Steeple Grange Light Railway
Encyclopedia
The Steeple Grange Light Railway is a heritage railway
at Wirksworth
in Derbyshire
, UK. It uses industrial locomotive
s and rolling stock from disused mine
s, quarries
, and steelworks around the country.
and Middleton Quarry in Derbyshire. The line features a steep 1:27 gradient incline from the back of the engine shed to half way up Killer's Branch. A crossover exists half way up the hill as well as sidings on the site of Dark Lane mine, soon to be the coaching stock shed.
Two extensions are being studied seriously:
. Greenbat incorporated a folding cab, to allow the locomotive to fit down small mineshaft
s. It was ordered by a steel mill
, who specifically requested the cab be fixed. Greenbat herself has never been underground, working in various steel mills.
Greenbat was preserved by Adrian Booth, who passed it on to the SGLR when the line was in its infancy. She was fitted with air braking, and coupled to an ex-NCB manrider has provided nearly 15 years of service. In 2005 she received new batteries, the old ones having last 15 years out of a lifespan of 10.
Motor: 1x GB type T2
Drive: worm and wheel to each axle
Voltage: 48V, Lead acid batteries
ways to work at their Horwich works in Lancashire
, and was preserved alongside Wren at the National Railway Museum
. When she was sold off, she was going to be sent to a banana
plantation
in South America
. However, she languished in Liverpool
docks
until bought for the Gloddfa Ganol Museum in Wales
. Here, she was regauged to and restored to working order. When Gloddfa Ganol closed, she was bought by an SGLR member, restored to gauge and fitted with airbraking.
A gearbox
failure led to her being taken to Dorothea Restorations for a complete overhaul. She is now back on the line, in lined out BR green, and used alternately with Greenbat. She was recently voted the most popular non-steam narrow gauge locomotive .
Engine: Ruston and Hornsby
20HP diesel
Transmission: Hydraulic, 2 gear box
in Derbyshire. The only locomotive was No.6, which was in a very poor, nonfunctioning state. Before Greenbat arrived, it was decided that one of the four wheel Ladywash Hudson manriders should be converted to a locomotive. This was done by Alwyn Ambrey in 1988, using a villiers engine and transmission from a cricket pitch roller. It resulted in being able to seat 2 passengers and the driver. Unfortunately, the drive was geared too highly for the engine to cope with the gradient on the line. This, and the engine being in poor state, meant it was used very little. The locomotive was worked on by various people in the late 1990s, finally being finished by J Scott in 2003. Scott refurbished the engine, thus solving a large amount of the underpowering problem, and fitted a much better braking system. Two years later, a new engine was found. It is basically the same as the old one, but has a 3:1 reduction gearbox fitted. Although there is still some tinkering to be done, this addition has greatly improved the locomotives haulage.
Engine: 3 HP Villiers Mk25 with reduction box
Transmission: Cup and cone reversing clutch and chain drive
"Lady Marjorie" is a compact 7HP, 1 ton Clayton
. Designed to work in 4 ft diameter sewer pipes, she even has a "barn roof" style battery box top to make maximum use of confined space. She has an electronic controller, as opposed to the more usual resistance type.
She spent all her working life at Ladywash, acquiring some interested but highly useful modifications-her works phot appears in Adrian Booths book on Greenwood and Batley, and is quite interesting to contrast with her current form. She was also fitted with a thyristor
controller, which was removed before being sold.
She arrived at the SGLR in a poor state of repair, which along with the lack of controller meant she got dumped around various sidings untouched. Eventually she was bought in 2004, and work finally started on her restoration.
Following removal from the site for shotblasting, the frames have been repainted and simultainiously the axleboxes overhauled. Now back on site, she is currently a rolling chassis with brake gear being overhauled. Where necessary new parts are being machined by her owner.
Work is also currently underway on the manufacture of a replacement controller, making use of contactors and resistances from other electrical machines.
Future work includes overhaul of the two traction motors, some attention to one of the gearboxes and re-cabling prior to reassembly.
Motors: 2x GB type T2
Batteries: 60V lead-acid
Weight: 3 tons new, 3-3 tons with modifications
Heritage railway
thumb|right|the Historical [[Khyber train safari|Khyber Railway]] goes through the [[Khyber Pass]], [[Pakistan]]A heritage railway , preserved railway , tourist railway , or tourist railroad is a railway that is run as a tourist attraction, in some cases by volunteers, and...
at Wirksworth
Wirksworth
Wirksworth is a small market town in Derbyshire, England, with a population of over 9,000.The population of the Wirksworth area including Cromford, Bolehill and Middleton-by-Wirksworth is about 12,000. Wirksworth is listed in the Domesday Book in 1086. Within it is the source of the River...
in Derbyshire
Derbyshire
Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...
