Oxfordshire Ironstone Railway

Last updated

The Oxfordshire Ironstone Railway was a standard-gauge industrial railway that served an ironstone quarry near the village of Wroxton in Oxfordshire. [1] [2] [3]

Contents

History

The OIR linked the quarry with the Great Western Railway about 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) to the east at a junction just north of Banbury. [4] [2] The line was opened between 1917 and 1919 [5] and closed in 1967; [5] the track was removed between 1967 and 1968. The quarry was heavily worked in the Second World War. [6] The line also served the Banbury Alcan works at one point. [7] The popular footpath from Drayton to Drayton Lodge crossed the railway at Drayton Crossing. [8]

Wroxton Central Ironstone Quarry [9] was opened by 1919, closed and filled in 1967. Langley Ironstone Quarry was built near Balscot by 1926, and was closed and filled during 1943 when it ran out of ironstone. [10] [11] Dyke Lane Bridge was built in 1940 and abandoned in 1967. [2] [10] [11]

The line was extended to the Balscote Quarry which was worked between 1956 and its closure in 1967. [12] Balscote Quarry, a shorter-lived working, was built by 1956, but closed and filled in 1967. [2] [12] [4] A newer quarry close by its former site is now served by road haulage only.

The mine buildings, manager's house and workers' halt are now a small set of new light industrial buildings, built circa 2006–2008. [5] [4] The track works' permanent way huts (p-huts) [4] still stood at Drayton in 2007 and Horley in 2002. [4] A few old OIR fence posts/gates remain to this day along the route. Banbury's Ruscote and Hardwick estate's (Daimler Avenue, Devon Way and Longelandes Way) [4] are also built over a large part of its route, including most of the former Pen Hill farm grading works (Longelandes Way). Other built over places include the proposed minor Pin Hill maintenance depot (Pin Hill Road) [13] and major active Pen Hill maintenance depot (Beaumont Road). [4] [14] [15] Despite the development that has occurred north of Banbury since closure, much of the line of the route can be walked today. [16]

Locomotive fleet

The OIR operated its own fleet of 0-6-0 T and 0-6-0 ST steam locomotives built by Hunslet, Hudswell Clarke, Peckett & Sons and 0-4-0 ST s built by Hudswell Clarke, Hunslet, W. G. Bagnall and Peckett & Sons. There was also a vertical boiler locomotive supplied by Sentinel. The earliest locos carried names associated with Oxford University such as "The President" and "The Dean". Later locos carried boys and girls names, typically the 0-6-0 locos had male names eg "Graham" and "Frank" and the 0-4-0 locos had female names eg "Betty" and "Jean". [17]

In the 1960s, the railway also purchased thirteen Rolls-Royce Sentinel diesel-hydraulic locomotives fitted with Rolls-Royce C range engines. [18] Several of these Sentinel locomotives are still in existence, with "Betty", "Jean" and "Graham" at the Rocks By Rail Museum, [19] "Barabel" at the Nene Valley Railway, [20] and "Joan" at the East Somerset Railway. [21] All five preserved locomotives are in operational condition.[ citation needed ]

Local geology

Many heavy clay and Ironstone deposits surround Banbury and Wroxton. [3] [22]

The Edge Hill Light Railway connection

The firm behind the Oxfordshire Ironstone Railway was one of the backers of the ill-fated 1920–1922 Edge Hill Light Railway. [23]

There was talk of reopening the Edge Hill Light Railway early in World War II but the Oxfordshire Ironstone line was considered adequate to serve the area's requirements. [24]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oxfordshire</span> County of England

Oxfordshire is a ceremonial county in South East England. The county is bordered by Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, and Wiltshire and Gloucestershire to the west. The city of Oxford is the largest settlement and county town.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Banbury</span> Market town in England

Banbury is a historic market town on the River Cherwell in Oxfordshire, South East England. It had a population of 54,335 at the 2021 Census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cherwell (district)</span> Non-metropolitan district in England

Cherwell is a local government district in northern Oxfordshire, England. The district was created in 1974 and takes its name from the River Cherwell, which drains south through the region to flow into the River Thames at Oxford. Towns in Cherwell include Banbury and Bicester. Kidlington is a contender for largest village in England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rutland Railway Museum</span> Railway museum in Oakham, Rutland

Rutland Railway Museum, now trading as Rocks by Rail: The Living Ironstone Museum, is a heritage railway on part of a former Midland Railway mineral branch line. It is situated north east of Oakham, in Rutland, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sentinel Waggon Works</span> Manufacturer of steam vehicles

Sentinel Waggon Works Ltd was a British company based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire that made steam-powered lorries, railway locomotives, and later, diesel engined lorries, buses and locomotives.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wroxton</span> Human settlement in England

Wroxton is a village and civil parish in the north of Oxfordshire about 3 miles (5 km) west of Banbury. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 546.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neithrop</span> Housing estates in Banbury, England

Neithrop is an inner housing estate and part of the greater Neithrop ward of Banbury, in the Cherwell district, in the county of Oxfordshire, England. It is one of the oldest areas in Banbury, having first been first recorded as a hamlet in the 13th century. Neithrop, Woodgreen and Bretch Hill are three interconnecting housing estates.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thorpe Malsor</span> Village in Northamptonshire, England

Thorpe Malsor is a village and civil parish 2 miles (3 km) west of Kettering, Northamptonshire, England. The population at the 2011 Census was 145.

