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| ===Locomotives and brake vans=== | ===Locomotives and brake vans=== | ||
| '''Steam locomotives''' | '''Steam locomotives''' | ||
| *] 0-4-0ST W.S.T. |
*] 0-4-0ST W.S.T. Makers Number 2361, built in 1954. Awaiting overhaul; requires new steam pipe and boiler certification. Formerly used at ] and at Cocklakes.<ref>Elliot, John (2000). ''A Guide to the Bowes Railway 175 Years of Railway History''. p22</ref> British Gypsum signed ownership of the locomotive over to the Bowes Railway Trust in September 2008. | ||
| *Andrew Barclay 0-4-0ST No 22 (Number 6 Area B Group 85). |
*Andrew Barclay 0-4-0ST No 22 (Number 6 Area B Group 85). Makers number 2274, built in 1949, for use on the Bowes Railway.<ref>Elliot, John (2000). ''A Guide to the Bowes Railway 175 Years of Railway History''. p. 23</ref> One of the first locomotives on the Bowes Railway in preservation alongside planet. Currently awaiting overhaul and boiler certification. | ||
| '''Diesel locomotives''' | '''Diesel locomotives''' | ||
| *] 0-4-0 No 101. The first locomotive to be used regularly on shunting duties and freight trains when the railway entered preservation. Currently used as the primary maintenance locomotive besides perky or Redheugh. | *] 0-4-0 No 101. The first locomotive to be used regularly on shunting duties and freight trains when the railway entered preservation. Currently used as the primary maintenance locomotive besides perky or Redheugh. | ||
| *] 0-4-0 No 6263. Used on freight trains and shunting |
*] 0-4-0 No 6263. Used on freight trains and shunting; the most powerful shunter on the line. Currently out of use needing new brake blocks and a minor overhaul. | ||
| *] Class 88 0-4-0 No 476140 "Redheugh" |
*] Class 88 0-4-0 No 476140 "Redheugh". Restored for use on both passenger and demonstration coal trains now known as "Redheugh". | ||
| *] Class 165 0-4-0 locos "Pinky" (1953) and "Perky" (1954), donated by the Port of Sunderland. Perky is currently operational, Pinky under overhaul. | *] Class 165 0-4-0 locos "Pinky" (1953) and "Perky" (1954), donated by the Port of Sunderland. Perky is currently operational, Pinky under overhaul. | ||
| '''Brake vans''' | '''Brake vans''' | ||
| *Lambton Hetton & Joicey Collieries Brake van No 1. Currently out of use in an overhaul state. | *Lambton Hetton & Joicey Collieries Brake van No 1. Currently out of use in an overhaul state. | ||
| *] No 2, built for use in Derby. In use but require overhaul prior to resuming passenger duties. | *] No 2, built for use in Derby. In use, but require overhaul prior to resuming passenger duties. | ||
| *L.M.S. No 3 Brake van. In use but require overhaul prior to resuming passenger duties. | *L.M.S. No 3 Brake van. In use, but require overhaul prior to resuming passenger duties. | ||
| '''Waggons''' | '''Waggons''' | ||
Revision as of 06:44, 10 June 2019
| Bowes Railway | |
|---|---|
| Pontop & Jarrow Railway | |
 The Bowes Railway at Springwell Village
Gateshead (Postal Address) Although it is within the City of Sunderland . | |
| Locale | Tyne and Wear |
| Terminus | Dipton Colliery to Jarrow Staith (preserved Springwell - Wrekenton) |
| Commercial operations | |
| Built by | Robert Stephenson, designed by George Stephenson |
| Original gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
| Preserved operations | |
| Stations | 2 (Springwell & Blackhams Hill) |
| Length | 1+1⁄2 miles (2.4 km) |
| Preserved gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
| Commercial history | |
| Opened | 1826/1855 |
| Closed | 1974 |
| Preserved era | 1975- |
The Bowes Railway, built by George Stephenson in 1826, is the world's only operational preserved standard gauge cable railway system. It was built to transport coal from pits in Durham to boats on the River Tyne. The site is a Scheduled Ancient Monument. The railway is open the first weekend of each month (February - December) and every week Thursday, Friday and Saturday for static display and guided tours. Plus a number of event days throughout the year.
