Cliffe Hill Mineral Railway
Encyclopedia
The Cliffe Hill Mineral Railway was an industrial
narrow gauge railway that connected the Cliffe Hill granite quarry to the nearby London Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) between Leicester
and Coalville
. The line opened in 1896 and operated until 1948.
in Leicestershire
since Roman times. However it was not until the 1860s that quarrying began on a commercial scale. In the late 1870s two Birmingham
businessmen opened a quarry at Cliffe Hill to provide street setts and kerb stones. This quarry closed in 1887 but was revived in 1889 by Mr. J. Rupert Fitzmaurice the son of one of the original owners. Fitzmaurice equipped the quarry with then modern machinery and it quickly became a commercial success.
In the first year of the new operation 630 tons of finished kerbs and 10,200 tons of broken stone were produced. Most of this was taken by horse and cart to Bagworth
station 2½ miles away for transit by rail. In 1892 a traction engine
was purchased to help transport stone to the railway.
Over the next few years demand for the company's products continued to increase and road transportation became a bottleneck to increasing production. The board decided to build its own railway line to move stone from the quarry to the nearest LMS line. The route to Bagworth Station would have required heavy gradients and passed over land owned by Mr. Breedon Everard, who was hostile to the notion of a railway. So the decision was made to build the line south from the quarry to a transshipment
point at Beveridge Lane, near Bardon Hill
station.
Construction started on the line in early 1896 and by the end of the year the first steam locomotive
had been delivered and was at work.
The line from the quarry to the LMS's Cliffe Hill sidings remained substantially unchanged for the life of the railway, with the exception of an embankment built in 1911 to avoid steep gradients as the line crossed a small valley near Hillcroft farm.
The railway served its purpose for more than fifty years, employing a wide range of locomotives to move the granite trains. During the Second World War quarry production was reduced due to the lack of available workers. At the end of the war there was a boom in the housing and roads construction industries as wartime damage was repaired. This created a strong demand for the quarry's products. At the same time new quarrying and transportation machinery was becoming available and the company decided to reorganize production methods.
Within the quarry, lorries quickly replaced the internal railway, and by 1948 road transport was quickly replacing the need for the line between the quarry and the standard gauge railway. The decision was taken to abandon the Cliffe Hill Mineral Railway, and the last train ran in March of that year.
The track remained in situ for several years, and most of it was taken up in the mid 1950s.
Industrial railway
An industrial railway is a type of railway that is not available for public transportation and is used exclusively to serve a particular industrial, logistics or military site...
narrow gauge railway that connected the Cliffe Hill granite quarry to the nearby London Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) between Leicester
Leicester
Leicester is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest...
and Coalville
Coalville
Coalville is a town in North West Leicestershire, England, with a population estimated in 2003 to be almost 33,000. It is situated on the A511 trunk road between Leicester and Burton upon Trent, close to junction 22 of the M1 motorway where the A511 meets the A50 between Ashby-de-la-Zouch and...
. The line opened in 1896 and operated until 1948.
History
Granite is reputed to have been quarried from the outcrop near MarkfieldMarkfield
Markfield is a commuter village sitting within both the National Forest and Charnwood Forest and in the Hinckley and Bosworth district of Leicestershire, England. The settlement dates back to at least the time of the Norman conquest and is mentioned in the Domesday Book under the name...
in Leicestershire
Leicestershire
Leicestershire is a landlocked county in the English Midlands. It takes its name from the heavily populated City of Leicester, traditionally its administrative centre, although the City of Leicester unitary authority is today administered separately from the rest of Leicestershire...
since Roman times. However it was not until the 1860s that quarrying began on a commercial scale. In the late 1870s two Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
businessmen opened a quarry at Cliffe Hill to provide street setts and kerb stones. This quarry closed in 1887 but was revived in 1889 by Mr. J. Rupert Fitzmaurice the son of one of the original owners. Fitzmaurice equipped the quarry with then modern machinery and it quickly became a commercial success.
In the first year of the new operation 630 tons of finished kerbs and 10,200 tons of broken stone were produced. Most of this was taken by horse and cart to Bagworth
Bagworth
Bagworth is a village in Leicestershire, England, west of Leicester.-History:There are records of the manor of Bagworth from the early 14th and early 15th centuries, when it was held by the same feudal lords as the neighbouring manor of Thornton....
station 2½ miles away for transit by rail. In 1892 a traction engine
Traction engine
A traction engine is a self-propelled steam engine used to move heavy loads on roads, plough ground or to provide power at a chosen location. The name derives from the Latin tractus, meaning 'drawn', since the prime function of any traction engine is to draw a load behind it...
was purchased to help transport stone to the railway.
Over the next few years demand for the company's products continued to increase and road transportation became a bottleneck to increasing production. The board decided to build its own railway line to move stone from the quarry to the nearest LMS line. The route to Bagworth Station would have required heavy gradients and passed over land owned by Mr. Breedon Everard, who was hostile to the notion of a railway. So the decision was made to build the line south from the quarry to a transshipment
Transshipment
Transshipment or Transhipment is the shipment of goods or containers to an intermediate destination, and then from there to yet another destination....
point at Beveridge Lane, near Bardon Hill
Bardon Hill
Bardon Hill is a hill in the civil parish of Bardon near Coalville, Leicestershire. It the highest point in Leicestershire and the National Forest, above sea level. The hill has two very distinct faces – one half preserved as a site of special scientific interest , the other removed by Bardon Hill...
station.
