Oxfordshire Ironstone Railway
Encyclopedia
The Oxfordshire Ironstone Railway was a standard gauge
mineral railway that served an ironstone
quarry
near the village of Wroxton
in Oxfordshire
.
about 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) to the east at a junction just north of Banbury
. The OIR was opened between 1917 and 1919, was closed in 1967 and the line was 'lifted', that is the line was closed and removed, between 1967 and 1968. The quarry was heavily worked in the Second World War
. A newer quarry close by is now served by road haulage only. The line was extended to the Balscote Quarry which was worked between 1956 and its closure in 1967.
The OIR operated its own fleet of steam locomotive
s: 0-6-0
T and 0-6-0ST locomotives built by Hunslet
and 0-4-0
ST's built by Hudswell Clarke
. They also purchased two diesel Rolls Royce Sentinel units in the 1960s.
The mine buildings and workers' halt are now a small set of new light industrial buildings, built circa 2006. The track works' permanent way
hut (p-hut) still stood at Drayton in 2007 and Horley in 2002. A few old OIR fence posts/gates remain to this day along the route. Banbury's Ruscote and Hardwick estate are also built over a large part of its route, including most of the former Pin Hill farm grading works.
Many heavy clay
and Ironstone
deposits surround Banbury and Wroxton.
.
There was talk of reopening the by then overgrown, but workable line early in to World War II
but, it was decided that the Oxfordshire Ironstone line was to be considered adequate to serve the area's requirements.
Standard gauge
The standard gauge is a widely-used track gauge . Approximately 60% of the world's existing railway lines are built to this gauge...
mineral railway that served an ironstone
Ironstone
Ironstone is a sedimentary rock, either deposited directly as a ferruginous sediment or created by chemical repacement, that contains a substantial proportion of an iron compound from which iron either can be or once was smelted commercially. This term is customarily restricted to hard coarsely...
quarry
Quarry
A quarry is a type of open-pit mine from which rock or minerals are extracted. Quarries are generally used for extracting building materials, such as dimension stone, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, and gravel. They are often collocated with concrete and asphalt plants due to the requirement...
near the village of Wroxton
Wroxton
Wroxton is a village and civil parish in the north of Oxfordshire about west of Banbury.-History:Wroxton is recorded as having a church in 1217, but the present Church of England parish church of All Saints is early 14th century. A Perpendicular Gothic clerestory and porch were added early in the...
in Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....
.
The line's History
It linked the quarry with the Great Western RailwayGreat Western Railway
The Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...
about 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) to the east at a junction just north of Banbury
Banbury
Banbury is a market town and civil parish on the River Cherwell in the Cherwell District of Oxfordshire. It is northwest of London, southeast of Birmingham, south of Coventry and north northwest of the county town of Oxford...
. The OIR was opened between 1917 and 1919, was closed in 1967 and the line was 'lifted', that is the line was closed and removed, between 1967 and 1968. The quarry was heavily worked in the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. A newer quarry close by is now served by road haulage only. The line was extended to the Balscote Quarry which was worked between 1956 and its closure in 1967.
The OIR operated its own fleet of steam locomotive
Steam locomotive
A steam locomotive is a railway locomotive that produces its power through a steam engine. These locomotives are fueled by burning some combustible material, usually coal, wood or oil, to produce steam in a boiler, which drives the steam engine...
s: 0-6-0
0-6-0
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 0-6-0 represents the wheel arrangement of no leading wheels, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles, and no trailing wheels...
T and 0-6-0ST locomotives built by Hunslet
Hunslet Engine Company
The Hunslet Engine Company is a British locomotive-building company founded in 1864 at Jack Lane, Hunslet, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England by John Towlerton Leather, a civil engineering contractor, who appointed James Campbell as his Works Manager.In 1871, James Campbell bought the company for...
and 0-4-0
0-4-0
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 0-4-0 represents one of the simplest possible types, that with two axles and four coupled wheels, all of which are driven...
ST's built by Hudswell Clarke
Hudswell Clarke
Hudswell, Clarke and Company Limited was an engineering and locomotive building company in Jack Lane, Hunslet, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England.-History:...
. They also purchased two diesel Rolls Royce Sentinel units in the 1960s.
The mine buildings and workers' halt are now a small set of new light industrial buildings, built circa 2006. The track works' permanent way
Permanent way
The permanent way is the elements of railway lines: generally the pairs of rails typically laid on the sleepers embedded in ballast, intended to carry the ordinary trains of a railway...
hut (p-hut) still stood at Drayton in 2007 and Horley in 2002. A few old OIR fence posts/gates remain to this day along the route. Banbury's Ruscote and Hardwick estate are also built over a large part of its route, including most of the former Pin Hill farm grading works.
Many heavy clay
Clay
Clay is a general term including many combinations of one or more clay minerals with traces of metal oxides and organic matter. Geologic clay deposits are mostly composed of phyllosilicate minerals containing variable amounts of water trapped in the mineral structure.- Formation :Clay minerals...
and Ironstone
Ironstone
Ironstone is a sedimentary rock, either deposited directly as a ferruginous sediment or created by chemical repacement, that contains a substantial proportion of an iron compound from which iron either can be or once was smelted commercially. This term is customarily restricted to hard coarsely...
deposits surround Banbury and Wroxton.
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 RailwayEdge Hill Light Railway
The Edge Hill Light Railway, one of Colonel Stephens' railways, was in Warwickshire, England. It was designed to carry iron ore 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...
.
There was talk of reopening the by then overgrown, but workable line early in to World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
but, it was decided that the Oxfordshire Ironstone line was to be considered adequate to serve the area's requirements.
External links
- Photo gallery of the disused railway#
- http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/199182#
- http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/199179#
- http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/197427#