliament on 19 June 1828, with a share capital of £45,000 and borrowing powers of £12,000. By now the Avon & Gloucestershire Railway was being actively promoted, forming a separate connection from the Avon near Keynsham, and the branch that had been suggested earlier was dropped from the Bristol proposals.
The Act laid down maximum tolls for conveying minerals and other goods on the line, wharfage and cranage.
Construction.
At this late time it was decided to build the line for double track, while only single track. Tenders for the earthworks were advertised in January 1829 and by August 1830 the route was ready for tenders for the trackwork to be invited.
The northern half of the line, from Mangotsfield to Coalpit Heath, was opened in July 1832; this enabled the Avon and Gloucestershire Railway to convey coal from the mines to the River Avon; it had been a condition of some of the subscription that priority would be given to this section.
By now the available money was nearly exhausted, and a further Act of Parliament in 1834 authorised the raising of a further £20,000, and work continued on the southern section of the line.
This opened on 6 August 1835 with a gala procession by horse-drawn train, which covered the nine miles in three hours.
Track.
The track gauge was The edge rail was in sections of malleable cast iron at , with five fish-belly webs. The rails were supported on stone blocks, being held in iron chairs. Some of the stone blocks were obtained from the Avon and Gloucestershire company's quarry near Keynsham.
Operations.
The railway was operated as a toll highway, with private carriers and traders operating on the line and paying a toll based on tonnage and distance. Toll rates and distance posts had to be provided. Regulations specified the general dimensions of permitted wagons. Neighbouring proprietors were permitted to make siding connections to the railway, subject to certain regulations.
As a horse-operated railway, there was no signalling system, and the level crossings did not have gates. There were several passing places—known as turnouts—on the single line, and the uphill direction was given a straight path, the downhill taking the deviation onto the turnout. There were regulations as to which "train" should have priority when opposing movements met; if two trains met at a turnout, the downhill one destined for Bristol took the turnout; if they met between turnouts, the uphill train set back to the previous turnout. Horse drawn trains generally had to give way to steam-hauled trains, and to go into a turnout to be overtaken by them.
In 1835 the company had discussed whether to "provide" steam locomotives, but there is no evidence that they actually did so. (The independent hauliers provided their own horse traction, so if the company had provided motive power, this would have changed the nature of the railway.) A letter written by a colliery proprietor suggests a toll rate for locomotives, but the primitive technology available at the time made this a daunting proposition and it is not known whether any locomotive actually ran.
Route description.
The railway was designed to bring coal down from an area described as "Coalpit Heath" to Bristol. As its name suggests, Coalpit Heath was a district with several actual pits. There was a northern group, which included Nibley Colliery, Mayshill (or Mays Hill) Colliery and Frog Lane Pit. Although coal had been extracted from this area well before the B&GlosR was built, it appears that they were small scale workings when the B&GlosR was built, and that the line was extended to serve them after 1852 when they were enlarged.
A southern group consisted of Ram Hill Pit, Church Leaze Pit, Serridge Pit and New Engine Yard to the south, and these were served by the northern extremity of the original line. Having connected all these pits, the line ran east to maintain a steady gradient, and then south to the point that became Mangotsfield North Junction, and then west to Staple Hill, where there was a tunnel, 518 yards long. It then passed through Fishponds, then turning south-west passing Lawrence Hill to Avon Street Wharf, on the Floating Harbour at Bristol. The location was called Cuckold's Pill, but on late nineteenth century maps it is called Avon Street or Avonside Wharf. The location of this terminal was immediately west of the point at which the Great Western Railway crossed the Floating Harbour, at the eastern end of the later Temple Meads station, and on the north side of the Floating Harbour. The line crossed Avon Street on the level, and fanned into wharf sidings.
There was a diverging branch to St Philips shortly before arrival at the Avon Street wharf.
The original specification of the line had Orchard Pit as its northern point. By the period 1891-1893, the northernmost pit served was Nibley Colliery, with a total of seven pits served in the vicinity.
Collieries.
Ram Hill group.
Coal was being extracted in the Coalpit Heath area as early as 1620. A deep drainage shaft was sunk at Ram Hill (see diagram) in 1783, at National Grid Reference ST676802; a beam engine raised ground water; the shaft was eventually extended to 55 fathoms. Another drainage shaft was sunk at Serridge (47 fathoms, NGR ST675796) at what became called Serridge Engine Pit. A winding shaft was sunk at Orchard (or Middle Whimsey) at NGR ST673796, and later another at Ram Hill, NGR ST679802.
Later, about 1825, New Engine shaft was sunk at NGR ST678794, and this later became a supply and maintenance are for the whole group of collieries, taking the name New Engine Yard. This was followed by the shaft at Church Leaze, NGR ST676798.
This group of pits closed in the 1860s, leaving New Engine Yard as a maintenance and supply depot for the more northerly collieries.
Nibley group.
Somewhat to the north of this group were Nibley, at NGR ST692820, and a later development at Frog Lane at NGR ST687816 in about 1852. Mays Hill at NGR ST690819 is believed to have been sunk in about 1780 but was enlarged in 1847. These pits became considerably more productive from the 1860s, and were connected to the mineral line after its takeover by the Midland Railway. Frog Lane production peaked about 1891 and the pit was drowned out in 1949.
The Parkfield group.
In the area south of the present M4 motorway, there were several abandoned 18th century shafts. From 1851 Handel Cossham reopened some pits he believed had reserves; these were Brandybottom, at NGR ST682771 and Cooks at NGR ST692777. He also developed a new engine pit at Parkfield, NGR ST689778, from 1858. This was followed by the re-opening of Brandybottom at NGR ST682771. All of these were apparently connected to the B&GlosR line.
A little further south was Shortwood Colliery at about NGR ST680763, which had a branch line to serve it, about half a mile (800 m) long. Between these was a system called South Parkfield, also with a siding system.
Expansion and takeover.
Notwithstanding the limitations of the line, the proprietors' thoughts turned to an extension to Gloucester; at this time a Birmingham and Gloucester Railway was under consideration, and there was the attractive prospect of through communication to the manufacturing districts of that city. The Bristol and Gloucestershire company issued a prospectus proposing the extension, but its bill failed in parliament in the 1838 session.
The Great Western Railway (GWR) considered the project to be complementary to its network, and put £50,000 towards the scheme, and a new bill was presented to Parliament, this time getting approved; the Royal Assent was received on 1 July 1839; this established a Bristol and Gloucester Railway company, which was authorised to absorb the Bristol and Gloucestershire Railway, and to extend its line from a junction at Westerleigh, 2 miles south of Coalpit Heath, and to run from there to Standish Junction, a distance of 21½ miles. At Standish the route would join a line from Swindon to Gloucester and Cheltenham, the Cheltenham and Great Western Union Railway (C&GWUR); that railway, friendly to the GWR, was already under construction.
The C&GWUR was a broad gauge (7 ft 0¼ in) railway, and the Bristol and Gloucester Railway would have to negotiate with that company to add a third rail from Standish to Gloucester to enable standard gauge trains to run. However, their Act repealed the mandatory use of the 4 ft 8 in gauge on the Bristol & Gloucestershire company's route.
On 11 July 1839 the Bristol and Gloucester Railway held its first meeting, taking over the affairs of the Bristol and Gloucestershire company.
Subsequent history.
Main line.
The new Bristol and Gloucester Railway company continued to operate the original line, while constructing its new line, which opened on 8 July 1844. At the insistence of the GWR, the gauge was changed to the broad gauge throughout, obviating the laying of the third rail from Standish, but creating a vexatious break of gauge at Gloucester, where goods had to be physically transshipped between wagons of the respective gauges.
The line was later converted back to standard gauge, and the Midland Railway took over the route, which became part of their main line between Bristol and Birmingham.
Rationalisation of the main Bristol and Gloucester line followed in the 1960s; an alternative route between Bristol and Yate existed and it was developed as the sole main line towards Gloucester; practically all of the original Bristol and Gloucestershire route was closed.
Connecting collieries near Coalpit Heath.
The gauge change to broad gauge required the B&GlosR colliery connections to be converted too. This was done in 1847 at a cost of £1,450. However the section from New Engine to Ram Hill was never converted, having probably been closed before that date. A weighbridge near New Engine Yard (at NGR ST683795) was broad gauge, with a third rail bolted on to deal with standard gauge wagons. It surevived in situ until 1960.
