Leighton Buzzard Light Railway
| Leighton Buzzard Light Railway | ||
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 A train of LBLR that 11 of the Nº PC Allen is pulled
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 Map of the Leighton Buzzard Light Railway
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| Route length: | 4.8 km | |
| Gauge : | 610 mm ( 2 foot track ) | |
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The Leighton Buzzard Light Railway (LBLR) is nearly 4.8 km long narrow gauge railway at Leighton Buzzard in Bedfordshire , England with 610 mm (2 feet ) gauge . The railway line was built in the post-war period of World War I to remove sand from the sand pits north of the city. In the 1960s, the company switched to truck transport. Since then, the railway has been operated on a voluntary basis as a museum railway.
history
Sand mining
The location of early Cretaceous sand is quarried in various places in Bedfordshire in smaller sand pits. The most important of these are near Leighton Buzzard. In the 19th century, horse-drawn carts transported the sand from the sand pits south of town to the Dunstable Railway Station in Leighton Buzzard. The steel-tired carts damaged the roads, for which the sandpit operators received lawsuits from Bedfordshire County Council. Steam trucks were introduced at the end of the century, causing even more damage to the roads.
During the First World War, no sand casting sand could be imported from Belgium to Great Britain. However, this was urgently needed by the armaments and ammunition manufacturers. The sands from Leighton Buzzard proved very suitable for sand casting and production increased. The mine owners were informed that from 1919 on they would no longer be allowed to use the public roads to transport sand. Therefore, they decided to build a narrow-gauge railway.
The original route
Leighton Buzzard Light Railway began operating on Thursday, November 20, 1919. It connected the sand pits of Double Arches Pit with the standard-gauge Grovebury marshalling yard south of the city. The railway line was built with a rail weight of 14.9 kg / m from superfluous defense material from the War Department Light Railways . Initially there were two three-axle Hudswell Clarke steam locomotives with a side water tank. These proved to be unsuitable for the small curve radii and were sold in 1921. From this point on, Motor Rail diesel locomotives were used.
After the Second World War , transport was shifted back to the road. A strike on the main railroad in 1953 expanded road transport even more. In the mid-1960s, only Arnold's sand pit still used the narrow-gauge railway. The BR line to Dunstable was closed in 1965, with the exception of a short link from Leighton Buzzard to the Grovebury marshalling yard, which was in operation until 1969.
Museum railway
The line has been barely used since 1968, and volunteer railway enthusiasts used the line under the name The Iron Horse Railway Preservation Society for passenger services on weekends. Part of the usage agreement was that they should repair and maintain the tracks. They procured used wagons and four simplex diesel locomotives from the St Albans Sand and Gravel Company, which were dismantled to serve as a spare part dispenser for a working locomotive. The last sand haulage was in 1969, although some sand pits still used narrow gauge railways within their pits. These were eventually replaced by trucks and conveyor belts, so that the last in-house rail traffic took place in 1981. Today the railway is operated exclusively as a museum railway.
There is a large collection of steam and diesel locomotives that run on the railway line. Visitors can use the trains with an Edmondson ticket . At the north end of the railway line there is an exhibition of industrial locomotives. The railway line is supported by the Campaign to Protect Rural England .
The distance
The railway line mostly runs through modern residential areas built in the 1970s, only the last 800 m lead through the great outdoors. There are several level crossings where the narrow-gauge railway has to stop before crossing it at walking pace.
Trains from Grovebury crossed Billington Road and then climbed a steep incline to Page's Park. There was a turn south to the depot and Pratt's Pit Quarry. Since 2006, Page's Park station has been the southern terminus of the museum railway. From there the track curves in a northerly direction to the apex Red Barn. The route then descends over a 1.7% (1:60) gradient into the valley before climbing again to cross Stanbridge Road. The route leads past the former Marley's Tile Works over Marley's Bank with a gradient of up to 4% (1:25), on which the trains laden with sand often required an auxiliary locomotive.
At the bottom of Marley's Bank, the line swings sharply north and then runs almost flat to Leedon Loop. It then crosses Hockliffe Road and Clipstone Brook and then climbs at 2% (1:50) to the level crossing on Vandyke Road. Immediately afterwards there is a 90 ° curve to Vandyke Junction, where there was a double-track section for train encounters. There were branches here to the Chamberlain's Barn and New Trees sand pits, some of which have been preserved but are not used by the museum railway. Finally, the route runs parallel to Vandyke Road, climbs steadily to Bryan's Loop and down a slope to the Shenley Hill Road level crossing. In the plain it leads to the Stonehenge Works, today's depot. This is also the northern terminus of the museum railway.
From there, the railway ran on a 1.6 km long double-track section to the two sand pits called Double Arches owned by Joseph Arnold and George Garside.
