Popular Post Andy Y Posted January 17, 2015 Popular Post Share Posted January 17, 2015 After a little bit of fun earlier to guess the location http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/94885-wheres-this/I've been surprised, never having visited the location before, at how much of the business end of the Snailbeach District Railway and the industry it served still survives. Although the trackbed of the line from Pontesbury can be traced in several places there's little in the way of remains but the network of tracks can be seen in the map extracts below. A wider view of the site shows there's several original buildings still in existence and even original trackwork within the current pathways. Naturally the initial point of interest is the original engine shed seen in the pictures above. Following the track from the engine shed towards the drop down to the kickback terminal down by the village's main road near Crowsnest there are parapets of an old bridge (seen to the right of the fourth image seen above) which would probably have had some tramway track to get to waste areas but it doesn't appear to be running tracks for any loco-hauled trains. You can't miss the couple of point throws still nestling in the verge. I love the blacksmith's forge; very modellable. Around the back there's evidence of old cable, probably from the winding engine or inclined planes, and old rail. Old rail is put to practical use around the site. The steps shown above go up the side of the Mine Office, the inside of which shows the original two-levels complete with fireplaces. Blue brick paths give a welcome change from the muddy tracks. The winding house is still intact with a recreation of the headsticks at the top of a 750' shaft. The drying house contained heated piping for the drying of the lead miners' clothes and some accommodation for workers. A short section of adit can be found in the hillside. The compressor house used to force air into the mine rather than improving ventilation led to more dust and lung-disease. I'd imagine this chimney for the crusher house was originally much taller. There's a winding house for an incline to a pumping station and chimney higher up the wooded hillside but I didn't have time to get up there and back before sundown but it's worth a look on Google Earth and move your camera position around to gain an impression of the bowled community nestling beneath the wooded banks. There's several houses around the site too, I love the apparent lack of formal boundaries to these properties and it gives a very remote feel, almost like being in the depths of the Forest of Dean mixed in with stonework of the industrial structures giving a Welsh or even Cornish feel. a couple of miles south of the village there's a very intact looking mine engine house which I'll make time to go back to. Sections of the 2' 3 3/4" trackwork remain around the site and cry out to be modelled along with these delicious structures. Edit - I forgot, part of the reason for this post was to give some inspiration for a different location you could choose to model as an appropriate setting for Bachmann's forthcoming Baldwin NG tank as they had two of them there in addition to a Kerr Stuart and a Bagnall. 23 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Welly Posted January 17, 2015 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 17, 2015 Amazing so much infrastructure have survived so long - that engine shed looks so modellable! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Kazmierczak Posted January 17, 2015 Share Posted January 17, 2015 So Andy, is this some form of museum, or are all the remain just left as they were after closure? Super set of pics by the way. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Y Posted January 17, 2015 Author Share Posted January 17, 2015 So Andy, is this some form of museum, or are all the remain just left as they were after closure? The site and buildings are owned by Shropshire County Council and there's free access onto the site normally. They do some tours on certain dates but any information on that is very sparse. So it's a case of turn up and have a nosey. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete_mcfarlane Posted January 17, 2015 Share Posted January 17, 2015 Did anything ever come of the plans to reopen part of the Snailbeach? I seem to remember the odd announcement in the past, and some doubts over how real it was. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Y Posted January 17, 2015 Author Share Posted January 17, 2015 That was one of the few mentions in RMweb history where some abrasive posts were made. I don't think anything advanced; there are still a couple of replica wagons inside the shed and I'm not sure when and if there's any access to any material in there. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete_mcfarlane Posted January 17, 2015 Share Posted January 17, 2015 Looking at the photos, it's probably a good thing that nothing has come of it. I'm not sure it would be a good thing to bulldoze or 'refurbish' all of that lovely industrial archaeology and replace it with a generic tourist narrow gauge railway. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Oldddudders Posted January 17, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 17, 2015 Snailbeach was a place one drove through, aware that it had an industrial heritage, but not sure what, although there was a published history, probably from Oakwood. After leaving posh Church Stretton, driving over the Long Mynd to Bridges (the Horseshoe Inn, where an Irish Draught horse called Seamus was seen to down a bucketful of beer IN the bar!), and then heading off over the desolate Stiperstones, coming downhill to Snailbeach felt like re-entry to civilisation, en route Minsterley and Shrewsbury. Thanks to Andy for filling in a lot of gaps! 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
