Creekmoor Light Railway
Encyclopedia
The Creekmoor Light Railway was a small privately run gauge narrow gauge railway. It was situated off Creekmoor Lane, to the north of Poole
, between Broadstone
and Fleetsbridge
, Dorset
, and was operated by a group of local enthusiasts from October 1968, to April 1973.
(formerly Lytchett Brick Co. Ltd ) Brickworks to make way for a residential development their narrow gauge network, which had been in use since 1901, was scrapped allowing rails and sleepers, two 4-wheel drive locomotives (one workable), 8 vee skips, 12 tall brick carrying trollies/wagons and accessories to be acquired for the Creekmoore project; with other railway equipment from the brickworks was purchased by the Launceston Steam Railway
.
In late October 1968 construction commenced with the line running for just over half a mile from land adjacent to the former Creekmoor Halt Station
across smallholding
s held by Trevor Waterman - the project's initiator - and his brother. They planned to utilise the railway to carry feed for their pigs.
The construction of the railway was a makeshift affair with sheds being constructed from scrap material and rolling stock
adapted from available stock.
A 16 feet (4.9 m) flat bogie
rail carrier, a 14 ft (4.3 m) bogie coach to carry 12 passengers, and a tool van were all built using the chassis and framework. This was flame cut from the brick carrying trollies, cutting down the pillars. Typically, a chassis had to be cut in half, a section of angle iron then welded on each end resulting in two bogies, each needing two axle boxes / wheels.
During 1970 ten shilling
s were offered, and accepted by the British Rail
Property division, for the Creekmoor Light Railway to remove all the redundant signal lattice posts, arms, signs and dummy signals from the line approaching Broadstone.
, Beddgelert
in 1978.
The diesel locos bought from Upton Brickworks were -
Turning the coach into the engine shed road was a curiosity. The main track ran down over a ditch to a short stub of only eight feet, the passenger coach being fourteen, firstly had its 4 feet (1.2 m) bogie run onto the stub, Right hand point crossed over, coach pushed over, the new set route, which, with the coach length swinging in an arc, would position it on the turntable. Then 2nd bogie over the point, reset, and pushed up on the outer line alongside the locos in the shed.
, Dorset
.
A three-road shed with a pit was built, locos put inside and wagons pushed a few hundred yards over temporary welded track to a couple of sidings. But with the distance down to Crockway, 30 miles (48.3 km), and the prospect of having to start over again, interest slowly waned. By 1978 all stock and signs were sold off in auctions arranged with the Narrow Gauge Railway Society.
Some of the enthusiasts who had worked on the project went on to work for Network Rail
, while others became the nucleus of the newly formed Swanage Railway
Society.
Poole
Poole is a large coastal town and seaport in the county of Dorset, on the south coast of England. The town is east of Dorchester, and Bournemouth adjoins Poole to the east. The Borough of Poole was made a unitary authority in 1997, gaining administrative independence from Dorset County Council...
, between Broadstone
Broadstone, Dorset
Broadstone is a town and suburb of Poole in Dorset, England. It is located from Hamworthy railway station and from Bournemouth International Airport. The town has a population of 10,256 according to the 2001 Census....
and Fleetsbridge
Fleetsbridge
Fleetsbridge is a small area of Poole, Dorset, centred on a busy gyratory and flyover. It lies north of Poole town centre and borders the neighbouring suburbs of Waterloo, Creekmoor, Oakdale and Canford Heath. The use of land varies between residential, retail and some light industry. The area...
, Dorset
Dorset
Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...
, and was operated by a group of local enthusiasts from October 1968, to April 1973.
Origins
With the closure and demolition of the UptonUpton, Dorset
Upton is a village in south east Dorset, England. It is the second largest village in Purbeck-Geography:The village is built around a road junction where the Blandford to Hamworthy road crosses the main Poole to Dorchester road. The Poole suburbs of Hamworthy and Turlin Moor adjoin the village to...
