46-819: The Little Eaton Gangway , officially the Derby Canal Railway , was a narrow gauge industrial wagonway serving the Derby Canal , in England, at Little Eaton in Derbyshire . In 1792, Benjamin Outram was asked to prepare plans for a broad canal from Swarkestone to Smithy Houses, near Denby , with a branch at Derby to the Erewash Canal at Sandiacre , which he estimated would cost £60,000. The original report has been lost in time with only
92-698: A 3 ft 6 in ( 1,067 mm ) gauge, whereas Vietnam, Malaysia and Thailand have metre-gauge railways . Narrow-gauge trams, particularly metre-gauge, are common in Europe. Non-industrial, narrow-gauge mountain railways are (or were) common in the Rocky Mountains of the United States and the Pacific Cordillera of Canada, Mexico, Switzerland, Bulgaria, the former Yugoslavia , Greece, and Costa Rica. A narrow-gauge railway
138-530: A railmotor on the Wirksworth Branch . On the first of March, the service was provided both to Melbourne and once a day to Ripley. The railmotors did not prove as successful as expected and the service finished at the beginning of the World War I. However until the end there were five trains a day from Derby to Ripley and six return, with an extra train on Tuesdays and Fridays and Saturdays, plus
184-425: A curve with standard-gauge rail ( 1435 mm ) can allow speed up to 145 km/h (90 mph), the same curve with narrow-gauge rail ( 1067mm ) can only allow speed up to 130 km/h (81 mph). In Japan and Queensland, recent permanent-way improvements have allowed trains on 3 ft 6 in ( 1,067 mm ) gauge tracks to exceed 160 km/h (99 mph). Queensland Rail 's Electric Tilt Train ,
230-559: A dated and signed map drawing surviving in Derbyshire Records Office. William Jessop on 3 November 1792 confirmed Outram's proposals. The Derby Canal Act of 1793 authorized a rail connection between the Derby Canal at Little Eaton and the collieries to the north. The wagonway ran four miles (6 km) from the canal wharf to Smithy Houses and another mile further to Denby Hall Colliery. Further short branches served Salterwood North and Henmoor Collieries as well as
276-455: A design speed of 137 km/h (85 mph). Curve radius is also important for high speeds: narrow-gauge railways allow sharper curves, but these limit a vehicle's safe speed. Many narrow gauges, from 15 in ( 381 mm ) gauge to 4 ft 8 in ( 1,422 mm ) gauge, are in present or former use. They fall into several broad categories: 4 ft 6 in ( 1,372 mm ) track gauge (also known as Scotch gauge)
322-474: A heavy-duty narrow-gauge line is Brazil's EFVM . 1,000 mm ( 3 ft 3 + 3 ⁄ 8 in ) gauge, it has over-100-pound rail (100 lb/yd or 49.6 kg/m) and a loading gauge almost as large as US non-excess-height lines. The line has a number of 4,000-horsepower (3,000 kW) locomotives and 200-plus-car trains. Narrow gauge's reduced stability means that its trains cannot run at speeds as high as on broader gauges. For example, if
368-493: A length of 9 inches (229 mm). However, by the time the railway was approved, Outram had decided to use the flanged rails with which his name has become associated. In this he may have been greatly influenced by William Jessop (1745 to 1814) and also by Joseph Butler of Wingerworth near Chesterfield , who had constructed a similar line in 1788. Butler is believed to have been the first to do so in Derbyshire and supplied
414-503: A mine in Bohemia with a railway of about 2 ft ( 610 mm ) gauge. During the 16th century, railways were primarily restricted to hand-pushed, narrow-gauge lines in mines throughout Europe. In the 17th century, mine railways were extended to provide transportation above ground. These lines were industrial , connecting mines with nearby transportation points (usually canals or other waterways). These railways were usually built to
460-411: A notch at the end of the rail. The line was originally 3 ft 6 in ( 1,067 mm ) gauge, being increased later to 4 ft ( 1,219 mm ) at an unknown date. The cast iron plates used to build the track initially weighed 28 lb/yd (13.9 kg/m) although this was increased to 40 lb/yd (19.8 kg/m) for plates made after 1804. By 1825, there were nine passing places on
