Brymbo Ironworks railway

Brymbo Ironworks railway
Locale	England
Dates of operation	1899 – 1946
Successor line	Abandoned
Track gauge	2 ft (610 mm)
Headquarters	Hook Norton

The Brymbo Ironworks railway was a narrow gauge industrial railway serving the Brymbo ironstone quarry and steel works at Hook Norton in Oxfordshire.

History

The original Brymbo Ironworks was founded near Wrexham in Wales in 1753 by John Wilkinson. Wilkinson was one of the pioneers of the industrial revolution and made a significant fortune from his ironworks. When he died in 1808 his company went into litigation. In 1841 a new company was formed to run the Brymbo Ironworks and in 1856 was one of the first to use the Bessemer process for making steel.

By 1899 the works had come close to exhausting the supply of ironstone near Wrexham and was looking for an alternative quarry to feed its furnaces. Ironstone fields near Hook Norton were purchased and a new ironworks set up to consume the ore. An internal tramway system was established to serve the quarry and works. This grew to become the largest 2 ft (610 mm) gauge railway in the British steel making industry.

The outbreak of the First World War saw a significant increase in demand for iron and steel to feed the munitions factories. In 1917 a new company was established to expand production at Brymbo. After the cessation of hostilities demand for steel fell rapidly and the recession of the late 1920s further depressed the economic situation. By the end of the decade the new company was in receivership. The quarry and railway went into a hiatus that lasted until 1934.

The build up to World War II saw an increase in demand for iron and steel, and in 1934 the quarry re-opened. Locomotives were acquired from north Wales to operate the tramway. The works flourished for the last time.

Immediately after the end of the war, cheaper European ore and steel became available again and the fortunes of the Brymbo works rapidly declined. In June 1946 the quarry closed for the last time and all the plant and land was sold or scrapped by 1948.

Locomotives

Name	Builder	Type	Date	Works number	Notes
Gwen	Hudswell Clarke	0-4-2ST	1898	523
Joan	Hudswell Clarke	0-4-2ST	1915	1173	Scrapped in 1944
Black Bess	Hunslet	4-6-0T	1917	1264	ex-War Department Light Railways
Russell	Hunslet	0-6-2T	1906	901	ex-Welsh Highland Railway. Now preserved on the Welsh Highland Railway
Betty	Hunslet	0-4-0ST	1912	1101	ex-Penmaenmawr & Welsh Granite Co.

References

• Narrow Gauge Railway Museum article on the railway.

See also

• British industrial narrow gauge railways