West Lancashire Light Railway
| West Lancashire Light Railway | |
|---|---|
| Locale | England |
| Dates of operation | 1967 – present |
| Track gauge | 2 ft (610 mm) |
| Length | 430 yards |
| Headquarters | Hesketh Bank |
The Railway
The West Lancashire Light Railway operates at Hesketh Bank, situated between Preston and Southport. The Railway is narrow gauge 2 ft (610 mm) and has a running length of 0.43 mile. the full line is longer than this but follows a ledge above the old clay pit which is narrow enough to prohibit the building of a run round loop. An extension is planned. The line now boasts eight steam locomotives, four of which are in operating condition, one is currently being restored and another is on static display. There are also two electric locomotives and many IC locomotives. See Locomotives section for details.
History
The line was first envisaged by six like-minded school boys who wanted to save the light railway equipment which was disappearing from local industries. The first problem was finding a suitable site, this was solved when a strip of land above the clay pits at Alty’s Brickworks. In 1967 the group of six started laying track using rails from the former clay tramways and rough timbers as sleepers.
Two locos were soon acquired both of Ruston and Hornsby design, one a 13hp diesel, the other a 20 hp diesel. Respectively named Clwyd and Tawd, these two locos were soon joined by more industrial diesels and the first home-built items of rolling stock. In 1987 the railway saw its first steam locomotive, Irish Mail, in steam. This was a great achievement for the line as the loco, bought at an auction at Dinorwic slate quarry in Wales, had not had a boiler when acquired by the railway. This fact meant that a new one had to be sourced and brought to the railway. This necessity eventually led the members of the West Lancs to retrieve the remnants of Alice, a loco of the same design as Irish Mail, from the top of Dinorwic slate quarry, a location which had previously foiled attempts from other interested railway preservationists. Irish mail was completely rebuilt on site using the original boiler from Alice.
The line slowly grew in length until it ran from Beconsall to a station known as Asland, which is no longer the far terminus of the line. The line in its present form runs from Beconsall to Delph, the original track to Asland running on from Delph and being used as a storage line. At Beconsall, the railway’s sheds are situated. The first of these was built by the members using cast-off bricks from Alty’s. This original workshop has been much added to over the years and the equipment in this workshop allows most of the work on restoring a steam locomotive to be undertaken, excluding boiler construction.
Locomotives
The West Lancashire Light Railway as previously noted has eight steam locomotives on site;
- Irish Mail, 0-4-0st, Hunslet 'Alice' class, Ex. Dinorwic Slate Quarry, Wales, Operational.
- Joffre, 0-6-0t+wt, Kerr Stuart 'Joffre' class, Ex. WW1 French Artillery Railways, Under Restoration.
- Montalban, 0-4-0t+wt, Orensteimn and Koppel, Ex. Minas de Utrillas, Spain, Operational.
- Utrillas, 0-4-0t+wt, Orensteimn and Koppel, Ex. Minas de Utrillas, Spain, Operational.
- No. 45, 0-6-0t+wt, Chrzanow 'LAS' class, Ex. Polish 2ft. Gauge, Static Dislplay.
- Stanhope, 0-4-2st, Kerr Stuart 'Tattoo' class, Ex. Penryhn Slate Quarry, Wales, Operational.
- No.47, 0-8-0t, Henschel, Ex. WW1 German Feldbahn, Awaiting Restoration.
- No.48, 0-4-2t, Fowler, Ex. Sena Sugar Estates, Mozanmbique, Awaiting Restoration.
There are also numerous IC locomotives including products from;
- Hudson Hunslet Ltd.
- Ruston and Hornsby.
- Motor Rail Ltd.
- F. C. Hibberd and Co.
- R A Lister and Company.
- Hudswell Clarke.
- E.E.Baguley Ltd.
The railway also has two electric locomotives on site;
- Greenbat, 0-4-0 Battery-Electric, Greenwood and Batley, Ex. R.A.F Fauld, Operational
- Welsh Pony, 0-4-0 Overhead-Electric, British Electric Vehicles, Ex. Llechwedd Slate Quarry, Wales, Awaiting Restoration.
References
- Thomas, Cliff (2002). The Narrow Gauge in Britain & Ireland. Atlantic Publishers. ISBN 1-902827-05-8.
