British industrial narrow-gauge railways are

narrow-gauge railway A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller struct ...

s in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

and the

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that were primarily built to serve one or more industries. Some offered passenger services for employees or workmen, but they did not run public passenger trains. They are categorized by the primary industry they served.

Quarrying and mining

Heavy industry

Engineering works

Power generation

Power stations were some of the last regular users of industrial steam locomotives in the United Kingdom, although most of these were standard gauge. However, several power generation facilities used narrow-gauge railways.

Refineries

Steel works

File:Statfold Barn Railway - diesel locomotive (geograph 3911882).jpg, Preserved Shotton steelworks locomotive

Zinc smelting

Construction industry

Contractor depots

Many construction contractors maintained depots that included narrow-gauge equipment in store and under repair. While some of these were temporary locations and often unrecorded, others were long term yards with extensive stock and facilities.

Tunnelling

Many narrow-gauge lines were employed for short-term tunnelling contracts. Most of these are unrecorded, so this list represents only a few of the many such lines. File:Lochaber bridge15.jpg, Lochaber Railway

City construction

During the garden city construction boom, several new towns and cities were built using narrow-gauge railways

Land reclamation and river maintenance

Temporary and semi-permanent narrow-gauge railways were often used during land reclamation schemes

Reservoir construction

Many reservoirs constructed before the Second World War employed narrow-gauge railways to move equipment and materials.

Power station construction

Road construction

Other construction

General

Water treatment and sewage works

Gas works

General freight

Forestry

Railway works

Other industries

File:WotoAlanKeef.jpeg, Woto, ex-BICC Belvedere, converted to gauge and preserved at Alan Keef File:Leader awaiting to depart.jpg, ex-Bowaters Railway locomotive Leader, preserved on the

Sittingbourne and Kemsley Light Railway The Sittingbourne and Kemsley Light Railway in Kent is a Narrow gauge railway, narrow gauge heritage railway that operates from Sittingbourne to the banks of The Swale. The line was developed as an industrial railway by paper maker Frank Lloyd ...

File:Tramway Bridge over the Allt Leachdach - geograph.org.uk - 748973.jpg, The Lochaber Railway File:Empty train (13267815214).jpg, London Post Office Railway

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * {{Tonks ironstone , part=4 * ''Narrow Gauge News'', the journal of the Narrow Gauge Railway Society

External links

Narrow Gauge Railway Society

Industrial Railway Society
Industrial railways in the United Kingdom