The Kington Tramway was an early

narrow gauge 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 structu ...

horse-drawn tramway A horsecar, horse-drawn tram, horse-drawn streetcar (U.S.), or horse-drawn railway (historical), is an Animal-powered transport, animal-powered (usually horse) tram or streetcar. Summary The horse-drawn tram (horsecar) was an early form of ...

that linked

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

quarries at Burlinjobb near

New Radnor New Radnor ( cy, Maesyfed) is a village in Powys, Wales, to the south of Radnor Forest, and was the county town of Radnorshire. In the 2001 census, the community's population of 410 was split evenly between male and female, in 192 households. ...

Radnorshire , HQ = Presteigne , Government = Radnorshire County Council (1889–1974) Radnorshire District Council (1974–1996) , Origin = , Status = historic county, administrative county , Start ...

, Wales, to

Eardisley Eardisley () is a village and civil parish in Herefordshire about south of the centre of Kington. Eardisley is in the Wye valley in the northwest of the county, close to the border with Wales. The village is part of the "Black and white villa ...

Herefordshire Herefordshire () is a county in the West Midlands of England, governed by Herefordshire Council. It is bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh counties of Monmouthshire ...

, England.

Parliamentary authorisation, construction and opening

The tramway received parliamentary authorisation on 23 May 1818. Construction started immediately and was completed in two sections. The tramway was built to a gauge of . The tramway adopted the use of cast iron L-shaped tramroad plates in its construction. The vertical portions of the two plates were positioned inside the wheels of the tramway wagons and the plates were spiked to stone blocks for stability. The first section from Eardisley to Kington was opened on 1 May 1820. The western section from Kington to quarries at Burlingjobb, east of

opened on 7 August 1820.

Operation of the tramway

For the tramway's opening, an end-on connection was made with the

Hay Railway The Hay Railway was a narrow gauge horse-drawn tramway in the district surrounding Hay-on-Wye in Brecknockshire, Wales. The railway connected Eardisley in Herefordshire, England, with Brecon in Wales. The Brecon terminus was Watton Wharf on the Bre ...

, also a plateway. This co-operative arrangement allowed the through working of wagons, pulled by horses, along a continuous line to wharves on the

Brecknock and Abergavenny Canal The Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal ( cy, Camlas Sir Fynwy a Brycheiniog) is a small network of canals in South Wales. For most of its currently (2018) navigable length it runs through the Brecon Beacons National Park, and its present rural ...

. The tramway was intended solely for the carriage of goods and minerals, and therefore did not carry any passengers.

Merger and subsequent use

The Kington Tramway was acquired by the

Kington and Eardisley Railway The Kington and Eardisley Railway took over the Kington Tramway, which served the Welsh Marches border town of Kington, Herefordshire. In 1874 it opened a line south from Titley Junction to a junction with the Hereford, Hay and Brecon Railw ...

in 1862. The new company used much of the line of the tramway to build its

standard-gauge railway A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), International gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge and European gauge in Europe, and SGR in Ea ...

, utilising normal rails and steam locomotives, between Eardisley and Kington.

References

;Notes ;Bibliography * * {{Historical Welsh railway companies Pre-grouping British railway companies Early British railway companies Rail transport in Herefordshire Rail transport in Powys 3 ft 6 in gauge railways in England 3 ft 6 in gauge railways in Wales Railway companies established in 1818 Railway lines opened in 1820 Railway companies disestablished in 1862 Horse-drawn railways 1818 establishments in England British companies established in 1818 Kington, Herefordshire