Liskeard and Looe Railway

The Liskeard and Looe Railway was a railway originally built between Moorswater, in the valley west of Liskeard, and Looe, in Cornwall, England, UK, and later extended to Liskeard station on the Cornish Main Line railway. The first section was opened in 1860 and was owned by the Liskeard and Looe Union Canal Company, whose canal had earlier (from 1827) been built to convey sea sand and lime up the valley of the East Looe River, for the purpose of improving agricultural land.
When copper and tin ores were discovered on Caradon Hill, they were brought down to Looe Harbour over the canal; the volume of traffic became too much for the canal, and the railway was built. It was short of money and operated with a single hired locomotive at first, carrying minerals from Caradon to the sea at Looe, as well as coal and machinery, and some agricultural materials up the valley.
Passenger traffic was started in 1879, and at the same time mineral extraction was already declining. Seeing the disadvantage of being isolated from other railways, the Company built a connecting line between Moorswater and Liskeard station, on the main line; this was opened in 1901, and encouraged passenger and general goods traffic.
A peculiarity of the line is the circuitous route from Liskeard to Coombe, and the reversal there; there is a steep gradient to descend from Liskeard into the valley, and sharp curves.
The line remains open. Passenger trains are operated by Great Western Railway under the brand name "The Looe Valley Line".
General description.
The Liskeard and Looe Railway can nowadays be more conveniently thought of as "the Looe Branch". It leaves Liskeard station (on the broadly east-west Plymouth to Penzance main line) in a northward direction, turning in a narrow sweep to pass southwards under the main line, continuing to turn to reach Coombe Junction, again facing north. The original line from Looe continued northwards for a short distance at this point to Moorswater, connecting there with the Liskeard and Caradon Railway; nowadays this is reduced to a stub leading to a nearby private siding at Moorswater.
Passenger trains to Looe reverse at Coombe, and from there the line runs southwards, descending along the valley of the East Looe River, with intermediate stations at St Keyne Wishing Well Halt, Causeland, and Sandplace, finally reaching Looe. The entire route is single line, but the junction at Coombe and the extension to Moorswater there mean that the section is divided for operational purposes.
Origins.
The agricultural land around Liskeard is of good quality, but tends to considerable acidity, and in the eighteenth and nineteenth century the best land was "improved" by spreading sea sand or lime on it, to neutralise the acidity. Large quantities of these commodities were required annually, and they were brought in from the coast by pack horse. In 1827 a canal -– the Liskeard and Looe Union Canal—was constructed, between Sandplace on the East Looe River and Moorswater, in the valley west of Liskeard. The canal was moderately successful.
From 1836, copper and tin ores were discovered in the Caradon area, and had to be brought to the sea for onward transport to market. Packhorse conveyance to Moorswater meant that the Canal could be used for part of the journey, but the difficulties of horse transport between the mines and Moorswater soon led to plans for the construction of a railway. The Liskeard and Caradon Railway was built to bring the ores, and also granite, down to Moorswater. At Moorswater the minerals were transferred to barges, which transported them down the canal to Looe, from where coastal shipping took them to market.
This brought considerable prosperity to the canal, and traffic volume rose, soon reaching the point where the canal was operating at full capacity. Consideration was then given to building a railway along the valley. A meeting held on 30 September 1857 confirmed this proposal, and a Special General Meeting of the Canal Company shareholders met on 13 October 1857; they agreed that they should build a railway. Parliamentary authority to do so was given, in the Liskeard and Looe Railway Act, on 11 May 1858. The Act did not establish a company of that name: the powers to build the railway were conferred on the existing Canal Company. £13,000 of additional share capital was sanctioned, with £4,000 of borrowing powers. Locomotive haulage was authorised, but locomotives were not to pass the end of Looe Bridge to reach Buller Quay on the level.
Construction.
Contracts were let for the construction of the line, and land acquisition was put in hand. The railway was to be built alongside the canal; it is not clear whether the canal was intended to remain in use as well as the railway, or whether this was simply to avoid closing the canal during the railway construction period. Granite sleeper blocks (from Cheesewring) were used. In the Looe Valley from Tregarland to Looe longitudinal timbers were used instead. Granite blocks were obsolete technology at this period, although they had been used on the Liskeard & Caradon line, and longitudinal timbers were in use on the Cornwall Railway. Messenger suggests that the use of these forms of track construction was due to inexperience on the part of the engineers.
Construction costs considerably exceeded the authorised capital, and in July 1860 the Managing Committee instructed that the accommodation works (farm crossings etc.) should be postponed; arrangements were made with the L&CR to use their wagons and a small locomotive was hired in from James Murphy of Newport, Monmouthshire, for £3 per day including crew.
Amid much ceremony and jubilation the railway opened, for goods and mineral traffic only, on 27 December 1860.
The canal was retained in operation from Sandplace to Looe, as there was an important quay at Sandplace, but it is likely that the higher part of the canal became disused immediately.
Early operation.
Initial operation from 1860 consisted of the use of the hired locomotive "Liskeard" taking the wagons of the Liskeard and Caradon Railway (L&CR) down to Looe.
"Liskeard" was brought to the Liskeard station of the Cornwall Railway (no doubt on a wagon), and then hauled to Moorswater by a team of 28 horses.
In fact "Liskeard" served well, for it was purchased from Murphy for £600 in September 1861. The L&CR, planned as a gravity railway with horse traction for the uphill direction, saw the value of a locomotive, and acquired their own, "Caradon" in August (probably) of 1862.
It was realised that it made little sense to keep the two lines separate, and a Joint Committee had been formed in March 1862—the L&CR had three members to the LLUC's two. Through tolls from Caradon to Looe were published, and operational management of the two railways passed to the L&CR from 31 March 1862. The L&CR acquired the locomotive "Liskeard", paying the LLUC the £600 it had paid for it.
Mineral traffic increased considerably, and the quayside at Looe became seriously congested. However, copper ore traffic peaked at 27,000 tons in 1863, declining afterwards. Inwards coal continued to climb, however, as the mines were exploiting deeper lodes, requiring more engine power for winding and to drain them. Granite held steady at 7,000 tons for several years, and limestone (inwards) held at about 4,000 tons.
At this time the L&CR was concerning itself with extending its line to new mines, as the focus of extraction shifted away from the earlier shaft locations. From time to time the L&CR also pursued the idea of reaching Launceston by constructing a long branch across the moors. The LLUC by contrast had little to do, their railway being managed by the L&CR. However shortage of money was a continuing concern, and as some of the Caradon mines also faced financial difficulties, there was considerable pressure for a reduction in tolls.
Formal lease to the L&CR, and passengers carried.
The L&CR continued to have ambitious plans, and it planned parliamentary authority in 1882 to lease the LLUC's railway, as well as the construction of a line to Liskeard. The proposal fell through, possibly due to the reality of lack of cash, but a formal lease of the LLUC undertaking was made, effective from 27 February 1878. This evidently included control of the residual canal activity. This was ratified by a later Act of 28 July 1884.
John Francis Buller had secured a promise when the LLUC's railway was constructed, that he could have a siding at Sandplace, where he had extensive interests. He now agitated for this promise to be fulfilled, and early in 1879 it was provided.
The carriage of passengers had been discussed from time to time, and individuals had been carried by express permission, for some time. Against a background of steadily declining mineral business, passenger traffic was started on 11 September 1879. Col Rich of the Board of Trade had made an initial inspection in April 1879 and found that many improvements would be necessary to permit passenger operation, including proper station accommodation, and improvements and widening to several bridges. The works were quickly completed and on 7 September 1879 authorised passenger operation as a light railway; the line was to be worked under "One engine in steam" arrangements.
The L&CR had funded the works for passenger operation, and took the receipts; in contrast the LLUC seemed somnolent, and it was the L&CR which obtained an Act of Parliament to connect Moorswater to the Cornish main line of the Cornwall Railway at Liskeard. The Act included several other more or less ambitious extensions, but the L&CR's finances were weak, and the Liskeard link was in fact never attempted by them.
Further decline of mineral traffic.
The early promise of mineral extraction from Caradon had now peaked, and difficult mining conditions, and the availability of cheaper minerals from overseas, led to serious decline in the industry. The L&CR had been in financial difficulty as a result, and in 1886 it defaulted on the lease payment of £1,350 to the LLUC. As a result, the LLUC was unable to make interest payments on its debentures, and dividends were impossible.
The L&CR instituted desperate economy measures and struggled on; In 1890 the Board of Trade took issue with the L&CR over operating methods on its own line, but also the use of mixed (passenger and goods) trains on the Looe line, with the passenger vehicles at the rear to facilitate shunting at the intermediate sidings. The Companies agreed to limit mixed train operation to one per day, but the placing of the passenger vehicles seems not to have been addressed.
Extension to Liskeard.
For many years, in fact from 1846, there had been proposals to link Moorswater with the Cornwall Railway at the high level in Liskeard, including a 1 in 7 rack railway.
As passengers and non-mineral goods traffic became dominant, the disadvantages of the disconnected route and the inconveniently located Moorswater station motivated the company to act on making a connection to the main line at Liskeard. This became the Liskeard and Looe Extension Railway, which obtained the Royal Assent on 6 July 1895. The name of the company operating the Looe railway line had remained "The Liskeard and Looe Union Canal Company" and by the same Act it was finally changed to "The Liskeard and Looe Railway".
The line required £30,000 of share capital and progress stalled due to a lack of willing investors. The Great Western Railway were approached, but were discouraging, and an impasse had been reached, until Captain J E P Spicer, of Spye Park, personally invested the bulk of the capital. Construction started on 28 June 1898.
The vertical interval—205 feet—and the topography in general made the connection awkward, and a tortuous route was built, running in nearly a full circle. The Lodge Hill cutting through rock was one of the deepest in the county. The ruling gradient was 1 in 40 and the sharpest curve 8 chains (160m). Because of the steep gradient, locomotives worked chimney first to Liskeard, to ensure that the firebox crown remained covered with water. The line terminated in a south facing bay platform at Liskeard. The connection between the branch line there and the main line was a sharply curved siding.
The new line opened on 9 May 1901. A new station at Coombe, near the point of junction with the Looe line, was opened on 15 May 1901 and the line north of that station to Moorswater was closed to passenger traffic on that day.
The new connection had a most encouraging immediate effect on business, both passenger and goods, and by the end of the decade receipts had trebled compared with the year prior to opening of the connection.
Taken over by the Great Western Railway.