The northernmost end of the B&GlosR line to Nibley Colliery was crossed by the Great Western Railway's direct line between Swindon and Patchway (the "Badminton Line"). A connection was provided from the new Coalpit Heath station to the Nibley mineral line. Siding accommodation on the up side at Coalpit Heath was provided for the purpose. An agreement was concluded on 8 October 1903 between Dame Emily Francis Smith and Charles Colston, owners of the Coalpit Heath Colliery Company. A gate separated the colliery sidings from the (former B&GlosR) mineral line.
Robertson and Abbott give more detail:
<poem>
The name "Coalpit Heath Coal Co." (Ltd. from 1900 to 1926) collectively applied to three collieries, Froglane, Mayshill, and Nibley, which are known to have been producing coal prior to 1832. A mile-long branch from the MR to the workings was provided in 1846. [This must mean from near New Engine Yard northwards.]
At least five private locomotives are known to have worked the colliery lines as follows:
There is no record that any of these engines were registered to work over GWR metals at Coalpit Heath station for shunting or access purposes. Similarly it is not known if any private owner wagons existed.</poem>
Mitchell and Smith show a photograph of the bridge, which had two spans: one for the through line and one for a siding. The National Coal Board closed Frog Lane pit and Mayshill Colliery by 1949.
The othger mine (Nibley) continued to have rail access until 1953 and the branch was used for wgon storage until 1956.
Modern leisure use.
Much of the route, including Staple Hill Tunnel, has been made a cycle path and footpath, the Bristol and Bath Railway Path.
Parts of the northern end of the route have also been converted into a footpath, referred to as "the Dramway"
The word dramway.
In his book, Lawson refers throughout to both the Bristol and Gloucestershire Railway and the Avon and Gloucestershire Railway as "the Dramway", and he also uses the word generically, still with capitalisation, for example, "With the metamorphosis of the B&GR from a horse-drawn Dramway to a full-blown steam-driven broad-gauge railway ..." Nowhere in the book does he explain the origin of the word. The Council use the word on signage locally. There are many theories about the origin and usage of the word, but few of these have documented proof.


Blyth and Tyne Railway

The Blyth and Tyne Railway was a railway company in Northumberland, England. It was incorporated in 1853 to unify several private railways and waggonways that were concerned with bringing coal from the Northumberland coalfield to Blyth and to the River Tyne. Over the years it expanded its network to include Ashington, Morpeth and Tynemouth. As coal output increased the company became very prosperous in hauling the mineral to quays for export, and in addition a residential passenger service based on Newcastle built up.
It was absorbed by the much larger North Eastern Railway in 1874, and some integration of service and facilities took place, but the Blyth and Tyne section retained its individual identity. In 1904 electric traction was introduced for suburban passenger trains on north Tyneside and part of the Blyth and Tyne system was electrified; the new trains proved a considerable success. Speculative branch lines built in the twentieth century were less successful.
In the period from 1975 coal extraction declined, and parts of the Blyth and Tyne system that were dependent on the mineral traffic suffered accordingly, and the passenger business too declined. At the end of the 1970s the decision was taken to establish a light rapid transit system, the Tyne and Wear Metro, based on the North Tyneside network at first, and this started operating in 1980, using part of the Blyth and Tyne routes. Most of the remainder of the former system has no passenger railway activity now, although much of it remains open for freight.
History.
Before the Blyth and Tyne Railway.
From the seventeenth century, coal had been extracted in the area north of the River Tyne, at first close to the river to allow onwards transport by boat. As the easiest deposits close to the river became worked out, the focus of mining was pushed back further, and transport to the waterway was essential. Wooden waggonways were introduced and were relatively successful, but a major limitation was the issue of "wayleaves", by which owners of land on the proposed route could demand payment, usually on a tonnage basis, for allowing the passage of the wagons. The wayleave demands were heavy, and this continued to be a major difficulty.
Wallace recorded that "in 1723, Plessy colliery was in the hands of Richard Ridley; and as he was a man of both wealth and enterprise he would in all probability make the railway by which the coals then came to Blyth". The harbour at Blyth was used for the onward transport by coastal shipping.
Mining of the early Northumberland Coalfield was taking shape. In 1794 a colliery was commenced within a mile of Cowpen, which at once brought a large increase of population and trade. "An Act of Parliament was obtained, and Cowpen Quay was erected... [About 1812] when Plessy Colliery was discontinued, a railroad was made to connect Cowpen Colliery with Blyth, as we have it at the present time, and instead of the coal being shipped at Cowpen Quay it was sent to Blyth."
The Plessy waggonway played a peripheral role in the Napoleonic Wars:
One Sunday morning in the year 1811, the inhabitants [of Blyth] were thrown into a state of great excitement, by the startling news that five Frenchmen had been taken during the night, and were lodged in the guard-house. They were officers who had broken their parole at Edinburgh castle, and in making their way home had reached the neighbourhood of Blyth; when discovered they were resting by the side of Plessy wagon-way, beside the "shoulder of mutton" field.
The railway had timber track:
The railway was constructed of a double line of beech rails, and laid upon oaken sleepers. The railway from Plessy continued to be made of wood till the road was discontinued in 1812. Originally the wagons had wooden wheels, and to prevent the wear and tear of the wheels, which were extremely expensive to maintain, they were studded with nails driven up to the head... Each wagon required a horse, and a man to conduct it; three journeys or "gaits", as they were termed, was a day’s work.
There was considerable expenditure on new pits at Seghill and Cramlington in 1822 and 1823. The Tyne was six miles away and the problem of transport to water arose once again. The Cramlington waggonway was only two miles away, however. It was opened in 1822 and ran from the pit later known as Ann Pit to Murton Row where it joined the Backworth line. Backworth Colliery had had a primitive railway, but the section between Backworth and Allotment was converted to rope haulage by stationary steam engine in 1821. Two years later the incline between Allotment and Percy Main was altered and eased, and the whole line was rope worked by 1827. About 1838 the line was extended north-westwards to West Cramlington, and when the Newcastle and Berwick Railway was constructed, a junction was made with it there.
In 1839 the Seaton Delaval coal company sunk a new pit, and formed a waggonway 1¼ miles in length from there to Mare Close where it was connected to the Cramlington line. In the same year the Cramlington company, considering that their dependency on the congested Backworth line was becoming impossible, constructed their own line to the staiths, parallel to, and to the east of, the Backworth line, leaving it at Murton Row.
The Seghill Railway.
The Seghill colliery owner was also dissatisfied with the route to the staiths, and in early 1839 Robert Nicholson made a survey for a private mineral "railway" from Seghill to Howdon. Nicholson had been engineer of the Newcastle and North Shields Railway, which was shortly to open. The owners of the colliery at Seghill had used the Cramlington waggonway, owned by the Cramlington Coal Company, but the latter favoured its own traffic and put obstructions in the way of the Seghill coal.
The main part of the route ran straight south east, crossing the old line of the Cramlington Coal Company by a low timber bridge of two laminated arches each of span.
There were steep gradients on the line; from Seghill to Prospect Hill rising as steep as 1 in 61, and from Prospect Hill to the Tyne falling gradients, the steepest of which was 1 in 25. The line was worked mainly by stationary engines, one at Prospect Hill, near the Allotment, which hauled up the loaded wagons from Holywell, and the empty wagons from the Newcastle and North Shields road. The other engine was at Percy Main, hauling the empty wagons from the staiths. From Prospect Hill to Percy Main and from Percy Main to the staiths the loaded wagons ran by gravity, unwinding as they descended a tail rope from the drum of the engine, to bring hack the empty wagons. The remainder of the line from Seghill to Holywell was worked by locomotives; those used at first were the Samson and the John, both built by Timothy Hackworth.
The Newcastle and North Shields Railway contemplated building an extension of the Seghill line to Blyth, but the takeover of the N&NSR by the Newcastle and Berwick Railway diverted attention to wider horizons.
Harbours.
The onward transport of coal by water was restricted by the fact that the only harbours available were at Blyth and Seaton Sluice, both of them small and incapable of handling larger vessels. From 1842, the Bedlington Coal Company developed a novel method of shipping its coal: loaded chaldron wagons, 40 at a time, were taken in an iron twin-screw steamer, the "Bedlington", from the staiths on the north side of the River Blyth near Mount Pleasant to Shields Harbour; there they were discharged into the coastal shops by means of steam derricks fitted to "Bedlington". This arrangement continued in use until 1851. Other proposals involved further railways and waggonways but for the time being they were not implemented.
Nevertheless, the limitation of Blyth as a harbour spurred consideration of a railway connection directly to the Tyne, and it was this cause that led ultimately to the formation of the Blyth and Tyne Railway.
The Blyth and Tyne Junction Railway.