(formerly Lytchett Brick Co. Ltd ) Brickworks to make way for a residential development their narrow gauge network, which had been in use since 1901, was scrapped allowing rails and sleepers, two 4-wheel drive locomotives (one workable), 8 vee skips, 12 tall brick carrying trollies/wagons and accessories to be acquired for the Creekmoore project; with other railway equipment from the brickworks was purchased by the Launceston Steam Railway
Launceston Steam Railway
The Launceston Steam Railway is narrow gauge railway operating from the town of Launceston in Cornwall. The railway is built on the trackbed of the North Cornwall Railway to the gauge of and runs for 2½ miles to Newmills, where there is a farm park....
.
In late October 1968 construction commenced with the line running for just over half a mile from land adjacent to the former Creekmoor Halt Station
Creekmoor railway station
Creekmoor was a halt on the former Southampton and Dorchester Railway opened by the Southern Railway for workers at the adjacent "Oerlikon" munitions factory, later run by Plesseys, now owned by Siemens. The halt was situated ¾ mile south of Broadstone, 1½ miles from Poole town centre and 116...
across smallholding
Smallholding
A smallholding is a farm of small size.In third world countries, smallholdings are usually farms supporting a single family with a mixture of cash crops and subsistence farming. As a country becomes more affluent and farming practices become more efficient, smallholdings may persist as a legacy of...
s held by Trevor Waterman - the project's initiator - and his brother. They planned to utilise the railway to carry feed for their pigs.
The construction of the railway was a makeshift affair with sheds being constructed from scrap material and rolling stock
Rolling stock
Rolling stock comprises all the vehicles that move on a railway. It usually includes both powered and unpowered vehicles, for example locomotives, railroad cars, coaches and wagons...
adapted from available stock.
A 16 feet (4.9 m) flat bogie
Bogie
A bogie is a wheeled wagon or trolley. In mechanics terms, a bogie is a chassis or framework carrying wheels, attached to a vehicle. It can be fixed in place, as on a cargo truck, mounted on a swivel, as on a railway carriage/car or locomotive, or sprung as in the suspension of a caterpillar...
rail carrier, a 14 ft (4.3 m) bogie coach to carry 12 passengers, and a tool van were all built using the chassis and framework. This was flame cut from the brick carrying trollies, cutting down the pillars. Typically, a chassis had to be cut in half, a section of angle iron then welded on each end resulting in two bogies, each needing two axle boxes / wheels.
During 1970 ten shilling
Shilling
The shilling is a unit of currency used in some current and former British Commonwealth countries. The word shilling comes from scilling, an accounting term that dates back to Anglo-Saxon times where it was deemed to be the value of a cow in Kent or a sheep elsewhere. The word is thought to derive...
s were offered, and accepted by the British Rail
British Rail
British Railways , which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was the operator of most of the rail transport in Great Britain between 1948 and 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the "Big Four" British railway companies and lasted until the gradual privatisation of British Rail, in stages...
Property division, for the Creekmoor Light Railway to remove all the redundant signal lattice posts, arms, signs and dummy signals from the line approaching Broadstone.
Locomotives
The 0-6-0WT steam locomotive (works number 9239 of 1939), Fojo, built by Orenstein & Koppel was purchased with proceeds from the sale of scrap metal from the signaling acquisition. It was moved to Hertfordshire and subsequently sold to Welsh Highland RailwayWelsh Highland Railway
The Welsh Highland Railway is a long restored narrow gauge heritage railway in North Wales, operating from Caernarfon to Porthmadog, and passing through a number of popular tourist destinations including Beddgelert and the Aberglaslyn Pass. At Porthmadog it connects with the Ffestiniog Railway...
, Beddgelert
Beddgelert
Beddgelert, or in older English spelling often Bedgellert, is a village and community in the Snowdonia area of Gwynedd, Wales. It is reputed to be named after the legendary hound Gelert. Population 617.- History:...
in 1978.
The diesel locos bought from Upton Brickworks were -
- No.1. HibberdF. C. Hibberd & Co LtdF. C. Hibberd & Co Ltd was a British locomotive-building company founded in 1927 to build industrial petrol and diesel locomotives. In 1932 the company acquired the goodwill of James and Frederick Howard Ltd...
