A Quaint Little Railway (1930)

[martin_wynne]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWZbZGGnE6E

[Garry D100]

Love these old films.

I like the scene where the standard gauge coal wagon is loaded onto the NG transporter.

Very interesting.

 

Thanks for posting :-)

[sir douglas]

i first watched this about 2 years ago on you tube

[Garry D100]

i first watched this about 2 years ago on you tube

Some great archive clips on there.

[richard_t]

Some great archive clips on there.

 

 

Brilliant clip. Here's what it looks like now - 3rd picture down is about the same place as 2:25 in the clip

[sir douglas]

i know, theres some amazing stuff, i'm always amazed at how old and rare some footage is, and that they have found their way on to you tube

 

 

[Poggy1165]

Fantastic film of a fantastic railway. What a pity it can't have the WHR treatment!

[Penlan]

I presume the last bit of the film is running backwards.....

also plenty of continuous check rail on the curves, missing on so many layouts.

 

1930?, the Coal Wagon seems to have a freshly painted N.S.R on it,

the rest of the lettering looks bright as well.

 

Thanks for posting it Martin.

[Allegheny1600]

Fantastic film of a fantastic railway. What a pity it can't have the WHR treatment!

 

Oooh!, Yes please!

In my cycling days a few years back now, i rode most of the trackbed a good few times and always thought what a waste, surely this was the most scenic line in England?

 

I presume the last bit of the film is running backwards.....

also plenty of continuous check rail on the curves, missing on so many layouts.

 

1930?, the Coal Wagon seems to have a freshly painted N.S.R on it,

the rest of the lettering looks bright as well.

 

Thanks for posting it Martin.

 

My very old, dear lady hairdresser in Derby remembered that on her honeymoon in 1930, she and her husband walked along the trackbed and the line was closed then. Unfortunately, i can't remember whether she said the track was lifted (i think she did but not sure). How can i be sure she said 1930 - easy as that was the year my dad was born!

 

What is it about long closed lines?

This and the L&B (of course!) are very dear to me indeed and i would give a bit to see them come back to life!

Cheers,

John E.

[Penlan]

According to this it was open/ran between 1904 and 1934. - Click on line description at LH side.

[Allegheny1600]

According to this it was open/ran between 1904 and 1934. - Click on line description at LH side.

 

Fair enough mate,

I'm sure they know their stuff just a little bit better than an octogenarian hairdresser!! Plus my own memory isn't the very, very best in the world!

Cheers,

John E.

[ian]

That is some very nicely manicured permanent way - given the hand-to-mouth nature of lines like this you tend to assume that it would be a bit more unkempt.

[pete_mcfarlane]

That is some very nicely manicured permanent way - given the hand-to-mouth nature of lines like this you tend to assume that it would be a bit more unkempt.

 

The Leek and Manifold was part of the LMS, and presumably looked after to the same standards as the rest of their system. I walked the lower section last year and it's well worth making the trip up there.

 

I'd always wondered how the got the standard gauge wagons on to and off of the transporters. Presumably it took more than 3 blokes if the wagons were full.

 

 

 

[Kris]

also plenty of continuous check rail on the curves, missing on so many layouts.

 

It was noticeable wasn't it. I wonder if there would be a market for a flexi track with check rail?

 

 

 

[Penlan]

Fair enough mate, I'm sure they know their stuff just a little bit better than an octogenarian hairdresser!! Plus my own memory isn't the very, very best in the world!Cheers, John E.

John, I'm not saying it's correct, just that's what appeared when I Googled the line...... It (text) may be on soft clay rather than cast in stone

 

The embankments etc and wide track bed are in stark contrast to the original Ravenglass and Eskdale line, the ground seemed to slope away at the ends of the sleepers on the Ratty - just been up there on holiday - plenty of Shearings coaches about, kept the line busy (£££££'s revenue.... :rolleyes: )

[Phil Traxson]

John, I'm not saying it's correct, just that's what appeared when I Googled the line...... It (text) may be on soft clay rather than cast in stone

 

The embankments etc and wide track bed are in stark contrast to the original Ravenglass and Eskdale line, the ground seemed to slope away at the ends of the sleepers on the Ratty - just been up there on holiday - plenty of Shearings coaches about, kept the line busy (£££££'s revenue.... :rolleyes: )

 

Official closure date was March 12th 1934.

For those interested the definitive book on the Leek & Manifold is 'The Leek & Manifold Valley Light Railway' by Robert Gratton published by RCL Publications, ISBN 0 9538763 7 3, First published in 2005. Not a cheap book but 350+ pages, 400+ photographs, maps and 36 scale drawings on high quality paper worth every penny of the £49.50 paid for it. It covers everything from the planning and legislation to open the railway to the final closure.

The railway will never be reopened as one of the caveats by the LMS on transfering ownership to the local council was that it must become a footpath and not reopen as a railway, carried to the extreme by the council in the recent past when they refused to allow a miniature replica to run on part of the trackbed for more than a few days a year. We didn't lose out altogether though, the railway was moved and opened a few miles down the road alongside Rudyard Lake and is still going strong there.

 

Phil Traxson