From 25 June 1844, the Newcastle and North Shields Railway (N&NSR) worked the passenger and goods traffic on the Seghill Railway, but in November 1844 George Hudson, "The Railway King," made a provisional agreement with the N&NSR to merge that undertaking with the Newcastle & Berwick Railway which he was promoting at the time; the N&NSR gave his Berwick company access to central Newcastle. When the N&NSR was authorised on 31 July 1845, the arrangement was confirmed. In the changed circumstances the Seghill Railway and the projected extensions assumed a new importance. In July 1845, Jobling & Partners decided to construct a part of the proposed railway, and, by forming a junction with the Seaton Delaval Railway and arranging for the connection of that railway with the Seghill Railway, to create a route to the Tyne. The line was named the Blyth and Tyne Junction Railway. Construction was started in August 1845, but the line was not opened for passenger traffic until 3 March 1847; on that date the whole 4½ miles between Seghill and Blyth began to cater for passengers.
Bedlington extension.
Bedlington colliery needed to be connected to the network, and on 12 June 1850 a private line was opened from the colliery to Newsham, a distance of 2¾ miles. Mineral traffic only was carried at first, but it was opened for passengers also on 1 August 1850. In effect this was an extension of the growing Blyth and Tyne Railway; it crossed the River Blyth by a timber viaduct 80 feet in height and 770 feet in length. Described as a "splendid viaduct" by newspapers, it was designed by Robert Nicholson.
Incorporation of the Blyth and Tyne Railway.
There were now several separate private railways, and there was a movement to make them into a single, incorporated company. The spur was passenger duty imposed on private railways, and also concern about promotion of a possible competing railway. They connected two parts of the group together by cutting through Prospect Hill in the year 1851 to enable the adoption of locomotive power; the new cut formed considerably gentler gradients. With other improvements the expenditure was about £130,000. The Act incorporating the Blyth and Tyne Railway received the Royal Assent on 30 June 1852, capital £150,000. The line controlled by the new company totalled 13 miles, consisting of the main line from Blyth to the Hayhole on the Tyne (12 miles), a short branch to the York. Newcastle & Berwick Railway at Percy Main, the connection with the former Newcastle & North Shields Railway, and several short branches to shipping places on the Tyne. The new Company came into existence on 1 January 1853.
A rival company, the Tynemouth Docks & Morpeth & Shields Direct Railway, proposed a dock at the Low Lights, North Shields, and a railway from Morpeth running directly to North Shields, with branches to Ashington and Seaton Sluice. The Blyth and Tyne Railway deposited Parliamentary plans for lines occupying part of the same ground to spoil the competing line, and both proposals went to Parliament.
The promoters of the Tynemouth Docks Direct Railway hoped to take advantage of avoiding the cost of wayleaves with which the Blyth and Tyne was burdened, and the B&TR found itself uniting with the landowners who imposed these charges against the newcomer. Its reward was a concession by the landowners, reducing their terms by a third. The Tynemouth Dock Bill was thrown out in Parliament, and the Blyth and Tyne Railway succeeded in getting the powers it had applied for, by Act of 4 August 1853. There was to be a branch from Newsham to Morpeth and another from New Hartley to the Dairy House near Seaton Delaval, a line ultimately planned to reach Tynemouth. The B&TR intended to buy some existing private lines and continue one of them to Morpeth. The B&TR was committed to the completion of a line to Tynemouth and in 1854 obtained Parliamentary authorisation to make this extension, as well as a building a branch from Bedlington to Longhirst.
Improvements.
From 1855 a number of extensions were built to consolidate the network. Prospect Hill was further improved and double track provided over six miles of railway, and more staiths were built in the Tyne. They purchased two short colliery lines which formed portions of their main line between Seaton Delaval and Hartley and between Bedlington and Newsham, and constructed the branch line to Morpeth. They also planned the eastward extension to Whitley and Tynemouth. Northumberland Dock was opened on 22 October 1857 and their presence there was a valuable asset in taking Northumberland steam coal to market. On 1 October 1857 the Morpeth branch was opened for mineral traffic, and on 1 April 1858 for goods and passenger traffic.
In 1855 passengers on the Blyth and Tyne were conveyed in low-roofed springless carriages locally called "bumler boxes," but the Company decided to improve the passenger carriages while they made the network extensions. The company obtained new passenger rolling stock of modern design. The third class carriages were of a type then probably unsurpassed elsewhere in the country. They were designed in 1854, and twenty years later had given such satisfaction that the travelling public desired no change.
North British Railway.
In the period from 1857 the North British Railway was frustrated by its dependency on the North Eastern Railway (which had taken over the York, Newcastle and Berwick Railway in 1854). It had proved a wily partner in the traffic between Edinburgh and Newcastle. The NBR was anxious to secure independent access to Newcastle if possible. The NBR supported the promotion of the Border Counties Railway, which was being built in stages from Hexham, on the Newcastle and Carlisle Railway to Riccarton on the Border Union Railway (which became known as the "Waverley Route"). Although this was to be a slow and circuitous line, mostly single line through thinly populated terrain, it served the NBR purpose of providing, or at least threatening, a separate route to Newcastle from the north. However the Newcastle and Carlisle Railway was not unfriendly to the YN&BR and might prove an uncertain ally.
The Wansbeck Railway was then promoted, with the intention of forming a connection between Reedsmouth on the Border Counties Railway and Morpeth. The commercial viability of this line was even more shaky—Lee says "a thinly-populated district without manufactures and with very few mineral resources"—than the Border Counties Railway, but it gave access to Morpeth, avoiding the Newcastle and Carlisle Railway altogether. If the Blyth and Tyne Railway could be befriended, then the desired access to Newcastle was secure—but by a very roundabout route.
When the Wansbeck Railway was constructed, the North British (who were in control of it) considered how to connect to the Blyth and Tyne at Morpeth. That company's station was alongside, but on the south side of, the York, Newcastle and Berwick station, and direct connection was difficult. (Running over the YN&BR line, even for a few yards, would defeat the notion of independence.) In fact the Wansbeck line crossed the YN&BR line by a bridge and connected to the Blyth and Tyne line further east. For simple through running that was practicable, but in the event only local traffic ran, and all of that started or ended at Morpeth B&T station. This involved reversal at the point of junction, and propelling between there and the station.
This was a dangerous practice, and a collision took place in 1871 from that cause. By then hopes of independent main line running to Newcastle were over, and in 1872 the Wansbeck line was diverted to connect into the YN&BR station in the ordinary way. The Blyth and Tyne station at Morpeth remained in use for tis own passenger trains until 24 May 1880, after which B&T trains used the NER station.
Extension to Newcastle, and others.
The Chairman of the Blyth and Tyne Railway, Joseph Laycock, proposed to build an extension to Newcastle. The necessary Parliamentary Act was secured on 1 May 1861. It authorised the extension to Newcastle, as well as some branches, forming the loop from Newcastle through South Gosforth and Benton to Monkseaton; and from Seghill to the Seaton Burn waggonway, from Bothal Demesne (North Seaton) to Newbiggin, and from the B&TR existing line at Tynemouth to proposed docks at the Low Lights.
The Blyth & Tyne line between the Dairy House and Tynemouth was opened on 31 October 1860.
The new extension from Hotspur Place (near Benton) to Newcastle, and from Hotspur Place to Monkseaton in the other direction, was formally opened on 22 June 1864; the public opening took place on the 27 June. The Newcastle terminus was at , on the north side of the city beyond the present-day Manors station; it was designed by John Dobson, who had also designed the Central station.
At the same time a further connection was made at Tynemouth, where an extension ran from the earlier terminus of 1860 to a location close to the North Eastern Railway station there. The Blyth and Tyne Railway charged the same fares to Tynemouth as the North Eastern Railway, and the new line was extremely well patronised: 17,000 passengers, mostly third class, were carried during the first week. Third class business was proving popular and the B&TR announced that from 1 October 1864 third class travel would be available on all trains. Third class carriages had formerly only been attached to one train each way daily; misgivings that this would abstract income by trading down were stated by the Chairman to have been misplaced.
In 1867 a branch was opened extending the Bedlington stub eastwards to Cambois, on the coast north of the River Blyth.
Some years elapsed before the opening of the final extension of the Blyth and Tyne Railway during its independent days: on 1 March 1872 the Newbiggin branch of 3½ miles was opened. It joined the Cambois branch at West Sleekburn Junction.
Amalgamation.
During 1872 the North Eastern Railway approached the Blyth and Tyne Railway to discuss a merger. The directors of the B&TR were agreeable, but they held out for the best terms they could get, and towards the end of January 1874, terms of amalgamation were settled. The North Eastern Railway would guarantee a dividend of 10 per cent on Blyth and Tyne ordinary stock (then capitalised at £315,000) and to pay £50,000 in cash for distribution among the ordinary shareholders, as well as taking on all the liabilities of the B&TR. The merger was ratified by Act of Parliament of 7 August 1874.