1887 of 1934 named Samson came from the Upton Brickworks in Oct 1968. - No.2. Motor Rail 9778 of 1953, Delilah came from the Upton Brickworks in Oct 1968.
- No.3. Ruston HornsbyRuston (engine builder)Ruston & Hornsby, later known as Ruston, was an industrial equipment manufacturer in Lincoln, England, the company's history going back to 1840. The company is best known as a manufacturer of narrow and standard gauge diesel locomotives and also of steam shovels. Other products included cars, steam...
179880 of 1936 Brunel came from L.W. Vass Ltd, Dealer, AmpthillAmpthillAmpthill is a small town and civil parish in Bedfordshire, England, between Bedford and Luton, with a population of about 6,000. It is administered by Central Bedfordshire Council. A regular market has taken place on Thursdays for centuries.-History:...
, BedfordshireBedfordshireBedfordshire is a ceremonial county of historic origin in England that forms part of the East of England region.It borders Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Northamptonshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the west and Hertfordshire to the south-east....
, December 1969 and went to Lynton and Barnstaple RailwayLynton and Barnstaple RailwayThe Lynton & Barnstaple Railway opened as an independent railway in May 1898. It was a single track narrow gauge railway slightly over long running through the rugged and picturesque area bordering Exmoor in North Devon, England. Although opened after the 1896 Light Railways Act came into force,...
c1978. - No.4. Motor Rail 8644 of 1941, a runner named Druid came from Pollock & Brown, SouthamptonSouthamptonSouthampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...
. May 1971 and went to Hemingbrough tile works, near Selby, where it was pictured working in 1979. It then went to the Abbey Light RailwayAbbey Light RailwayThe Abbey Light Railway is a narrow gauge railway in Kirkstall, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England.Built by enthusiasts, the Railway runs from the nearby Bridge Street commercial area into the grounds of Kirkstall Abbey. It operates most Sundays.- History :...
, LeedsLeedsLeeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
, it was totally rebuilt in a different guise in 1999 and continues working to this day.
Operation
The line was operated for five years usually late afternoon till after dusk. Fridays, Saturdays and access often extended on Sundays with occasional visits from members of the local Railway Club.Turning the coach into the engine shed road was a curiosity. The main track ran down over a ditch to a short stub of only eight feet, the passenger coach being fourteen, firstly had its 4 feet (1.2 m) bogie run onto the stub, Right hand point crossed over, coach pushed over, the new set route, which, with the coach length swinging in an arc, would position it on the turntable. Then 2nd bogie over the point, reset, and pushed up on the outer line alongside the locos in the shed.
Decline and closure
In 1973 a new housing estate was planned covering the whole of the smallholdings area which forced the railway to move down to Crockway Farm, Maiden NewtonMaiden Newton
Maiden Newton is a village and civil parish in west Dorset, England, north of Dorchester. Located on the River Frome, the village has a population of 952 , of whom 29.7% are retired. Maiden Newton railway station, which serves the village, is situated on the Heart of Wessex Line...
, Dorset
Dorset
Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...
.
A three-road shed with a pit was built, locos put inside and wagons pushed a few hundred yards over temporary welded track to a couple of sidings. But with the distance down to Crockway, 30 miles (48.3 km), and the prospect of having to start over again, interest slowly waned. By 1978 all stock and signs were sold off in auctions arranged with the Narrow Gauge Railway Society.
Some of the enthusiasts who had worked on the project went on to work for Network Rail
Network Rail
Network Rail is the government-created owner and operator of most of the rail infrastructure in Great Britain .; it is not responsible for railway infrastructure in Northern Ireland...
, while others became the nucleus of the newly formed Swanage Railway
Swanage Railway
The Swanage Railway is a long heritage railway in the Purbeck district of Dorset, England. The railway follows the route of the Purbeck branch line between Norden railway station, Corfe Castle railway station, Harman's Cross railway station, Herston Halt railway station and Swanage...
Society.