The Great Western Railway (GWR) worked the line (and the Liskeard and Caradon Railway) from 1909, authorised by Act of Parliament of 25 May 1909, and the GWR absorbed the line at the Grouping of the Railways in 1923, under the Railways Act 1921. At the end of independent existence the Liskeard and Looe company was quoted as having issued share capital of £90,000 and a net income (for the fiscal year 1921) of £1,213.
In the twentieth century, the line had made the transition from mineral railway to conventional branch line with passenger and agricultural and fisheries goods traffic dominant. There were typically nine or ten return passenger trains on the line, with a Sunday service in addition.
There were signalboxes at Liskeard (branch), Coombe Junction, and Looe. That at Looe was a very small structure at the Quay end of the platform, controlling onward movement to the sidings there.
However the awkward connection at Liskeard and the reversal at Coombe made operation inconvenient. Moreover, through trains, or even through carriages, would have been very difficult to arrange, and they were never operated, due to the sharp connecting curve at Liskeard and the restricted loading gauge on the branch.
Steam passenger train operation required running round at Coombe, and from the 1930s branch trains passed each other there. This seems remarkable as there was only one short platform at Coombe, but at least until the end of steam operation this took place, typically with a Liskeard to Looe train calling at Coombe at 10:02 to 10:07 and a Looe to Liskeard train calling there at 10:06 to 10:09. How this was achieved is explained below.
Becket states that in clear weather authority was given for trains climbing up the steep and sharply curved 1 in 40 section from Coombe to Liskeard to be assisted in rear, and that this was usually done by the train engine that had brought the train from Looe to Coombe.
The line was classified as "uncoloured" for engine restriction purposes, but special authority was given for 45XX 2-6-2T locomotives (classified "yellow"), 90XX 4-4-0s (classified "blue") and 0-6-0PTs 9700 to 9710 (also "blue"). In practice the line was in the hands of the 45XXs. Two were based at the sub-shed at Moorswater.
A proposed new branch from St Germans to Looe.
As the branch increased in popularity, especially with summer holidaymakers, the Great Western Railway considered constructing a new seven-mile branch from Trerulefoot, near St Germans, to Looe, in the 1930s. This was coupled with an awareness of the development of daily occupational travel to Plymouth: a 35-minute journey was planned, enabling "commuting" in modern parlance. A map of the proposed route is shown at "Saltash and Tamar Valley History"
This new line became a firm proposal in 1936, authorised under the Great Western Railway (Additional Powers) Act in that year. The line would have traversed difficult topography, and it would have included three tunnels, including a Seaton Tunnel at 2,288 yards (2,092 m), and a Looe Tunnel at 700 yards (640 m); there was to be a new high level station on the east side of Looe town. The line was to be operated by the new streamlined diesel railcars, giving a 35-minute journey for the 16 miles to Plymouth. A new luxury hotel and golf course were to be built at Looe. Some preparatory work was carried out on the first between Looe and Keveral in 1937, but the Second World War frustrated actual construction, and it was never carried out. The junction would have been at Trerule, on the Cornish main line. The signal box there was enlarged in preparation, although only six levers were in use.
Stations.
The original route was from Looe Quay to Moorswater; the former is sometimes quoted as Looe Bridge, the southern extremity of the running line, but it ran on as sidings to the quayside south of the bridge, on Buller Quay. The line was opened to passenger services on 11 September 1879, and ran two trains each way daily to connect with the Cornwall line; there was an additional train on Saturday evenings.
Passenger stations were at:
Sandplace, Causeland, St Keyne and Coombe Junction were designated "halts", from 21 September 1963 in the case of Sandplace, and from 1953 for the others, until the term became disused in the 1970s (5 May 1969 for Sandplace). It was revived for the newly renamed St Keyne Wishing Well Halt and for Coombe from early 2008.
Looe passenger station was built in the area known as Shutta, some distance above Looe Bridge. It consisted originally of a single platform 75 feet (23 m) long, with basic facilities. The platform was extended to 200 feet (61 m) when the link at Liskeard was opened in 1901, and it was extended again by 96 feet (29 m) in 1928. Arriving passenger trains moved to run-round facilities south of the station for the purpose, where there was also a carriage shed, and then re-entered the platform.
From 11 September 1961, passenger trains were operated by diesel multiple units and goods traffic had ceased (in November 1963), so that the running line ended in buffer stops at the platform end. This was shortened back at the south end in 1966 and again in April 1968.
The line southwards to the Quay crossed Polperro Road (i.e. the road on Looe Bridge) on the level; it extended as far as the site of the present Buller Street. It was named Buller Quay after J F Buller, a prominent local landowner who "arranged the funding for the quay construction from various sources". The harbour lines were closed in 1954.
China Clay was exported from the quay between 1904 and the 1920s, declining because of the restriction on vessel size due to rocks at the mouth of the Looe; Fowey took over the traffic. The Quay closed to rail traffic on 23 March 1954.
Sandplace was proposed for closure in 1907, but the proposal was not implemented. Goods were handled there in a loop siding on the east side of the line until 15 June 1951.
Causeland was the only intermediate station on the line when it originally opened for passengers; it is remote from any local settlement, and in 1881 and again in 1902, when adjacent stations as Sandplace and St Keyne respectively were opened, the Company proposed to close it, but local opposition succeeded on stopping the proposal.
Mitchell and Smith show a photograph with stacked wood "prepared for the furniture industry" stacked on the platform, waiting to be loaded to a train for onward carriage.
St Keyne originally had the inscription "for St Keyne Well" on its station sign.
Coombe Junction became an unadvertised passenger stop as early as 1884, presumably without the word "junction", before the construction of the link line to Liskeard Cornwall Railway station. The walk from Moorswater to Liskeard was steep and lengthy, and a basic stopping place at Coombe gave a somewhat easier walk to the main line station. It was not advertised at first, but in 1896 it was published that trains would stop there on request to the guard.
The subsequent Coombe Junction station was provided when the link line was opened on 15 May 1901, close to the site of the earlier stopping point. A loop line of 650 feet (198 m) was provided, and passenger services northward to Moorswater ceased. The platform was 90 feet (27 m) long, on a dead-end road with the running line to Moorswater alongside; there was a crossover at the north end and until 1938 there was a middle crossover.
From abolition of the signal box on 8 May 1981, the level crossing there was converted to user operation, and two ground frames were provided at Coombe; No 1 ground frame controlling the junction points, and No 2 ground frame at the north end of passenger operation, controlling trap points from Moorswater.
In recent years, most trains on the branch have not made passenger calls at Coombe, and they make the reversal at the point of junction some distance south of the actual Halt.
Moorswater was originally the northern terminal of the Canal, and the southern terminal of the Liskeard and Caradon Railway, and became the connecting point between the two railways when the Liskeard and Looe Railway was built. It is now on a short freight-only stub north of Coombe, and serves a private siding used by Imerys Minerals Limited.
As the original terminal of the line, it had a carriage shed, a workshop, and an engine shed; the engine shed remained in use until 10 September 1961.
The passenger station had a platform 84 feet (26 m) long. It closed to passengers when the link line opened, on 15 May 1901, and ordinary goods facilities ceased in May 1951.
The reservoir provided for the canal was in the fork between the Caradon line and the clay dries siding; it was still present (as "Old Reservoir") when the 1901 Ordnance Survey map was produced.
In the twentieth century there was a clay drying shed at Moorswater. The clay arrived as a slurry, piped from Parsons Park, four miles (6.4 km) north. The Network Rail Sectional Appendix quotes "Clay Dries" at this location. China clay was loaded there for onward rail transit until April 1997; after that date the Moorswater stub became disused until June 1999, from which date cement trains arrive there. In early 2013 there are suggestions that this traffic has ceased permanently.
Train services.
An 1881 public timetable shows two return journeys daily, with an additional train on Wednesdays and Saturdays; the journey time was 30 minutes; the fare was 6½d third class, 9d second class and 1/6 first class.
In 1893 there were two return journeys daily, with two additional trains on Wednesdays.
Traction and rolling stock.
As already mentioned the locomotive "Liskeard", an 0-4-0ST, operated on the line from the first. From 1862 the Liskeard and Caradon Railway worked the line, taking over "Liskeard" for the purpose. It ceased operation on the line in August 1866. An 0-6-0ST called "Caradon" was purchased from Gilkes, Wilson & Co in 1862, working until 1907. An 0-6-0T called "Lady Margaret" also worked on the line.
An 0-6-0ST called "Looe" was obtained in May 1901, funded by a director; however its steaming capabilities proved inadequate for the steep climb at Liskeard, and it was sold on to the London & India Docks in April 1902; it worked there until 1950. To replace "Looe", another 0-6-0ST, "No. 13", was hired from the GWR. After 1909 the line was worked by the GWR, and their own 0-6-0STs and 0-6-0PTs were in use. From the late 1920s, the 44XX 2-6-2T locomotives took over, supplemented by the larger wheeled 45XX class.
Coaching stock, required from the start of passenger operation in 1879, consisted of three four-wheeled coaches from the Metropolitan Carriage and Wagon Co. A further four-wheeler was acquired in 1880; continuous vacuum brakes were added in 1890.
With the opening of the connection to Liskeard GWR, three new passenger coaches were acquired from Hurst Nelson of Motherwell. They consisted of a composite first and second, and two third class vehicles. They were eight-wheel bogie coaches, and the seating was on the open plan (not compartments) with an American-style verandah at each end of the coach; they were said to be similar to coaches used on the New York Overhead Railway. The three coaches were almost completely destroyed in an accident on 15 April 1906.
At this time the Mersey Railway was disposing of locomotive hauled stock, and some of this was bought in as replacements; down to 1907, thirteen four wheelers were obtained second-hand from the Mersey Railway.
Mitchell and Smith show a photograph from the late 1920s with smart clerestory eight-wheelers, which "probably had been retired from main line use".
Mile post mileages.
Cooke gives the zero point for mile post mileage on the branch was on the quay at Looe. He shows a siding running a short distance further south, to "Buller Quay". The passenger station was at 0m 16c, with Sandplace at 2m 28c, Causeland at 3m 58c, and St Keyne at 5m 03c. The geographical junction at Coombe is at 6m 52c, and Coombe Junction halt is at 6m 62c. Cooke gives 7m 29c as the northern extent of the extant line at Moorswater, but this refers to the line as remaining open in 1947, and not necessarily to any boundary with the Liskeard and Caradon Company's track.
Cooke shows the geographical junction at 6m 74c "for Liskeard", with Liskeard branch line platform at 8m 51c. The dual mileage at Coombe Junction may have been at attempt to give a cumulative mileage for Looe to Liskeard trains.
Operation at Coombe.
From the 1930s until the end of steam operation, the passenger train timetable involved two trains crossing at Coombe Junction, at a time a little after 10.00 a.m. The layout at Coombe in the 1950s had only the terminal platform line and the through Goods Line (with no platform) towards Moorswater.
When steam operation was replaced by diesel multiple units, this obviously became much simpler.
At the present time, working from Coombe Junction to Looe is by train staff under "one train only" regulations. The electric train token between Liskeard and Coombe Junction has a key attached to operate the ground frame at Coombe Junction, so that the junction points there can be operated by the train crew.


