Snailbeach District Railways

Snailbeach District Railways

Overview
Headquarters	Tonbridge until 1932
Locale	England
Dates of operation	1877–1947 (rail operation)
Successor	abandoned
Technical
Track gauge	2 ft 4 in (710 mm)[a]
Length	3½ miles

Map of the Snailbeach District Railways

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.

History

Snailbeach Lead Mine, served by the railway

The railway was incorporated by Act of Parliament on 5 August 1873, and opened in 1877. It was built with the unusual gauge of 2 ft 4 in (710 mm). The line was prosperous at first, carrying 14,000 tons 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 5,500 tons.

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 0-6-0T Sir Theodore was borrowed from the 2 ft 4½ in (724 mm) 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 38,000 tons were carried, but this proved to be a short term change in fortune for the railway, and demand dwindled again during World War One. 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 extented 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.

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) 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.

Restoration

As of November 2007 plans are at an advanced stage to rebuild and reopen as much of the original line as possible in stages as a heritage passenger service. Initially it will use the private Tarmac owned land from Callow Hill Minsterley, following the old track bed to Callow Lane, followed by rebuilding the road bridge and towards Snailbeach, a distance of about 1.6 km. Construction of the revised line has been deferred from its planned start in 2007 and is due to start April 2008. It should be noted that the revival company is the original Snailbeach District Railways Company of 1873 (albeit with new directors) and rebuilding will be carried out under terms of the original Act of Parliament.

A feature of the revived line will be a restored Baldwin 4-6-0PT ex WD tank locomotive (one of the Palestine batch from 1917). The locomotive has been restored in Asia to very high standards to be an near as possible a replica of number 4, which ran on the line until its closure. The revived SDR will be built at dual gauge 2 ft and 2 ft 6 in and will operate with steam from the first day of opening using either the Hunslet built HE 3903 (ex Statfold) or an 0-4-0 O&K (1902)feldbahn which has been renamed Dieter. It will also feature an ex Philippines Plymouth diesel locomotive as well as ordering 2 new steam locomotives.

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	0-6-0T	1797	1906	1906	Scrapped 1937
2		Kerr Stuart	0-4-2T "Skylark" class	802	1902	1923	Scrapped 1950
3		Baldwin Locomotive Works	4-6-0PT	44383	1916	1923	Scrapped 1950
4		Baldwin Locomotive Works	4-6-0PT	44522	1917	1923	Scrapped 1950

See also

• British narrow gauge railways
• Baldwin Class 10-12-D

Notes

^a At least one source lists the gauge as 2 ft 3¾ in (705 mm)

References

• Kidner, R.W. (1938). Mineral Railways. The Oakwood Press.
• Tonks, Eric S. (1974). The Snailbeach District Railway. The Industrial Railway Society. ISBN 0-901096-17-2
• Industrial Locomotives of Cheshire, Shropshire and Herefordshire. The Industrial Railway Society. 1977. ISBN 0-901096-32-6

External links

• Snailbeach District Railways Company revival of railway - Registration required
• Snailbeach District Railways