Little Eaton Gangway
Encyclopedia
The Little Eaton Gangway, or, to give it its official title, the Derby Canal Railway, was a narrow gauge industrial
wagonway
serving the Derby Canal
, in England, at Little Eaton
in Derbyshire
.
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 use of a wagonway as an alternative was first proposed by William Jessop
on 3 November 1792. 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 the Denby Pottery
.
The purpose of this 5 miles (8 km) long 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".
and oak rails reinforced with cast iron
plates. Accordingly, an advertisement appeared in the Lincoln & Stamford Mercury for 16 August 1793 for oak sleepers 4 in 6 in (1.37 m) long squared at each end for a length of 9 inches (228.6 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 influenced by Jessop, whose father had worked for Thomas Telford
on the construction of the Eddystone Lighthouse
, 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, and supplied the rails, rather than Outram's own works. Both Outram and Jessop preferred stone blocks to sleepers. These were drilled with a six inch (150 mm) hole into which an oak plug was fitted. The rails, approximately three feet long and of L-shaped cross-section, were attached by means of spikes. The line was originally gauge, being increased later to at an unknown date.
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 the canal network or by road. Probably the first instance of containerisation in the world.
The gangway and the Little Eaton line of the canal opened in 1795, the first load of coal from Denby being distributed to the poor of Derby.
When 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 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 and is now in the National Railway Museum
.
A replica Little Eaton Gangway wagon is on display at the Midland Railway Trust near Ripley.
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...
wagonway
Wagonway
Wagonways consisted of the horses, equipment and tracks used for hauling wagons, which preceded steam powered railways. The terms "plateway", "tramway" and in someplaces, "dramway" are also found.- Early developments :...
serving the Derby Canal
Derby Canal
The Derby Canal ran from the Trent and Mersey Canal at Swarkestone to Derby and Little Eaton, and to the Erewash Canal at Sandiacre, Derbyshire, England. The canal gained its Act of Parliament in 1793 and was fully completed in 1796...
, in England, at Little Eaton
Little Eaton
Little Eaton is a village in the English county of Derbyshire. The name originated from Anglo Saxon times and means the little town by the water....
in Derbyshire
Derbyshire
Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...
.
The Derby Canal
In 1792, Benjamin OutramBenjamin Outram
Benjamin Outram was an English civil engineer, surveyor and industrialist. He was a pioneer in the building of canals and tramways.-Personal life:...
was asked to prepare plans for a broad canal from Swarkestone
Swarkestone
Swarkestone is a village and civil parish in Derbyshire, England.Swarkestone has a very old village church, a full cricket pitch, the Crewe and Harpur pub, a canal with locks, moorings and canalside tea-rooms...
to Smithy Houses, near Denby
Denby
Denby is a village in the English county of Derbyshire that is notable as the birthplace of John Flamsteed, England's first Royal Astronomer, and the location of the Denby Pottery Company....
, with a branch at Derby to the Erewash Canal
Erewash Canal
The Erewash Canal is a broad canal in Derbyshire, England. It runs just under and has 14 locks. The first lock at Langley Bridge is actually part of the Cromford Canal.-Origins:...
at Sandiacre
Sandiacre
Sandiacre is a town in the Borough of Erewash in Derbyshire, in the East Midlands region of England adjoining the border with Nottinghamshire....
, which he estimated would cost £60,000. The use of a wagonway as an alternative was first proposed by William Jessop
William Jessop
William Jessop was an English civil engineer, best known for his work on canals, harbours and early railways in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.-Early life:...
on 3 November 1792. The Derby Canal Act of 1793 authorized a rail connection between the Derby Canal
Derby Canal
The Derby Canal ran from the Trent and Mersey Canal at Swarkestone to Derby and Little Eaton, and to the Erewash Canal at Sandiacre, Derbyshire, England. The canal gained its Act of Parliament in 1793 and was fully completed in 1796...
at Little Eaton
Little Eaton
Little Eaton is a village in the English county of Derbyshire. The name originated from Anglo Saxon times and means the little town by the water....
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 the Denby Pottery
Denby Pottery Company
Denby Pottery Company Ltd is a British manufacturer of pottery, and is named after the village of Denby in Derbyshire.-History:The pottery at Denby was founded on the estate of William Drury-Lowe in 1809 as a manufacturer of stoneware bottles. It was run by Joseph Jager in partnership with Robert...
.
