Snailbeach District Railways
Encyclopedia
Snailbeach District Railways was a British narrow gauge railway in Shropshire
. It was built to carry lead
ore
from mines in the Stiperstones
to Pontesbury
where the ore was transshipped
to the Great Western Railway
's Minsterley branch line
. Coal from the Pontesford coal mines travelled in the opposite direction. The line ended at Snailbeach
, the location of Shropshire's largest and richest lead mine, though there had been a plan to extend it further, which would have brought it closer to more lead mines.
on 5 August 1873, and opened in 1877. It was built with the unusual gauge
of . The line was prosperous at first, carrying 14000 LT (14,224.7 t; 15,680 ST) annually, and paying a 3% dividend. However, in 1884, the Tankerville Great Consuls Company mine, the largest user of the railway, closed and tonnage fell to 5500 LT (5,588.3 t; 6,160 ST).
In 1905, the Ceirog Granite Company opened a quarry near Habberley, and a branch was built to serve this. An extra locomotive was required, and 0-4-2
T
Sir Theodore was borrowed from the 2 foot gauge Glyn Valley Tramway
. However the slight difference in gauge made this locomotive too wide for the track, and it was returned unused. Instead a new locomotive, Dennis, was bought.
Freight reached a peak in 1909, when 38000 LT (38,609.9 t; 42,560.1 ST) were carried, but this proved to be a short term change in fortune for the railway, and demand dwindled again during World War I
. In 1923 it was taken over and re-equipped by Colonel Stephens. Stephens bought two new Baldwin locomotives from the War Department Light Railways
.
When the mines closed the line lost much of its traffic but was rescued by a new traffic flow of stone from Callow Hill Quarry. There was virtually no traffic on the upper part of the line but it remained open as the locomotive shed was at Snailbeach.
In 1947 all three remaining steam locomotives were unusable and the railway was moribund. The locomotives were cut up at Snailbeach in 1950. The lower section was leased by Shropshire County Council
who used it to transport road-building materials from Callow Hill Quarry to Pontesbury
. When the last steam locomotive failed, loaded wagons were run from the quarry to Pontesbury
by gravity, and then, when enough were ready, hauled back using a Fordson tractor
straddling the rails. The railway finally closed in 1959, the last railway equipment being scrapped in 1961. The Talyllyn Railway
purchased the remaining track.
The quarry remained open but the railway was lifted and, between Callow Hill and the road bridge at Pontesbury
, converted into a road. Shropshire County Council ran their lorries along this road and paid rent to the railway company. As lorries became larger the long single-track road from Callow Lane to the quarry became impractical and was closed. A new access road was built in 1998 from the A488 in Pontesbury
to the quarry at Callow Hill, when the quarry was extended and deepened. Shropshire County Council sold the quarry to Tarmac plc
, in 2003 and quarrying permission exists until 2013. At this time (late 2006) there is no active work at the quarry and most heavy machinery has been removed.
leading to Pontesbury
.
The railway company was still in existence in 1984 when it was put up for sale (offers in the region of £25,000). The sale included the company records as well as the land. The only parts that were sold were the Callow Hill quarry and the trackbed from the exchange sidings at Pontesbury through to Callow Lane near Minsterley
. A small section of land was sold to private purchasers at Snailbeach (near Prospect House and Cottages) and the Crowsnest terminal. A small section near the Plox Green road bridge is owned by Shropshire County Council and is said to be lead contaminated due to drainage from the spoil piles. A small parcel of land covering the trackbed on the other side of this bridge is used as a playing field and the Snailbeach Village Hall.
Income was expected from the lease to the county council (lasting until 1997) and from wayleaves for services laid along the old trackbed.
Some remnants of it can still be seen, notably in Snailbeach
, where the engine shed has been restored and rails remain in place on the lines leading to the old mines.
Shropshire
Shropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west...
. It was built to carry lead
Lead
Lead is a main-group element in the carbon group with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal. It is also counted as one of the heavy metals. Metallic lead has a bluish-white color after being freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed...
ore
Ore
An ore is a type of rock that contains minerals with important elements including metals. The ores are extracted through mining; these are then refined to extract the valuable element....
from mines in the Stiperstones
Stiperstones
The Stiperstones is a very distinctive hill in the county of Shropshire, England. It is a quartzite ridge formed some 480 Million years ago. During the last Ice Age the summit stood out above the glaciers and was subject to constant freezing and thawing which shattered the quartzite into a mass of...
to Pontesbury
Pontesbury
Pontesbury is a large village and civil parish in Shropshire and is approximately eight miles southwest of the county town of Shrewsbury. The village of Minsterley is just over a mile further southwest. The A488 road runs through the village, on its way from Shrewsbury to Bishop's Castle...
where the ore was transshipped
Transshipment
Transshipment or Transhipment is the shipment of goods or containers to an intermediate destination, and then from there to yet another destination....
to the Great Western Railway
Great 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...
's Minsterley branch line
Minsterley branch line
The Minsterley branch line was a standard gauge railway line that ran from Cruckmeole Junction, where the Shrewsbury to Welshpool line runs, near Hanwood, to the villages of Pontesbury and then Minsterley...
