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dud spud

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  1. dud spud
    The narrow gauge connection was started a few months after the china clay was discovered at Loughley. They used tank wagons built from oil drums and second hand bolster wagons for the liquid, and for the solid they used some tall open wagons with covers fitted. A small 0-6-0 loco was built for the line, named "Lord". It had a black running board, red bufferbeams, gold lining and was covered elsewhere in dark purple. Eventually, they built a single carriage for the line in GNR teak with black GNR lettering.
     
    The line was soon expanded to have proper passenger termini. One at Loughley, one at Bridgewell and another halfway down the line. This was a request stop. After that, they added more and more wagons to keep up with the demand.
     
    When the Southern Railway was given ownership of the line, they built their own engine in SR dark green. This was based on the engines at the Ffestiniog, with some alterations (e.g taller and longer). This proved to be more successful than the 0-6-0, and another was built to keep up demand. They began to accept more goods from other companies and so they needed some of their own vans built. After an accident, inspectors recommended they get a brake van, so they converted a goods van into one.
     
    Post-closure, the line was left mostly untouched, aside from the original sheds - turned into a farmer's hay shed.

    In preservation, the volunteers were lucky enough to find a WD diesel loco out of sight in the mine. This was used to repair the railway into perfect condition. The other stroke of luck was finding a class 03 with side plates and cow catchers in the aforementioned farmer's property, acting as a generator. Nobody knows where it came from, though it is suspected to be from the W&U tramway. The number was scraped off, aside from a single "8". It was bought by the Bridgewell Steam Railway Society for a grand total of £30!
     
    When searching for a locomotive to properly serve the line, they found that the loco based on the Ffestiniog's 0-4-0TT had been sent to the Ffestiniog, so they purchased it. A year later, a replica of the 0-6-0 steamed out of the workshops looking smarter than the original ever had. The line extends to the quarry, and the quarry is now open for tours. The only part of the line still out of use is one section that extended down to a farm. This section this section still has most of the sleepers, though some parts are covered by a new line (owned by Network Rail) towards a power plant.
  2. dud spud
    The standard gauge network was originally the Bridgewell & Dunvy-on-sea line running from the small town of Bridgewell to the port town of Dunvy-on-sea. Loughley was originally a small goods Depot, but with the purchase of a single stroudley 4 wheeler (later becoming 2 and a brake coach) the town began to grow. There was a GNR terminus at Dunvy-on-sea, which led to the whole B&D being purchased by the GNR. They found a good source of china clay at the soon-to-be town of Loughley, but it had no easy connections to the port or the Bridgewell Branch. Therefore, the decision was made to build a narrow gauge branch line. This was originally worked by a small 0-6-0 saddle tank named "Lord".
     
    Eventually, there came a point where the Standard Gauge line needed more room for goods, so the decision was taken to build a new platform to replace the old wooden one. This proved to be unhelpful, as it was placed fouling the points to the sidings. So, they added a new goods shed next to the sidings. The growth also necessitated a dedicated passenger terminus, so a new station was put in and a canopy was added straddling the rails to make a shed for the engine that worked the line. Soon, the line fell under hard times,and the decision was made to close it. This forced the closure of the narrow gauge line, and the 0-6-0 was scrapped.
     
    However, when the Grouping occured, the Southern Railway was given ownership of the line. The track was still in good nick, and the china clay mines were still at it (though using lorries instead of rail now). Therefore, the southern railway decided to reopen the line. The main issue with the line was that the engine running it was too small. So, they used a temporary engine that was bigger than the original, until the 2-6-0 U boats arrived. One of these was perfect for the line, so it took up residence in the shed. 
     
    Under BR ownership, a J94 was added to the list, mainly shunting at the port and occasionally taking a train.
     
    The engines lasted until BR ownership, when, under the beeching cuts, the line was closed and the station demolished. The mogul lasted a few years later, whereas the J94 went to the NCB then to preservation. It still resides at the line to this day.
     
    Eventually, the line fell into the hands of the volunteers, who worked tirelessly to restore the standard gauge line and and get it running again. Meanwhile, the nearby church fell into disrepair and now in modern day has become highly overgrown.
     
    Soon, the volunteers needed another engine (preferably diesel) for when the J94 inevitably failed in some way. They managed to obtain one of unknown origin, fitted with side plates and cow catchers, residing as a farmer's electricity generator of all things (he was understandably reluctant to give it up).
     
    Finally, the volunteers gained some old rolling stock, a few old stroudley carriages and a GWR clerestory brake. This leads to today, where they have a replica of the original loco that ran the line. It doesn't run, as they are yet to complete it, but it looks the part.
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