After having to cancel a trip to the USA last week (for obvious reasons..) I arranged a short notice trip to the north-eastern part of England and visited a preserved line that has a history dating back to 1725.
It was originally constructed as a horse drawn waggonway to transport coal from mines down to the River Tyne, near Newcastle, for onward shipment to London and other ports.
Rails and ties were constructed from wood, and it did have multiple tracks, turnouts (single bladed) and was laid to a gauge of four foot. A lot of the system was converted to a "normal" railway in the late 1830's and continued in use up to the 1960's.
Part of the line was rebuilt from the early 1970's as a thriving preserved line - The Tanfield Railway - which has an emphasis on industrial type equipment or the practices of the various small, independent, local Lines around the UK.
A replica of one of the original horse drawn coal waggons is on display at Causey Arch station..
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The large lever for the handbrake can clearly be seen.
Causey Arch itself was built in 1727 to carry the (double tracked) wooden waggonway over a river gorge, and is a spectacular engineering feat for the era..
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It is currently in use by a walking trail that follows part of the old route.
Work is currently underway to recreate a replica of the old waggonway close to the bridge in readiness for the lines 300th anniversary in 2025. Part of the clearance work can be seen in this photo..
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North from the area of the bridge, the preserved Tanfield line takes over the original right-of-way and this shows one of their trains of 4-wheeled passenger cars behind a 1911 built 0-4-0ST..
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