. Coal from the Pontesford coal mines travelled in the opposite direction. The line ended at Snailbeach
Snailbeach
Snailbeach is a village in Shropshire, England, located near Shrewsbury at . The village was formerly home to a large lead mine.-Early history:A village was built for workers at the local lead mine - Snailbeach Mine, which reputedly dates back to Roman times...
, the location of Shropshire's largest and richest lead mine, though there had been a plan to extend it further, which would have brought it closer to more lead mines.
History
The railway was incorporated by Act of ParliamentAct of Parliament
An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...
on 5 August 1873, and opened in 1877. It was built with the unusual gauge
Rail gauge
Track gauge or rail gauge is the distance between the inner sides of the heads of the two load bearing rails that make up a single railway line. Sixty percent of the world's railways use a standard gauge of . Wider gauges are called broad gauge; smaller gauges, narrow gauge. Break-of-gauge refers...
of . The line was prosperous at first, carrying 14000 LT (14,224.7 t; 15,680 ST) annually, and paying a 3% dividend. However, in 1884, the Tankerville Great Consuls Company mine, the largest user of the railway, closed and tonnage fell to 5500 LT (5,588.3 t; 6,160 ST).
In 1905, the Ceirog Granite Company opened a quarry near Habberley, and a branch was built to serve this. An extra locomotive was required, and 0-4-2
0-4-2
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 0-4-2 represents the wheel arrangement with no leading wheels, four powered and coupled driving wheels on two axles, and two trailing wheels on one axle...
T
Tank locomotive
A tank locomotive or tank engine is a steam locomotive that carries its water in one or more on-board water tanks, instead of pulling it behind it in a tender. It will most likely also have some kind of bunker to hold the fuel. There are several different types of tank locomotive dependent upon...
Sir Theodore was borrowed from the 2 foot gauge Glyn Valley Tramway
Glyn Valley Tramway
The Glyn Valley Tramway was a narrow gauge railway that connected Chirk with Glyn Ceiriog in Denbighshire , Wales. The gauge of the line was...
. However the slight difference in gauge made this locomotive too wide for the track, and it was returned unused. Instead a new locomotive, Dennis, was bought.
Freight reached a peak in 1909, when 38000 LT (38,609.9 t; 42,560.1 ST) were carried, but this proved to be a short term change in fortune for the railway, and demand dwindled again during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. In 1923 it was taken over and re-equipped by Colonel Stephens. Stephens bought two new Baldwin locomotives from the War Department Light Railways
War Department Light Railways
The War Department Light Railways were a system of narrow gauge trench railways run by the British War Department in World War I. Light railways made an important contribution to the Allied war effort in the First World War, and were used for the supply of ammunition and stores, the transport of...
.
When the mines closed the line lost much of its traffic but was rescued by a new traffic flow of stone from Callow Hill Quarry. There was virtually no traffic on the upper part of the line but it remained open as the locomotive shed was at Snailbeach.
In 1947 all three remaining steam locomotives were unusable and the railway was moribund. The locomotives were cut up at Snailbeach in 1950. The lower section was leased by Shropshire County Council
Shropshire
Shropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west...
who used it to transport road-building materials from Callow Hill Quarry to Pontesbury
Pontesbury
Pontesbury is a large village and civil parish in Shropshire and is approximately eight miles southwest of the county town of Shrewsbury. The village of Minsterley is just over a mile further southwest. The A488 road runs through the village, on its way from Shrewsbury to Bishop's Castle...
. When the last steam locomotive failed, loaded wagons were run from the quarry to Pontesbury
Pontesbury
Pontesbury is a large village and civil parish in Shropshire and is approximately eight miles southwest of the county town of Shrewsbury. The village of Minsterley is just over a mile further southwest. The A488 road runs through the village, on its way from Shrewsbury to Bishop's Castle...
by gravity, and then, when enough were ready, hauled back using a Fordson tractor
Fordson tractor
Fordson was a brand name used on a range of mass produced general-purpose tractors manufactured by Henry Ford & Son, Inc, from 1917 until 1920 when it was merged into the Ford Motor Company, which used the name until 1964...
straddling the rails. The railway finally closed in 1959, the last railway equipment being scrapped in 1961. The Talyllyn Railway
Talyllyn Railway
The Talyllyn Railway is a narrow-gauge preserved railway in Wales running for from Tywyn on the Mid-Wales coast to Nant Gwernol near the village of Abergynolwyn. The line was opened in 1866 to carry slate from the quarries at Bryn Eglwys to Tywyn, and was the first narrow gauge railway in Britain...
purchased the remaining track.
The quarry remained open but the railway was lifted and, between Callow Hill and the road bridge at Pontesbury
Pontesbury
Pontesbury is a large village and civil parish in Shropshire and is approximately eight miles southwest of the county town of Shrewsbury. The village of Minsterley is just over a mile further southwest. The A488 road runs through the village, on its way from Shrewsbury to Bishop's Castle...