Preserved locomotives
Steam locomotives
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| No. | Surname | Wheel alignment | Manufacturer | Factory no. | Construction year | origin | Painting | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chaloners | 0-4-0VBT | De Winton | n / A | 1877 | Penyrorsedd Slate Quarry, North Wales | black | Used in the Penybryn Quarry until 1881, then from 1881 to 1960 at Penyrorsedd. Acquired by Alfred Fisher and moved to Leighton Buzzard in 1968. Too small for regular operation but still in use on gala days. |
| 2 | Pixie | 0-4-0ST | Kerr Stuart | 4260 | 1922 | Devon County Council, Wilminstone Quarry | green | One of the 27 Wren-Class locomotives procured for the Essex sewer construction. Sold to Devon County Council in 1929. Acquired in 1957 by the Industrial Locomotive Society. Commissioned in 1969 in Leighton Buzzard. Temporarily loaned to the Devon Railway Center . Use on gala days. |
| 3 | Rishra | 0-4-0T | Baguley Cars Ltd. | 2007 | 1921 | Hoogly Docking & Engineering Co., Rishra, India | green | The only surviving locomotive of this type. Use for coal transport in a water pumping station in Calcutta . Acquired by Mike Satow in 1963. Commissioned in 1971 in Leighton Buzzard. Too small for regular operation but still in use on gala days. |
| 4th | Doll | 0-6-0T | Andrew Barclay | 1641 | 1919 | Sydenham Ironstone Quarry, King's Sutton , Oxfordshire | blue | Delivered to Bilston Furnaces in 1926, where it ran until 1960. Acquired in 1966 by the Bressingham Steam Museum ; 1969 sold to Henry Williams. Acquired in 1972 from the Leighton Buzzard Light Railway. Was used in regular passenger traffic until the general overhaul. |
| 5 | Eleven | 0-6-0WT | Orenstein & Koppel | 12740 | 1936 | Likomba Development Company, Cameroon, Africa | orange | In use on a plantation in Cameroon until 1971. 197? acquired. Wood-fired, with a spark arrester. In the meantime switched to coal. Since the general overhaul in 2010, it has been used in regular passenger traffic. |
| 11 | PC Allen | 0-4-0WT | Orenstein & Koppel | 5834 | 1913 | Solvay Alkali Works, Torrelavega , Spain | Green and black | Originally built for use in Solvay & Cie chemical plants, Torrelavega, Spain. Acquired by Sir Peter Allen in 1963. Transferred to Leighton Buzzard in 1970. In regular operation since the general overhaul in 2014. |
| 9 | Peter Pan | 0-4-0ST | Kerr Stuart | 4256 | 1922 | Devon County Council, Willminstone Quarry, Devon | green | Wren Class locomotive that worked with Pixie in Devon. Acquired in 1972 by Graham Hall who found the locomotive in a garden in Bromsgrove . |
| 778 | 4-6-0PT | Baldwin Locomotive Works | 44656 | 1917 | War Department Light Railways | black | Baldwin Class 10-12-D. Built in 1917 as one of Baldwin's 495 locomotives for the War Department Light Railways. During the First World War on the front lines at the trenches. Subsequently in use in India until the 1980s, finally at the Upper India Sugar Mills in Uttar Pradesh. Commissioned in Leighton Buzzard in August 2007. | |
| 4th | Sezela | 0-4-0T | Avonside Engine Company | 1738 | 1915 | Sezela sugar-cane plantation, Natal, South Africa | green | Built for the 200 km stretch of the Sezela Sugar Cane Plantation in Natal, South Africa. General overhaul required. |
| 2023 | 0-8-0T | Krauss locomotive factory | 7455 | 1918 | German Army Field Railway locomotive in the First World War | Gray | One of the 2500 German Heeresfeldbahn locomotives of this type. Used as a sugar beet railroad in northern France after the war. From 1964 in a sand pit in Variscourt. Acquired for preservation in 1970. Acquired from Leighton Buzzard Railway in 2014. In need of repair. | |
| Pedemoura | 0-6-0WT | Orenstein & Koppel | 10808 | 1922 | Douro Valley coal mines, northern Portugal | green | One size bigger than the eleven . Use in the coal mines of the Douro Valley in Northern Portugal. Acquired for preservation in 1970. After an eleven year general overhaul, it was put back into operation on July 17th, 2016. |
Diesel locomotives
| No. | Surname | Wheel alignment | Manufacturer | Factory no. | Construction year | origin | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (2) | 4wDM | Motor Rail | 5608 | 1931 | St Albans Sand and Gravel Co. Ltd. Smallford, Hertfordshire | Converted to a brakeman's car around 1970 | |
| (3) | 4wDM | Motor Rail | 5613 | 1931 | St Albans Sand and Gravel Co. Ltd. Smallford, Hertfordshire | Rebuilt as a crane around 1970 | |