The Blyth and Tyne section of the North Eastern Railway continued to have an individual identity.
Whitley Bay new line.
When the Tynemouth branch had been built in 1860, it ran north to south from Monkseaton (at first called Whitley) at some distance from the coast. As residential travel increased in subsequent decades, the emphasis was on locations nearer the coast. The Blyth and Tyne Railway had obtained powers to build a parallel line to serve those areas in 1872, but the authorisation was never put into effect. After the amalgamation, the north Eastern Railway decided to reactivate the powers, and obtained a fresh Act of Parliament on 29 June 1875. There was still delay in carrying out the work, but on 3 July 1882 the new line opened. It ran to make an end-on connection (from the east) with the existing Tynemouth terminus, and a lavish new station was provided there. A new station was provided at Monkseaton on the new line, and a complex layout of short spurs connected it into the old system there. Whitley Bay and Cullercoats also had new stations. (Whitley Bay was further enlarged in 1910.) The old route from Monkseaton to Tynemouth was closed down, except for a short length at Tynemouth used to access the goods depot there.
North Blyth.
In 1867 the Cambois branch had been opened. In 1893 further expansion was necessary on the River Blyth and extensive facilities were provided on the north bank; rail connection was provided by extending the Cambois line. This work was commissioned on 13 July 1896; at the same time a curve was installed near Sleekburn Junction giving direct running from North Blyth towards Ashington; this was brought into use at the same time. In 1903 the North Eastern Railway introduced 40-ton bogie coal wagons to operate a shuttle service between Ashington and North Blyth.
Locomotives.
Most of the Blyth and Tyne locomotives were of the 2-4-0 and 0-6-0 type' the 2-4-0s mostly had 5 ft 6 in wheels and two 16 by 24-inch cylinders; working boiler pressure was typically 140 lb. The 0-6-0 goods engines had the same size of cylinder but the wheels were of 4 ft 6 inch diameter. In the 1860s a three-cylinder 0-6-0 engine was built
After the electrification of 1904, steam autocar trains composed of a Fletcher BTP 0-4-4T engine between two coaches operated on the Monkseaton-Shields section, operating a shuttle passenger service over the Avenue branch from Blyth to North Shields.
Electrification.
Residential travel into Newcastle and Gateshead developed considerably in the latter years of the nineteenth century. Street-running tramcars were introduced from 1878, and in 1901 the system was converted to electric traction, representing a considerable step forward in convenience for the public, and competition for suburban railways. The total number of passengers booked in the Newcastle area in 1901 was 9,847,000 but by 1903 this had fallen to 5,887,000.
In response, the North Eastern Railway electrified what became known as the North Tyneside Loop, much of which was part of the Blyth and Tyne system, between New Bridge Street, Backworth, Monkseaton and Wallsend. This was the first part of a network of suburban electrified routes, the Tyneside suburban electric system.
"The Railway Magazine" recorded the opening:
On Tuesday, March 29, 1904, at 12.50 p.m. electric working for public traffic was put into operation on the North-Eastern Railway; the line on which the new motive power is employed being that between New Bridge Street Station (Newcastle) and Benton, a distance of 4 miles 7 chains... The outward journey took 11 minutes, the inward 12 minutes, being a reduction of 25 per cent, on the time occupied by steam-hauled trains... There are 37 miles of double and four-way track [in the North Tyneside suburban network], equivalent to some 82 miles of single track, over the whole of which the passenger service will in the near future be worked electrically. For the present the goods traffic will be mainly operated by steam, although two electric goods locomotives are to be used on a portion of the system...
The third rail system is adopted, the current being picked up by a contact shoe from this rail... and after passing through the motors returns to the dynamos [at the generating station] by the ordinary running rails. The current is generated at high pressure, 6,000 volts three-phase alternating, at the central power station, and transmitted to sub-stations, where it is converted into low pressure 600 volt direct current, and fed on to the rails.
The electric power was to be procured from the Newcastle upon Tyne Electric Supply Company. The trains would be multiple units: "each train consists of three bogie coaches, one a third-class smoking vehicle, the centre a third-class carriage for non-smokers, and the last a first-class coach with luggage compartment."
New carriage sheds were erected at South Gosforth and as part of the preparation for electrification, a spur was built from south to west at Benton, for empty stock to reach the sheds from the main line. It opened on 1 May 1903. A south to east curve was opened nearby on 1 July 1904 giving express electric trains access between the coast and Newcastle via the main line. A north spur from South Gosforth East to South Gosforth West was opened in 1905 (associated with the Ponteland branch), giving empty stock trains easier access to the carriage depot.
In 1902 a north to west curve was authorised at the Benton crossing, but not built at the time. In fact it was commissioned in 1940 to give an alternative route from the main line into Newcastle in the event of enemy attack closing the main line.
Ponteland branch.
In 1905 the Ponteland branch opened; it left the former Blyth and Tyne system by a junction at South Gosforth. It was built under Light Railway legislation. As a speculative line it was intended to electrify it when residential traffic had built up sufficiently. However the results were disappointing, and the passenger service was operated throughout its life by a steam autocar. A stub from Ponteland to Darras Hall was opened on 1 October 1913, and fared no better. Both lines closed to passengers on 17 June 1929. A goods service continued to Darras Hill until 1954, to Ponteland until 1967, and to a private siding at Callerton until 1989.
In 1922 there were six weekday passenger trains on the branch with an additional Saturday train; only three ran through to Darras Hall.
The Metro route to Newcastle Airport now follows part of the line of route.
Manors connection.
Although trains from the Tynemouth part of the Blyth and Tyne section could run direct to Newcastle Central station, the South Gosforth line terminated at New Bridge Street. The terminus was only a short distance from the former Newcastle and North Shields Railway main line at Manors, and in 1909 a short connecting line was laid in, enabling through running to and from Central station. Although trains could now run Central to Central by a circular route, for some years this was not done, and only trains from Central to South Gosforth used the connection, other services continuing to terminate at New Bridge Street. From 1 March 1917 the arrangement was rationalised, and trains ran throughout over the connecting line/.
Collywell Bay line.
Starting in 1912 North Eastern Railway constructed a branch line from a junction a mile to the north of Monkseaton station to Seaton Sluice, the site of a proposed housing development. It was to be part of the electric network, and the North Eastern Railway felt that "Seaton Sluice" was an unattractive name to encourage new residents, so it was determined to call the station "Collywell Bay". The two mile long line was to have one intermediate stop at Brierdene. Construction was well advanced, with an anticipated opening date of November 1914, but was halted at the commencement of World War I, and in 1917 the track was removed for use in France and recycling elsewhere. A mile long section of the track was reinstated so that a rail-mounted naval gun could be deployed on it. After the war the line was left unfinished; in 1924 a review estimated that rehabilitation would cost £50,000, and the scheme was shelved. In 1931 the branch was formally abandoned.
Walker Gate fire.
In August 1918 a disastrous fire took place in the carriage sheds at Walker Gate. As well as the damage to the building, thirty-four vehicles from the electric fleet were destroyed, and many others badly damaged. A scratch service of mixed steam and electric traffic was instituted and replacement vehicles hurriedly ordered, but it was not until 1922 that a full fleet, and a normal train service, could be counted on. South Gosforth car sheds were considerably expanded at this time.
After 1923.
The Railways Act 1921 resulted in the main line railways of Great Britain being "grouped" in 1923; the North Eastern Railway became part of the new London and North Eastern Railway (LNER). In turn the railways of Great Britain were nationalised in 1948, and the former NER lines became the major component of the North Eastern Region of British Railways.
Blyth rose steadily to prominence in exporting coal and extensive further staiths were provided there between 1926 and 1928. Over six million tons of coal were exported annually in the 1930s; about 90% of coal exported comes from collieries within six miles.
In the period after World War II until 1970, boat trains from London ran to Tyne Commission Quay via Percy Main in connection with Scandinavian ferry services. There was a connecting curve between the North Shields line and the B&T line; the B&TR had a Percy Main station actually on the curve. The boat trains ran from Newcastle on to the curve as far as Percy Main North. There they reversed and passing under the North Shields line they ran on to the Tyne Improvement Commission network to reach the Quay.
Passenger services were withdrawn from the lines to and in 1964. Faced with declining passenger business and the requirement for considerable expenditure to renew the electrical systems and rolling stock on the electric network, the remaining routes reverted to diesel traction in 1967.
