Edge Hill Light Railway

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Edge Hill Light Railway
Overview
StatusClosed
Locale Warwickshire
Termini
  • Burton Dassett
  • Edge Hill Quarries
StationsNone
History
Opened1920
Closed1925
Technical
Line length3.5 mi (5.6 km)
Track gauge 4 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm)

The Edge Hill Light Railway, one of Colonel Stephens' light railways, was in Warwickshire, England. It was designed to carry ironstone from Edge Hill Quarries to Burton Dassett where a junction was made with the Stratford-upon-Avon and Midland Junction Railway. It was never officially opened, but began operating in 1922. [1]

Contents

"a dead duck of a railway from inception" [1]

In the middle of the line, there was a cable-worked incline at 1 in 6 (16%). As the quarry was at the top of the incline, the incline could be worked as self-acting: the weight of full ore wagons descending was sufficient to draw the empties back up.

Within three years it was found that the iron ore deposits were uneconomic, and the line ceased operating in 1925. [1] It was not dismantled until 1946. A caretaker was employed until the late 1930s in the possibility that the line could be re-opened. In 1942, permanent way from the lower portion of the line was requisitioned for the construction of the army depot now known as MoD Kineton. This had the effect of isolating the line, and the remaining stock at the top of the incline, from the main line and so they survived there until 1946. [2]

Locomotives

NameNumberBuilderBuild DateNotes
Deptford673 (EHLR 1) LBSCR Class A1X 1872Scrapped 1946 Archived 2 September 2017 at the Wayback Machine
Shadwell674 (EHLR 2) LBSCR Class A1 1872Scrapped 1946 Archived 2 September 2017 at the Wayback Machine
Sankey1088 Manning Wardle 1889Scrapped 1946

Goods stock

DescriptionOriginQuantityNotes
4-wheeled open wagonsVarious?All scrapped 1947
Brake vansGER2All scrapped 1947

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References

  1. 1 2 3 "The Railway". Colonel Stephens Museum. Archived from the original on 28 December 2008.
  2. Burton, Anthony; Scott-Morgan, John (1985). Britain's Light Railways. Ashbourne: Moorland Publishing. pp. 110–111. ISBN   0-86190-146-0.

Further reading