Border Counties Railway

The Border Counties Railway was a railway line connecting in Northumberland, with on the Waverley Route in Roxburghshire.
Its promoter had hopes of exploiting mineral resources in the area, and it was taken up by the North British Railway, which hoped to develop it as a through main line between Edinburgh and Newcastle upon Tyne.
The railway opened in stages between 1858 and 1862, but the anticipated level of commercial traffic did not materialise, and the sparse population produced very little local passenger traffic. The line closed to passengers in 1956 and completely in 1963.
History.
Linking Central Scotland with England.
When the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway was under construction between 1838 and 1842, thoughts turned to the construction of longer distance railways in Scotland, and in particular to connecting central Scotland to the developing English network. For some time it was assumed that only one route was commercially viable, and vast controversy took place over what that should be, with a large number of candidate routes being put forward. The Southern Uplands and the Cheviot Hills presented a considerable topographical obstacle to many of the options, especially because at that date the power of steam locomotives, and their ability to climb steep and lengthy gradients was very limited.
Many of the proposals were motivated by sectional interests. The Newcastle and Carlisle Railway (N&CR) had opened the main part of its route in 1836, and a line running north from Hexham, following the River North Tyne, appeared to some to suggest a convenient approach from the south.
The "Tyne, Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway" proposed in 1836 by Stephen Reed of Newcastle would have left the N&CR at Hexham and run north through Carter Bar; altitude . to reach Melrose and thence Edinburgh and Glasgow, but this was modified in 1838 as the proposed "Hexham and Edinburgh Railway" to run from Hexham via Kielder and Note o' the Gate to Melrose. This scheme was encouraged by the N&CR (to which it would bring traffic) and the city of Newcastle upon Tyne, which would acquire commercial advantage from being on the main line.
As the debate about an Anglo-Scottish route continued over some years, the capabilities of steam locomotives improved, and the increasing availability of money moved the issue away from a single route determined by political considerations, to simple economics. In 1844 the North British Railway (NBR) was authorised to build a line from Edinburgh to Berwick) to join an English line there. The NBR line ran close to the coast avoiding most high ground and opened in 1846. In 1845 the Caledonian Railway was authorised to construct a line from both Glasgow and Edinburgh to Carlisle, crossing the Southern Uplands at Beattock Summit, above sea level.
North from Hexham: first steps.
The notion of the only Anglo-Scottish main line running through Hexham was now finished. If the area north of Hexham was not to be on a main line, then the sparse population and meagre mineral resources made it difficult to justify a railway line, and for some years none was proposed. In 1853 a scheme was put forward on the unproven assumption that a known four-feet coal seam was widespread in the region, based on Plashetts. A meeting at Bellingham in March 1854 attracted considerable support, and Robert Nicholson was engaged to survey a route. His line was to run from Hexham (on the N&CR) through Reedsmouth to Bellingham, and on to the coal deposits at Falstone. His work was remarkably quickly done, for a Bill for the "Border Counties Railway" was submitted to Parliament for the 1854 session. The proposal was attacked on the grounds of the doubts about the mineral reserves, and also Nicholson's proposed laminated timber bridges, but in fact the scheme was authorised when the "Border Counties Railway (North Tyne Section) Act" was given the Royal Assent on 31 July 1854. The capital was to be £250,000.
Raising the capital proved to be difficult, and the first shareholders' meeting was not held until 20 March 1855. Robert Nicholson died in 1855 and the position of Engineer to the company was assumed by his nephew J F Tone. Tone decided that the bridge over the River Tyne at Hexham (sometimes referred to as the Border Counties Bridge) should be in iron girders on stone piers instead of Nicholson's timber. In October 1855 contracts were let for part of the work to William Hutchinson.
At the ceremony of cutting the first sod on 11 December 1855, W H Charlton, the Company Chairman, stated that Hutchinson would build the line for £180,000 and that the line would be extended to Scotland, making Hexham one of the great railway centres. Hutchinson immediately started work on the piling for the Hexham bridge and but the first pile broke at and doubts about the strata caused Tone to redesign the bridge. Hutchinson had in fact tendered for the work without seeing a design, and he now had to stop work (on 10 January 1856). Scour was a serious issue at this location, and redesign was necessary on that account. Eventually, on 2 April 1858, the first section of line was opened, about in length, over the bridge and as far as Dunkirk Farm, a short distance north of Chollerford. The bridge had cost twice the originally estimated sum. Hutchinson had got into serious financial difficulty on completing the contract, largely because he had priced the work without seeing designs and without certainty of the ground conditions. The Border Counties Railway appears to have given him some considerable extra-contractual relief, putting their own financial position at risk.
The line was built as a single line, but land was acquired for later doubling, and all the bridges except the Hexham bridge, were built for double-track.
A public train service started on 5 April 1858; there were four passenger trains each way Monday to Saturday, and two on Sunday. They ran from Hexham to Chollerford, with an intermediate station at Wall.
Completing the first authorised line.
The train service paid surprisingly well and encouraged a feeling of optimism among the Directors.
Notwithstanding Hutchinson's contractual difficulties, he accepted a contract for completing the authorised line from Dunkirk Farm to Falstone.
During the 1858 Parliamentary session, the Company presented a Bill for a northward extension of the line into Scotland, and to authorise financial support from the North British Railway (NBR). This was opposed by the Caledonian Railway and the promoters of the Border Union Railway, which had not yet presented its own Bill, and was supposedly friendly to the NBR. The Bill failed in Parliament.
The climate had changed the following year, and the Border Union got its own Act. The Border Counties presented a fresh Bill for an extension from Bellingham to a junction with the BUR, at Lees Bog. The location later became better known under the name "Riccarton Junction". This time around the BUR was friendly, and although there was some opposition, the BCR got its Act: the "Border Counties Railway (Liddesdale & Deviations) Act 1858" got the Royal Assent on 11 August. The Act authorised an extension of time for construction of the earlier part of the line; the powers had in fact run out eleven days previously. The authorised capital was increased by £100,000. The North British Railway, by now overt sponsors of the BUR, were authorised to guarantee interest on BCR loans, and to make a working arrangement with the BCR.
From Wark, the line approached Reedsmouth, and there was a temporary goods terminus at Countess Park there while the river bridge was completed. The passenger service terminated at Wark. There was a demonstration train from Newcastle to Countess Park run on 1 December 1859. Public opening was expected "within the week" but this proved to be inaccurate, and the opening throughout to Falstone was delayed until 2 September 1861.
Amalgamation with the North British Railway.
By 1860 the Company was seriously short of cash; the authorised capital had never been fully raised and the hoped-for coal reserves at Plashetts were disappointing. There seemed little chance of raising more capital now. The North British Railway was expansive, and was happy to take over the local line, and the result was the "North British and Border Counties Railways Amalgamation Act", passed on 13 August 1860; the capital for the BCR lines was increased to £350,000, and the Act regularised the use by BCR trains of Hexham station of the Newcastle and Carlisle Railway. The BCR network was known now as the NBR (Border Counties Section).
Completion of the line.
The construction of the line throughout to Riccarton was completed by mid-April 1862, and it was satisfactorily inspected by Captain Tyler of the Board of Trade. As that location was simply a remote junction with (at the time) no actual settlement, there was no point in opening the extension until the Border Union Railway opened its main line there. Accordingly, the opening throughout of the BCR was on 24 June 1862 for goods trains, and on 1 July 1862 for passengers.
The line was operated on the train-staff and ticket system.
Poor Hutchinson had been ill-used by the BCR and his contractual position had been taken advantage of. After completion of the line he was still placed at an unfair disadvantage and he was declared bankrupt on 5 December 1862.
Running powers.
The North Eastern Railway and the Newcastle and Carlisle Railway now proposed to amalgamate, under the name North Eastern Railway. The NBR and several other competing lines opposed the Parliamentary Bill. The NBR was persuaded to withdraw its opposition in return for an exchange of running powers: the NBR was to get running powers from Hexham to Newcastle, and from Sprouston to Kelso. The NER obtained running powers between Berwick and Edinburgh, including all facilities at and between those places, except for the running of local trains and fish trains.
The Wansbeck line, which connected Morpeth and Reedsmouth, had been planned as an NBR route to Newcastle, using the Blyth and Tyne Railway east of Morpeth. This was a very circuitous way to reach Newcastle, and the North British now believed it had a more direct route to the city, which it had long sought. The junction at Reedsmouth had been aligned to face northwards, to allow direct running from Hawick to Morpeth, but in the changed circumstances, it was modified to face south.
It is plain that the NER got a huge advantage from this arrangement, in fact running all east coast express trains throughout to Edinburgh. The NBR appear to have anticipated making the BCR route an alternative main line from Edinburgh via Hawick to Newcastle, but although through passenger trains did run, they were never of an "express" character. Three passenger trains made the journey each way daily in 1862; the journey time was nearly five hours. Much later some of the Newcastle and Hexham trains terminated at Hawick or Galashiels, but some through trips were maintained until 1922.
The NBR acquired land in Newcastle in 1862 for station accommodation at Tyneside Terrace and in March 1863 land for a goods station was purchased for £16,166. The NBR now calculated that the Border Counties line had cost £457,153 "after deduction of the £94,000 of its paid-up share capital".
The Wansbeck Railway.
On 1 May 1865, the Wansbeck Railway was opened, between Morpeth and Reedsmouth. The Wansbeck Railway had been promoted independently but was taken over by the North British Railway in 1863. It joined the BCR route at Reedsmouth facing south.
Wark accident of 1889.
A northbound passenger train collided with a goods train at Wark station on 16 October 1889. The passenger train had only six people aboard, and five of them were injured. A southbound goods train had arrived at the passing station, and in contravention of the rules was allowed to occupy the loop connection to collect three wagons from the goods yard, even though the passenger train was expected. The passenger train arrived and struck the engine, having passed the distant signal at caution and not slackened speed enough; the driver was expecting to run directly into the station.
The twentieth century.
Although there were occasional changes to the passenger timetable through the years, the general pace of the Border Counties line changed little. The considerable expansion of the Kielder Forest from 1946 brought some additional services for the workers there.
In 1923 the mainline railways of Great Britain were "grouped" under the Railways Act 1921 and the North British Railway was a constituent of the new London and North Eastern Railway (LNER). In turn, this was subject to the nationalisation of the railways in 1948.
In the period following World War II, both passenger and goods traffic had declined substantially, and closure of the line began to be considered. The Tyne Bridge at Hexham had deteriorated and was in poor condition. The line was scheduled for closure to passengers on 15 October 1956. The line remained open for the time being for goods trains, and some special inward passenger excursions ran during this period. However total closure was soon considered, and the line closed to all traffic on 1 September 1958, except that a Ramblers' special excursion probably traversed the line from Newcastle to Hawick on 7 September 1958.
The line from Morpeth to Reedsmouth remained open and the short section of the BCR route from Reedsmouth to Bellingham was retained, enabling a weekly goods service and passenger excursions to Bellingham to be run. That section too closed on 11 November 1963.
The present day.
As the line ran through remote and undeveloped terrain, much of the course of it can be traced today. Many of the station houses have been converted to private residences.
The establishment of the reservoir called Kielder Water has submerged part of the line since the early 1980s. None of the route is in railway use. However, in 2006, there were plans to re-open a small part of the line as a tourist attraction, to be called the Green Dragon Railway. The proposal was for a narrow gauge railway from a new water ferry landing stage at Gowanburn to Kielder Castle, a distance of about two miles. It would be a biofuel railway, using a wood-burning steam locomotive and a passenger coach heated by a wood-burning stove. The coach has been built and was on display at Leaplish Waterside Park on Kielder Water in November 2007. The project appears to have stalled and the locomotive, 0-4-2T "Saccharine" (Fowler 13355 of 1914), was moved to the Statfold Barn Railway in November 2008.
Topography.
The line left the Newcastle and Carlisle main line just west of Hexham:
The line climbed more or less continuously from Hexham to Riccarton; the ruling gradient was 1 in 100. The most consistent climb was from Hexham to Wark, and again from Plashetts to Riccarton; the summit of the line was at , close to Riccarton.
Further reading.
Darsley, Roger; Lovett, Dennis (2011). "Hexham to Hawick: The Border Counties Railway". Midhurst:Middleton Press. .
Perkins, Roy G; Macintosh, Iain (2014). "The Border Counties Railway Through Time". Stroud:Amberley Publishing. .