History
Background
The Grand Allies, a partnership of businessmen including John Bowes, opened a colliery at Springwell in Durham. A railway was needed to transport the coal to the River Tyne. The plan was to build inclined planes and use a combination of steam power and gravity to move the coal wagons. The railway was designed by George Stephenson who built the Hetton colliery railway which was completed in 1822.
Construction
The railway was built between Mount Moor and Jarrow via Springwell village. The first section, between Springwell and Jarrow, opened on 17 January 1826. Mount Moor followed in April 1826. When the line opened it comprised four inclined planes: one steep incline from Mount Moor to Blackham's Hill, and one from Blackham's Hill to Springwell. At Blackham's Hill, the summit of both inclines, was the "hauler house", housing stationary engines to wind the ropes. A long self-acting incline ran from Springwell. Nearly 5 miles (8.0 km) of locomotive-worked line extended to Jarrow where a final incline served the coal staiths. The line was extended across the Team Valley to Kibblesworth Colliery in May 1842. The railway was completed in 1854 when a link from Marley Hill to Kibblesworth was connected enabling collieries in Dipton to be accessed.
Operation
From 1 January 1947, the railway was owned and operated by the National Coal Board. After 1974 no inclines remained working and the line was only worked north east of Wardley. The last day the inclines were used, Friday 4 October 1974, was filmed by BBC and Tyne-Tees TV crews.
What was left of the Bowes Railway north east of the inclines was served by a shed at Wardley. The line was reduced in length, until at the end there was only about 1 mile (1.6 km) in use. This last section closed on 10 January 1986, a few days short of the 180th anniversary. This attenuated system the NCB called the Monkton Railways, after the coke works that was its mainstay between 1975 and 1986.
Preserved railway
Tyne & Wear Industrial Monuments Trust was established April 1975 and took control of the line around Springwell from the National Coal Board through the medium of county council direction. By 1975 Springwell Workshops were building replica locomotives such as Locomotion No. 1 trading as Locomotion Enterprises. The Marley Hill shed of the Tanfield Railway is a former Bowes Railway running shed as are short lengths of the track at Marley Hill. Marley Hill became a preservation base from 1971.
The centre of the preserved Bowes Railway is Springwell Workshops.
A third Bowes Railway running shed at Wardley is the depot of the North East Bus Preservation Trust.
Rope Haulage
 | This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Bowes Railway" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (January 2017) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Original System
When the Bowes Railway was in full operation the line employed eight rope-worked inclined planes. Two of these (the Springwell and Birkheads inclines) were operated on the self-acting principle; the weight of descending full waggons hauled up the empty waggons via a rope running around a return wheel at the top of the hill. On the remaining six inclines (the Kibblesworth, Black Fell, Blackhams Hill East and West, Starrs and Allerdene Inclines), the ropes were driven by a stationary steam or later electric haulage engine located at the incline top. This type of railway operation pre-dates modern locomotive-type operations, and was laid down here by George Stephenson in 1826. The line's gradual closure eventually left only four inclines in use, these finally closing on 4 October 1974.
Preserved System
The line, as preserved post-1974, includes two rope-worked inclines. These are the Blackhams Hill East and West inclines. Both are worked by the Blackhams Hill engine, a 300 h.p. Metropolitan Vickers engine commissioned on 30 July 1950. This engine works both the East or Flatt Incline (1170 yards at a gradient of 1 in 70) and the West or Short Bank (750 yards at a gradient 1 in 13). Over these inclines, the preserved railway demonstrates one of the oldest and most unusual types of railway operation. It is now the only place in Britain where this can be seen. The inclines are not currently operational, however, due to vandalism and decline.