Tyne and Wear Metro.
Renewed attention to suburban public transport in the 1970s led to the creation of the Tyne and Wear Metro, a light rapid transit system, much of which operated on the old Blyth and Tyne routes.
The modernisation of the existing routes and the necessary conversion to light rapid transit configurations resulted in suspension of the existing passenger services on the affected routes in 1978 - 1979. The Metro services started operation in 1980. Some of the former routes were retained for heavy rail operation of mineral and goods trains, but the decline of the Northumberland Coalfield in the 1980s and 1990s has reduced this traffic.
The Metro system uses the Blyth and Tyne route from Newcastle to South Gosforth and on through Benton to Tynemouth; in addition the Airport branch uses part of the Ponteland branch, constructed after the end of the independent existence of the B&TR but regarded as part of the B&TR network.
Proposed reinstatement of passenger services.
1990-2009: Early proposals.
There have been proposals to reintroduce passenger services to part of the ex-B&TR system since the 1990s. Denis Murphy, the then Labour MP for Wansbeck, expressed support in the House of Commons in an adjournment debate in April 1999 and again in a debate in January 2007. The Railway Development Society (renamed Railfuture in 2000) endorsed the proposal in 1998.
Local rail campaign group, "The South East Northmberland Rail User Group", began a campaign to reopen the line in March 2005.
In 2009 the Association of Train Operating Companies published a £34 million proposal to restore passenger services to the north-eastern part of the B&TR system. It would have included reopening stations at ', ', ' (for Blyth) and '.
2013-2017: Initial plans and the Ashington, Blyth & Tyne Line project.
In the early 2010s Northumberland County Council (NCC) became interested in the reintroduction of passenger services onto remaining freight-only sections of the network. In June 2013 NCC commissioned Network Rail to complete a GRIP 1 study to examine the best options for the scheme. NCC received the GRIP 1 study in March 2014 and in June 2015 it commissioned a more detailed GRIP 2 feasibility study at a cost of £850,000.
The GRIP 2 study, which NCC received in October 2016, confirmed that the reintroduction of a frequent seven-day a week passenger service between and Ashington was feasible and could provide economic benefits of £70 million with more than 380,000 people using the line each year by 2034. The 2016 GRIP 2 study envisaged a project (at the time referred to as the "Ashington, Blyth & Tyne Line"), at an estimated cost of £191 million, involving construction of new or reopened stations at Northumberland Park (for interchange with the Tyne and Wear Metro), either ' or Seaton Delaval, Newsham, Blyth Park & Ride, Bedlington, Ashington and ' (for the Woodhorn Colliery Museum and Northumberland Archives) with a potential end to end journey time of 37 minutes. At the time, it was suggested that detailed design work could begin in October 2018 with construction commencing four months later and the first passenger services introduced in 2021 though by October 2018 such works were yet to begin.
After receiving the GRIP 2 study, NCC initially announced that it was proceeding with a GRIP 3 Study from Network Rail. However, such a report was not commissioned at the time. Despite a change in the political leadership of Northumberland County Council following the 2017 local elections the authority continued to work towards the reintroduction of a passenger service onto the line, encouraged by the Department for Transport's November 2017 report, "A Strategic Vision for Rail", which named the line as a possible candidate for a future reintroduction of passenger services. Consequentially, NCC commissioned a further interim study in November 2017 (dubbed "GRIP 2B") to determine whether high costs and long timescales identified in the GRIP 2 Study could be reduced by reducing the initial scope of the project, but the report failed to deliver on this.
2019-present: Revised plans and the Northumberland Line project.
The county council has, however, continued to develop the project and hired AECOM and SLC Rail as contractors to develop the scheme on their behalf in 2018. On 8 February 2019, the council chartered a train from Northern that carried the then Secretary of State for Transport Chris Grayling and other dignitaries over part of the route (now rechristened the "Northumberland Line") between Morpeth and Newsham, after which NNC announced an additional £3.46 million in funding for a further business case and detailed design study (equivalent to GRIP 3) to be completed by the end of 2019. It is envisaged that passenger trains could be introduced as early as 2022. A Strategic Outline Business Case for the project, prepared by the chosen contractors in March 2019, reiterated the economic benefits of the project, again suggesting that it could boost the local economy by up to £70 million. The Campaign for Better Transport has identified the line as a Priority 1 candidate for reopening.
Revised proposals, released in July 2019, were reduced in scope from the plan considered in the 2016 GRIP 2 study and proposed a four-phase project to reduce the initial cost; first phase, at an estimated £90 million, was to introduce an hourly passenger service to serve new or reopened stations at Northumberland Park, Newsham, Bedlington and Ashington and would have included some line-speed upgrades, extension of the double track section further to the south of Newsham, creation of turn-back facilities at Ashington and some level crossing upgrades or closures. Two further stations, at Seaton Delaval and Blyth Bebside (formerly "Blyth Park & Ride"), and additional line-speed improvements were suggested for Phase 2, while Phases 3 would have delivered further line-speed and signalling improvements and phase 4 would have created an additional passing-loop at Seaton Delaval so as to enable the provision of a half-hourly service. Previously proposed stations at Woodhorn and Seghill appear to have been dropped from the scheme. In August 2020, it was reported that the four proposed phases announced in 2019 might be merged into a single phase.
The North East Joint Transport Committee's bid for £377 million of funding from the UK Government's £1.28 billion Transforming Cities Fund, submitted on 20 June 2019, includes £99 million to fund the reintroduction of passenger services between Newcastle and Ashington, while further work was then ongoing to secure additional public and private investment for the project.
Minister for Railways Chris Heaton-Harris announced an initial grant of £1.5 million towards the project costs during a visit to the site of Bedlington station in January 2020 which was supplemented by an allocation of £10 million of funds from Northumberland County Council the following month. This funding enabled AECOM to begin detailed on-site ground investigation works in October 2020. The allocation of a further £34 million of UK Government funding for the project in January 2021 enables the necessary land to be purchased, detailed designs to be prepared and some early preparatory and site works to begin. The UK Government is expected to fund the remainder of the project cost, estimated at £166 million as of January 2021, once the final phase of design works are complete. Planning applications were submitted for the proposed stations at Northumberland Park and Ashington in Feruary 2021 and for Blyth Bebside in that March.
It is anticipated that the main construction phase might begin as early as June 2022, enabling an opening date in 2024.
Topography.
Passenger station opening and closing dates:


Joan Croft Halt railway station

Joan Croft Halt railway station was a small halt on the East Coast Main Line (ECML) situated by a level crossing at Joan Croft Junction in South Yorkshire, England. The junction gives access from the ECML to the Skellow line of the West Riding and Grimsby Railway and eventually to Hull, Immingham and Grimsby Docks.
History.
The halt consisted of two flanking platforms to the south of the level crossing, with brick-built station buildings on the York-bound side. These buildings still stand in private use. The station was set in the countryside, with just a few cottages situated either side at some distance.
The station was not shown in railway timetables as it was only for the use of platelayers and crossing keepers (and their families) to enable them to get into, and out of, Doncaster for weekend shopping.
The station opened and closed in the 1950s.
In May 2011, Network Rail applied to the Infrastructure Planning Commission for permission to construct a North Doncaster chord to link two lines, the Askern line and the Skellow line, with a viaduct passing above Joan Croft junction. The aim of the project was to eliminate the need to use the ECML for slow-moving, westbound bulk freight trains from the Humber ports, in particular, coal from Immingham to Ferrybridge power station. As part of the proposed works, the Joan Croft level crossing was closed and replaced by a road bridge. Closing the level crossing allowed engineers to lower the overhead wires on the ECML (because the wires no longer had to be higher than the highest road vehicle plus a safety margin), thus allowing the new railway viaduct to be constructed at a lower level. The new chord opened to traffic on 1 June 2014.


Shropshire Union Railways and Canal Company

The Shropshire Union Railways and Canal Company was a Company in England, formed in 1846, which managed several canals and railways. It intended to convert a number of canals to railways, but was leased by the London and North Western Railway (LNWR) from 1847, and although they built one railway in their own right, the LNWR were keen that they did not build any more. They continued to act as a semi-autonomous body, managing the canals under their control, and were critical of the LNWR for not using the powers which the Shropshire Union Company had obtained to achieve domination of the markets in Shropshire and Cheshire by building more railways.
The company grew out of the amalgamation of the Chester Canal with its branch to Middlewich and the Birmingham and Liverpool Junction Canal, which ran from Nantwich to Autherley. They took over the Eastern and Western branches of the Montgomery Canal, the Shrewsbury Canal and leased the Shropshire Canal. Although plans to convert them to railways had been dropped by 1849, the LNWR bought the Shropshire Canal outright in 1857, following severe subsidence, and used it as the route for a railway to Coalport, opened in 1861.