| 6th | Caravan | 4wDM | Motor Rail | 7129 | 1938 | Redland Flettons Brick Company | An unusual variant of the Motor Rail Simplex class with a long cabin. |
| 7th | Falcon ( Pam until c. 1978) | 4wDM | Orenstein & Koppel | 8986 | unknown | Woodham Brick Co. Ltd., Wotton, Buckinghamshire | Saved in 1970 by Peter Hodges from a junkyard in Newport Pagnell . |
| 8th | Gollum | 4wDM | Ruston Hornsby | 217999 | 1942 | Featherby's Brickworks, Rochford, Essex | |
| 9 | Madge | 4wDM | Orenstein & Koppel | 7600 | 1935 | Oxsted Grestone Lime Co. Ltd., Oxsted, Surrey | Single cylinder RL1C class |
| 10 | Haydn Taylor | 4wDM | Motor Rail | 7956 | 1945 | British Industrial Sand Ltd. Middleton Towers, Norfolk | On loan since 1971. Nicknamed "Breadbin Bread Box" because of the unusual cabin. Rebuilt in 1973 with a conventional cabin. |
| 12 | Carbon | 4wPM | Motor Rail | 6012 | 1930 | Standard Bottle Co., New Southgate, Middlesex | Procured in 1972 through ME Engineering, Cricklewood |
| 13 | Arkle | 4wDM | Motor Rail | 7108 | 1937 | George Garside, Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire | Original Leighton Buzzard sand pit locomotive, in service since 1981 |
| 14th | 4wDM | Hunslet | 3646 | 1946 | Crumbles Gravel Pits, Eastbourne, Sussex | Procured in 1972 | |
| 15th | Tom Bombadil (after 1990) | 4wDM | FC Hibberd | 2415 | 1941 | Butterley & Blaby Brick Companies Ltd., Ripley, Derbyshire | |
| 16 | Thorin Oakenshield | 4wPM | Lister | 11221 | 1939 | Guard Bridge Paper Co. Ltd., Leuchars, Fife | |
| 17th | Damredub | 4wPM | Motor Rail | 7036 | 1936 | George Garside, Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire | Original Leighton Buzzard sand pit locomotive, in service until 1981 |
| 18th | Fëanor | 4wDM | Motor Rail | 11003 | 1956 | British Industrial Sands Ltd., Middleton Towers, Norfolk | |
| 19th | 4wDM | Motor Rail | 11298 | 1965 | British Industrial Sands Ltd., Middleton Towers, Norfolk | ||
| 20th | 4wDM | Motor Rail | 60S317 | 1966 | British Industrial Sands Ltd., Middleton Towers, Norfolk | ||
| 21st | Festoon | 4wPM | Motor Rail | 4570 | 1929 | George Garside, Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire | Original Leighton Buzzard sand pit locomotive, stored since 1981 |
| 22nd | Fingolfin | 4wDM | LBLR | 1 | 1989 | Constructed from parts of Ruston Hornsby 425798 and 444207 | |
| 23 | 4wDM | Ruston Hornsby | 164346 | 1932 | West Kent Main Sewage Board, Littlebrook, Kent | Second oldest surviving Ruston Hornsby locomotive | |
| 24 | 4wDM | Motor Rail | 11297 | 1965 | British Industrial Sands Ltd., Middleton Towers, Norfolk | ||
| (24) | 4wPM | Motor Rail | 4805 | 1934 | J. Arnold & Sons Ltd., Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire | Original Leighton Buzzard sandpit locomotive, dismantled since 1981 | |
| 43 | 4wDM | Motor Rail | 10409 | 1954 | Leighton Buzzard Light Railway Company, Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire | Original Leighton Buzzard sand pit locomotive, acquired by John Cohring in 1972 |
Earlier locomotives
| No. | Surname | Wheel alignment | Manufacturer | Factory no. | Construction year | origin | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (1) | 4wDM | Motor Rail | 5612 | 1931 | St Albans Sand and Gravel Co. Ltd. Nazeing, Essex | Disassembled in 1988 | |
| 6th | Alice | 0-4-0ST | Hunslet | 780 | 1902 | Dinorwic slate quarry | Meanwhile with the Bala Lake Railway |
| 740 | 0-6-0T | Orenstein & Koppel | 2343 | 1907 | Matheran Light Railway , Maharastra, India | Restored with unusual Klein-Linder radial axles. Meanwhile on the South Tynedale Railway . In operation in Leighton Buzzard since September 7, 2002. |
Loans received
literature
- SydneyLeleux: The Leighton Buzzard Light Railway , 2nd edition, The Oakwood Press, 1996, ISBN 0-85361-460-1 .
- DNR Hughes et al .: Leighton Buzzard Narrow Gauge Railway Guide . Leighton Buzzard Narrow Gauge Railway Society Ltd., 1974.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Members Guide 2012, published by CPRE, 2012 (English).
- ↑ 'Pedemoura' hauls first train in 50 years. Unseen Steam, July 18, 2016. Accessed March 2, 2019.
- ↑ Pedemoura's first passenger train. Steam Train, July 18, 2016. Retrieved March 2, 2019.
- ↑ Leighton Buzzard Railway ( Memento from July 25, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) (English).
- ↑ Le P'tit train de la Haute Somme. ( Memento of the original from January 7, 2005 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (French)
Coordinates: 51 ° 54 ′ 31 ″ N , 0 ° 39 ′ 6.3 ″ W.