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Light Railways Act 1896

 

 
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The Light Railways Act 1896 (59 & 60 Vict c. 48) of the Parliament of the United Kingdom
Parliament of the United Kingdom

The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislature in the United Kingdom and British overseas territories....
 defined a class of railways with the intention of enabling development of such railways without legislation
Legislation

Legislation is law which has been promulgation by a legislature or other governing body. The term may refer to a single law, or the collective body of enacted law, while "statute" is also used to refer to a single law....
 specific to each line. A light railway is not a tramway but a separate class of railway. The creation of the act was triggered by a combination of problems with the complexity of creating low cost railways that were needed at the time for rural areas, and the successful use of tramway rules to create the Wisbech and Upwell Tramway
Wisbech and Upwell Tramway

|}The Wisbech and Upwell Tramway was a rural standard gauge tramway in East Anglia. It was built by the Great Eastern Railway between Wisbech, Cambridgeshire and Upwell, Norfolk to carry agricultural produce....
 in 1882 which was in fact a light railway in all but name.

The act limited weight
Weight

In the physical sciences, weight is a measurement of the gravitational force acting on an object. Near the surface of the Earth, the Earth's gravity is approximately constant; this means that an object's weight is roughly proportional to its mass....
s to a maximum of 12 ton
Ton

Units of massThere are several similar units of mass or volume called the ton:Others*The long ton is used for petroleum products such as aviation fuel....
s on each axle
Axle

An axle is a central shaft for a rotation wheel or gear. In some cases the axle may be fixed in position with a bearing or bushing sitting inside the hole in the wheel or gear to allow the wheel or gear to rotate around the axle....
 and speed
Speed

Speed is the rate of Motion , or equivalently the rate of change of distance.Speed is a Scalar quantity with dimensions length/time; the equivalent Vector quantity to speed is velocity....
s to a maximum of 25 miles per hour (mph)
Miles per hour

The mile per hour is a physical unit of speed, expressing the number of Mile covered per hour.It is currently the Unit of measurement used for speed limits, and speeds, on roads in the United Kingdom and United States....
, and 8 mph on bends.






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The Light Railways Act 1896 (59 & 60 Vict c. 48) of the Parliament of the United Kingdom
Parliament of the United Kingdom

The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislature in the United Kingdom and British overseas territories....
 defined a class of railways with the intention of enabling development of such railways without legislation
Legislation

Legislation is law which has been promulgation by a legislature or other governing body. The term may refer to a single law, or the collective body of enacted law, while "statute" is also used to refer to a single law....
 specific to each line. A light railway is not a tramway but a separate class of railway. The creation of the act was triggered by a combination of problems with the complexity of creating low cost railways that were needed at the time for rural areas, and the successful use of tramway rules to create the Wisbech and Upwell Tramway
Wisbech and Upwell Tramway

|}The Wisbech and Upwell Tramway was a rural standard gauge tramway in East Anglia. It was built by the Great Eastern Railway between Wisbech, Cambridgeshire and Upwell, Norfolk to carry agricultural produce....
 in 1882 which was in fact a light railway in all but name.

The act limited weight
Weight

In the physical sciences, weight is a measurement of the gravitational force acting on an object. Near the surface of the Earth, the Earth's gravity is approximately constant; this means that an object's weight is roughly proportional to its mass....
s to a maximum of 12 ton
Ton

Units of massThere are several similar units of mass or volume called the ton:Others*The long ton is used for petroleum products such as aviation fuel....
s on each axle
Axle

An axle is a central shaft for a rotation wheel or gear. In some cases the axle may be fixed in position with a bearing or bushing sitting inside the hole in the wheel or gear to allow the wheel or gear to rotate around the axle....
 and speed
Speed

Speed is the rate of Motion , or equivalently the rate of change of distance.Speed is a Scalar quantity with dimensions length/time; the equivalent Vector quantity to speed is velocity....
s to a maximum of 25 miles per hour (mph)
Miles per hour

The mile per hour is a physical unit of speed, expressing the number of Mile covered per hour.It is currently the Unit of measurement used for speed limits, and speeds, on roads in the United Kingdom and United States....
, and 8 mph on bends. It did not exclude standard-gauge track
Standard gauge

The standard gauge is a widely-used rail gauge. Approximately 60% of the world's existing railway lines are built to this gauge . The distance between the inside edges of the rails of standard gauge track is ....
, but narrow gauge tracks were used for many railways built under its provisions.