37114 Posted January 18, 2015 Share Posted January 18, 2015 Very modellable and I agree with Pete_Macfarlane, nice to see it left to Mother nature. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BernardTPM Posted January 18, 2015 Share Posted January 18, 2015 Amazing so much infrastructure have survived so long - that engine shed looks so modellable! If you were to make a model engine shed with that pattern roof you'd be sure to get comments like "they'd never build a roof like that". Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingsignalman Posted January 18, 2015 Share Posted January 18, 2015 Looking at the photos, it's probably a good thing that nothing has come of it. I'm not sure it would be a good thing to bulldoze or 'refurbish' all of that lovely industrial archaeology and replace it with a generic tourist narrow gauge railway. If I remember correctly, the engine shed area wasn't owned by the Snailbeach Railway and that is why the track remained. I think the replica wagons were built by the body responsible for the mine area. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim V Posted January 18, 2015 Share Posted January 18, 2015 I last went there in 1974, and it doesn't look like it has changed much, apart from a lot of cleaning up of the buildings. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold PaulRhB Posted January 18, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 18, 2015 Thanks Andy are you going to do a photo survey of the WHR next for the Baldwin connection? Sounds like a good idea for research days out picking a new loco. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sir douglas Posted January 18, 2015 Share Posted January 18, 2015 (edited) and theres a fully restored hopper wagon tucked away in the locoshed Edited January 18, 2015 by sir douglas Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leander Posted January 18, 2015 Share Posted January 18, 2015 Esteemed narrow gauge modeller Trevor Hughes as built and is exhibiting a layout 'Crowsnest Wharf' in On16.5 - 15'x5', based on the Snailbeach District Railways set in 1926. See it at the Rochdale MRG exhibition at The Coach House, Lodge Street, Littleborough, Lancashire OL15 9AE, on Sat 11th April and Sun 12th April 2015. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium DLT Posted January 18, 2015 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 18, 2015 Thanks very much for the survey Andy, Snailbeach is a fascinating location, but I'm sorry to admit I've never been there myself. So is this the start of a possible conversion to narrow-gauge modelling for yourself? Resistance is useless! Dave. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Y Posted January 18, 2015 Author Share Posted January 18, 2015 So is this the start of a possible conversion to narrow-gauge modelling for yourself? No; I've not been sketching out a 3' high model of compressed version with an inclined plane called Perkins Beach. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baldwin30762 Posted January 18, 2015 Share Posted January 18, 2015 Hi all for those of you who knew him the late Dave Brewer (Meridian Models) build a 4mm model of the Snailbeach loco shed and part of the site which was fantastic, I am not sure if he finished it, but the point was the engine shed was not square, I know this as Dave measured it up after he started to build his model and had to start all over again but he wanted it to be as accurate as possible, so if a building interests you go and have a look if you can, as this is one model that would have been wrong had it been based on photos only. Regards Colin Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
decauville1126 Posted January 18, 2015 Share Posted January 18, 2015 I think (?) that a 'comprehensive' book was drafted (by Andy Cuckson?) some while back but has yet to make it into print. Perhaps somebody out there can confirm or add info? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
salop89a Posted January 18, 2015 Share Posted January 18, 2015 The site and buildings are owned by Shropshire County Council and there's free access onto the site normally. They do some tours on certain dates but any information on that is very sparse. So it's a case of turn up and have a nosey. The Shropshire Mines Trust have a webpage for Snailbeach Mine which gives the following information: 2015 opening Proposals We are planning to be open From 11am till 4pm on Sundays from June until October Also on the Sunday and Monday of the Easter and Spring and August Bank holidays http://shropshiremines.org.uk/snailbeach Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingsignalman Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 Some earlier photos of the shed. Both taken 11/4/1981. Formerly in front of the shed was a corrugated iron extension, built to accommodate the WD locos. The shed disintegrated over the years leaving only the wooden supports but these had been removed by the time of my photo. Another two, taken 29/4/1995,after the tidy-up of the area had started. On 3/2/2005, at the bottom of the hill (just above the A & I of Snailbeach in the 6" map that Andy posted), was the remains of some industrial process. Also on the left, the filled in cutting of the Snailbeach District Railway looking to Pontesbury. Which led to the bridge under the road into Snailbeach Village. The arch can just be seen. A closer view. Finally two more views of the shed, on the same date. 12 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingsignalman Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 I think (?) that a 'comprehensive' book was drafted (by Andy Cuckson?) some while back but has yet to make it into print. Perhaps somebody out there can confirm or add info? Rails to Glyn Ceiriog part 1 by John Milner makes a mention of it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thorness Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 This picture was taken in 1976. Obviously some repairs and undergrowth clearing since then! Cheers 7 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thorness Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 I think (?) that a 'comprehensive' book was drafted (by Andy Cuckson?) some while back but has yet to make it into print. Perhaps somebody out there can confirm or add info? The IRS published a small book (52 pages) "The Snailbeach District Railways" by Eric S Tonks. Originally a private publication in 1950, the IRS revised and enlarged edition published 1974. I have no idea if it is still available but the ISBN number is 0 901096 17 2. Cheers Don Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingsignalman Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 (edited) The IRS published a small book (52 pages) "The Snailbeach District Railways" by Eric S Tonks. Originally a private publication in 1950, the IRS revised and enlarged edition published 1974. I have no idea if it is still available but the ISBN number is 0 901096 17 2. Cheers Don The book, and one on the Shropshire and Montgomeryshire Light Railway, both by E S Tonks were reprinted by the IRS a few years ago but I'm not sure if they're still available. Edited January 21, 2015 by flyingsignalman Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now