Furzebrook Railway
Encyclopedia
The Furzebrook Railway, also known as the Pike Brothers' Tramway, was a narrow gauge
industrial
railway on the Isle of Purbeck
in the English
county of Dorset
. It was built by the Pike Brothers, to take Purbeck Ball Clay
from their clay pits near Furzebrook
and West Creech to a wharf
at Ridge
on the River Frome
.
in 1791. Originally the output was taken by horse to Wareham
, from where it was taken by barge
on the River Frome to Poole Harbour
. William's sons (William Joseph and John William) took over the business and formed the company as Pike Bros. Wedgwood's success increased demand so much that the horses struggled to keep pace.
The nearest competitor, Benjamin Fayle at nearby Norden, had built the Middlebere Plateway
to take his clay to the south shore of Poole Harbour in 1806. Around 1840 the Pike Brothers William Joseph and John William followed suit by building the Furzebrook Railway to Ridge, about half a mile downstream from Wareham. The line was engineered with a continual downhill gradient, and loaded clay wagons were run by gravity, with the empty wagons being hauled back by horses. To facilitate this, some wagons were equipped with sledge brakes
acting directly on the rail. The gauge of the railway as built is believed to be around .
William Joseph Pike met with George Stephenson in Birmingham and became convinced that way forward lay in the excellent economics of steam railways. In 1866 the Pike Brothers purchased the first steam locomotive (Primus) and by this date the gauge had been narrowed to 2 ft 8½ in (825 mm). By this time, the original workings at Furzebrook were worked out, and the railway was diverted slightly to the north at its upper end, and extended with several branches serving clay pits at Povington, Cotness, Greenspecks and Creech Grange.
When it opened in 1885, the London and South Western Railway
standard gauge
line from Wareham to Swanage
simply passed over the Furzebrook Railway, with no connection. However sometime after 1900, interchange sidings were constructed at Furzebrook to allow clay to be shipped out by main line rail.
Even after steam locomotives were introduced, gravity propulsion was not entirely abandoned. Up to the second world war, a well known sight was a single wagon train carrying clay pit workers back to their homes in Ridge in this way. The line terminated at the Swanage Railway branch, with the line to Ridge being removed by the military. In 1955 road transport started to be used to transport the clay, and the last usage of the Furzebrook Railway was in 1957.
A building of similar design to the Ridge engine shed also survives at Furzebrook Works, adjacent to the former Furzebrook Road level crossing
.
Narrow gauge
A narrow gauge railway is a railway that has a track gauge narrower than the of standard gauge railways. Most existing narrow gauge railways have gauges of between and .- Overview :...
industrial
Industrial railway
An industrial railway is a type of railway that is not available for public transportation and is used exclusively to serve a particular industrial, logistics or military site...
railway on the Isle of Purbeck
Isle of Purbeck
The Isle of Purbeck, not a true island but a peninsula, is in the county of Dorset, England. It is bordered by the English Channel to the south and east, where steep cliffs fall to the sea; and by the marshy lands of the River Frome and Poole Harbour to the north. Its western boundary is less well...
in the English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
county of 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...
. It was built by the Pike Brothers, to take Purbeck Ball Clay
Purbeck Ball Clay
Purbeck Ball Clay is a concentration of ball clay found on the Isle of Purbeck in the English county of Dorset.-Geology:The main concentration of ball clay in Dorset is to the north of the Purbeck Hills centred around Norden. Ball clays are sedimentary in origin...
from their clay pits near Furzebrook
Furzebrook, Dorset
Furzebrook is a small village on the Isle of Purbeck, in the county of Dorset in the south of England.Furzebrook is about 2 km south of Wareham and 5 km west of Corfe Castle....
and West Creech to a wharf
Wharf
A wharf or quay is a structure on the shore of a harbor where ships may dock to load and unload cargo or passengers.Such a structure includes one or more berths , and may also include piers, warehouses, or other facilities necessary for handling the ships.A wharf commonly comprises a fixed...
at Ridge
Ridge, Dorset
Ridge is a village in the English county of Dorset. It is situated on the south bank of the River Frome, about half a mile due south east of the town of Wareham.Ridge forms part of the civil parish of Arne, within the Purbeck local government district....
on the River Frome
River Frome, Dorset
The River Frome is a river in Dorset in the south of England. At 30 miles long it is the major chalkstream in southwest England. It is navigable upstream from Poole Harbour as far as the town of Wareham.-Geography:...