The purpose of this 5 miles (8 km) long plateway was to carry coal from Kilburn and Denby
Denby
Denby is a village in the English county of Derbyshire that is notable as the birthplace of John Flamsteed, England's first Royal Astronomer, and the location of the Denby Pottery Company....
down to the canal at Little Eaton and general goods including stone, pottery and "clogs of wood".
Construction
Outram's original plan was for a conventional waggonway with wooden sleepersRailroad tie
A railroad tie/railway tie , or railway sleeper is a rectangular item used to support the rails in railroad tracks...
and oak rails reinforced with cast iron
Cast iron
Cast iron is derived from pig iron, and while it usually refers to gray iron, it also identifies a large group of ferrous alloys which solidify with a eutectic. The color of a fractured surface can be used to identify an alloy. White cast iron is named after its white surface when fractured, due...
plates. Accordingly, an advertisement appeared in the Lincoln & Stamford Mercury for 16 August 1793 for oak sleepers 4 in 6 in (1.37 m) long squared at each end for a length of 9 inches (228.6 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 influenced by Jessop, whose father had worked for Thomas Telford
Thomas Telford
Thomas Telford FRS, FRSE was a Scottish civil engineer, architect and stonemason, and a noted road, bridge and canal builder.-Early career:...
on the construction of the Eddystone Lighthouse
Eddystone Lighthouse
Eddystone Lighthouse is on the treacherous Eddystone Rocks, south west of Rame Head, United Kingdom. While Rame Head is in Cornwall, the rocks are in Devon and composed of Precambrian Gneiss....
, also by Joseph Butler of Wingerworth
Wingerworth
Wingerworth is a relatively large village and parish near to Chesterfield, Derbyshire, England. It is one of the largest and most populous villages in the district of North East Derbyshire. Wingerworth is only two miles south west of the town of Chesterfield, 12 miles south of Sheffield and 120...
near Chesterfield
Chesterfield
Chesterfield is a market town and a borough of Derbyshire, England. It lies north of Derby, on a confluence of the rivers Rother and Hipper. Its population is 70,260 , making it Derbyshire's largest town...
, who had constructed a similar line in 1788. Butler is believed to have been the first to do so, and supplied the rails, rather than Outram's own works. Both Outram and Jessop preferred stone blocks to sleepers. These were drilled with a six inch (150 mm) hole into which an oak plug was fitted. The rails, approximately three feet long and of L-shaped cross-section, were attached by means of spikes. The line was originally gauge, being increased later to at an unknown date.
The waggons, built at Outram's Butterley works
Butterley Company
Butterley Engineering was an engineering company based in Ripley, Derbyshire. The company was formed from the Butterley Company which began as Benjamin Outram and Company in 1790 and existed until 2009.-Origins:...
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 the canal network or by road. Probably the first instance of containerisation in the world.
The gangway and the Little Eaton line of the canal opened in 1795, the first load of coal from Denby being distributed to the poor of Derby.
Decline
Midland Railway
The Midland Railway was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844 to 1922, when it became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway....
built its branch line to Ripley
Midland Railway Ripley Branch
The Midland Railway Ripley Branch connected Derby to Ripley in Derbyshire, England running from Little Eaton Junction on the Midland Railway line to Leeds.-Origin:...
in 1856, it lost most of its trade, finally closing in 1908.
The trackbed was used for a new road, the A61
A61 road
The A61 is a major trunk road in England. It runs from Derby to Thirsk in North Yorkshire. From Derby, it heads north via Alfreton, Clay Cross, Chesterfield, Sheffield, Barnsley, Wakefield, Leeds, Harrogate and Ripon...
, bypassing the old road through Coxbench. This, in turn, was superseded at the end of the twentieth century by the A38 trunk road
A38 road
The A38, part of which is also known as the Devon Expressway, is a major A-class trunk road in England.The road runs from Bodmin in Cornwall to Mansfield in Nottinghamshire. It is long, making it one of the longest A-roads in England. It was formerly known as the Leeds — Exeter Trunk Road,...
, demoting it to the B6179. Thus there are three generations of highway side-by-side, plus the remains of 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
National Mining Museum
The National Mining Museum is a museum dedicated to showcasing Zimbabwe's mining heritage. It was developed by the National Museums and Monuments of Zimbabwe. The museum is found in Kwekwe, a town in central Zimbabwe....
at Lound Hall and is now in the National Railway Museum
National Railway Museum
The National Railway Museum is a museum in York forming part of the British National Museum of Science and Industry and telling the story of rail transport in Britain and its impact on society. It has won many awards, including the European Museum of the Year Award in 2001...
.
A replica Little Eaton Gangway wagon is on display at the Midland Railway Trust near Ripley.