Lee Bank Tunnel

Lee Bank Tunnel was a railway tunnel on the Halifax to Queensbury section of the Queensbury lines south of Ovenden in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England. It was long and was very close to Woodside Viaduct and Woodside (Old Lane) Tunnel. The southern portal of Lee Bank tunnel was infilled when the main Keighley road was doubled to a dual carriageway, the northern portal was bricked up.


Cheddar Valley line

The Cheddar Valley line was a railway line in Somerset, England, running between Yatton and Witham. It was opened in parts: the first section connecting Shepton Mallet to Witham, later extended to Wells, was built by the East Somerset Railway from 1858. Later the Bristol and Exeter Railway built their branch line from Yatton to Wells, but the two lines were prevented for a time from joining up. Eventually the gap was closed, and the line became a simple through line, operated by the Great Western Railway.
The line became known as "The Strawberry Line" because of the volume of locally-grown strawberries that it carried. It closed in 1963. Sections of the former trackbed have been opened as the "Strawberry Line Trail", which runs from Yatton to Cheddar. The southern section operates as a heritage railway using the name East Somerset Railway.
History.
Main line railways.
Important inland market towns suddenly found themselves at a huge disadvantage when trunk railways connected competing communities, giving them cheap and fast transport of the necessities of life, and of their products. When the Great Western Railway (GWR) opened throughout between London and Bristol in 1841, the inhabitants of Wells and Shepton Mallet saw that a railway connection was important for them.
The Wilts, Somerset and Weymouth Railway (WS&WR) obtained its authorising Act of Parliament on 30 June 1845, to build from the GWR main line near Chippenham, to Salisbury and to Weymouth, the latter part running through Frome, Witham and Castle Cary towards Yeovil. The WS&WR was soon taken over by the GWR; construction enabled the line as far as Frome to be opened on 7 October 1850, but the line towards Weymouth had a low priority, and the section between Frome and Yeovil did not open until 1 September 1856.
East Somerset Railway.
Inhabitants of Shepton Mallet saw that a branch line to the WS&WR (now GWR) line was feasible, and a provisional "East Somerset Railway" Company was formed at a meeting on 29 September 1855. The line was to join the GWR at Frome. The GWR was supportive, but made it clear that the promoters would not receive financial help from them. Isambard Kingdom Brunel was retained as the little company's engineer, and after a survey he recommended that Witham would be a preferable point of junction, reducing construction costs. A contractor, Rowland Brotherhood of Chippenham, agreed to subscribe £25,000 to the company's share issue if it could raise £30,000. On 5 June 1856 the East Somerset Railway Act was passed, authorising share capital of £75,000. The City of Wells had anticipated a rail connection from the Somerset Central Railway, which had opened from Glastonbury to Highbridge in 1854; the Somerset Central main line was to have passed through the City, but the railway's priorities had changed and even a branch connection was much delayed. Accordingly, interested parties in Wells approached the provisional directors of the East Somerset line; if Wells subscribed £12,500, would the ESR connect to their city? They would, and nearly all of the promised subscription was quickly forthcoming; the ESR obtained an Act on 25 July 1857 extending their powers to reach Wells, and authorising an additional £40,000 capital. The connection to Wells opened in 1862.
Contract had been let to Brotherhood for the construction of the Shepton Mallet section early in 1857 and in October 1858 Captain Yolland of the Board of Trade visited the line for the formal inspection prior to opening for passengers. There were a number of detail issues: a turntable was provided at Shepton Mallet but not at Witham; and the signalling arrangements at Witham were questionable. The Company undertook that only tank engines would be used, rendering the turntable unnecessary, and Brunel personally managed to persuade the Board of Trade that opening was permissible: they agreed, and the opening took place on 9 November 1858.
The line was single, and on the broad gauge with longitudinal sleepers and bridge rails. The GWR would work the line including maintaining the permanent way.
Extending to Wells.
The Somerset Central Railway opened its line as far as Wells on 15 March 1859, and seeing that the projected ESR extension there would abstract business from them, they proposed to the ESR that the two lines should link at Street, combine and arrange for the whole combined line to be worked by the GWR. The ESR did not favour this arrangement, and decided to proceed with its own extension. However the implacable opposition of a landowner made adherence to the route originally designed impracticable, and a deviation to avoid his residence was planned; this was authorised by another Act of 14 June 1860. It appears that a connection with the Somerset Central Railway at Wells had been included in the original Act, but that this was dropped from the 1860 Act. Work on the line started in December, the main contractor being D Baldwin, and the line was ready for Board of Trade inspection in February 1862.
The inspector was again Yolland, now apparently a Lieutenant-Colonel. He observed that there was now a turntable at Shepton Mallet, in the middle of the line, but none at either terminus, and the signalling system was inadequate: he declined to pass the line as ready. The Board of Trade seems to have overruled him on receiving undertakings that one engine at a time would be in use on the line. A ceremonial opening of the line took place on 28 February 1862, and the public opening was next day, 1 March 1862. The electric telegraph was hastily installed in pursuance of an undertaking given to the Board of Trade, and was ready on 1 May 1862.
ESR sold to the GWR.
The East Somerset Railway was not a success in financial terms, and after a few years the possibility of a sale to the wealthy Great Western Railway was being considered. The East Somerset valued its line at £87,138, but the GWR was unwilling to pay that price for an unsuccessful railway. The GWR was planning to convert the gauge of the former Wilts, Somerset and Weymouth line to standard gauge, and gave notice to the East Somerset in January 1874 that it would do so in May. The ESR directors could hardly have been surprised at this development, but it meant that they too would have to convert the gauge of their line. The cost of that would be £7,390, money that they did not have. The ESR now had no alternative to selling to the GWR, which they did for GWR preference stock valued at £67,442. The sale took effect on 2 December 1874.
Somerset Central Railway.
As described above, the Somerset Central Railway (SCR) had opened its branch line from Glastonbury to Wells on 15 March 1859; the Somerset Central was a broad gauge line at this time, worked by the Bristol and Exeter Railway (B&ER), with which it joined at Highbridge. It was originally contemplated that the line would make a direct connection with the East Somerset line, but this did not take place. The SCR station was aligned towards the ESR station, but they stopped on opposite sides of Priory Road without connecting to one another.
The Somerset Central was taking steps to become independent of the B&ER, mixing the gauge of its track and acquiring its own rolling stock. In August 1862 it merged with the Dorset Central Railway, together forming the Somerset and Dorset Railway (S&DR).
The Somerset Central had intended making a branch from Wells to Yatton, joining the B&ER main line there, and including the formation of the direct connection to the East Somerset line at Wells, and a spur there to enable direct running from Glastonbury to Bristol. The Somerset & Dorset Railway took over the project, obtaining the necessary Act of Parliament on 14 July 1864 for "the Cheddar Valley and Yatton Railway". The B&ER had promoted a competing line, but a settlement was reached in which the B&ER and the S&DR agreed to abandon schemes encroaching on each other's area of influence, and the Cheddar Valley and Yatton scheme was transferred to the B&ER; the transfer of powers was ratified by the Bristol & Exeter Railway (Additional Powers) Act on 19 June 1865.
Cheddar Valley and Yatton Railway.
The Bristol and Exeter Railway proceeded with the construction of the project it had acquired; their Chief Engineer, Francis Fox, was resident engineer for the work. The authorised scheme was to run to the East Somerset Railway station at Wells, running through and calling at the Somerset & Dorset station there, and the track was to be on the broad gauge. There was to be a 180-yard (165-metre) tunnel at Shute Shelve.
A difficulty with the route emerged at Wells: the tracks at the approach to the Somerset Central Railway (now S&DR) station had been laid out in a way that cut across the proposed Cheddar Valley line to the East Somerset station. The Board of Trade made it clear that the proposed through line was not acceptable, and the B&ER had to construct a separate station at Wells on Tucker Street, short of the S&DR. There would now be three stations in Wells.
The B&ER line was opened to Cheddar on 3 August 1869: the lavish passenger station was not ready, and for a period the goods shed was used for passenger purposes. The passenger station was open on 9 or 10 May 1870.
The line was opened to the Tucker Street station at Wells on 5 April 1870.
Connecting through Wells.
From that date Wells had three stations, none of them connected, yet all aligned with through running in mind: from north-west to south-east, the B&ER station at Tucker Street; the Somerset and Dorset station aligned as a through station, but with its line from Glastonbury approaching from the south-west; and the GWR (former ESR) station. All were called "Wells" at this stage.
This situation persisted for several years; in 1876 the Deputy Chairman of the GWR visited, and reported
Proceeding through the Somerset & Dorset station I had pointed out to me what had already been done to form a physical connection with the B&E lines, so that, by arrangement, vehicles could then pass from one of our stations to the other. Proceeding to the Great Western station ... the first thing which attracted my attention was a new first class coach, sent from Swindon ... [it was] destined to relieve a B&E coach, and it had been sent to the wrong station at Wells, and to reach the right one, it had to do so via Bristol.