.
History
Clay Merchant Joseph Pike is said to have come to Purbeck around 1760 from Chudleigh in Devon, but it was his son William Pike who took up permanent residence and signed a contract with WedgwoodWedgwood
Wedgwood, strictly speaking Josiah Wedgwood and Sons, is a pottery firm owned by KPS Capital Partners, a private equity company based in New York City, USA. Wedgwood was founded on May 1, 1759 by Josiah Wedgwood and in 1987 merged with Waterford Crystal to create Waterford Wedgwood, an...
in 1791. Originally the output was taken by horse to Wareham
Wareham, Dorset
Wareham is an historic market town and, under the name Wareham Town, a civil parish, in the English county of Dorset. The town is situated on the River Frome eight miles southwest of Poole.-Situation and geography:...
, from where it was taken by barge
Barge
A barge is a flat-bottomed boat, built mainly for river and canal transport of heavy goods. Some barges are not self-propelled and need to be towed by tugboats or pushed by towboats...
on the River Frome to Poole Harbour
Poole Harbour
Poole Harbour is a large natural harbour in Dorset, southern England, with the town of Poole on its shores. The harbour is a drowned valley formed at the end of the last ice age and is the estuary of several rivers, the largest being the Frome. The harbour has a long history of human settlement...
. William's sons (William Joseph and John William) took over the business and formed the company as Pike Bros. Wedgwood's success increased demand so much that the horses struggled to keep pace.
The nearest competitor, Benjamin Fayle at nearby Norden, had built the Middlebere Plateway
Middlebere Plateway
The Middlebere Plateway, or Middlebere Tramway, was a horse-drawn plateway on the Isle of Purbeck in the English county of Dorset. One of the first railways in southern England and the first in Dorset, the plateway was built by a very wealthy London Merchant Benjamin Fayle , to take Purbeck Ball...
to take his clay to the south shore of Poole Harbour in 1806. Around 1840 the Pike Brothers William Joseph and John William followed suit by building the Furzebrook Railway to Ridge, about half a mile downstream from Wareham. The line was engineered with a continual downhill gradient, and loaded clay wagons were run by gravity, with the empty wagons being hauled back by horses. To facilitate this, some wagons were equipped with sledge brakes
Track brake
Track brakes are a form of brakes unique to railborne vehicles. The braking force derives from the friction resulting from the application of wood or metal braking shoes directly to the tracks...
acting directly on the rail. The gauge of the railway as built is believed to be around .
William Joseph Pike met with George Stephenson in Birmingham and became convinced that way forward lay in the excellent economics of steam railways. In 1866 the Pike Brothers purchased the first steam locomotive (Primus) and by this date the gauge had been narrowed to 2 ft 8½ in (825 mm). By this time, the original workings at Furzebrook were worked out, and the railway was diverted slightly to the north at its upper end, and extended with several branches serving clay pits at Povington, Cotness, Greenspecks and Creech Grange.
When it opened in 1885, the London and South Western Railway
London and South Western Railway
The London and South Western Railway was a railway company in England from 1838 to 1922. Its network extended from London to Plymouth via Salisbury and Exeter, with branches to Ilfracombe and Padstow and via Southampton to Bournemouth and Weymouth. It also had many routes connecting towns in...
standard gauge
Standard gauge
The standard gauge is a widely-used track gauge . Approximately 60% of the world's existing railway lines are built to this gauge...
line from Wareham to Swanage
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...
simply passed over the Furzebrook Railway, with no connection. However sometime after 1900, interchange sidings were constructed at Furzebrook to allow clay to be shipped out by main line rail.
Even after steam locomotives were introduced, gravity propulsion was not entirely abandoned. Up to the second world war, a well known sight was a single wagon train carrying clay pit workers back to their homes in Ridge in this way. The line terminated at the Swanage Railway branch, with the line to Ridge being removed by the military. In 1955 road transport started to be used to transport the clay, and the last usage of the Furzebrook Railway was in 1957.
