Earliest times
A railway of 5½ miles in length was made in 1775, from the Earl of Carlisle's colliery at Tindale Fell to Brampton. It was the scene of an early experiment with wrought iron rails, in about the year 1808. It was originally laid with cast iron fish-bellied rails. Moore says that boring for coal on Tindale Fell... was in progress in 1628. In 1769 the Earl of Carlisle was carrying on Tarnhouse or Tindale Fell colliery, beside the Talkin and Midgeholme collieries. The railway along which the coals were conveyed by horses in chaldron waggons, did not take the same route exactly, nor was it so long as the existing .e. laterrailway, which begins at Brampton, and terminates at Lambley station on the Alston branch of the NER.Lee disagrees with this account:
Mr. Dendy Marshall ... quotes no authority for the assertion, and the present writer’s researches tend strongly to indicate that the line through to Brampton was built more than two decades later. There were probably wooden wagonways at Tindale Fell colliery as early as 1775, but it seems clear that the through line to Brampton was built by the Earl of Carlisle about 1798.A through line to Brampton was constructed in 1798, reaching the staithes there, and the first wagon of coal was brought down from Tindale Fell colliery in April 1799. The waggonway, five and a half miles in length, was constructed in timber, and the wagons were hauled singly by horses. Thompson wrote (in 1900): "I doubt if anyone now living can say accurately when this tram road was made; it is marked on old maps as far back I believe as 1774, and was probably in existence long before that.W. B. Thompson, in the Railway Magazine, April 1900 The timber track was soon replaced by cast iron fish-bellied rails on stone block sleepers, and in 1808 the track was again relaid, about two-thirds of the extent with rolled wrought iron rails and the remainder with cast iron. The line was famous for its early introduction of the new material. " rought iron in edge railswas first used by itself, without a wooden rail below it, in a humble way at Tindale Fell near Brampton in 1808 and at Walbottle about the same time." The earliest wrought iron rails had been prone to lamination, but an exchange of newspaper correspondence on the subject produced a robust statement from John Birkinshaw, of the Bedlington Iron Works. Quoting a letter from James Thompson ("the Colliery Agent of the Earl of Carlisle") he says that "apprehensions of lamination and exfoliation are entirely groundless. Thompson's letter of 7 December 1824 is reproduced, saying:
... having under my care a Rail-way, whereon several Miles both of Cast and Wrought Iron Rails are used, I have sent you herewith a Piece of the latter, which has been laid sixteen Years, and certainly has no Appearance of Lamination... The whole of the Wrought Iron, which has been used from 12 to 16 years, appears to be very little worse. The Cast Iron is certainly much worse, and subject to considerable Breakage, although the Rails are about double the Weight of the Malleable Iron Rails.Correspondence in ''Newcastle Courant'', 18 December 1824In 1808, James Thompson, then fourteen years of age, was employed assisting William Lawson, the agent of the Earl of Carlisle and in 1819 he succeeded Lawson as agent. He sank a new colliery at Blacksyke about 1820 and in 1824 another pit, at Midgeholme. The railway was extended east from Tindale Fell to the Midgeholme pithead, and a branch of three miles was laid to Blacksyke, with a spur to serve a limestone quarry. Considerable earthworks were required to build the new line to a satisfactory gradient.
Connecting to the Newcastle and Carlisle Railway
For decades there had been consideration of linking Newcastle and Carlisle, representing the North Sea and the Solway Firth, by some improved means of transport. A canal had been the preferred solution for some time, and after 1823 a branch canal to Kirkhouse was proposed, to connect with the waggonways.Dr Tom Bell, ''Railways of the North Pennines'', The History Press, Stroud, 2015, It was a railway that was authorised by Parliament on 22 May 1829, when theThe present line falls with a very severe gradient towards the town of Brampton, and the practice used to be to allow the wagons full of coal to run down by gravity, and then, when the load had been discharged, to draw them back empty by horses. There was not a sufficient number of horses employed to deal with the whole of the traffic, so that a gradual accumulation of wagons at the Brampton terminus took place, and when the sidings were full a locomotive was sent down to clear the empties all away.
It is perhaps worth adding that in spite of the absence of signals, continuous brakes, interlocking, and all other precautions dear to the Board of Trade, the passenger traffic was carried on all those years practically without an accident of any kind, the only case in which I can recall a passenger having received injury being one in which the injury was entirely attributable to his own negligence.