It appears that from the beginning the desired track had been laid; when Board of Trade sanction to open it was refused, the Somerset and Dorset company nonetheless charged the B&ER for the agreed rental charge. Later the ESR approached the GWR asking them to agree to work goods movements over the line, as the Board of Trade refusal only applied to passenger trains; the GWR replied that it would "hesitate to use the junction [i.e. the connecting line] without the authority of the Board of Trade."
In fact in 1874 when the B&ER Yatton line was still broad but the GWR former ESR line was narrow, an exchange platform was built by the B&ER at the East Somerset station, but sanction to run passenger trains through was again refused by Colonel Yolland; this was partly due to anticipated blockage of the turnpike road (Priory Road) by ESR engines running round their trains. Yolland reported that
Great pains [had] been taken to make such arrangements of the sidings points and their connections with the signals by interlocking as to provide against the danger inherent on crossing so many goods lines on the level, but ... these arrangements are not suitable for working the passenger trains through Wells, as a through station ... [nor do I] assent to the present construction of this station so far as it renders it necessary to shunt engines across the turnpike road. ... [and] there are still sidings lying south of [the Somerset and Dorset] passenger lines which are not provided with blind sidings or throw-off points to prevent vehicles from being brought out of them without the sanction of the signalman on duty.
Gauge conversion on the B&ER line in November 1875 and operation of through trains of course reduced the blockage of the road by engines of terminating trains running round; the remaining sidings that did not have trap points must have been fitted, for the Board of Trade objection to through running was eventually resolved, and the intended connection was opened on 1 January 1878. Track layout diagrams show a "collecting" siding that traps vehicles in the goods sidings of Wells S&D Yard, protecting the through running line, and there was a signal box immediately overlooking the yard, later designated Wells "A" Box.
The Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway (S&DJR) was already standard gauge by this time, and the other two railways had moved from broad gauge to standard gauge in 1875 (see below). The Bristol and Exeter had amalgamated with the GWR in 1876, and the integrated service ran from Yatton through to Witham, which became the standard service for this line from 1878. GWR trains ran through the Priory Road S&DJR station without stopping. As it was the terminus of that railway's branch from Glastonbury and Street, so that terminating trains blocked the through line during their own station duties there.
Gauge conversion.
By the 1870s it began to be obvious that the indefinite continuation of the broad gauge was impossible, and plans were formulated to convert the broad gauge lines to standard gauge (often referred to as "narrow gauge" for contrast). In 1874 of the former Wilts, Somerset and Weymouth group of lines were converted; this included the former East Somerset line. In a huge operation, the last broad gauge trains ran on the line on 18 June, and on Sunday 21 June narrow gauge rolling stock was in place ready to operate a normal service.
The Bristol and Exeter Railway converted its branch line from Yatton to Wells from 15 to 18 November 1875.
Bristol and Exeter amalgamation.
The Bristol and Exeter Railway amalgamated with the Great Western Railway on 1 January 1876; the amalgamated company retained the title "the Great Western Railway". The entire route from Yatton to Witham was now under single ownership, although it relied on running over of the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway.
Wrington Vale Light Railway.
Blagdon and Farrington Gurney had long wanted a railway connection, but local interests could not raise the necessary funds. The Light Railways Act, 1896 enabled the construction and operation of railways with lower standards and therefore more cheaply. This coupled with the interest of the Bristol Waterworks Company in building a large reservoir which became known as Blagdon Lake, enabled the construction of the Wrington Vale Light Railway, from Congresbury on the Cheddar Valley line to Blagdon.
The GWR provided the money and a Light Railway Order was obtained. The line was long and the station at Congresbury was substantially altered to accommodate the junction. The line opened on 4 December 1901, with stations at Wrington, Langford, Burrington and . There were four passenger trains daily of which one was mixed; they ran to and from Yatton.
Closure.
Following World War II, road usage increased considerably and rail usage declined, particularly on rural branch lines. The line was being considered for closure when the British Railways Board published the report in 1963, "The Reshaping of British Railways" often referred to as the Beeching cuts. Accordingly the Cheddar Valley line is listed in the appendix of that report.
The line between Yatton and Witham closed to passengers on 9 September 1963 and to goods in 1964.
Infrastructure.
Route.
The line ran in a general north-west to south-east direction. The "down" direction of trains was from Yatton to Wells Tucker Street, and from Witham to Wells Tucker Street.
"Great Western Railway, originally Bristol and Exeter Railway"
"Cheddar Valley and Yatton Branch"
"Somerset Central Railway, later Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway"
"East Somerset Railway"
"Great Western Railway, Wilts, Somerset and Weymouth section"
Gradients.
From Yatton the line ran more or less level at first, then climbing to Shute Shelve Tunnel at 1 in 90, falling on the other side at 1 in 75. Gentle undulations followed to a summit between Lodge Hill and Wookey, climbing at 1 in 96. A slight fall followed to Wells. Leaving Wells the line climbed for over 6 miles to Dulcote at 1 in 46½ for much of the distance. The falling gradient the other side had a ruling gradient of 1 in 47, although with some short sections of gentler climb.
Signalling.
The original signalling on the East Somerset Railway followed the Wilts, Somerset and Weymouth Railway practice of using a double-needle electric telegraph; the signals at each station were disc and crossbar home signals; starting was authorised by hand signal. The GWR replaced the double-needle telegraph by a single-needle variety.
The Bristol and Exeter line (north-west of Wells) used a staff-and-ticket system, but the Somerset Central line, worked by them, used a block telegraph system, upgraded to train staff and ticket by 1886 and to electric train staff in 1895.
The electric train staff system was installed on 11 May 1896, and certain stations that were not crossing places—Congresbury, Winscombe, Draycott, Dulcote Siding and Doulting Siding—were downgraded, and the points there worked by Annett's key attached to the train staff. The short sections at Wells (East Somerset to Wells S&D, and Wells S&D to Tucker Street) were worked on a no-staff system using GWR instruments. GWR signals were installed as part of the work.
The electric key token system was installed from 1948 to 1954.
Present day.
Strawberry Line trail.
Much of the disused line between Yatton and Cheddar today forms "The Strawberry Line", a railway walk and part of the National Cycle Network route 26.
The trail starts at Yatton railway station and is in good condition most of the way to the site of Congresbury railway station. A new section of path along the top of the Congresbury Yeo river bank avoids the busy A370 road running alongside. At Congresbury the platforms of the former station remain, as do houses built for railway workers. The route on to Sandford is surfaced. Upon reaching the rail bridge on the outskirts of Sandford the trail joins Nye Road for about half a mile (800 m), before turning right into a new off-road link. This passes large orchards before rejoining the track bed for a short stretch to the A368. After crossing the road the site of Sandford and Banwell railway station is visible. The site has been developed as "Sandford Station Retirement Village" a sheltered housing complex. There is a view of the station, goods shed and platform including a short section of track, with period carriage and open wagons. The station is now restored and open to the public on summer weekends with access from the trail.
The scenery through to Winscombe changes from open moorland to railway cuttings, with the path in condition to match the previous sections. The former station platform is preserved, with a time line of local and world events along its length. The small red bricked façade of the demolished station building has been laid flat into its former foundation. Seats and lighting have been provided and there are public toilets. After Winscombe the line continues south to Shute Shelve Tunnel, which cuts underneath Shute Shelve Hill. Within the tunnel the central surface has been paved with tarmac but it is unlit except for a central guide line of small guide lamps. The north half of the tunnel is brick lined, but about midway it reverts to unlined rock for the southern half, marking a change in the underlying geology from sandstone to limestone. After the tunnel the line continues due south through a deep cutting and onto an embankment as the land falls away until meeting the A38 which a bridge once crossed.
From this point the line turns eastwards and follows the southern edge of the Mendip Hills crossing the Cheddar Yeo. The track bed around Axbridge has now been made into the A371 road, but the station building, goods shed and station master's house are all in use. The Strawberry Line Trail goes through the town itself missing out the station site higher on the hillside behind the church.
The railway track is regained opposite St Michael's Cheshire Home and there is a picnic spot overlooking the reservoir. The route comes to an end at the side of the former station which is now in use as a stonemason's surrounded by a small industrial estate, a mile (1.6 km) from Cheddar Gorge. It also includes parts of the Biddle Street Site of Special Scientific Interest.
Reopening proposals.
The Campaign for Better Transport group lists the line as having potential for reopening. Proposals to restore a passenger service from the Heart of Wessex Line at Witham to Shepton Mallet are endorsed by Mendip District Council and Wells MP James Heappey.