, converted into a road. Shropshire County Council ran their lorries along this road and paid rent to the railway company. As lorries became larger the long single-track road from Callow Lane to the quarry became impractical and was closed. A new access road was built in 1998 from the A488 in Pontesbury
Pontesbury
Pontesbury is a large village and civil parish in Shropshire and is approximately eight miles southwest of the county town of Shrewsbury. The village of Minsterley is just over a mile further southwest. The A488 road runs through the village, on its way from Shrewsbury to Bishop's Castle...
to the quarry at Callow Hill, when the quarry was extended and deepened. Shropshire County Council sold the quarry to Tarmac plc
Tarmac (company)
Tarmac is a company that is based in Wolverhampton in the United Kingdom and operates internationally. The company produces aggregates and road-surfacing materials, including tarmacadam, from which the company's name is derived...
, in 2003 and quarrying permission exists until 2013. At this time (late 2006) there is no active work at the quarry and most heavy machinery has been removed.
The line today
Callow Hill Quarry (2006) is owned by Tarmac plc and largely mothballed. Occasional quarry products are transported only a short distance along the route of the old railway to a public road (A488)A488 road
The A488 is a route on the British highway network that runs from Penybont, near Llandrindod Wells, in Wales, to Shrewsbury, Shropshire, in England. Near Shrewsbury the A488 has a junction with the A5 trunk road...
leading to Pontesbury
Pontesbury
Pontesbury is a large village and civil parish in Shropshire and is approximately eight miles southwest of the county town of Shrewsbury. The village of Minsterley is just over a mile further southwest. The A488 road runs through the village, on its way from Shrewsbury to Bishop's Castle...
.
The railway company was still in existence in 1984 when it was put up for sale (offers in the region of £25,000). The sale included the company records as well as the land. The only parts that were sold were the Callow Hill quarry and the trackbed from the exchange sidings at Pontesbury through to Callow Lane near Minsterley
Minsterley
Minsterley is a village and civil parish in Shropshire, England. It is home to a large dairy operated by Uniq foods.The dairy currently employs nearly 500 people...
. A small section of land was sold to private purchasers at Snailbeach (near Prospect House and Cottages) and the Crowsnest terminal. A small section near the Plox Green road bridge is owned by Shropshire County Council and is said to be lead contaminated due to drainage from the spoil piles. A small parcel of land covering the trackbed on the other side of this bridge is used as a playing field and the Snailbeach Village Hall.
Income was expected from the lease to the county council (lasting until 1997) and from wayleaves for services laid along the old trackbed.
Some remnants of it can still be seen, notably in Snailbeach
Snailbeach
Snailbeach is a village in Shropshire, England, located near Shrewsbury at . The village was formerly home to a large lead mine.-Early history:A village was built for workers at the local lead mine - Snailbeach Mine, which reputedly dates back to Roman times...
, where the engine shed has been restored and rails remain in place on the lines leading to the old mines.
Locomotives
| Number | Name | Builder | Type | Works Number | Built | Bought | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Belmont | Hughes Falcon Works | 0-4-2ST | 1874 (?) | 1877 | Scrapped c.1912 | ||
| Fernhill | Lennox Lange | 0-6-0ST | 1881 | 1881 | Scrapped c.1906 | ||
| 1 | Dennis | W.G. Bagnall W.G. Bagnall W. G. Bagnall was a locomotive manufacturer from Stafford, England. It was founded in 1875 by William Gordon Bagnall and ceased trading in 1962 when it was taken over by English Electric Co Ltd. The company was located at the Castle Engine Works, in Castle Town, Stafford... |
0-6-0T | 1797 | 1906 | 1906 | Scrapped 1937 |
| 2 | Kerr Stuart Kerr Stuart Kerr, Stuart and Company Ltd was a locomotive manufacturer from Stoke-on-Trent, England.-History:It was founded in 1881 by James Kerr as James Kerr & Company, and became Kerr, Stuart & Company from 1883 when John Stuart was taken on as a partner... |
0-4-2T "Skylark" class | 802 | 1902 | 1923 | Scrapped 1950 | |
| 3 | Baldwin Locomotive Works Baldwin Locomotive Works The Baldwin Locomotive Works was an American builder of railroad locomotives. It was located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, originally, and later in nearby Eddystone, Pennsylvania. Although the company was very successful as a producer of steam locomotives, its transition to the production of... |
4-6-0PT class 10-12-D Baldwin Class 10-12-D The Baldwin Class 10-12-D was a class of narrow gauge 4-6-0 pannier tank steam locomotives built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works for the British War Department Light Railways for service in France during World War I... |
44383 | 1916 | 1923 | Scrapped 1950 | |
| 4 | Baldwin Locomotive Works Baldwin Locomotive Works The Baldwin Locomotive Works was an American builder of railroad locomotives. It was located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, originally, and later in nearby Eddystone, Pennsylvania. Although the company was very successful as a producer of steam locomotives, its transition to the production of... |
4-6-0PT class 10-12-D |
44522 | 1917 | 1923 | Scrapped 1950 |