, UK. It uses industrial locomotive
Locomotive
A locomotive is a railway vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. The word originates from the Latin loco – "from a place", ablative of locus, "place" + Medieval Latin motivus, "causing motion", and is a shortened form of the term locomotive engine, first used in the early 19th...
s and rolling stock from disused mine
Mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
s, quarries
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...
, and steelworks around the country.
The line
The Steeple Grange is a 0.5 mile (0.80467 km) gauge narrow gauge line, built in 1985 on the former Killer's Branch line from Steeple House Junction of the Cromford and High Peak RailwayCromford and High Peak Railway
The Cromford and High Peak Railway in Derbyshire, England, was completed in 1831, to carry minerals and goods between the Cromford Canal wharf at High Peak Junction and the Peak Forest Canal at Whaley Bridge -Origins:...
and Middleton Quarry in Derbyshire. The line features a steep 1:27 gradient incline from the back of the engine shed to half way up Killer's Branch. A crossover exists half way up the hill as well as sidings on the site of Dark Lane mine, soon to be the coaching stock shed.
Two extensions are being studied seriously:
- The National Stone Centre has expressed wishes to see the light railway to build a line on the old track bed to its facilities, which would provide a link to the Ecclesbourne Valley RailwayEcclesbourne Valley RailwayThe Ecclesbourne Valley Railway is a long heritage railway in Derbyshire, the headquarters of the railway centre around Wirksworth station and services operate between Wirksworth and Duffield and Wirksworth and Ravenstor...
- The railway also wishes to extended the incline to the level crossingLevel crossingA level crossing occurs where a railway line is intersected by a road or path onone level, without recourse to a bridge or tunnel. It is a type of at-grade intersection. The term also applies when a light rail line with separate right-of-way or reserved track crosses a road in the same fashion...
next to Middleton Quarry.
Locomotives
The SGLR has two operational passenger locomotives, two permanent way/works locomotives and many others under restoration.Greenbat
The railway's main locomotive is Greenbat, a 1.5 ton, 5HP "trammer" type battery locomotive built by Greenwood and Batley of LeedsLeeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
. Greenbat incorporated a folding cab, to allow the locomotive to fit down small mineshaft
Shaft mining
Shaft mining or shaft sinking refers to the method of excavating a vertical or near-vertical tunnel from the top down, where there is initially no access to the bottom....
s. It was ordered by a steel mill
Steel mill
A steel mill or steelworks is an industrial plant for the manufacture of steel.Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon. It is produced in a two-stage process. First, iron ore is reduced or smelted with coke and limestone in a blast furnace, producing molten iron which is either cast into pig iron or...
, who specifically requested the cab be fixed. Greenbat herself has never been underground, working in various steel mills.
Greenbat was preserved by Adrian Booth, who passed it on to the SGLR when the line was in its infancy. She was fitted with air braking, and coupled to an ex-NCB manrider has provided nearly 15 years of service. In 2005 she received new batteries, the old ones having last 15 years out of a lifespan of 10.
Motor: 1x GB type T2
Drive: worm and wheel to each axle
Voltage: 48V, Lead acid batteries
ZM32 Horwich
This locomotive is the only gauge Ruston and Hornsby LAT in existence. She was bought by British railBritish Rail
British Railways , which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was the operator of most of the rail transport in Great Britain between 1948 and 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the "Big Four" British railway companies and lasted until the gradual privatisation of British Rail, in stages...
ways to work at their Horwich works in Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
, and was preserved alongside Wren at the National Railway Museum
National Railway Museum
The National Railway Museum is a museum in York forming part of the British National Museum of Science and Industry and telling the story of rail transport in Britain and its impact on society. It has won many awards, including the European Museum of the Year Award in 2001...
. When she was sold off, she was going to be sent to a banana
Banana
Banana is the common name for herbaceous plants of the genus Musa and for the fruit they produce. Bananas come in a variety of sizes and colors when ripe, including yellow, purple, and red....
plantation
Plantation
A plantation is a long artificially established forest, farm or estate, where crops are grown for sale, often in distant markets rather than for local on-site consumption...
in South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
. However, she languished in Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
docks
Dock (maritime)
A dock is a human-made structure or group of structures involved in the handling of boats or ships, usually on or close to a shore.However, the exact meaning varies among different variants of the English language...
until bought for the Gloddfa Ganol Museum in Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
. Here, she was regauged to and restored to working order. When Gloddfa Ganol closed, she was bought by an SGLR member, restored to gauge and fitted with airbraking.