506-825: A number of large 3 ft ( 914 mm ) railroad systems in North America; notable examples include the Denver & Rio Grande and Rio Grande Southern in Colorado; the Texas and St. Louis Railway in Texas, Arkansas and Missouri; and, the South Pacific Coast , White Pass and Yukon Route and West Side Lumber Co of California. 3 ft was also a common track gauge in South America, Ireland and on
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#1732776407408552-537: A number of manufacturers, such as potteries, Dowding's paper mill and small quarries. Meanwhile, the valley was a prolific agricultural area, exporting its produce to Derby and beyond, particularly from Coxbench. This area of Derbyshire had been important for ironworking since Norman times, and the use of charcoal for smelting was being superseded by coal. Both of these were very close to the surface and could extracted using drift mines or bell pits . The ruins of two furnaces opened at Morley Park are visible today from
598-706: A range of industrial railways running on 500 mm ( 19 + 3 ⁄ 4 in ) and 400 mm ( 15 + 3 ⁄ 4 in ) tracks, most commonly in restricted environments such as underground mine railways, parks and farms, in France. Several 18 in ( 457 mm ) gauge railways were built in Britain to serve ammunition depots and other military facilities, particularly during World War I . Midland Railway Ripley Branch The Midland Railway Ripley Branch connected Derby to Ripley in Derbyshire , England running from Little Eaton Junction on
644-483: A return trip on Sunday evening which was also the milk train. Competition came from the Trent buses service number 1, from Derby to Alfreton which ran near to the line over almost all its length, and the rail passenger service finished in 1930. The line remained in use to serve a coal washing plant at Denby into the late twentieth century - traffic finally ceasing in 1999. After some time out of use, in early 2011 there
690-491: Is a track gauge of 1,000 mm ( 3 ft 3 + 3 ⁄ 8 in ). It has about 95,000 km (59,000 mi) of track. According to Italian law, track gauges in Italy were defined from the centre of each rail rather than the inside edges of the rails. This gauge, measured 950 mm ( 3 ft 1 + 3 ⁄ 8 in ) between the edges of the rails, is known as Italian metre gauge . There were
736-1287: Is now in the National Railway Museum . A replica Little Eaton Gangway wagon is on display at the Midland Railway Trust near Ripley. "Little Eaton Tramroad" . "Canal and Clock House" . Narrow gauge railway A narrow-gauge railway ( narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than 1,435 mm ( 4 ft 8 + 1 ⁄ 2 in ) standard gauge . Most narrow-gauge railways are between 600 mm ( 1 ft 11 + 5 ⁄ 8 in ) and 1,067 mm ( 3 ft 6 in ). Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves , smaller structure gauges , and lighter rails ; they can be less costly to build, equip, and operate than standard- or broad-gauge railways (particularly in mountainous or difficult terrain). Lower-cost narrow-gauge railways are often used in mountainous terrain, where engineering savings can be substantial. Lower-cost narrow-gauge railways are often built to serve industries as well as sparsely populated communities where
782-488: Is one where the distance between the inside edges of the rails is less than 1,435 mm ( 4 ft 8 + 1 ⁄ 2 in ). Historically, the term was sometimes used to refer to what are now standard-gauge railways , to distinguish them from broad-gauge railways , but this use no longer applies. The earliest recorded railway appears in Georgius Agricola 's 1556 De re metallica , which shows
828-486: The A38 . As the market increased deeper pits were dug to exploit what became known as the "Kilburn seam." Coal traffic was such that, in 1903, Kilburn Colliery siding was extended to form a double track as far as Denby. Here, Kelly's Directory for 1891 notes: "Denby is noted for its extensive collieries, the property of William N. Drury- Lowe esq. ; here also are large blast furnaces for the production of pig iron, belonging to
874-593: The Cromford Canal . When the Derby Canal was built, it extended northwards to Little Eaton from where was built the Little Eaton Gangway in 1795, to cater for the area to the south, particularly its trade with Derby. In 1830 the committee overseeing the gangway met to discuss the possibility of upgrading the line to utilise steam engines from Smithy Houses along the track of the gangway and