Leased to Thompson
Alston branch
In 1851, the Newcastle and Carlisle Railway was completing its Alston branch, running from Haltwhistle; the primary purpose of the line was to serve the lead mines in the hills between Alston and Nenthead. The line passed near Lambley and had a short branch to the colliery there, a little west of the new line. The colliery was not operated by Thompson and Sons, but the firm decided to extend their line from Midgeholme to Lambley, and join the N&CR there. As well as serving the colliery output, the connection with the N&CR was valuable. The Thompson and Sons extension and the N&CR branch opened on 5 January 1852. Rails recovered from the by-passed waggonway at Milton were used for this construction.Development
Over the succeeding twenty years, the firm progressively upgraded the track and the wagons, both of which were primitive at first. Tindale Fell colliery ceased operation by about 1870 and Blacksyke followed in 1872; the branches ceased operation concurrently with the pits. A new colliery called Howard opened near Greenside. The business was expanding and in 1872 an additional engine was acquired, named Tichborne (in reference to theBrampton town
Brampton was an important township, with a population of about 3,500 at this timeVision of Britain: population of Brampton http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10082456/cube/TOT_POP and as a market town it received a considerable volume of goods and visitors. The horse-drawn dandy coach connection from Milton station on the main lineThe North Eastern Railway had absorbed the Newcastle and Carlisle Railway and now operated the main line services. was increasingly criticised and goods had to be carted from Milton station, renamed Brampton in 1870.M. E. Quick, ''Railway Passenger Stations in England Scotland and Wales—A Chronology'', The Railway and Canal Historical Society, 2002 Local people petitioned the North Eastern Railway to construct a branch line to Brampton, independently of the Thompson's line, but this was refused. A public meeting in Brampton in 1889 recorded that period and agreed that the situation was unsatisfactory:It was a positive fact that in Carlisle they could have goods delivered from London in less time than they could get them delivered from Carlisle in Brampton... In 1875, a deputation adwaited upon the directors f the North Eastern Railwayand endeavoured to induce them to make a branch line into Brampton... In October however, a letter was received stating that the directors were not able to come to the conclusion that it was desirable for the company to undertake the construction of a branch line... Overtures were then made to the late Colonel Thompson, who agreed to improve the "Dandy" accommodation.Carlisle Patriot, 15 November 1889The Thompson firm decided to respond for an agricultural fair on 13 November 1879 by hiring in a North Eastern Railway steam locomotive and carriages. (They appear to have done so for the September show annually since 1869,Charters is contradictory on these dates, on page 13. hauled by the locomotive ''Garibaldi''. Next they erected a small platform at the SandsThe area where the Swartle and the Newcastle Road converge. at Brampton (close to the staiths) and relaid the track with steel rails, and acquired a steam locomotive, ''Dandie Dinmont'', and started a steam passenger operation from 4 July 1881.Harry Paar, ''Brampton Revisited'', in the Journal of the Railway and Canal Historical Society, July 1967 In 1889, the meeting referred to above complained about the branch service, adding that "The fare which people had to pay from Brampton Junction to Brampton and back, sixpence, was, considering the short distance, a very severe tax, and undoubtedly tended to keep people away from the market." In 1890 the Thompson and Sons lease of the collieries and railways from the Earl of Carlisle was to be renewed, but the Earl of Carlisle required that the branch line from Brampton Junction to Brampton should be inspected. The Board of Trade inspector duly visited and required certain improvements; there was a 1 in 30 gradient on the branch, and there was no signalling or any normal railway safety system. Thompson and Sons decided not to make the required improvements and gave notice to discontinue the passenger operation on 30 April 1890. This left the town without a passenger train service for the time being.