A gearbox
Transmission (mechanics)
A machine consists of a power source and a power transmission system, which provides controlled application of the power. Merriam-Webster defines transmission as: an assembly of parts including the speed-changing gears and the propeller shaft by which the power is transmitted from an engine to a...
failure led to her being taken to Dorothea Restorations for a complete overhaul. She is now back on the line, in lined out BR green, and used alternately with Greenbat. She was recently voted the most popular non-steam narrow gauge locomotive .
Engine: Ruston and Hornsby
Ruston (engine builder)
Ruston & Hornsby, later known as Ruston, was an industrial equipment manufacturer in Lincoln, England, the company's history going back to 1840. The company is best known as a manufacturer of narrow and standard gauge diesel locomotives and also of steam shovels. Other products included cars, steam...
20HP diesel
Transmission: Hydraulic, 2 gear box
Hudson
This locomotive is quite an oddity, being home built. The SGLR was originally started with stock from Ladywash Mine, near EyamEyam
Eyam is a small village in Derbyshire, England. The village is best known for being the "plague village" that chose to isolate itself when the plague was discovered there in August 1665, rather than let the infection spread...
in Derbyshire. The only locomotive was No.6, which was in a very poor, nonfunctioning state. Before Greenbat arrived, it was decided that one of the four wheel Ladywash Hudson manriders should be converted to a locomotive. This was done by Alwyn Ambrey in 1988, using a villiers engine and transmission from a cricket pitch roller. It resulted in being able to seat 2 passengers and the driver. Unfortunately, the drive was geared too highly for the engine to cope with the gradient on the line. This, and the engine being in poor state, meant it was used very little. The locomotive was worked on by various people in the late 1990s, finally being finished by J Scott in 2003. Scott refurbished the engine, thus solving a large amount of the underpowering problem, and fitted a much better braking system. Two years later, a new engine was found. It is basically the same as the old one, but has a 3:1 reduction gearbox fitted. Although there is still some tinkering to be done, this addition has greatly improved the locomotives haulage.
Engine: 3 HP Villiers Mk25 with reduction box
Transmission: Cup and cone reversing clutch and chain drive
Claytons
The railway has three battery Claytons of similar designs in private ownership. L10 (works Order No. 5431 of January 1968) and L16 (W/O No. B0109B of March 1973, named Peggy) are 1 ton, 7HP low height locomotives. They were both bought directly from industrial use. Peggy has recently been restored to operating condition, and is running using the redundant 15-year old batteries from Greenbat. Peggy is fitted with a cam-contactor controller and resistances for speed control."Lady Marjorie" is a compact 7HP, 1 ton Clayton
Clayton Equipment Company
Clayton Equipment Company Ltd, now known simply as Clayton Equipment Ltd or CEC and CEL, is a locomotive construction company that specialises in locomotives for underground mining operations.-Inception:...
. Designed to work in 4 ft diameter sewer pipes, she even has a "barn roof" style battery box top to make maximum use of confined space. She has an electronic controller, as opposed to the more usual resistance type.
Ladywash mine No.6
This was the first locomotive on the railway, being bought with a large amount of track and rolling stock from Ladywash Mine, near Eyam in Derbyshire. She is a 10HP, 3 ton design also from Greenwood and Batley.She spent all her working life at Ladywash, acquiring some interested but highly useful modifications-her works phot appears in Adrian Booths book on Greenwood and Batley, and is quite interesting to contrast with her current form. She was also fitted with a thyristor
Thyristor
A thyristor is a solid-state semiconductor device with four layers of alternating N and P-type material. They act as bistable switches, conducting when their gate receives a current trigger, and continue to conduct while they are forward biased .Some sources define silicon controlled rectifiers and...
controller, which was removed before being sold.
She arrived at the SGLR in a poor state of repair, which along with the lack of controller meant she got dumped around various sidings untouched. Eventually she was bought in 2004, and work finally started on her restoration.
Following removal from the site for shotblasting, the frames have been repainted and simultainiously the axleboxes overhauled. Now back on site, she is currently a rolling chassis with brake gear being overhauled. Where necessary new parts are being machined by her owner.
Work is also currently underway on the manufacture of a replacement controller, making use of contactors and resistances from other electrical machines.
Future work includes overhaul of the two traction motors, some attention to one of the gearboxes and re-cabling prior to reassembly.
Motors: 2x GB type T2
Batteries: 60V lead-acid
Weight: 3 tons new, 3-3 tons with modifications
See also
- List of British heritage and private railways
- British narrow gauge railwaysBritish narrow gauge railwaysThere were more than a thousand British narrow gauge railways ranging from large, historically significant common carriers to small, short-lived industrial railways...