920-656: The Denby Pottery . The purpose of this 5-mile-long (8 km) plateway was to carry coal from Kilburn and Denby down to the canal at Little Eaton and general goods including stone, pottery and "clogs of wood". Outram's original plan was for a conventional waggonway with wooden sleepers and oak rails reinforced with cast iron plates . Accordingly, an advertisement appeared in the Lincoln & Stamford Mercury for 16 August 1793 for 10,000 oak sleepers 4 feet 6 inches (1.37 m) long squared at each end for
966-551: The Denby Pottery . Towards Ripley, Denby Hall Colliery, the largest of all, was opened by the Butterley Company . It would seem that it was freight that provided the Midland's main income from the line. Initially three passenger trains were provided daily (except Sunday) in each direction. By 1903 this had increased to five, and they continued via Langley Mill to Mansfield. In January 1906, trials were carried out with
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#17327764074081012-1021: The Isle of Man . 900 mm was a common gauge in Europe. Swedish three-foot-gauge railways ( 891 mm or 2 ft 11 + 3 ⁄ 32 in ) are unique to that country and were once common all over the country. Today the only 891 mm line that remains apart from heritage railways is Roslagsbanan , a commuter line that connects Stockholm to its northeastern suburbs. A few railways and tramways were built to 2 ft 9 in ( 838 mm ) gauge, including Nankai Main Line (later converted to 3 ft 6 in or 1,067 mm ), Ocean Pier Railway at Atlantic City , Seaton Tramway ( converted from 2 ft ) and Waiorongomai Tramway . 800 mm ( 2 ft 7 + 1 ⁄ 2 in ) gauge railways are commonly used for rack railways . Imperial 2 ft 6 in ( 762 mm ) gauge railways were generally constructed in
1058-571: The Midland Railway built its branch line to Ripley in 1856, it lost most of its trade, finally closing in 1908. The trackbed was used for a new road, the A61 , bypassing the old road through Coxbench . This, in turn, was superseded at the end of the twentieth century by the A38 trunk road , demoting it to the B6179 . Thus there are three generations of highway side-by-side, plus the remains of
1104-463: The Midland Railway line to Leeds . In the late eighteenth century the valley running from the Derwent Valley to Ripley, had been the site of a number of collieries and ironstone workings. They were situated around Denby particularly, and there were also busy potteries . Improved transport links widened their market. Those workings to the north of Ripley were catered for, from 1794, by
1150-587: The 500mm gauge tracks of their mine railway ; these locomotives were made by the Deutz Gas Engine Company ( Gasmotorenfabrik Deutz ), now Deutz AG . Another early use of internal combustion was to power a narrow-gauge locomotive was in 1902. F. C. Blake built a 7 hp petrol locomotive for the Richmond Main Sewerage Board sewage plant at Mortlake . This 2 ft 9 in ( 838 mm ) gauge locomotive
1196-531: The Denby Iron and Coal Co. Limited. There is a large pottery and extensive brick and tile works. The locality produces also ironstone, cement and brick earth." In fact the ironstone in the area was of low quality, and the coal more suited for domestic use. After a while, therefore, they were imported from elsewhere. Foundry sand was also brought in from Mansfield . Meanwhile, the railway carried exports of house coal, pig iron and pottery from W&J Slater and
1242-952: The Philippines demonstrate that if track is built to a heavy-duty standard, performance almost as good as a standard-gauge line is possible. Two-hundred-car trains operate on the Sishen–Saldanha railway line in South Africa, and high-speed Tilt Trains run in Queensland. In South Africa and New Zealand, the loading gauge is similar to the restricted British loading gauge; in New Zealand, some British Rail Mark 2 carriages have been rebuilt with new bogies for use by Tranz Scenic (Wellington-Palmerston North service), Tranz Metro (Wellington-Masterton service), and Auckland One Rail (Auckland suburban services). Another example of
