Threlkeld Quarry & Mining Museum - train and navvy (geograph 4585364)

The Threlkeld Quarry and Mining Museum is located in

Threlkeld Threlkeld is a village and civil parish in the north of the Lake District in Cumbria, England, to the east of Keswick. It lies at the southern foot of Blencathra, one of the more prominent fells in the northern Lake District, and to the nort ...

east of Keswick, in the heart of the Lake District in

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. C ...

. It is suited for families, school classes, and enthusiasts. It includes a quarry with a unique collection of historic machinery, such as locomotives and cranes, an underground tour of a realistic mine, a comprehensive geological and mining museum, and mineral panning.

Quarry

Threlkeld Quarry originally opened in 1870 to supply railway ballast to the Penrith-Keswick line. Later, the stone was used by the

Manchester Corporation Water Works Manchester City Council is the local authority for Manchester, a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. Manchester is the sixth largest city in England by population. Its city council is composed of 96 councillors, three f ...

for their

Thirlmere Thirlmere is a reservoir in the Borough of Allerdale in Cumbria and the English Lake District. The Helvellyn ridge lies to the east of Thirlmere. To the west of Thirlmere are a number of fells; for instance, Armboth Fell and Raven Crag both ...

scheme, for railway ballast for the Crewe-Carlisle line, for roadstone, kerbing, and for facing buildings with dressed stone. The granite quarry finally closed in 1982 and is now the site for the Threlkeld Quarry & Mining Museum which is operated by staff and volunteers.

Railway

Threlkeld quarry - off the rails (geograph 4585267)

''Sir Tom''

The steam locomotive 'Sir Tom' was built by W.G. Bagnall of Stafford in 1926 and named after Sir Tom Callender of

British Insulated Callender's Cables British Insulated Callender's Cables (BICC) was a 20th-century British cable manufacturer and construction company, now renamed after its former subsidiary Balfour Beatty. It was formed from the merger of two long established cable firms, Callen ...

(BICC). This 0-4-0 saddle tank narrow gauge locomotive worked at BICC in

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

until 1968. After being idle for thirty-three years, it arrived at Threlkeld in 2001, and since then has been completely overhauled. Sir Tom was rebuilt and is driven by Ian Hartland. The locomotive completed the first full season of work at Threlkeld Quarry and Mining Museum in 2010. Sir Tom is mainly used to haul passenger trains from the middle quarry into the inner quarry. Diesel locomotive, Threlkeld Quarry & Mining Museum (geograph 3474733)

Museum

The museum has been in operation for more than ten years, and the site continues to expand through the dedication of the staff and volunteers. The museum is open 6 days a week (closed Mondays) from Easter to October.Threlkeld Quarry & Mining Museum.
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Open-air exhibition

Threlkeld Quarry & Mine Museum - passenger train (geograph 4586753).jpg, Visiting

Hudswell Clarke Hudswell, Clarke and Company Limited was an engineering and locomotive building company in Jack Lane, Hunslet, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. History The company was founded as Hudswell and Clarke in 1860. In 1870 the name was changed to Hud ...

steam locomotive Threlkeld Quarry & Mining Museum - recreated quarry scene (geograph 4585820).jpg, Steam-powered quarrying Ruston Bucyrus 10-RB Pile driver (7080491839).jpg, Ruston pile driver Aveling Barford dump truck.jpg, Aveling-Barford dump truck Rusting Locomotive, Threlkeld Quarry and Mining Museum (geograph 3932401).jpg, Avonside Steam locomotive

References

External links

www.threlkeldquarryandminingmuseum.co.ukwww.tqrm.org.uk
{{Coord, 54.6130789, -3.0470752, display=title Keswick, Cumbria Mining museums in England Museums in Cumbria 2 ft gauge railways in England