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 (610 mm) narrow gauge industrial railway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charwelton railway station</span> Former railway station in Northamptonshire, England

Charwelton railway station was a station at Charwelton in Northamptonshire on the former Great Central Railway main line, the last main line to be built from the Northern England to London. The station opened with the line on 15 March 1899.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Drayton, Cherwell</span> Human settlement in England

Drayton is a village and civil parish in the valley of the Sor Brook in Oxfordshire, about 2 miles (3 km) northwest of Banbury. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 242.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ratley</span>

Ratley is a village in the civil parish of Ratley and Upton, Stratford-on-Avon District, Warwickshire, England. The population of the civil parish in 2011 was 327. It is on the northwest side of the Edge Hill escarpment about 200 metres (660 ft) above sea level. The village is close to the county border with north Oxfordshire, some 7 miles northwest of Banbury, the closest town.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Horley, Oxfordshire</span> Human settlement in England

Horley is a village and civil parish in the north of Oxfordshire about 3 miles (5 km) north-west of Banbury.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hook Norton railway station</span> Former railway station in Oxfordshire, England

Hook Norton railway station served the village of Hook Norton in northern Oxfordshire, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ruscote</span> Estate in Oxfordshire, England

The Ruscote, Hardwick and Hanwell Fields estates are three interconnecting Banbury estates that were built between the 1930s and 2000s in Oxfordshire, England.

The Hook Norton Ironstone Partnership was the first company to quarry ironstone at Hook Norton on a large scale. Although only in operation for twelve years, its quarries subsequently became part of the Brymbo Steelworks quarries and relics of the Partnership's railways and tramways can still be seen today.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Banbury</span> History of Banbury, England

Banbury is a circa 1,500-year-old market town and civil parish on the River Cherwell in the Cherwell District of Oxfordshire, England. It is 64 miles (103 km) northwest of London, 38 miles (61 km) southeast of Birmingham, 27 miles (43 km) south of Coventry and 21 miles (34 km) north northwest of the county town of Oxford.

Eric Tonks was an English writer and historian of British industrial railways. He is regarded as one of the pioneers of the industrial archaeology of railways and quarrying. He was also a noted Jazz discographer.

References

  1. "Geograph:: Fields on the site of the old Langley... © Oliver Dixon cc-by-sa/2.0". www.geograph.org.uk.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Ironstone Enquiry Pictures". Deddington History. 2004. Retrieved 30 January 2019.
  3. 1 2 "Take a ride on our lost railways". Oxford Mail. 14 December 2009. Retrieved 30 January 2019.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Old-Maps - the online repository of historic maps - home page". www.old-maps.co.uk.
  5. 1 2 3 "Geograph:: Oxfordshire Ironstone Quarries... © David Stowell cc-by-sa/2.0". www.geograph.org.uk.
  6. "Geograph:: Course of Ironstone quarry railway © David Stowell cc-by-sa/2.0". www.geograph.org.uk.
  7. "Geograph:: Site of bridge over the dismantled... © Roger Templeman". www.geograph.org.uk.
  8. "Geograph:: Site of Drayton Crossing © David Stowell cc-by-sa/2.0". www.geograph.org.uk.
  9. "Oxfordshire Ironstone Company remembered – rocks-by-rail.org".
  10. 1 2 "Geograph:: Site of Langley Ironstone Quarry © David Stowell cc-by-sa/2.0". www.geograph.org.uk.
  11. 1 2 "Geograph:: Dyke Lane Bridge © David Stowell". www.geograph.org.uk.
  12. 1 2 "Geograph:: Stratford Road bridge and Balscote... © David Stowell". www.geograph.org.uk.
  13. "House Prices in Pinhill Road, Banbury, Oxfordshire, OX16". www.rightmove.co.uk.
  14. "Property to let in Penhill Industrial Park, Beaumont Road, Banbury, Oxfordshire, OX16 1RW - £10000 pa". www.brown-co.com.
  15. "Actecs - Banbury, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom". Yelp.
  16. Hone, Chris (2017). A Walk Along The Ironstone. Witney: Robert Boyd Publications. pp. 40–45. ISBN   9781908738288.
  17. Waters, Laurence (1991). Oxfordshire Railways in Old Photographs, a Second Selection. Stroud: Sutton Publishing. ISBN   0-86299-852-2.
  18. Hone, Chris (2017). A Walk Along The Ironstone. Witney: Robert Boyd Publications. p. 28. ISBN   9781908738288.
  19. "Home". rocks-by-rail.org.
  20. "Home". nvr.org.uk.
  21. "Industrial Diesel Locomotives". East Somerset Railway. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  22. "Clay Pits in Banbury". docs.google.com. Retrieved 3 July 2024.
  23. "Geograph:: Edge Hill Light Railway embankment © David Stowell cc-by-sa/2.0". www.geograph.org.uk.
  24. "A Short History of the Edge Hill Light Railway". The Colonel Stephens Railway Museum. Archived from the original on 17 December 2010. Retrieved 30 January 2019.

Books

Historic imagery of the site

52°04′N1°24′W / 52.067°N 1.400°W / 52.067; -1.400