1288-460: The canal network or by road and was an early example of a containerised system (see Duke of Bridgewater Canal for first use) The gangway and the Little Eaton line of the canal opened in 1795 to a great ceremonial fanfare with the wagons being kitted out with seats for the dignitaries and a Band to mark the occasion. The first load of coal from Denby was distributed to the poor of Derby. When
1334-920: The coal industry. Some sugar cane lines in Cuba were 2 ft 3 + 1 ⁄ 2 in ( 699 mm ). 2 ft ( 610 mm ) gauge railways were generally constructed in the former British colonies. The U.S. had a number of railways of that gauge , including several in the state of Maine such as the Wiscasset, Waterville and Farmington Railway . 1 ft 11 + 3 ⁄ 4 in ( 603 mm ), 600 mm ( 1 ft 11 + 5 ⁄ 8 in ) and 1 ft 11 + 1 ⁄ 2 in ( 597 mm ) were used in Europe. Gauges below 1 ft 11 + 1 ⁄ 2 in ( 597 mm ) were rare. Arthur Percival Heywood developed 15 in ( 381 mm ) gauge estate railways in Britain and Decauville produced
1380-544: The colliery owned by Harrison, Pattinson and Davenport at Denby, to Kilburn colliery and to Salterwood pits. The waggons, built at Outram's Butterley works consisted of containers mounted loosely on a chassis, or tram, with four cast iron wheels. The container would be lifted off at Little Eaton and loaded complete into narrowboats or transferred to two-wheeled carts for carriage by road. The canal line from Little Eaton led to Gandy's Wharf in Derby for onward distribution through
1426-544: The fastest train in Australia and the fastest 3 ft 6 in ( 1,067 mm ) gauge train in the world, set a record of 210 km/h (130 mph). The speed record for 3 ft 6 in ( 1,067 mm ) narrow-gauge rail is 245 km/h (152 mph), set in South Africa in 1978. A special 2 ft ( 610 mm ) gauge railcar was built for the Otavi Mining and Railway Company with
Little Eaton Gangway - Misplaced Pages Continue
1472-575: The former British colonies . 760 mm Bosnian gauge and 750 mm railways are predominantly found in Russia and Eastern Europe. Gauges such as 2 ft 3 in ( 686 mm ), 2 ft 4 in ( 711 mm ) and 2 ft 4 + 1 ⁄ 2 in ( 724 mm ) were used in parts of the UK, particularly for railways in Wales and the borders, with some industrial use in
1518-469: The northern arm of the canal to Chester Green in Derby. George Stephenson reported on the idea but recommended that a completely new line should be built with the original continuing to operate. Neither plan was adopted, but in 1847 the Midland Railway deposited plans for a branch at Little Eaton from its main line, with feeder lines from collieries at Marehay and White Lee (or Whiteley) to
1564-405: The rails, rather than Outram's own works. Outram considered himself the first to use stone blocks as sleepers. These were drilled with a six-inch (152 mm) hole into which an oak plug was fitted. The rails of cast iron were usually three feet (0.91 m) long (he also manufactured four-foot (1.22 m) long rails when asked) and of L-shaped cross-section, were attached by means of spikes into
1610-585: The railway. The only remaining trace of the gangway is the Wharf building seen in the photo above, the easternmost arch of Jack O' Darley bridge, and another two arch bridge over the Bottle Brook , with a few of the sleeper stones that have been used in nearby walls. A wagon from this period of the gangway's history was preserved in the National Mining Museum at Lound Hall, Bothamsall and
1656-550: The same narrow gauge as the mine railways from which they developed. The world's first steam locomotive , built in 1802 by Richard Trevithick for the Coalbrookdale Company, ran on a 3 ft ( 914 mm ) plateway . The first commercially successful steam locomotive was Matthew Murray 's Salamanca built in 1812 for the 4 ft 1 in ( 1,245 mm ) Middleton Railway in Leeds . Salamanca
1702-542: The single-track line, which carried 2-long-ton (2.2-short-ton; 2.0 t) waggons. Each waggon carried a box of coal, with a load of between 1.65 and 1.87 long tons (1.85 and 2.09 short tons; 1.68 and 1.90 t), which was transferred to a barge at Little Eaton wharf by a crane. From Smithy Houses, several private lines served the Denby Main colliery and other mines in the locality. Further extensions were made between 1827 and 1829, when lines were built to provide links to