Most of the profits came as a result of the company acting as a carrier, rather than from tolls. In addition to running narrow boats on the canals, they had a thriving business carrying goods across the River Mersey, between Liverpool, Ellesmere Port, and Birkenhead. They made a healthy operating profit until the 1870s, but this then diminished during the next 30 years. They looked at upgrading the canal to take larger vessels in the 1890s, prompted by the opening of the Manchester Ship Canal, but this did not occur. They saw a brief improvement in their financial position in the early 20th century, but this collapsed with the onset of the First World War. Government subsidies sustained them until 1920, but rising wage costs and the 8-hour day resulted in them ceasing to act as a carrier, and the LNWR bought the company in late 1922. On 1 January 1923, the LNWR became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS), with the passing of the Railways Act 1921 (Grouping Act). The Montgomery Canal closed in 1936 after a major breach, and most of the canals were closed under the provisions of an abandonment order obtained in 1944.
The Ellesmere Port to Autherley section and the branch to Middlewich remained open, and have since been named the Shropshire Union Canal. The branch to Llangollen, which was retained as a water feeder, has been reopened in the leisure age as the Llangollen Canal, and parts of the Montgomery Canal have been restored, with ongoing plans for a full restoration. A fledgling scheme to conserve and reopen the Shrewsbury Canal is having some success, and a small part of the Shropshire Canal is now part of the Ironbridge Gorge Museums. Part of the Stafford to Shrewsbury Line, the only railway built by a canal company, remains open from Shrewsbury to Wellington, and is served by Transport for Wales.
History.
In 1844, the Ellesmere and Chester Canal Company, which owned the broad canals from Ellesmere Port to Chester and from Chester to Nantwich, with a branch to Middlewich, began discussions with the narrow Birmingham and Liverpool Junction Canal, which ran from Nantwich to Autherley, where it joined the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal. The two companies had always worked together, in a bid to maintain their profits against competition from the railways, and amalgamation seemed to be a logical step. An agreement was worked out by August, and the two companies then sought an Act of Parliament to authorise the takeover. This was granted on 8 May 1845, when the larger Ellesmere and Chester Canal Company was formed.
Reformation as a joint canal - railway company.
Almost immediately, a committee was set up to look at options for converting all or part of the canals into railways, and extending the network. Although they had already tried using a steam tug to haul a train of boats, they realised that not all of their canals were suitable for such use, and that a locomotive on a railway with good gradients offered a better solution. The Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal were alarmed by the announcement that many of the canals might close, on the basis that removal of one would have a serious effect on another, and sought to oppose the action.
The committee met with the railway engineer Robert Stephenson on 24 July 1845, who suggested that various schemes should be joined together to avoid competition in Parliament. George Loch, who was on the board of the Ellesmere and Chester Canal, worked on the details for what would become the Shropshire Union, which involved amalgamation of several railway and canal companies. Among the canals to be included in the larger scheme were the Eastern and Western branches of the Montgomery Canal, the Shrewsbury Canal and the Shropshire Canal. While much of the canal network would be converted to railways, some would be retained in water, including the Shrewsbury Canal, the Shropshire Canal, and the line from Ellesmere Port via Barbridge to Middlewich, which served the trade in salt.
Four new railways were proposed. The first would run from Crewe to Newtown, via Nantwich, Whitchurch, Ellesmere, Oswestry and Welshpool, with a branch from Whitchurch to Wem. At Newtown, it would meet with a projected railway to Aberystwyth. The second would run from the North Staffordshire Railway at Stone or Norton Bridge to Stafford, continuing through Newport, Donnington and Wellington to Shrewsbury. A third would follow the course of the River Severn from Shrewsbury to Worcester, with a branch from Ironbridge to Donnington and Wellington. The final one would connect Wolverhampton to the Chester and Crewe Railway, passing through Market Drayton and Nantwich. The proposed capital for the venture was £1.4 million, and the engineers were listed as William Cubitt, Robert Stephenson and W A Provis, the resident engineer for the Ellesmere and Chester Canal.
The joint company obtained Acts of Parliament in 1846 to cover the first three of the four railways, and to reform itself as the Shropshire Union Railways and Canal Company (SUR&CC). The new company was authorised to take over the Shrewsbury Canal and to buy the Montgomery Canal and the Shropshire Canal. The intent behind the acts was to build railways at a reduced cost, by using the existing routes of the canals the company owned. New share capital of £3.3 million could be raised, with an additional £1.1 million if required. Holders of shares in the existing canal companies exchanged them for new shares. The Ellesmere and Chester was valued at £250,004, the Birmingham and Liverpool Junction at £150,000, and the Shrewsbury at £75,000. The company carried forward debts and liabilities of £800,207.
Takeovers.
The Shropshire Union Company bought the eastern branch of the Montgomery Canal in February 1847, for £78,210. Three years later, on 5 February 1850, they paid £42,000 for the western branch. The Shropshire Canal had been valued at £72,500, but rather than buy it, the company decided to lease it from 1 November 1849, paying £3,125 per year. They also started work on the Shrewsbury and Stafford Railway, confident that it would not result in the canals losing revenue.
However, dealing with ever-expanding railway companies proved difficult. They had originally formed a contract with the Shrewsbury, Wolverhampton, Dudley and Birmingham project, which was subsequently leased to the London and Birmingham Railway. The London and Birmingham saw the Shropshire Union's fourth railway proposal, from Wolverhampton to Crewe, as an important part of their main line to Holyhead, and formed an alliance with the Crewe and Holyhead Railway and the Manchester and Birmingham Railway. The three companies would support the Shropshire Union, against the Grand Junction Railway, who were proposing an alternative route between Wolverhampton and Crewe. The support was short-lived, as the London and Birmingham Railway, the Manchester and Birmingham Railway, and the Grand Junction Railway amalgamated on 1 January 1846, to become the London and North Western Railway (LNWR), and suddenly the Shropshire Union route was a threat.
By the autumn of 1846, the LNWR had offered to lease the Shropshire Union, and the directors felt that a guaranteed income from a powerful company was probably better than most other options. They agreed to the terms in December, and the LNWR obtained an Act of Parliament in June 1847 to authorise the arrangement. The Shrewsbury and Stafford Railway was opened on 1 June 1849, and lease payments began a month later on 1 July. The arrangement of the lease was not fully completed until 25 March 1857, but the LNWR, struggling with their own success, persuaded the Shropshire Union not to build any more railways, in exchange for a commitment to servicing the canal debts. The Shropshire Union thus lost its independence after a very short period, but continued to manage the canals under its control, and in this they had a remarkably free hand.
By 1849, the plan to turn the canals into railways had been dropped, and the Company were leasing the Shropshire Canal, which ran from Wrockwardine Wood where there was a junction with the Trench branch of the Shrewsbury Canal, to Coalport, on the River Severn. Following the Great Western Railway's take-over of the Shrewsbury and Birmingham's railway line through Oakengates and its branch from Madeley Wood to Lightmoor on 1 September 1854, the Shropshire Union manager, Robert Skey, recommended to the LNWR that the Shropshire Canal should be converted to a railway in January 1855, but no action was taken. However, after a series of breaches later that year and in 1856, the LNER were faced with spending £30,000 on repairing the canal. Instead, they obtained an Act of Parliament in 1857, which allowed them to buy the canal for £62,500, close the northern section from Wrockwardine Wood to the Windmill inclined plane, and build a railway line along its course. The closure was delayed until 1 June 1858, and the railway branch to Coalport opened in mid-1861.
Competition.
The LNWR had sought to build a railway connecting Shrewsbury, Welshpool, Oswestry and Newtown in 1853, but had withdrawn the bill from Parliament after discussions with the Great Western Railway. The Oswestry and Newtown Railway was subsequently built by the Great Western, with support from former shareholders of the Montgomery Canal, who had hoped that selling the canal to the Shropshire Union would result in it being converted to a railway. It was completed in June 1861, and ran parallel to the Montgomery Canal. Another line opened in 1864, the Oswestry, Ellesmer and Whitchurch Railway, which was part of the Cambrian Railway. The Shorpshire Union negotiated with both companies on rates, and managed to keep the canal rates slightly lower than those on the railways.
