Duchal Moor Railway
Encyclopedia
The old Duchal Moor Railway grouse railway lies in the Duchal Moor and Muirshiel Hills within the Clyde Muirshiel Regional Park
, 3 miles (5 km) west southwest of Kilmacolm
in Scotland
.
, of shipbuilding fame. The project was undertaken to keep men employed after a drop in ship orders following World War 1. The line was used to take grouse
shooting parties into the hills across hundreds of acres of boggy moorland. The Duchal Moor is associated with the old Duchal Castle and the Lyle and Porterfield families.
The Grouse Railway, following the contours of the hills, was designed to convey the shooting parties around the grouse moor to the various groups of shooting butts; the grouse shooting season starts on the 'glorious 12th of August' and continues through to December. Completed around 1922 and extending to 7 miles (11 km). It is clearly marked on the appropriate OS
maps.
The gauge tracks were a combination of ex-First World War and former colliery light railway track, supported on wooden sleepers made from dismantled warships. The line started at Hardridge Farm, where the engines and passenger carriages were kept, and had three branches - one northwards to the Laverock Stone, another westwards to the Laird's Seat and the third southwards to Smeath Hill.
& Tramcar Company of Bedford - Works Numbers 2097 and 2171. The Company had already equipped a similar 'grouse railway' in 1920 for Sir Archie Birkmyre of Dalmunzie near Glenshee. The two petrol-driven engines are said to have been in use at an ordnance factory at Gretna
.
In September 1969 a further 4 wheeled 20/28 HP diesel locomotive (Works No 8700 of 1941) was purchased second hand from Joseph Arnold Ltd's sand quarries in Leighton Buzzard
. King Edward VIII was amongst guests to make use of the railway.
The route to the north of Hardridge Hill is lifted, the rest of the route is largely intact, although the track itself is obscured by moor growth and can only be detected in places as a depression in the peat. The eastern triangular junction is largely complete and crossed by a recent dirt road. The points remain at all three corners, with the weighted point lever. The line to the south crosses a small viaduct built from two 'I' girders and a sleepers; the largest such structure on the railway. The western triangular junction is more overgrown than the eastern one. The western points here are overgrown completely, but the western and southern points can be found. The southern points still work. There is a siding at Lairds Seat.
Clyde Muirshiel Regional Park
Clyde Muirshiel Regional Park is the collective name for areas of countryside set aside for conservation and recreation on the South Clyde estuary in Scotland....
, 3 miles (5 km) west southwest of Kilmacolm
Kilmacolm
Kilmacolm is a village and civil parish in the Inverclyde council area and the historic county of Renfrewshire in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. It lies on the northern slope of the Gryffe Valley south-east of Greenock and around west of the city of Glasgow...
in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
.
History and infrastructure
This narrow gauge railway, known locally as the Grouse Moor line, was built for the transport of grouse shooting parties and their equipment by Sir James Lithgow, 1st BaronetSir James Lithgow, 1st Baronet
Sir James Lithgow, 1st Baronet CB GBE MC TD was a Scottish industrialist who played a major role in restructuring the British shipbuilding and steelmaking industries in the 1930s in addition to playing an important role in formulating public policy and supervising wartime production.-Early...
, of shipbuilding fame. The project was undertaken to keep men employed after a drop in ship orders following World War 1. The line was used to take grouse
Glorious Twelfth
The Glorious Twelfth is usually used to refer to 12 August, the start of the shooting season for Red Grouse and to a lesser extent the Ptarmigan in the United Kingdom. This is one of the busiest days in the shooting season, with large amounts of game being shot...
shooting parties into the hills across hundreds of acres of boggy moorland. The Duchal Moor is associated with the old Duchal Castle and the Lyle and Porterfield families.
The Grouse Railway, following the contours of the hills, was designed to convey the shooting parties around the grouse moor to the various groups of shooting butts; the grouse shooting season starts on the 'glorious 12th of August' and continues through to December. Completed around 1922 and extending to 7 miles (11 km). It is clearly marked on the appropriate OS
Ordnance Survey
Ordnance Survey , an executive agency and non-ministerial government department of the Government of the United Kingdom, is the national mapping agency for Great Britain, producing maps of Great Britain , and one of the world's largest producers of maps.The name reflects its creation together with...
maps.
The gauge tracks were a combination of ex-First World War and former colliery light railway track, supported on wooden sleepers made from dismantled warships. The line started at Hardridge Farm, where the engines and passenger carriages were kept, and had three branches - one northwards to the Laverock Stone, another westwards to the Laird's Seat and the third southwards to Smeath Hill.
Locomotives
Two 20 hp wheeled gauge petrol-driven locomotives were purchased in 1922 from the Motor RailMotor Rail
Motor Rail was a British locomotive-building company, based in Bedford. Formed in 1911 as The Motor Rail & Tramcar Co Ltd, they built petrol and diesel engined locomotives, mainly narrow gauge. During World War I over 900 locos were supplied for use on temporary military supply railways...
& Tramcar Company of Bedford - Works Numbers 2097 and 2171. The Company had already equipped a similar 'grouse railway' in 1920 for Sir Archie Birkmyre of Dalmunzie near Glenshee. The two petrol-driven engines are said to have been in use at an ordnance factory at Gretna
Gretna
-Places:In Scotland:*Gretna, Scotland in Dumfries and Galloway*Gretna GreenIn Canada:*Gretna, ManitobaIn the United States:*Gretna, Florida*Gretna, Louisiana*Gretna, Nebraska*Mount Gretna, Pennsylvania*Mount Gretna Heights, Pennsylvania...
.
In September 1969 a further 4 wheeled 20/28 HP diesel locomotive (Works No 8700 of 1941) was purchased second hand from Joseph Arnold Ltd's sand quarries in Leighton Buzzard
Leighton Buzzard
-Lower schools:*Beaudesert Lower School - Apennine Way*Clipstone Brook Lower School - Brooklands Drive*Greenleas Lower School - Derwent Road*Dovery Down Lower School - Heath Road*Heathwood Lower School - Heath Road*Leedon Lower School - Highfield Road...
. King Edward VIII was amongst guests to make use of the railway.
Remains
The railway closed in the late 1970s and is now derelict. The engine shed is still present (2008), as are parts of the station platform and many of the rails are still in situ, most however are buried in the peat.The route to the north of Hardridge Hill is lifted, the rest of the route is largely intact, although the track itself is obscured by moor growth and can only be detected in places as a depression in the peat. The eastern triangular junction is largely complete and crossed by a recent dirt road. The points remain at all three corners, with the weighted point lever. The line to the south crosses a small viaduct built from two 'I' girders and a sleepers; the largest such structure on the railway. The western triangular junction is more overgrown than the eastern one. The western points here are overgrown completely, but the western and southern points can be found. The southern points still work. There is a siding at Lairds Seat.