1748-538: The south of Waingroves . The Midland Railway (Ripley Branches) Act was passed on 22 July 1848 and, by August, a spur from the main line reached the quarries at Little Eaton. There then followed a hiatus while work continued, but extended time was needed to complete purchasing land and completing the work, for which Parliamentary permission was granted in 1851. The line was finally opened for freight as far as Ripley in September 1855. However Board of Trade approval
1794-475: The traffic potential would not justify the cost of a standard- or broad-gauge line. Narrow-gauge railways have specialised use in mines and other environments where a small structure gauge necessitates a small loading gauge . In some countries, narrow gauge is the standard: Japan, Indonesia, Taiwan, New Zealand, South Africa, and the Australian states of Queensland , Western Australia and Tasmania have
1840-565: The world; 19th-century mountain logging operations often used narrow-gauge railways to transport logs from mill to market. Significant sugarcane railways still operate in Cuba, Fiji, Java, the Philippines, and Queensland, and narrow-gauge railway equipment remains in common use for building tunnels. In 1897, a manganese mine in the Lahn valley in Germany was using two benzine -fueled locomotives with single cylinder internal combustion engines on
1886-525: Was adopted by early 19th-century railways, primarily in the Lanarkshire area of Scotland. 4 ft 6 + 1 ⁄ 2 in ( 1,384 mm ) lines were also constructed, and both were eventually converted to standard gauge. 1,067 mm ( 3 ft 6 in ) between the inside of the rail heads, its name and classification vary worldwide and it has about 112,000 kilometres (70,000 mi) of track. As its name implies, metre gauge
Little Eaton Gangway - Misplaced Pages Continue
1932-563: Was also the first rack-and-pinion locomotive. During the 1820s and 1830s, a number of industrial narrow-gauge railways in the United Kingdom used steam locomotives. In 1842, the first narrow-gauge steam locomotive outside the UK was built for the 1,100 mm ( 3 ft 7 + 5 ⁄ 16 in )-gauge Antwerp-Ghent Railway in Belgium. The first use of steam locomotives on a public, passenger-carrying narrow-gauge railway
1978-714: Was clearly aiming to provide the minimum of infrastructure, and the Colonel reported in April, twice in May, in June and July. Finally, on 20 August, the Captain was satisfied, having been told that the line would be worked "one engine in steam." The first passenger train to Ripley ran on 1 September 1856 with a timetable of 3 passenger services each way per day. The gangway continued to operate until July 1908. Around Little Eaton there were
2024-560: Was in 1865, when the Ffestiniog Railway introduced passenger service after receiving its first locomotives two years earlier. Many narrow-gauge railways were part of industrial enterprises and served primarily as industrial railways , rather than general carriers. Common uses for these industrial narrow-gauge railways included mining, logging, construction, tunnelling, quarrying, and conveying agricultural products. Extensive narrow-gauge networks were constructed in many parts of
2070-592: Was probably the third petrol-engined locomotive built. Extensive narrow-gauge rail systems served the front-line trenches of both sides in World War I . They were a short-lived military application, and after the war the surplus equipment created a small boom in European narrow-gauge railway building. The heavy-duty 3 ft 6 in ( 1,067 mm ) narrow-gauge railways in Australia (Queensland), New Zealand, South Africa, Japan, Taiwan, Indonesia and
2116-513: Was still needed for passenger traffic, and a report was submitted by its inspector, Captain Tyler, in December. Opening to the public was postponed and, on 9 January, another inspector, Colonel Wynn provided a report. Captain Tyler reported again on 7 February and a third time on 4 March. Presumably, all this time, the line was recovering its investment by carrying coal and other minerals. The Midland
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