Colliery developments
In 1893 the Midgeholme colliery ceased operation, although a new pit at Roachburn opened soon after. It was located a mile west of Tindale Fell. The Brampton Railway was buoyant, carrying most of the coal output of its area, and also stone and limestone, to Brampton Junction for onward conveyance by the North Eastern Railway. In the final years of the eighteenth century the mineral output of the area declined steeply, eventually only Roachburn colliery continuing in operation. Against this trend Thompson and Sons acquired a new six-coupled locomotive, ''Sheriff'', in 1900. In 1908, there was an inundation at Roachburn killing three men; the tragedy affected the health of the surviving owner of Thompson and Sons, and he decided to close the business down.Naworth Coal Company
For a time it looked as if the local industry was at an end, but a new company quickly took up the work: the Naworth Coal Company Ltd was formed. It took over the mineral workings and the railway formerly operated by Thompson and Sons, but the passenger operation to Brampton Town remained closed. The Naworth Company opened a new pit at Gairs; the work lasted from 1909 to 1911. It was located at an extremely remote position and a new branch line two miles long was necessary, built in 1909 - 1910. Steep gradients existed on the line, the steepest being 1 in 18. Roachburn pit closed down in February 1912, but the washery facilities at Midgeholme continued in use. The Naworth company opened new coal workings at Midgeholme and the railway from Tindale to Midgeholme once again became well used.Brampton Town branch separated from the network
Talks about the resumption of passenger operation on the Brampton Town branch continued at this time, with the North Eastern Railway being the obvious choice of operator now. However the Earl of Carlisle demanded a high rental for the line, and the North Eastern Railway, seeing that they would have to pay a considerable sum for modernising the line and that income would be limited, did not conclude a deal. The Earl of Carlisle died in 1912, and shortly after his death a 50-year lease on satisfactory terms was concluded with the Dowager Countess. Track upgrading, a bridge reconstruction, and new goods shed facilities were completed and an opening ceremony for the upgraded line took place on 31 July 1913; the public passenger service started the following day, 1 August 1913. A Fletcher 0-4-4 tank engine, no. 1089, was allocated to the service, operating between two coachesCharters contradicts himself on this, on page 21. as a push-and-pull train. The Westinghouse brake system was used. The line from Brampton Junction to Brampton was now in separate hands from the colliery part of the network, and coal from the pits to Brampton was exchanged at the junction. War work in Brampton was considerable duringNaworth Collieries takes over
From 1921, the Naworth Coal Company tried several new or revived workings, but these proved less than satisfactory, and soon the company was struggling financially. In 1924 it went into liquidation, and the railway and the Gairs and Midgeholme activities ceased. At first it seemed that the end had come for mining and for the Brampton Railway. However Charles Roberts quickly founded ''Naworth Collieries'' and assumed all the properties of the Naworth Coal Company, and after six months activity resumed. Gairs Colliery reopened, and with it almost the entire colliery railway network. Having taken over a loss-making mining company, it was not surprising that survival was difficult for the new owner, and geological setbacks soon proved challenging. Then in December 1925 the Tindale Granite Company obtained a lease of quarries at Tindale; the product wasMore industry
In 1927, the Kirkhouse Brick and Tile Works started production; the operation required shale for the firing and this was brought in from Forest Head, providing more business for the railway. In 1931 Naworth Limeworks started output from Bishop Hill quarry near the bottom of Tindale Fell. This necessitated an extension of the railway. At this time the Prior and Minthill drifts were producing coal, as was Gairs, but the Tindale Granite Company was the most useful customer of the railway. The mineral line to Gairs and to Foresthead Quarries used the old Tindale wagonway course from Clowsgill to Howgill and the Foresthead line was laid on the first half mile of the old branch line to Blacksyke. The coalpits at Gairs were at a much higher altitude and there is evidence at Howgill of the old embankment there having been raised several feet higher than the original in the regrading of this line.B Baxter, Early railways in Cumberland'', Journal of the Railway and Canal Historical Society, volume 7, number 6, November 1961 The fortunes of coal and other mineral extraction in the area varied considerably in the following years. There were positive moves at Denton Fell and New Venture, and the company drove several new drifts at Midgeholme, which brought revitalised traffic to that end of the line from 1935; at the same time the Gairs was becoming worked out. From this time transport by lorry instead of by rail started to gain the ascendency for some traffics.Nationalisation
The collieries of Great Britain were nationalised following theNotes
References
{{reflistFurther reading
* Locomotive Magazine, 1903, 1907 and 1908 * Railway Magazine, May 1910 * Stephenson Locomotive Society Journal, August 1956, and November 1958 * John S MacLean, ''The Newcastle & Carlisle Railway'', R Robinson & Co Ltd, 1948External links