Mansfield and Pinxton Railway

The Mansfield and Pinxton Railway was an early horse-drawn railway in the United Kingdom. It was completed in 1819, to make a transport link between Mansfield and the Cromford Canal at Pinxton. An important traffic was coal inward to Mansfield, as coal deposits near there were too deep to be extracted economically at the time; minerals, malt and other manufactures were exported from Mansfield. Collieries along the line of route were developed as time went on.
From 1847 the Midland Railway developed a railway network in the locality of Mansfield, and purchased the M&PR, converting it to be suitable for locomotive use and incorporating it in its own network.
In the second half of the twentieth century, passenger and ordinary goods business in the Mansfield area declined substantially, leaving only a limited coal traffic via Codnor Park from 1970. The passenger service from Nottingham to Mansfield was revived under the marketing title The Robin Hood Line, opening to Mansfield in 1995, using the section of the original M&PR, as modified by the Midland Railway, from Kirkby to Mansfield. The mineral traffic flow from Codnor Park continues.
Conception.
The canal age had resulted in a network that greatly reduced transport costs, but topography, in particular hilly terrain, left some localities deprived of the amenity. Mansfield had no canal; the nearest was the Pinxton basin of a branch of the Cromford canal, about 8 miles away. Mansfield’s industry was malting, and the manufacture of stockings and gloves, there were considerable limestone deposits, and sand particularly suited to moulding in cast iron manufacture. The lack of economical transport left Mansfield at a disadvantage in transporting its products to market. Pinxton was at the eastern edge of coal deposits at practicable depths at the time, so the coal consumed in Mansfield had to be brought in.
Business interests in Mansfield saw the desirability of a railway connection to the town and promoted a line from the Pinxton basin of the Cromford Canal to Mansfield. The Mansfield and Pinxton Railway was authorised by Act of 16 June 1817. Unlike many tramway extensions to canals, it was authorised independently. Its declared purpose was to convey heavy minerals, chiefly coal, lead and limestone at first, to and from the Pinxton basin of the Cromford canal. Pinxton was at the eastern edge of coal deposits at practicable depths at the time, so the coal was to be brought into Mansfield. The hilly terrain predisposed against extension of the canal. The authorised capital was £22,800. Immediately after authorisation a meeting of the proprietors took place, indicating that businesspeople had already committed to funding the construction, and no general invitation to subscribe was required.
Josias Jessop was the engineer of the project. Construction evidently proceeded rapidly, but there was a cost overrun. At a meeting held on 18 December 1818 it was said that an additional £7,600 was needed to complete the railway.
Opening and early operation.
The line was opened on 13 April 1819, when "the first load of coals was brought in to the Company's wharf [at Mansfield]... the coal was unloaded and taken to the market place where it was heaped up and set on fire." This was evidently a major event in the locality: crowds met the incoming train at the five-arch bridge "where they met ten waggons laden with coal from the Pinxton colliery... the assemblage amounted to some thousands... Having arrived at the market-place about three o'clock, which, not withstanding the heavy rain falling at the time was thronged with people, the band struck up "God Save the King"... Nearly three hundred of the workmen who had been employed during the last three months on the road, then returned to partake of a dinner, provided for them by the proprietors, at different public houses in the town."
The Mansfield terminal was Portland Wharf, alongside White Bear Lane. Bullocks were used as the motive power at first, and later horses were substituted. The railway was to be operated as a toll road: tonnage rates were set; owners of land adjacent to the line were to establish wharfs (goods sidings) and the company could step in if they failed to do so.
The line was double track, miles long. From Mansfield to the summit level there was a rise of 89 ft; it then fell 181 feet to the Pinxton terminal. The summit was a little under half way from Mansfield. The track consisted of fish-bellied cast iron edge rails; the rails used a form of scarfed joints on stone block sleepers. The selection of edge rails was not without controversy: plate rails (where the wagon wheels are plain and the plate provides the flange for containment) have the advantage that the wagons can leave the track and be manoeuvred on an ordinary flat surface. Losing that advantage was only justified if edge rails enabled heavier loads to be hauled by a horse; there seemed to be a lack of objective evidence on that point.
The track gauge was 4 ft in. The Board of Trade Inspecting Officer visited on 25 September 1849, and his report mistakenly refers to a gauge of 4 ft 4 in.
Financial trends.
At the first proprietors' meeting in April 1820 it was announced that the cost of building the railway had been £35,000, "which had put the Company and its investors into debt". The amount collected by tolls was £1,350, and a dividend of 3% was declared.
Income figures are available for the year 1833-4: gross income was £1,966 3s 9d; expenses were £485 13s 2d and a dividend of 9% was paid. Coal and coke were by far the dominant commodity carried. Repairing the rails proved more expensive than had been foreseen: the cost of repairs in the 1824/25 statement amounted to £204 18s. In 1834, it was decided that if any new rails were required they should be of wrought iron, not less than 12 feet long. Larger stone blocks were needed for the sleepers for these rails. They were to measure not less than 2 feet by 20 inches and 8 inches thick. The first order for the longer rails was for 200 yards. In 1836 one hundred and sixty rails were ordered.
Although the Mansfield & Pinxton Railway was originally envisaged as an extension of the Cromford Canal, the canal company took little interest in the railway, and repeatedly declined to give discounted rates. Most of the traffic in later years was coal from pits alongside the lower part of the line to the industrial and domestic hearths of Mansfield. The quantity of stone conveyed was less than expected, mainly because of the expense of carrying it forward by canal. Nevertheless, one of Britain's most famous landmarks, the Palace of Westminster (the Houses of Parliament) was rebuilt during the mid-1830s using limestone transported over the Pinxton line. Mansfield dispatched its renowned moulding sand to local ironworks via the railway and received wagons of metal for its foundries. Bricks, lime, timber, slate and assorted agricultural produce made up the remaining traffic. Nevertheless coal outweighed the traffic volumes seven to one.
Passenger operation.
William Epperstone provided a passenger service from 1832; his vehicle left "Wheatcroft & Co's. Railway Waggon Warehouse, Portland Wharf" every Thursday at 3 pm, in addition to "two or three waggons, every morning, at 6 or 7 o'clock, on the Railway to Pinxton, whence goods are forwarded to all parts of the Kingdom by land and water."
Takeover.
The Midland Railway was formed in May 1844; it acquired the rights to the Erewash Valley Railway; it opened that line from Long Eaton Junction to Codnor Park on 6 September 1847. The Midland Railway saw the importance of connecting to Mansfield, but two new companies were being promoted: the Boston, Newark & Sheffield Railway was to pass through Southwell and Mansfield, while the Nottingham, Mansfield & Midlands Junction Railway would incorporate the Mansfield & Pinxton line. These two organisations were so confident about their prospects that they jointly purchased the Mansfield & Pinxton company the following year. The Midland Railway had decided to build a line from Nottingham to Mansfield, using part of the Pinxton Railway, and Parliament favoured their plans, and an Act for the Nottingham Mansfield railway (initially connecting with the Mansfield & Pinxton north of Kirkby in Ashfield) was passed on 16 July 1846.
The Midland Railway got its Mansfield and Erewash Valley Extension Act on 9 July 1847. This sanctioned the acquisition of the tramway and its incorporation in a line between Codnor Park and Mansfield. Ownership of the Pinxton line remained a problem. The issue was finally resolved on 15 February 1848, when the Railway Commissioners issued a certificate, by the authority of which the Mansfield & Pinxton Railway was amalgamated with the Midland and immediately dissolved. The purchase of the Mansfield and Pinxton Tramway cost £21,066 13s. 4d.; Stretton considered that a comparatively small sum.
Conversion and reopening.
This gave the Midland Railway two routes to Mansfield: a new line from near Nottingham, via the Leen Valley, and the Erewash Valley line via Codnor Park. The tramway style of track of the Mansfield and Pinxton Railway needed to be completely renewed. It had been built with no concern for speed, and several sharp curves needed to be eased. The work progressed rapidly, and on 24 August 1849 a contractor's locomotive visited Mansfield, attracting considerable local attention. Midland Railway directors arrived by special train on 17 September, and the Board of Trade inspection took place on 25 September. The route between Kirkby and Mansfield section was found to be in good shape. but the Codnor Park line was missing several crossing gates and even some short lengths of track.
Mineral workings over the Codnor Park line (not requiring Board of Trade approval), and passenger services from Mansfield to Nottingham, commenced on 9 October 1849. There were four passenger journeys a day, taking 55 minutes. Mansfield trains from Nottingham followed the River Leen through Radford and Hucknall. Then there was an arduous four mile climb at 1 in 79 past Linby and Newstead to Kirkby Tunnel, 199 yards. The line continued to Kirkby, and a short distance north of there, the new line joined the route of the Pinxton railway past Sutton-in-Ashfield and across King's Mill viaduct to Mansfield. The distance from Nottingham to Mansfield was about 17 miles. There was a new terminal at Mansfield, attached to the original Mansfield and Pinxton warehouse. The Codnor Park-Mansfield railway climbed gently up the Erewash Valley to join the old tramway formation east of Pinxton basin.
Extended colliery working.
The Mansfield line became the springboard for reaching areas north and east of the town, promoted by the expansion of coal working in those areas. Mansfield station was converted for through working in 1872, although actual through operation did not begin until 1875. Numerous other collieries directly on the former Mansfield and Pinxton line opened towards the end of the nineteenth century, as technological improvements enabled the exploitation of the deeper seams. Many branch lines connections to the M&PR route were made, and competing lines were opened too.
The twentieth century.
Expansion of colliery activity continued in the twentieth century. The Midland Railway became a constituent of the new London, Midland and Scottish Railway in 1923, under the "grouping" of the railways, directed by the Railways Act 1921. In turn the LMS, with other companies, was nationalised in 1948, becoming part of British Railways.
By this time local passenger traffic (and the ordinary goods business) had been hard hit by road competition. Ordinary passenger services from Mansfield to Codnor Park and Pye Bridge had been withdrawn on 10 September 1951, although a workmen's service from Kirkby to Nottingham continued until 6 September 1965. On 12 October 1964 the Leen Valley passenger trains between Nottingham and Mansfield were withdrawn. On June 1975 all goods facilities at Mansfield were withdrawn, so that the local rail network was entirely dependent on coal traffic. The Midland Railway Leen Valley route had already been severed between Kirkby in Ashfield and Annesley on 11 October 1970.
Passenger trains reinstated.
A body of opinion developed in favour of funding reinstatement of the Leen Valley services to Mansfield, and an authorising Act for the Newstead - Kirkby link was passed on 26 July 1990; the term 'Robin Hood Line' was adopted. A Nottingham - Newstead passenger service began on 17 May 1993. In 1994 work started on reinstating the link at Kirkby tunnel, and passenger services from Nottingham to Mansfield Woodhouse started operation on 20 November 1995; the service was later extended to Worksop.
The trains ran over the alignment of the Mansfield and Pinxton Railway as modified by the Midland Railway, between Kirkby and Mansfield. The line from Codnor Park is in use for mineral traffic, and uses the M&PR route from Pinxton.