Construction started on the line in early 1896 and by the end of the year the first 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...
had been delivered and was at work.
The line from the quarry to the LMS's Cliffe Hill sidings remained substantially unchanged for the life of the railway, with the exception of an embankment built in 1911 to avoid steep gradients as the line crossed a small valley near Hillcroft farm.
The railway served its purpose for more than fifty years, employing a wide range of locomotives to move the granite trains. During the Second World War quarry production was reduced due to the lack of available workers. At the end of the war there was a boom in the housing and roads construction industries as wartime damage was repaired. This created a strong demand for the quarry's products. At the same time new quarrying and transportation machinery was becoming available and the company decided to reorganize production methods.
Within the quarry, lorries quickly replaced the internal railway, and by 1948 road transport was quickly replacing the need for the line between the quarry and the standard gauge railway. The decision was taken to abandon the Cliffe Hill Mineral Railway, and the last train ran in March of that year.
The track remained in situ for several years, and most of it was taken up in the mid 1950s.
Locomotives
| Name | Builder | Type | Works Number | Built | Disposal | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cliffe | 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... |
0-4-0ST | 1487 | 1896 | Sold to Bardon Hill Quarry in 1946, scrapped in 1953 | |
| Isabel | 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... |
0-4-0ST | 1491 | 1897 | Returned to Bagnall's in 1953, now preserved at the Amerton Railway Amerton Railway The Amerton Railway is a narrow gauge heritage railway in the English county of Staffordshire. It is owned by the Staffordshire Narrow Gauge Railway Society.Construction of the railway was begun in 1990 in a field at the side of Amerton Working Farm... |
|
| The Rocket | 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... |
0-4-0ST | 1531 | 1898 | Scrapped 1957 | |
| Edith | 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... |
0-4-0ST | 1589 | 1900 | Scrapped 1935 | |
| Jack | 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... |
0-4-0ST | 1650 | 1901 | Sold to Graham's Moor Quarry, Criggion Criggion Criggion is a village in Powys, Wales. Criggion radio station was located nearby. A branch of the now defunct Shropshire and Montgomeryshire Railway stopped at Criggion.- External links :**... , 1916 |
|
| Mary | 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... |
0-4-2T | 1943 | 1911 | Scrapped 1957 | |
| Gelakey No.1 | Baguley Baguley Baguley is a locality in Wythenshawe, and an electoral ward of the city of Manchester in North West England.Historically within Cheshire, the town is mentioned as Bagelei in the Domesday Book of 1086.-History:... |
4wPM | 434 | 1914 | Scrapped 1957 | Used at the quarry for a makers test in February 1914. |
| Jack | 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... |
0-4-2T | 2034 | 1915 | Scrapped 1957 | |
| Mabel | 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... |
0-4-0ST | 2077 | 1918 | Scrapped 1948 | Acquired from the Ministry of Munitions, Stamford Aerodrome, 1920 |
| Peter | 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... |
0-4-0ST | 2067 | 1918 | Now preserved at Amberley Museum Railway Amberley Museum Railway The Amberley Museum and Heritage Centre Railway is a gauge railway based at the Amberley Museum and Heritage Centre, Amberley, West Sussex. It has a varied collection of engines and rolling stock ranging from gauge to gauge... . |
Built for the Canadian Forestry Commission as 3' gauge. Acquired 1920 |
| Samson later Tug | Sentinel Sentinel Waggon Works Sentinel Waggon Works Ltd was a British company based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire that made steam-powered lorries, railway locomotives, and later, diesel engined lorries and locomotives.-Alley & MacLellan, Sentinel Works, Jessie Street Glasgow:... |
4wGVB | 6770 | 1926 | Scrapped 1957 | |
| Sentinel Sentinel Waggon Works Sentinel Waggon Works Ltd was a British company based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire that made steam-powered lorries, railway locomotives, and later, diesel engined lorries and locomotives.-Alley & MacLellan, Sentinel Works, Jessie Street Glasgow:... |
4wGVB | 6751 | 1926 | |||
| Edith | Sentinel Sentinel Waggon Works Sentinel Waggon Works Ltd was a British company based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire that made steam-powered lorries, railway locomotives, and later, diesel engined lorries and locomotives.-Alley & MacLellan, Sentinel Works, Jessie Street Glasgow:... |
4wGVB | 6902 | 1927 | Scrapped 1957 | Acquired from Durham County Water Board, Burnhope Reservoir railway Burnhope Reservoir railway The Burnhope Reservoir railway was an industrial narrow gauge railway built to serve the construction of Burnhope Reservoir near Weardale. An extensive network of gauge lines connected the North Eastern Railway branch terminus at Weardale with the dam construction site.- Locomotives :... 1935 |
| Kashmir | 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... |
0-6-0T | 3118 | 1918 | Scrapped 1957 | Originally worked on the Kerry Tramway Kerry Tramway The Kerry Tramway was a gauge narrow gauge railway built in 1887 to serve the timber workings and slab quarry to the south of the village of Kerry, near Newtown in mid Wales.... , later at the Stamford Aerodrome, acquired in 1941 |
| Orenstein & Koppel | 4wDM | Presumed scrapped in 1957 | From Thomas Ward, Sheffiled around 1940 |