3 ft gauge railways in the United Kingdom

Last updated

Contents

A diesel passenger train built by Severn Lamb running on the Southend Pier Railway in England. Southend Pier railway-100D2763.JPG
A diesel passenger train built by Severn Lamb running on the Southend Pier Railway in England.
3ft gauge locomotives at Crowle Peatland Railway. 3ft gauge locomotives at Crowle Peatland Railway.jpg
3ft gauge locomotives at Crowle Peatland Railway.

A list of 3 ft (914 mm) narrow-gauge railways in the United Kingdom.

The worldwide usage of locomotives on railways, including 3 ft (914 mm) gauge railways, has its origins in the United Kingdom in the early 19th century during the Industrial Revolution. In fact, in 1802, a 3 ft gauge plateway-type railway owned by the Coalbrookdale Company in England became the first railway in the world to have a locomotive designed and built for it. The locomotive's designer, Richard Trevithick, is credited with making the first recorded successful demonstration of a locomotive on rails (in 1804 on a different railway in Wales). 3 ft gauge locomotive-powered railways, along with other narrow-gauge railways of varying widths, would later become one of the most common railway gauges chosen for short-distance lines in the British Isles, such as those found in mines and industrial sites (see table below).

Railways

Country/territoryRailway
England
Northern Ireland
Scotland
Wales

See also

Related Research Articles

Narrow-gauge railway Railway line with a gauge less than the standard of 1435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in)

A narrow-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard 1,435 mm. Most narrow-gauge railways are between 600 mm and 1,067 mm.

OO9

OO9, often also denoted as 009 or 00-9 is a model railway scale and gauge combination of 4 mm scale and 9 mm gauge tracks, which models a prototype track gauge of 2 ft 3 in. It is a common choice in the United Kingdom for the modelling of narrow-gauge railways whose prototype gauges lie approximately between 2 ft and 2 ft 6 in. The 9 mm track gauge is used by N gauge model railways, a common commercial scale, which means that a selection of wheels, track, and mechanisms is readily available.

Scaldwell Human settlement in England

Scaldwell is a village and civil parish in the West, Northamptonshire, England.

HOn30 gauge is the modelling of narrow-gauge railways in HO on N gauge track in 1:87 scale ratio.

Hudswell Clarke Rolling stock manufacturer

Hudswell, Clarke and Company Limited was an engineering and locomotive building company in Jack Lane, Hunslet, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England.

British narrow-gauge railways History of British narrow-gauge railways

There were more than a thousand British narrow-gauge railways ranging from large, historically significant common carriers to small, short-lived industrial railways. Many notable events in British railway history happened on narrow-gauge railways including the first use of steam locomotives, the first public railway and the first preserved railway.

On30 gauge

On30gauge is the modelling of narrow gauge railways in O scale on HO gauge track in 1:48 scale ratio by American and Australian model railroaders, in 1:43.5 scale ratio by British and French model railroaders and 1:45 by Continental European model railroaders.

British industrial narrow-gauge railways are narrow-gauge railways in the United Kingdom and the Isle of Man that were primarily built to serve one or more industries. Some offered passenger services for employees or workmen, but they did not run public passenger trains. They are categorized by the primary industry they served.

The Kettering Ironstone Railway was an industrial 3 ft narrow gauge railway that served the ironstone quarries around Kettering.

The Hook Norton ironstone quarries (Brymbo) were ironstone quarries near Hook Norton in Oxfordshire, England. The quarries were in operation from 1899 to 1946 supplying ironstone to the Brymbo Steelworks in Wrexham and were served by the Brymbo Ironworks Railway, an extensive, 2 ft narrow gauge industrial railway.

Rail transport in the Isle of Man

See also Transport in the Isle of Man.

Lochaber Narrow Gauge Railway

The Lochaber Narrow Gauge Railway was a 3 ft narrow-gauge industrial railway. It was a relatively long line, built for the construction and subsequent maintenance of a 15-mile-long (24-kilometre) tunnel from Loch Treig to a factory near Fort William in Scotland. The tunnel was excavated to carry water for the Lochaber hydroelectric scheme in connection with aluminium production by British Aluminium. The railway came to be known colloquially as the 'Old Puggy Line'.

British quarrying and mining narrow-gauge railways List of quarrying and mining narrow gauge railways in the United Kingdom

Some industrial narrow-gauge railways in the United Kingdom and the Isle of Man were primarily built to serve quarrying, mining, and similar industries. Some of these narrow-gauge railways offered passenger services for employees or workmen, but they did not run public passenger trains. They are listed by the primary industry they served.

Europe inherited a diversity of rail gauges. Extensive narrow-gauge railway networks exist in Spain, Central Europe and Southeastern Europe.

3 ft gauge railroads in the United States

This is a list of 3 ft narrow-gauge railways in the United States.

Irchester Narrow Gauge Railway Museum

The Irchester Narrow Gauge Railway Museum is a small railway museum and metre gauge railway near Irchester, in the Wellingborough district of Northamptonshire, England.

Waltham Iron Ore Tramway Industrial tramway in Leicestershire

The Waltham Iron Ore Tramway was a 1,000 mm gauge industrial tramway serving the ironstone pits of the Waltham Iron Ore Company, a subsidiary of the Staveley Coal and Iron Company. It was located to the north of the village of Branston in Leicestershire on the edge of the Belvoir Estate. The tramway operated from 1884 until 1958.

Finedonhill Tramway

The Finedonhill Tramway was a British industrial narrow-gauge railway which operated under various ownership between 1875 and 1926.

Wellingborough Tramway

The Wellingborough Tramway was an industrial narrow-gauge railway that connected a series of ironstone mines and quarries with the Midland Railway and later with the ironworks on the north side of Wellingborough. In various forms, the tramway operated between 1875 and 1966.

The Brockham Railway Museum was a 2 ft narrow gauge railway based at the site of the Brockham Limeworks, near Dorking, Surrey. When it closed in 1982, the majority of the collection was moved to the Amberley Museum & Heritage Centre where it formed the nucleus of the Amberley Museum Railway.

References

  1. 1 2 Tonks, Eric (1992). The Ironstone Quarries of the Midlands Part 9: Leicestershire. Cheltenham: Runpast Publishing. ISBN   1-870-754-085.
  2. Quine, Dan (2016). Four East Midlands Ironstone Tramways Part Two: Kettering. 106. Garndolbenmaen: Narrow Gauge and Industrial Railway Modelling Review.