Pier Head railway station (Essex)

Pier Head railway station is a small railway station on the Southend Pier Railway, which serves Southend Pier in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England. It is served by the shuttle train to and from Shore railway station. The train that serves the station is not part of National Rail. The station has two platforms, with two narrow gauge tracks running the 1.34 mile (2.16 km) long route.
Services.
The system operates a half-hourly service when Southend Pier is open, and two trains can operate during busy times.


Birkenhead Corporation Tramways

Birkenhead Corporation Tramways operated a tramway service in Birkenhead between 1901 and 1937.
History.
In 1860, Birkenhead started the first street tramway in Britain, shortly before London.
The Birkenhead Corporation Tramway company was formed through the acquisition of the Birkenhead United Tramways, Omnibus and Carriage Company on 31 December 1900, and the Wirral Tramway Company on 8 May 1901, and the Birkenhead United Tramways Company on 24 January 1901.
Electrification of the system was undertaken and 44 tramcars were ordered from G.F. Milnes & Co. and built locally in their factory at Birkenhead. Services started on 4 February 1901.
Closure.
The first closure was on 30 August 1925, when the Claughton Road route was converted to bus operation.
The remaining routes were closed over successive years until the system finally closed on 17 July 1937.
Car No 7 is preserved on static display at the Wirral Transport Museum in Birkenhead.
Car No. 20 is preserved and regularly carries passengers on the Wirral Tramway.