At their annual meeting in September 1861, Robert Skey stated that the canals brought some £60,000 in trade to the LNWR each year. However, the relationship with the LNWR was not always smooth, who were castigated at the 1862 meeting for failing to use powers which the Shropshire Union already had, to gain control of Shropshire and Montgomeryshire through the construction of new railways. At that time, the Shropshire Union were busy converting and extending a tramway which ran from Pontcysyllte to Afon-eitha to allow locomotives to run on it. The work was finished in 1867, and ran for a time with a borrowed locomotive, until they bought their own from Crewe works in 1870. To save money on the maintenance of Trench Inclined Plane on the Shrewsbury Canal, the company leased Lubstree Wharf on the Humber Arm of the Newport Branch from 1870, and built a railway to Lilleshall Works, which provided most of the traffic on the Shrewsbury Canal.
By 1869, the Shropshire Union had a thriving business carrying goods from a base at Chester Basin, Liverpool, across the River Mersey to Ellesmere Port and Birkenhead. The LNWR was also involved in cross-river trade, using private carriers, and this was transferred to the Shropshire Union in 1870, after they had suggested it. The company bought out the lighterage business of William Oulton in 1870, moved their base from Chester Basin to Manchester Basin, and bought the Mersey Carrying Co in 1883. Under the terms of the lease with the LNWR, the company was limited in the types of goods they could carry, and although they made a healthy operating profit until the late 1860s, this did not cover the interest on debts or dividends. Between 1850 and 1870, receipts had risen from £104,638 to £145,976, but costs had risen much faster, and the average surplus had fallen from £45,885 to £11,717. Most of the income was generated by their carrying business, rather than by tolls for use of the canal network.
Haulage of their boats by horses had been contracted out to Bishtons until the mid-1860s, when the company took that function back, so that they could use steam haulage if that proved desirable, but in practice the only route where steam tugs were used was on the Ellesmere Port to Chester section. Horses were still thought to be cheaper, and remained in use until the carrying business ceased. In order to fulfill the carrying business, they owned 213 narrowboats in 1870, rising to 395 in 1889 and 450 in 1902. In 1888 they experimented with locomotive haulage, running on gauge tracks, at Worleston on the Middlewich Branch. Their engineer, G R Jebb, wrote a report on the experiment, but no further action was taken.
The next development was at Ellesmere Port, where the Manchester Ship Canal cut off the Port from the River Mersey. From 16 July 1891, all traffic from the port had to pass along the canal, and entered the river through Eastham Lock. Access to the river had previously been by a tidal basin, but this was fitted with double gates where it connected to the ship canal. The Shropshire Union spent £37,850 constructing a new quay next to the gates, long, and suitable for ships up to 4,000 tons. While the ship canal was under construction, the Shropshire Union investigated the cost of upgrading their line from Ellesmere Port to Autherley to take larger barges. Jebb estimated that it would cost around £13,500 per mile (£8,400 per km), so the total cost would have been £891,475. In the autumn of 1890, they were discussing plans for a large canal from the Mersey to Birmingham via the Potteries with the North Staffordshire Railway. Neither scheme came to fruition, but the Shropshire Union spent large amounts of money on building better wharves and warehouses at many of the Pottery towns.
Decline.
For the final 30 years of the nineteenth century, the Shropshire Union network had made a small operating surplus, although it did not cover dividends or interest in its debts. The situation improved during the early years of the twentieth century, but collapsed again at the start of the First World War. Government subsidies propped up the operation when hostilities ceased, but wages had increased significantly, the eight-hour day had been extended to boatmen and rivermen, and raw materials were more expensive. When subsidies were withdrawn from 14 August 1920, the operation was no longer viable. Boating families who lived on 202 boats were told that all carrying would cease, although the waterways would stay open, in the hope that private boats might use them. The Ellesmere Port facilities were leased to the Manchester Ship Canal, for a period of 50 years, while the Great Western Railway took over those at Liverpool.
In late 1922, the LNWR bought out the company, under the provisions of the L&NWR (SUR&CC) Preliminary Absorption Scheme, by exchanging all remaining Shropshire Union stock for LNWR stock. A few days afterwards, at the start of 1923, the LNWR was absorbed into the London Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) as part of The Grouping, under which most of the railways of Britain were formed into four groups.
A period of steady decline set in, with reduced maintenance making it more difficult for boats to operate. The Weston Branch of the Montgomery Canal had closed in 1917, following a breach near Hordley, and most of the main line was closed in February 1936 when a breach occurred just to the north of the aqueduct over the River Perry, about a mile (1.6 km) from Frankton Junction.
Finally, the LMS obtained an Act of Abandonment in 1944, which resulted in the closure of of canals under their control. For the Shropshire Union system, this included the Montgomery Canal, the Shrewsbury Canal, and the remaining short section of the Shropshire Canal, leaving only the main line from Ellesmere to Autherley, and the branch to Middlewich. The branch to Llangollen was also retained, but only as a feeder to supply water to the canal. The other main sources of water were the Belvide Reservoir, near the A5 road at Brewood, and the outflow from the Barnhurst Sewage Treatment Works at Autherley Junction.
Shropshire Union railways.
The Shropshire Union Company constructed and ran one of the few railways in England which were built by a canal company. The railway was the Stafford to Shrewsbury Line, via Newport and Wellington. The Shropshire Union Company were solely responsible for the section from Stafford to Wellington, but the building and operation of the long section between Shrewsbury and Wellington was shared with the Shrewsbury and Birmingham Railway.
After the LNWR take over of the Shropshire Union network, the Shrewsbury and Wellington Railway was operated as a Joint railway by the Great Western Railway and the LNWR.
The Stafford to Shrewsbury Railway opened on 1 June 1849 and was in length. The London and North Western Railway leased the line from July 1847, before it was complete.
Shropshire Union railways today.
The Shrewsbury and Wellington section is still in use today by Transport for Wales.
Passenger services on the Stafford to Wellington section ended on 7 September 1964. Goods services ceased between Stafford and Newport on 1 August 1966 and this branch from Wellington was cut back to Donnington on 22 November 1969.
In June 2009, the Association of Train Operating Companies, in its "" report, which proposed a £500m scheme to open 33 stations on 14 lines closed in the Beeching Axe, including seven new parkway stations, identified the line from Stafford to Wellington as a potential link that could feasibly be re-opened.
The canals today.
As of 2017, the main line from Ellesmere Port to Autherley and the branch to Middlewich are still open; they are known as the Shropshire Union Canal. The branch from Hurleston Junction to Llangollen has been reopened for navigation, having been promoted as suitable for pleasure boating from the mid-1950s, and has been re-branded as the Llangollen Canal.
The Montgomery Canal has been partially re-opened. The first section restored was at Welshpool, when the line of the canal was threatened by a bypass, and this isolated section was reopened in 1969. The section southwards from Frankton Junction has been restored and opened progressively since 1987, with additions in 1995, 1996, 2003, 2007 and the latest stretch from Redwith Bridge to Pryce's Bridge in July 2014. There are ongoing efforts to complete the restoration of most of the remaining un-navigable sections.
A Trust has been set up to conserve the remains of the Shrewsbury Canal, with a view to reopening it in the longer term. A feasibility study and a detailed engineering report were commissioned and completed in 2004, and concluded that there were no major engineering obstacles to a full reopening.
A short section of the Shropshire Canal including the Hay Inclined Plane has been incorporated into the Ironbridge Gorge Museums. The canal contains water near the derelict Madeley Wood Brick and Tile Works, and the section at the bottom of the inclined plane at Coalport is also in water. The inclined plane was partially restored in the 1970s, and further restoration took place in the 1990s.


Nantmawr branch


Charnwood Forest Railway

The Charnwood Forest Railway was a branch line in Leicestershire constructed by the Charnwood Forest Company between 1881 and 1883. The branch line ran from Coalville (joined from the Ashby and Nuneaton Joint Railway (ANJR)) to the town of Loughborough.
It should not be confused with the much earlier railway that was part of the Charnwood Forest Canal.
Stations on the Charnwood Forest Railway were located at Coalville East, Whitwick, Shepshed and Loughborough Derby Road. By 1885, the company had been placed in receivership; under this supervision, in 1907 three halts were opened, these being Thringstone Halt, Grace Dieu Halt and Snells Nook Halt. These were an attempt to improve the profitability of the line by increasing the customer base. The line was worked by the London and North Western Railway (LNWR) and was taken over by the London Midland & Scottish Railway (LMS) in 1923.
Passenger services ceased to operate on 13 April 1931, with freight services ceasing to operate on 12 December 1963. The line was known as the 'Bluebell Line' due to the flower growing along much of the length of the line during the spring.
History.
Formation.
