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The Seaton Burn Wagonway (originally known as the Brunton and Shields Railway) was from 1826 to 1920 a partially
/ref> Around 1867 the rail track from Seaton Burn to the
The Brunton and Shields Railway had five continuous incline planes worked by stationary engines. The method of drawing goods on railways by means of stationary engines and ropes, called the ''reciprocating plan of conveyance'', was invented and patented by Benjamin Thompson. Only one of the five incline planes was operated by the ''reciprocating plan of conveyance''.James Walker, Robert Stephenson
''Report to the Directors of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway: On the Comparative Merits of Locomotive and Fixed Engines, as a Moving Power.''
Carey & Lea, 1831, p. 79ff. Steam engines were placed at intervals of along the whole line of the railway. Ropes ran on rollers, placed between the rails, from one engine to the other, to draw the waggons forward. When a train of waggons left a station, it took along with it another rope, called the ''tail rope'', which served to bring back the next train which was moving in the contrary direction. The rope which drew the first train then became the ''tail rope'', and was drawn back by the former, which then became the ''head rope''.
The Brunton and Shields Railway had only a single line of rails with a passing place at the engine stations. A speed of 10-12 mph (16–19 km/h) or more could be maintained during the time the carriages were in motion. However, the stoppages in changing ropes and crossing from one way to the other at the engine stations reduced the average speed, as shown in the following table, taken during experiments with a gross load of 31 tons on a windy day:
On three of the incline planes the loaded waggons ran themselves, and the rope was merely used to draw back the empty ones, and on the other the full waggons were drawn up, and the empty ones ran back with the rope. On four of the planes only one rope was used, because the gravity of the waggons dispensed with the other. This mode was highly advantageous, in point of simplicity and economy, when compared with the reciprocating system, where two ropes to each train were required.
Seaton Burn Waggonway (geograph 4397040).jpg, Seaton Burn Waggonway
Waggonway, Seaton Burn (geograph 3762849).jpg, The northern end of Seaton Burn Wagonway
Bridge on the former Seaton Burn Waggonway (geograph 2817331).jpg, Bridge of the wagonway near its northern end crossing the Seaton Burn
horse-drawn
A horse-drawn vehicle is a mechanized piece of equipment pulled by one horse or by a team of horses. These vehicles typically had two or four wheels and were used to carry passengers and/or a load. They were once common worldwide, but they have m ...
and partially rope-operated industrial railway
An industrial railway is a type of railway (usually private) that is not available for public transportation and is used exclusively to serve a particular industrial, logistics, or military site. In regions of the world influenced by British ra ...
with a gauge
Gauge ( or ) may refer to:
Measurement
* Gauge (instrument), any of a variety of measuring instruments
* Gauge (firearms)
* Wire gauge, a measure of the size of a wire
** American wire gauge, a common measure of nonferrous wire diameter, ...
of near Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...
.
History
The Brunton and Shields Railway was constructed by Benjamin Thompson on behalf of the Grand Allies and inaugurated in 1826. It followed a route from east to west via Burradon and Camperdown. Initially it did not serve the Burradon colliery, which operated a separate wagonway. It was constructed in phases starting in 1826 from the colliery in Brunton and being extended in 1837 to the bank of the River Tyne nearWallsend
Wallsend is a town in North Tyneside, England, at the eastern end of Hadrian's Wall. It has a population of 43,842 and lies east of Newcastle upon Tyne.
History Roman Wallsend
In Roman times, this was the site of the fort of Segedunum. This f ...
and North Shields
North Shields () is a town in the Borough of North Tyneside in Tyne and Wear, England. It is north-east of Newcastle upon Tyne and borders nearby Wallsend and Tynemouth.
Since 1974, it has been in the North Tyneside borough of Tyne and Wea ...
. The incline plane
An inclined plane, also known as a ramp, is a flat supporting surface tilted at an angle from the vertical direction, with one end higher than the other, used as an aid for raising or lowering a load. The inclined plane is one of the six clas ...
s were either self-acting like a funicular
A funicular (, , ) is a type of cable railway system that connects points along a railway track laid on a steep slope. The system is characterized by two counterbalanced carriages (also called cars or trains) permanently attached to opposite e ...
, where loaded wagons pulled the empty wagons uphill, or rope-operated like a cable railway
Cable may refer to:
Mechanical
* Nautical cable, an assembly of three or more ropes woven against the weave of the ropes, rendering it virtually waterproof
* Wire rope, a type of rope that consists of several strands of metal wire laid into a he ...
using stationary steam engines.Seaton Burn Wagonway./ref> Around 1867 the rail track from Seaton Burn to the
coal staith
The Keelmen of Tyne and Wear were a group of men who worked on the keels, large boats that carried the coal from the banks of both rivers to the waiting collier ships. Because of the shallowness of both rivers, it was difficult for ships of any sig ...
s at the Tyne was re-gauged to standard gauge so that it could be used by standard gauge colliery wagons. The Killingworth
Killingworth, formerly Killingworth Township, is a town in North Tyneside, England.
Killingworth was built as a planned town in the 1960s, next to Killingworth Village, which existed for centuries before the Township. Other nearby towns an ...
and Dinnington Colleries were connected to the line at the same time. From 1878 its name changed to Seaton Burn Wagonway. Finally, the rail track towards Backworth
Backworth is a village in the metropolitan borough of North Tyneside in the county of Tyne and Wear, England, about west of Whitley Bay on the north east coast. It lies northeast of Newcastle. Other nearby towns include North Shields to the so ...
was built, to provide access to the Blyth and Tyne Railway, which was owned by the North Eastern Railway in the 1920s.
Operation
The Brunton and Shields Railway had five continuous incline planes worked by stationary engines. The method of drawing goods on railways by means of stationary engines and ropes, called the ''reciprocating plan of conveyance'', was invented and patented by Benjamin Thompson. Only one of the five incline planes was operated by the ''reciprocating plan of conveyance''.James Walker, Robert Stephenson''Report to the Directors of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway: On the Comparative Merits of Locomotive and Fixed Engines, as a Moving Power.''
Carey & Lea, 1831, p. 79ff. Steam engines were placed at intervals of along the whole line of the railway. Ropes ran on rollers, placed between the rails, from one engine to the other, to draw the waggons forward. When a train of waggons left a station, it took along with it another rope, called the ''tail rope'', which served to bring back the next train which was moving in the contrary direction. The rope which drew the first train then became the ''tail rope'', and was drawn back by the former, which then became the ''head rope''.
The Brunton and Shields Railway had only a single line of rails with a passing place at the engine stations. A speed of 10-12 mph (16–19 km/h) or more could be maintained during the time the carriages were in motion. However, the stoppages in changing ropes and crossing from one way to the other at the engine stations reduced the average speed, as shown in the following table, taken during experiments with a gross load of 31 tons on a windy day:
On three of the incline planes the loaded waggons ran themselves, and the rope was merely used to draw back the empty ones, and on the other the full waggons were drawn up, and the empty ones ran back with the rope. On four of the planes only one rope was used, because the gravity of the waggons dispensed with the other. This mode was highly advantageous, in point of simplicity and economy, when compared with the reciprocating system, where two ropes to each train were required.
Remains
Further literature
References
{{Coord, 55.06056, -1.63253, display=title Rail transport in Tyne and Wear Defunct railroads