Locomotives
The locomotives used by the railway include:| Name | Builder | Type | Date | Works number | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Primus | Bellis and Seeking | 0-4-2WT | 1866 | Converted to a stationary winding engine by 1888. | |
| Secundus | Bellis and Seeking | 0-6-0WT | 1874 | In use until 1955, and then displayed in the now defunct Birmingham Museum of Science and Industry until 2000. Is now displayed in the 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... museum at Corfe Castle station Corfe Castle railway station Corfe Castle railway station is a railway station located in the village of Corfe Castle, in the English county of Dorset. Originally an intermediate station on the London and South Western Railway branch line from Wareham to Swanage, the line and station were closed by British Rail in 1972... . |
|
| Tertius | Manning Wardle Manning Wardle Manning Wardle was a steam locomotive manufacturer based in Hunslet, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England.- Precursor companies :The city of Leeds was one of the earliest centres of locomotive building; Matthew Murray built the first commercially successful steam locomotive, Salamanca, in Holbeck, Leeds,... |
0-6-0ST | 1886 | 999 | In 1951 the boiler from Fayle's Tramway engine Tiny was fitted, giving this engine a top heavy look as the firebox was too wide to fit through the frames. |
| Quartus | Fowler John Fowler & Co. thumb|right|John Fowler & Co. [[steam roller]] of 1923John Fowler & Co Engineers of Leathley Road, Hunslet, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England produced traction engines and ploughing implements and equipment, as well as railway equipment. Fowler also produced the Track Marshall tractor which was a... |
0-4-2WT | 1889 | Scrapped in 1934. | |
| Quintus | Manning Wardle Manning Wardle Manning Wardle was a steam locomotive manufacturer based in Hunslet, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England.- Precursor companies :The city of Leeds was one of the earliest centres of locomotive building; Matthew Murray built the first commercially successful steam locomotive, Salamanca, in Holbeck, Leeds,... |
0-4-0ST | 1914 | 1854 | In use until 1956, scrapped in 1958. Nameplate is preserved in NGRM |
| Sextus | Peckett Peckett and Sons Peckett and Sons was a locomotive manufacturer at the Atlas Works in St. George, Bristol, England.-Fox, Walker and Company:The company began trading in 1864 at the Atlas Engine Works, St. George, Bristol, as Fox, Walker and Company, building four and six-coupled saddle tank engines for industrial use... |
0-6-0ST | 1925 | 1692 | In use until 1956, scrapped in 1958. |
| Septimus | Peckett Peckett and Sons Peckett and Sons was a locomotive manufacturer at the Atlas Works in St. George, Bristol, England.-Fox, Walker and Company:The company began trading in 1864 at the Atlas Engine Works, St. George, Bristol, as Fox, Walker and Company, building four and six-coupled saddle tank engines for industrial use... |
0-4-2ST | 1930 | 1808 | Purchased by the North Somerset Light Railway in 1955 but never used. Scrapped in 1962. |
| Simplex Motor Rail Motor Rail was a British locomotive-building company, based in Bedford. Formed in 1911 as The Motor Rail & Tramcar Co Ltd, they built petrol and diesel engined locomotives, mainly narrow gauge. During World War I over 900 locos were supplied for use on temporary military supply railways... |
Diesel locomotive obtained second hand in 1951. |
Remains
The line's engine shed at Ridge still exists, and is a listed building. The route of the line from Ridge to Furzebrook can be traced on the ground and on maps. As noted above, the steam locomotive Secundus has survived.A building of similar design to the Ridge engine shed also survives at Furzebrook Works, adjacent to the former Furzebrook Road level crossing
Level crossing
A level crossing occurs where a railway line is intersected by a road or path onone level, without recourse to a bridge or tunnel. It is a type of at-grade intersection. The term also applies when a light rail line with separate right-of-way or reserved track crosses a road in the same fashion...
.
External links
- Purbeck Mineral & Mining Museum page on the Furzebrook Railway
- Dorset Life article on the Pubeck clay tramways