According to Hadfield, in 1828 the owners of the disused Charnwood Forest Canal turned down an approach by Leicestershire coal owners for permission to lay rails along the now dry canal bed. The idea was to bring coal by this rail route from Whitwick and Swannington to Loughborough where it could then be transferred on to boats which would bring the coal into Leicester at West Bridge Wharf. Not to be deterred, the thwarted coal owners then promoted a Bill in 1829 which resulted in the construction of the Leicester and Swannington Railway, opened in 1832 — Leicestershire's first railway.
Interest then came from London and North Western Railway as a way of getting a foothold in the coal mining area. It was authorised by an Act of Parliament passed in 1874 to lay a single-track railway from Nuneaton Junction near on the Ashby and Nuneaton Joint Railway to Loughborough. The intention was to link it to the Midland Main Line, but this never happened and the terminus was at Loughborough Derby Road.
A ceremony marking the beginning of work was held on a very rainy day, 31 August 1881. The first turf was cut by Lady Packe (wife of Hussey Packe) of Prestwold Hall. Squire de Lisle of Garendon Hall wheeled the first barrow load of soil over a plank, but due to the rain he slipped and spilled it all, causing great amusement.
The line was long with four stations serving Coalville (East), Whitwick, Shepshed and Loughborough (Derby Road). There was a rock face of through which to go at Thringstone and in order to swing the curve at Grace Dieu a cant of was required. The line also had a steep gradient of 1 in 66 between Whitwick and Coalville East.
The line opened on 16 April 1883 and was worked by the LNWR which had subscribed a third of the capital in exchange for 50% of the gross receipts.
Decline.
As a result of being unable to pay the interest on debenture stocks and partly due to financial malfeasance by the Secretary, the line went into bankruptcy in 1885. In 1906 there was a move to join up with the Great Central Railway at Loughborough but nothing came of it and the terminus remained at Loughborough's Derby Road. The Company then came up with two initiatives designed to improve profitability; Cheap-to-run railmotor services, which were introduced between Loughborough and Shackerstone, and on 2 April 1907 three halts were opened for use with them.
On leaving the hands of the receiver in 1909 it remained a separate company until the LMS absorbed it in the 1923 grouping. Passengers trains were operated by an LNWR steam railmotor, though 2-4-2 tanks. 0-6-0 freight and 0-6-2 Coal Tanks also worked passenger services as well as freights. The LNWR ran nine passenger trains from Derby Road station in Loughborough with most going through to Shackerstone and two continuing to Nuneaton. In 1922 a passenger could leave Euston at 5:35, change at Nuneaton and Shackerstone and be in Whitwick at 8:32.
The line was never successful and went into a decline after World War I. The LMS withdrew passenger services on 13 April 1931.
Final Days.
During World War II the line enabled large amounts of road stone from quarries to be conveyed to new aerodromes throughout the country. Additionally, the line served a number of ammunition dumps, the army ambulance train was kept at Loughborough, rubber was stored at Shepshed and the USA Post Office was based at Coalville East.
After the war excursion trains ran on the line until 1951 and Loughborough goods yard closed on 31 October 1955. On 14 April 1957 "The Charnwood Forester" was the last train to run through to Loughborough. The last excursion on the line occurred in 1962 when the Manchester Railway Society ran a series of excursions. Pulled by loco '43728', the service ran from Charnwood Junction to Shepshed and back. The remaining goods services closed on 7 October 1963, except for Shepshed quarry traffic which lasted to 12 December 1963.
Route.
The branch was very picturesque, passing through the north-western corner of Charnwood Forest, which was a mass of bluebells in the spring resulting in the epithet "The Bluebell Line" in passengers days, although it was not the only line to be so termed. It was also known as the 'Bread and Herring Line' by the drivers and firemen.
The halts, opened in 1907, at Thringstone, Grace Dieu and Snells Nook were an attempt to attract passengers and enable effective competition with new omnibus services. All of the halts were merely platforms six feet wide, thirty-three inches high and sixty feet long, and made up of old sleepers. Waiting huts were added later. Originally, passengers boarding at the halts paid on the train but when the huts were provided the guard issued the tickets from the huts. It was also the guard's duty to tend the oil lamps at the platforms.
"Route of the Charnwood Forest Line continuing from the Ashby and Nuneaton Joint Railway (ANJR))":
Remains of the line.
Structures.
There are very few buildings still in existence which were once used by the railway. However, one still exists in Whitwick, and now serves as the home of the "Whitwick Historical Group". This is in the old station building near the market place.
The goods shed at Loughborough Derby Road stood until 2018, albeit in use with the rest of an industrial estate, when it was demolished to make way for a supermarket.
The only other buildings still standing (and this is a tenuous link) are the numerous bridges still carrying road traffic dotted amongst the local countryside. One of the best still remains intact within Thringstone woods, near Grace Dieu Priory ruins. This is the Grace Dieu Viaduct, a grand and imposing structure for such a small line.
The station buildings at Coalville East have been built upon (housing estate). The same has happened in Shepshed (industrial estate) and Loughborough. There is still a post near the site of Grace Dieu halt. The site of the halt itself was removed completely when the A512 was realigned and the CFR 3 arched bridge over the old road was demolished.
The Trackbed.
The trackbed remains remarkably intact, although some is now on private land. The most convenient place to start is near Coalville's Morrisons outlet (at ) where the trackbed into Whitwick has been made a public right of way. This footpath meanders along the edge of the Hermitage Lake (a former clay quarry), past the modern leisure centre and then under the South Street bridge before passing the Whitwick station building and platform (although unfortunately the platform is unkempt and overgrown). This footpath along the trackbed ends at a T-junction just after Whitwick station, while the line went straight on over another bridge. The trackbed is less clear here, as it is now under someone's garden, who has carried out many alterations. At the other side of the garden however, the trackbed still retains its original ballast and is in remarkably good condition for a short distance, passing through an area known as 'Happy Valley', until the growth of vegetation starts again. It is still clear where it went, but less easy to follow due to vegetation. The line still has ballast here. For reference, we are now passing under Whitwick's "Dumps Road" bridge. The trackbed is still obvious here, yet it becomes less clear as we pass through Thringstone. Alterations to the surroundings make it hard to tell. The trackbed can be readily picked up near Thringstone Wood, which will take you across the aforementioned viaduct, and bring you past the priory and to the edge of a missing bridge, and a busy road below. The bridge here was demolished in 1967. Across this gap, the trackbed continues and soon turns into private land owned by a nearby farm. Large parts of the trackbed are used by the farm as roads for their machinery, though it is still an obvious railway trackbed (there is no ballast here). West of Shepshed the trackbed has been converted to a footpath, popular with dog walkers and boys practicing their skills on mountain bicycles. The footpath starts at Charnwood Road in Shepshed () and finishes in a dead-end about 2 km to the west (). In places along the way, derelict remains of the Charnwood Forest Canal can be identified
Through Shepshed the trackbed has been obliterated, but to the east it is distinguishable again and passes behind a lorry park before the M1 motorway cuts across the path of the line. After the motorway the line has again been converted to a footpath and cycleway near Old Ashby Road, with a dead-end at and on towards Loughborough. The footpath along the trackbed leads all the way to Thorpe Hill where a community centre has been constructed over the trackbed. After the community centre the trackbed is followable again down to Loughborough Fire Station, which again has been built on the trackbed, from here the route of the line is difficult to follow, but the footpath follows the course of the line closely. A care home and industrial estate have been built upon the rest of the former trackbed to Loughborough Derby Road station.
The Station Hotel, now converted to a funeral home, is the only remaining structure of the small terminus constructed at this location.


Millhouses engine shed

Millhouses engine shed was an engine shed in Millhouses, Sheffield. It was built by the Midland Railway in 1901 as Ecclesall engine shed, to serve the Midland Main Line. It was used mainly to stable passenger and mixed-traffic locomotives for use on trains from the nearby Sheffield Midland station. The shed was built next to Millhouses railway station; it had 8 dead end roads, and could handle about forty steam locomotives. Ecclesall shed was renamed Millhouses in 1920. Millhouses bore the shed code 25A, then 19B in 1935 and finally 41C in 1958.
Locomotives.
During LMS ownership the shed was home mostly to 4-4-0 engines until the arrival of Jubilee steam engines in 1937. In 1959 the shed had an allocation of thirty-three engines, including twelve Jubilee steam engines. 1960 saw the arrival of seven Royal Scots.
Closure.
Millhouses shed closed on 1 January 1962, the shed's remaining engines were transferred to Canklow, Barrow Hill Engine Shed and Staveley Great Central.
In December 2015 it was demolished and the site is now on the market as development land.
The former shed yard is now the home of the large Tesco supermarket on Abbeydale Road