A number of municipal and company-owned street tramways were built or extended by the Act, in preference to the Tramways Act 1870
Tramways Act 1870

The Tramways Act was an important step in the development of urban transport in Britain. Street trams had originated in the United States, and were introduced to Britain by George Francis Train in the 1860s, the first recorded installation being a short line from Woodside Ferry to Birkenhead Park in the town of Birkenhead....
. The procedure of the 1896 Act was simpler, permission easier to obtain (local authorities had the right to veto lines under the 1870 legislation), and there was a 75% savings on rates payable as compared to a tramway.

The light railway act was never a great success. By the 1920s the use of road transport killed the majority of these little railways although some survived thanks to clever management and tight financial control.

Until new rules introduced Transport Works Orders, preserved railways in the UK were operated under Light Railway Orders.

Railways built under the act


  • Teifi Valley Railway
    Teifi Valley Railway

    The Teifi Valley Railway is a heritage railway operating between Carmarthen and Cardigan, Ceredigion along the River Teifi, south Wales. It is a steam-hauled narrow gauge tourist railway on the built on the trackbed of part of the Carmarthen and Cardigan Railway and later GWR....
     Opened by preservationists on the old GWR standard gauge trackbed between Pencader Junction and Newcastle Emlyn (currently only runs Henllan - Pontprenshitw - Llandyfriog)
  • Lee-on-Solent Light Railway, opened in 1894 (re-authorized under the act, 1897)
  • Bankfoot Light Railway, opened in 1898
  • Forsinard, Melvich and Port Skerry Light Railway, opened in 1898
  • Weston, Clevedon & Portishead Light Railway, opened 1885 but reincorporated under the act in 1899
  • Lauder Light Railway, opened on July 2 1901
  • Wick and Lybster Light Railway, opened in 1899
  • Kent and East Sussex Railway
    Kent and East Sussex Railway

    The Kent & East Sussex Railway refers to both an historical private railway company in Kent and Sussex in England, as well as a heritage railway currently running on part of the route of the historical company....
    , opened in 1900
  • Sheppey Light Railway
    Sheppey Light Railway

    |}The Sheppey Light Railway was a railway on the Isle of Sheppey, Kent, England which ran from Leysdown to Queenborough, where it connected with the South Eastern and Chatham Railway's Sheerness Line....
    , opened in 1901
  • Basingstoke and Alton Light Railway
    Basingstoke and Alton Light Railway

    The Basingstoke and Alton Light Railway was a railway in Hampshire, United Kingdom, opened on Saturday, 1 June, 1901, with no formal ceremony.It was the first railway to be enabled by an Order of the Light Railway Commission under the Light Railways Act 1896 of 1896....
    , opened in 1901
  • Poole and District Light Railway, opened in 1901
  • Bentley and Bordon Light Railway, opened in 1905
  • Cromarty and Dingwall Light Railway
    Cromarty and Dingwall Light Railway

    Cromarty and Dingwall Light Railway is an historic railway in Scotland....
    , authorised in 1902, but never finished, track lifted in WW1.
  • Vale of Rheidol Light Railway
    Vale of Rheidol Railway

    The Vale of Rheidol Railway is a narrow-gauge gauge heritage railway that runs for 11? miles between Aberystwyth and Devil's Bridge in Wales, United Kingdom....
    , opened in 1902
  • Welshpool and Llanfair Light Railway
    Welshpool and Llanfair Light Railway

