Swanage Pier Tramway
Encyclopedia
The Swanage Pier Tramway was a narrow gauge
tramway
in the port town of Swanage
, in the English
county of Dorset
.
From the 12th century, the Swanage area was well known for the quarrying of Purbeck Marble
, actually a hard wearing form of limestone
. Much of this was shipped out through Swanage, originally being loaded into small vessels from horse carts driven into the waters of Swanage Bay. In 1858 a pier, now known as the Old Pier, was built in deeper water and linked to the stone stores on the water front by a horse drawn tramway. Existing evidence on the ground shows that the tramway was of , although early illustrations appear to indicate that it was originally of wider gauge. There is no evidence that mechanical traction was ever used on the line.
The line survived in use until the 1930s, latterly being used to carry fish from the pier to a fish store built alongside the line around 1855. About 100 metres (109.4 yd) of track still exist, embedded in the footway that links the centre of Swanage with the later built Steamer Pier. The timber supports of the Old Pier also still exists, albeit in a derelict condition.
The Swanage Pier Tramway should not be confused with a standard gauge
tramway opened by the London and South Western Railway
as an extension of one of the sidings at Swanage railway station
. This connected to a stone store in the same vicinity of those served by the pier tramway, but the two lines were never connected.
Narrow gauge
A narrow gauge railway is a railway that has a track gauge narrower than the of standard gauge railways. Most existing narrow gauge railways have gauges of between and .- Overview :...
tramway
Tramway (mineral)
Tramways are lightly laid railways, sometimes worked without locomotives. The term is in common use in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and elsewhere. In New Zealand, they are commonly known as bush tramways...
in the port town of Swanage
Swanage
Swanage is a coastal town and civil parish in the south east of Dorset, England. It is situated at the eastern end of the Isle of Purbeck, approximately 10 km south of Poole and 40 km east of Dorchester. The parish has a population of 10,124 . Nearby are Ballard Down and Old Harry Rocks,...
, in the English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
county of Dorset
Dorset
Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...
.
From the 12th century, the Swanage area was well known for the quarrying of Purbeck Marble
Purbeck Marble
Purbeck Marble is a fossiliferous limestone quarried in the Isle of Purbeck, a peninsula in south-east Dorset, England.It is one of many kinds of Purbeck Limestone, deposited in the late Jurassic or early Cretaceous periods....
, actually a hard wearing form of limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
. Much of this was shipped out through Swanage, originally being loaded into small vessels from horse carts driven into the waters of Swanage Bay. In 1858 a pier, now known as the Old Pier, was built in deeper water and linked to the stone stores on the water front by a horse drawn tramway. Existing evidence on the ground shows that the tramway was of , although early illustrations appear to indicate that it was originally of wider gauge. There is no evidence that mechanical traction was ever used on the line.
The line survived in use until the 1930s, latterly being used to carry fish from the pier to a fish store built alongside the line around 1855. About 100 metres (109.4 yd) of track still exist, embedded in the footway that links the centre of Swanage with the later built Steamer Pier. The timber supports of the Old Pier also still exists, albeit in a derelict condition.
The Swanage Pier Tramway should not be confused with a standard gauge
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...
tramway opened by the London and South Western Railway
London and South Western Railway
The London and South Western Railway was a railway company in England from 1838 to 1922. Its network extended from London to Plymouth via Salisbury and Exeter, with branches to Ilfracombe and Padstow and via Southampton to Bournemouth and Weymouth. It also had many routes connecting towns in...
as an extension of one of the sidings at Swanage railway station
Swanage railway station
Swanage railway station is a railway station located in Swanage, on the Isle of Purbeck in the English county of Dorset. Originally the terminus of a London and South Western Railway branch line from Wareham, the line and station were closed by British Rail in 1972...
. This connected to a stone store in the same vicinity of those served by the pier tramway, but the two lines were never connected.