Lostwithiel and Fowey Railway

The Lostwithiel and Fowey Railway opened in 1869 as a broad gauge railway linking the port of Fowey in Cornwall with the Cornish Main Line at Lostwithiel. Its main traffic was china clay. The company ran into financial difficulties and closed in 1880, but the line was purchased by the Cornwall Minerals Railway and reopened in 1895.
A passenger service operated, but it was withdrawn in 1965, and the line reverted to the conveyance of china clay; it remains open for that traffic at the present day.
History.
Promoters of an independent company conducted negotiations with the Cornwall Railway in 1861, regarding the construction of a branch line from that railway at Lostwithiel to a location at Caffamill Pill, Fowey, where deep water berthing was available for shipping. The route would run alongside the River Fowey and so would have gentle gradients and few engineering problems, apart from some bridges across small tributary rivers; new jetties were to be built at Carne Point, a short distance north of Fowey.
An Act of Parliament was obtained on 30 June 1862, and the "Lostwithiel and Fowey Railway" was incorporated, with capital of £30,000. The railway was to be 5 miles and 15 chains (8.4 km) in length. Money proved difficult to come by, and there was some delay in construction, and the line eventually opened on 1 June 1869, on the broad gauge. It did not carry passengers, and it was worked by the Cornwall Railway Joint Committee. There were close links with the Newquay and Cornwall Junction Railway; some directors and officers served both companies, and offices were in a shared building at Par.
The principal traffic was expected to be china clay and other minerals from the area around St Austell, but the financial performance of the company was dependent on the buoyancy of the mining activity. Difficult trading conditions were followed by the opening of a more direct route to Fowey by the Cornwall Minerals Railway on 1 June 1874, and the two companies engaged in a bitter price war.
The company's finances became increasingly strained and the necessity to reconstruct a number of timber bridges proved impossible to fund, leading to suspension of the line's activity from 1 January 1880. The line was leased to the Cornwall Railway for use as storage sidings but traffic never resumed, despite several attempts to attract new business.
The Cornwall Minerals Railway (CMR) itself had experienced financial difficulties and from 1 October 1877 had leased its lines to the Great Western Railway (also lessee of and operator of the Cornwall Railway), but as trade improved its income from the lease and a financial arrangement with creditors resulted in the CMR having cash available, and it made arrangements to purchase the Lostwithiel and Fowey line. The purchase was confirmed by Act of Parliament of 27 June 1892. The L&FR Company was dissolved and the line and jetty accommodation were transferred to the Cornwall Minerals Railway. The CMR reconstructed the line and converted it to the standard gauge, rebuilding and extending the jetties at Carne Point also. The CMR had a Fowey station a short distance south of the L&FR terminal, and the CMR constructed a connection to link the two railways. The line reopened on 16 September 1895, for both goods and passenger traffic, and passenger trains ran to the CMR passenger station at Fowey. An intermediate station was opened at Golant.
The Cornwall Minerals Railway sold its line to the Great Western Railway, and this took effect on 1 July 1896, from which date the Lostwithiel and Fowey line was simply the Fowey branch of the GWR.
Loaded mineral trains from Fowey were usually routed on the line in preference to the Pinnock Tunnel route due to the challenging gradients on the latter.
The passenger service on the line was interrupted in both World Wars: it closed from 2 April 1917 "for security purposes", reopening on 1 November 1917. During the Second World War passenger services were withdrawn once again for "security reasons". The railway closed on 1 January 1940 and reopened on 9 February 1942; it closed again on 24 August 1942 and reopened on 3 October 1942; it closed again on 2 May 1944 and reopened on 2 October 1944 after the D-Day landings had happened. The World War II period also enabled reuse of sidings at Woodgate Pill near Fowey. These were used for a munitions store. Never heavily used, the passenger service from Lostwithiel to Fowey was withdrawn on 4 January 1965, and the line now carries only mineral traffic to Carne Point. The CMR line from Par to Fowey closed on 1 July 1968, and the Lostwithiel and Fowey route is now the only rail route to Fowey.
Operation.
Early years.
An agreement was signed with the Cornwall Railway for that company to work the line once it was complete. As the line when opened in 1869 only went as far as Carne Point, and that only for goods traffic, the Cornwall Railway would not fulfil the agreement and so hired a locomotive to the railway instead. The Lostwithiel and Fowey considered this arrangement as too expensive.
In February 1870 the directors reported that "the temporary arrangement made with the Cornwall for carrying on the traffic did not leave to the company sufficient profit to pay the cost of maintaining the permanent way. The directors had hired an engine — the only one they could obtain at so short a notice — it is not, however, of sufficient power, and it has become necessary to obtain a more efficient one. With this view, the directors were negotiating for the purchase or hire of an engine of greater power."
After 1895.
The reopened railway was operated by 455 'Metro' class locomotives until 1400 were deployed with an autocoach or two, an otherwise rare train type in Cornwall. 1419 was the regular locomotive but other classes worked the branch on the days when it was being serviced. Freight trains were operated by 4500 locomotives and the similar 4575 class 2-6-2T has also been recorded operating a two-coach passenger trains on the branch.
In the last few years of the passenger service, these were operated by and single "Bubble Car" DMUs.
In 1955 specific open wagons for the conveyance of China Clay were constructed at Swindon Works, and from 1974 the whole fleet of around 900 wagons were modified when a metal bar was added to raise the tarpaulins that were used when the wagons were loaded to protect the cargo, giving them the nickname "Clay Hoods". These 5-plank wooden open wagons, designated UCV, had 4 wheels with a wheelbase and vacuum brakes, and in the early 1970s the heavier freight trains to and from Carne Point were typically made up of these wagons hauled by Western diesels while lighter loads were hauled by smaller Type 2 diesels, initially Class 22 hydraulics and then later by Class 25 diesel-electrics. Following the retirement of these classes of locomotive in the 1980s, trains of "Clay Hoods" were typically hauled by Class 37s and while from 1988 the old open clay wagons were replaced with 45-ton CDA hoppers with air brakes, into the 1990s the trains continued to be hauled by class 37's shedded at St Blazey.
By 2006 there was one train per day on the branch from Monday to Saturday, with up to three other trips on Tuesdays and Fridays and a single additional trip on Saturdays running as required. These trains typically had their origin or destination at one of the clay dries such as Burngullow or Goonbarrow, with booked motive power being an EWS Class 66.
Current operations.
Present day trains are usually powered by DB Cargo's locomotives.
Plans to re-open passenger service.
In 2014 a plan was proposed to reinstate passenger trains on the line, funding to upgrade the track and reinstate a station at Fowey would be required. The project had the support of Fowey mayor John Berryman and some councillors in Lostwithiel, Fowey, and Cornwall Council.
References.
Sources.
Papers relating to the Lostwithiel and Fowey Railway can be consulted at The National Archives at Kew. The minute books are believed to have been destroyed.


Avon Valley Railway

The Avon Valley Railway (AVR) is a three-mile-long heritage railway based at Bitton station in South Gloucestershire, England, not far from Bristol and is run by a local group: The Avon Valley Railway Company Ltd. The railway follows the Avon Valley south-east from Oldland Common, through Bitton and alongside the River Avon towards Kelston and Bath. The railway shares its route with the Sustrans cycleway and footpath, the Bristol & Bath Railway Path.
History.
The railway is part of the otherwise-dismantled Midland Railway Mangotsfield and Bath branch line, which was closed in 1966 as a result of the Beeching cuts, due mainly to the Great Western Railway, which also connected Bristol and Bath, being just a few miles to the south.
The railway is perhaps best known for connecting the former Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway (S&DJR), whose northern terminus was at Bath Green Park station, with the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS). The Midland Railway lines along the Avon Valley thus opened up the S&D lines to travellers from the British industrial Midlands. This was particularly so during summer Saturdays when families flocked south to the beaches of Dorset and the English south coast. Many extra trains thus had to be added to the schedule to accommodate this increased demand. Although owned and run by the Midland Railway, many S&D locomotives were often seen working trains along this line.
After the lines were removed, from 2000 the northern section from Mangotsfield to Warmley was used to build a dual carriage development of the A4174 road, although both station sites currently still exist. The remainder of the line was passed from the British Railways Board to Sustrans, who in co-operation with the local councils developed the Bristol and Bath Railway Path. Further development of the heritage railway is wholly dependent on a usage agreement with Sustrans.
Incidents.
On 24 July 2018, during a shunting operation at Bitton station, two empty coaches ran away for 43 yards (40 metres) on a down gradient until they collided with a level crossing gate closed across the track. The coaches, which had no handbrakes, overrode chocks placed against two wheels. There were no injuries.
Preservation.
Bitton station and its yard, including some trackbed, was leased from British Railways Board by the Bristol Suburban Railway Society, a group of local volunteers intent on restoring commuter and weekend steam use to the Bristol–Mangotsfield–Bath and Mangotsfield–Yate railway routes.
Work progressed slowly over the years restoring the heavily vandalised buildings and laying track north towards Oldland Common and Warmley. Weekend steam-hauled 'brake van' train rides progressed to proper passenger services along the ever-lengthening line in restored 1950s British Railways Mark 1 carriages.
In 1979, the Bristol Suburban Railway Society was incorporated into the Bitton Railway Co. Ltd. and the laid track reached Oldland Common in 1988. By 1992, however, the city of Bristol had expanded greatly, with houses encroaching upon the former railway line, and expansion north to Warmley and Mangotsfield was no longer considered practical. The line thus began to expand south out into the valley of the River Avon. By 2004, it had crossed the Avon and a new station was built to service the Avon Valley Country Park — a large picnic and recreation site — along with a river wharf to provide visitors with connections to river barges and river boat trips.
Building of a new buffet and toilet facility at Bitton station began in 2007 to replace the current buffet and toilets and to increase space for the railway's gift shop. Work continues to extend the railway south-east towards Bath (potentially as far as Newbridge).
As a tourist attraction, the Avon Valley Railway now handles 80,000 visitors per year. The AVR provides round-trip steam train travel from Bitton Station north to Oldland Common then south to Avon Riverside station. The line is open to travellers on most weekends.


Clay Cross Tunnel

Clay Cross Tunnel is a tunnel on the former North Midland Railway line near Clay Cross in Derbyshire, England, now part of the Midland Main Line.
Construction.
It was designed by George Stephenson with an estimate of £96,000 for construction. The tenders for the work were issued by the North Midland Railway in December 1836. The contractors appointed were Messrs. Hardy, Copeland and Cropper of Watford for the sum of £105,400 (). The tunnel was to be wide and high with a bed of broken stone at the base deep to form the rail bed. The tunnel was to be arched completely round with brickwork laid in Roman cement deep in the roof and walls, and deep in the floor. Approximately 15 million bricks were required for the tunnel lining. The greatest depth below the surface was about .
Construction began on 2 February 1837 when the first sod was turned for the sinking of the ventilation shaft in the centre of the tunnel. The boring of the tunnel was not straightforward, eventually costing £140,000 (equivalent to £ in ), instead of the expected £98,000 (equivalent to £ in ), with the loss of fifteen lives.
It was reported in August 1839 that the tunnel excavation was completed, and the last brick was expected to be laid within a few days, but in fact was not completed until 18 December 1839.
Description.
It begins at the former Derbyshire summit of the line, also the highest point of the whole line, just after the old Stretton railway station. Situated at the watershed of the rivers Amber and Rother. Clay Cross is directly above it and there are ventilation shafts in Market Street (around which the council have placed seats) and High Street (some above the line).
Until the building of the tunnel, no deep prospecting for minerals had been carried out. The discovery of coal and iron led to George Stephenson moving to Tapton House, near Chesterfield. With a group of others, he bought a tract of land north of the tunnel and set up a company, George Stephenson and Co., later renamed the Clay Cross Company.
The northern portal is a magnificent Moorish design and is now Grade II listed. The south portal is also Grade II listed
Clay Cross railway station was at the northern end, where the line was met by that from the Erewash Valley.
The tunnel saw one of the first uses of the absolute block signalling system, maybe after a narrow escape on the south bound inaugural run. The train was heavier than expected and a pilot engine was provided at the rear. This was detached at the entrance to the tunnel, but halfway through the train came to a halt, and someone had to walk back for the pilot, to the consternation of the passengers. Stephenson had been shown the system by its inventor William Fothergill Cooke supported by Wheatstone of the Wheatstone bridge fame. This was the forerunner of the Midland Railway's system.