    The Welshpool and Llanfair Light Railway is a narrow gauge railway heritage railway in Powys, Wales. The line is around 8.5 miles long and runs westwards from the town of Welshpool via Castle Caereinion to the village of Llanfair Caereinion....
    , opened in 1903
  • Kelvedon and Tollesbury Light Railway
    Kelvedon and Tollesbury Light Railway

    |}The Kelvedon and Tollesbury Light Railway, authorised under the Light Railways Act 1896 operated between the two towns of Kelvedon and Tollesbury to the south of Colchester in Essex, England....
    , opened in 1904
  • Leek and Manifold Valley Light Railway
    Leek and Manifold Valley Light Railway

    The Leek and Manifold Valley Light Railway was a narrow gauge railway in Staffordshire, Great Britain that operated between 1904 and 1934. When in operation, the line mainly carried milk from dairy in the region, acting as a feeder to the standard gauge Rail transport in the United Kingdom....
    , opened in 1904
  • Tanat Valley Light Railway
    Tanat Valley Light Railway

    The Tanat Valley Light Railway was a 15 mile long standard gauge railway light railway connecting Llangynog with Blodwel in Wales. It opened in 1903 and closed in January 1964....
    , opened in 1904
  • Cairn Valley Light Railway
    Cairn Valley Light Railway

    The Cairn Valley Light Railway was built under the regulations of the Light Railways Act 1896 and was opened on 1 March 1905. It connected the market town of Dumfries in south-west Scotland to the village of Moniaive in Dumfriesshire at the end of the tranquil Cairn Valley....
    , opened in 1905
  • Horton Light Railway
    Horton Light Railway

    The Horton Light Railway was built in 1905 to transport materials for building the Longrove Asylum that was needed in addition to the previously built Manor Hospital....
    , opened in 1905
  • Mid-Suffolk Light Railway
    Mid-Suffolk Light Railway

    The Mid-Suffolk Light Railway ran for just 19 miles from Haughley to Laxfield, Suffolk. The line became part of the LNER in 1924 and was closed completely on 26 July 1952....
    , opened in 1905
  • Falkland Light Railway, opened in 1906
  • Campbeltown and Machrihanish Light Railway
    Campbeltown and Machrihanish Light Railway

    The Campbeltown and Machrihanish Light Railway was a narrow gauge railway in Kintyre, Scotland, between the towns of Campbeltown and Machrihanish....
    , opened in 1906
  • North Lindsey Light Railway
    North Lindsey Light Railway

    The North Lindsey Light Railway was a light railway in North Lincolnshire. It was later absorbed by the Great Central Railway and later, on grouping, it passed to theLondon and North Eastern Railway....
    , opened in stages from 1906
  • Shropshire and Montgomeryshire Light Railway
    Shropshire and Montgomeryshire Railway

    |}The Shropshire & Montgomeryshire Light Railway was a railway running from Shrewsbury, England to Llanymynech, Wales. It opened in 1911, taking over most of the former Potteries, Shrewsbury & North Wales Railway from the Shropshire Railways Company, and was one of the Colonel Stephens Railways....
    , opened in 1911
  • Derwent Valley Light Railway
    Derwent Valley Light Railway

    The Derwent Valley Light Railway was a privately-owned standard-gauge railway running from Layerthorpe on the outskirts of York to Cliffe Common near Selby in North Yorkshire, England....
    , opened in 1913
  • Elsenham and Thaxted Light Railway, opened in 1913
  • Sand Hutton Light Railway
    Sand Hutton Light Railway

    |}The Sand Hutton Light Railway was a minimum gauge railway estate railway serving the estate of Sir Robert Walker, the Fourth Baronet of Sand Hutton, Yorkshire....
    , opened in 1922
  • Ashover Light Railway
    Ashover Light Railway

    |}The Ashover Light Railway was a narrow gauge railway in Derbyshire, England that connected Clay Cross and Ashover. It was built by the Clay Cross Company to transport minerals such as limestone, fluorite, barytes and gritstone to its works at Clay Cross and for transport around the country by the LMS....
    , opened in 1925


A number of railways have, over the years, been built on private land and called names that end in Light Railway. These have not needed parliamentary powers or a light railway order. The name has only reflected light nature of the railway. Many miniature railways are named in this way.

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