Locomotives and brake vans
Steam locomotives
- Andrew Barclay 0-4-0ST W.S.T. Makers Number 2361, built in 1954. Awaiting overhaul; requires new steam pipe and boiler certification. Formerly used at Long Meg Mine and at Cocklakes. British Gypsum signed ownership of the locomotive over to the Bowes Railway Trust in September 2008.
- Andrew Barclay 0-4-0ST No 22 (Number 6 Area B Group 85). Makers number 2274, built in 1949, for use on the Bowes Railway. One of the first locomotives on the Bowes Railway in preservation alongside planet. Currently awaiting overhaul and boiler certification.
Diesel locomotives
- Planet 0-4-0 No 101. The first locomotive to be used regularly on shunting duties and freight trains when the railway entered preservation. Currently used as the primary maintenance locomotive besides perky or Redheugh.
- Hunslet Engine Company 0-4-0 No 6263. Used on freight trains and shunting; the most powerful shunter on the line. Currently out of use needing new brake blocks and a minor overhaul.
- Ruston & Hornsby Class 88 0-4-0 No 476140 "Redheugh". Restored for use on both passenger and demonstration coal trains now known as "Redheugh".
- Ruston & Hornsby Class 165 0-4-0 locos "Pinky" (1953) and "Perky" (1954), donated by the Port of Sunderland. Perky is currently operational, Pinky under overhaul.
Brake vans
- Lambton Hetton & Joicey Collieries Brake van No 1. Currently out of use in an overhaul state.
- L.M.S. No 2, built for use in Derby. In use, but require overhaul prior to resuming passenger duties.
- L.M.S. No 3 Brake van. In use, but require overhaul prior to resuming passenger duties.
Waggons The railway also has a fleet of 45 original Bowes Railway waggons dating from 1887 through to 1963, as well as seven similar waggons from other industrial sites in the North East.
The Railway Today
| This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Bowes Railway" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (November 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
The museum is based around the workshops at Springwell. This contains the museums, shop, cafe, toilets and guided tours of the buildings dating back to 1826.
References
- Tyne & Wear Sites and Monuments Record schedule retrieved 25 October 2013 "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 2013-10-25.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help)CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - The Bowes Railway by Colin Mountford p11
- The Bowes Railway by Colin Mountford p11
- The Bowes Railway by Colin Mountford p12
- The Bowes Railway by Colin Mountford p24
- The Bowes Railway by Colin Mountford p34
- The Bowes Railway by Colin Mountford p42
- The Private Railways of County Durham by Colin E. Mountford, Industrial Railway Society, 2004 p59-60.
- http://lateralscience.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/loco.html Lateral Science retrieved 12 November 2013 says"A working replica of Locomotion No.1 was built by Locomotion Enterprises of Springwell and ran at the Cavalcade".
- The same information is also given in the Beamish Museum Stocklist retrieved from "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 November 2013. Retrieved 2013-11-12.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help)CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) 12 November 2013. - The Bowes Railway by Colin Mountford p162/165/182-183
- Elliot, John (2000). A Guide to the Bowes Railway 175 Years of Railway History. p22
- Elliot, John (2000). A Guide to the Bowes Railway 175 Years of Railway History. p. 23
Further reading and viewing
- Colin E Mountford, The Bowes Railway, published by The Industrial Railway Society, ISBN 9780901096265. Two editions: 1966 and 1976.
- Colin E Mountford, Rope & Chain Haulage, published by The Industrial Railway Society, 2013, ISBN 978 1 901556 84-1.
- Mountford, Colin E. (2004). The Private Railways of County Durham. Industrial Railway Society. pp. 26ff. ISBN 1-901556-29-8.
- Elliot, John (2000). A Guide to the Bowes Railway 175 Years of Railway History. Houghton Le Spring: Chilton Iron Works. p. 32. ISBN 0952367262.
- Bowes Line, in The Tyne Documentaries, DVD published by Amber Films, Newcastle upon Tyne.
External links
- Blog Spot
- Official Website
- Guide to the site
- Bowes Railway path
- Film of the working railway in operation