R.o.B Miniature Railways
The Saltburn Miniature Railway
Including:
The SDR Saltburn Branch
The
The Blakesley Hall Railway
Saltburn Cliff Tramway
Saltburn-by-sea to give it its full title is a Victorian seaside town in what was formerly
For visitors to get to the sea front from the town which is high up on the tops of the cliffs a vertical lift was built though when this was found to be decidedly unsafe it was replaced by a Funicular tramway built on the cliff face. In 1868 a foot bridge named the 'Half Penny' bridge was built across Skelton Beck valley for people to gain access to country walks around Skelton. It had been built in 1868 to allow visitors to cross the steep sided valley without having to go down to sea level to climb back up the other side. The entrance to the bridge at the Saltburn end was opposite the Zetland hotel which was a thinly disguised subsidiary of the SDR the hotel having its own platform at the rear served by the trains from the main line. It is believed that the Zetland was the first railway hotel in the world to have its own platform. Trains arriving at Saltburn would uncouple the front carriage allowing the locomotive to draw forward to the hotel platform 50 yards beyond the main station. This was also a good way to remove linen for the laundry and receive deliveries without offending the eyes of the affluent guests. The Half Penny bridge was of iron girder construction in the same style as the railway bridges that were built for the line from Saltburn to
The Half penny bridge over the valley about 1950
The gardens were so popular after World War 2 that a Gentleman from Bishop Auckland in South west
No.7 the SMR's first engine
1947 saw owner of the Saltburn Miniature Railway purchase another locomotive, this time in the form of a 4-4-4T named 'Blacolvesley' which had been built by Bassett-Lowke of Northampton in 1909 and is believed to be their first and only attempt at building an internal combustion locomotive with a steam outline, their being more famous for their to scale steam locomotives used on many Miniature Railways such as the Ravenglass and Eskdale and Romney Hythe and Dymchurch railways. The engine had started life at the Blakesley Hall miniature railway before its move to Saltburn. THE BLAKESLEY HALL RAILWAY was sited in the grounds of the house of that name near Towcester in Northamptonshire, the line having been built in 1903 by the halls owner Mr C W Bartholomew. The 15" gauge line ran through the grounds as far as the East and West Junction railway's Blakesley station on the Stratford upon Avon to Blisworth Junction, the line later becoming the Stratford upon Avon and Midland Junction Railway, later part of the LMS, was laid to facilitate the movement of coal and other supplies to the house. As No.7 was becoming in need of repair the new engine renamed '
'Elizabeth' at Cat Nab
Picture Courtesy of Dewi Williams website
In 1948 the line was extended closer to the sea and the main road which separates the gardens from the beach and sea front. To create a better journey a large loop was also formed at the Half Penny Bridge end seeing the line do a 360 degree turn to bring the train back on to the straight to 'Cat Nab' the name given to the sea end station. The actual name 'Cat Nab' is used to describe the large hill or mound next to the back and on the side of the valley, it once had a burial mound on the top but this has now long gone with thousands of people having climbed the hill over the years. The new terminus at 'Cat Nab' had a turntable and engine release road installed along with a signal gantry that was largely ornamental but at least two of the signals were capable of being operated from miniature levers within the booking office. The railway was sited between the boating lake and the footpath leading to the gardens the path hugging the side of the valley wall, the station being accessed directly from the footpath. With a Midland Railway type, four wheeled goods brake with working hand brake introduced and added to the rake of two coaches at the same time. In 1949 a local councillor purchased the little railway and he promptly arranged for a bridge to be constructed over the beck at the
Prince Charles at Forest Halt
Picture Courtesy of the SMR
By 1953 '
Blacovesley (Nee Elizabeth) in original livery at the Ravenglass and Eskdale railway
Picture courtesy of Mr B Tebb
In 1974 the ownership of the railway was sold to Cleveland Transit who was the local council department for transport. They made several changes to the line including moving the Cat Nab terminus and track as far as the engine shed closer to the valley wall. However a landslide occurred resulting in the line cut back to the engine shed a new platform being built to form the terminus a loop being provided to allow the release of the engine from its train, this new station was called Bridge Halt after the nearby foot bridge over the beck. Another change was to 'Prince Charles' which was converted to diesel electric along with the fitting of air brakes instead of Vacuum. The council were not overly happy with the expenditure the line needed and had indeed taken to keep it in a condition suitable for the HMRI who had been granted authority over 15" gauge railways where before this size gauge had been considered more of a model gauge. With the introduction of holidays abroad for reasonably cheap prices, people were soon flooding away from Britain for holidays rather than visiting resorts such as Saltburn, though it was a regular treat for the poorer families to go to the sea side in the summer for the day though Redcar was considered much more youthful as it had arcades etc. The line never regained its early popularity and over the year's interest declined. The line was put out to contract but unfortunately even with the enthusiasm of the contractor the line was unable to revive. The line eventually closed and lay derelict for sometime the track remained in situ the engine and coaches put in to storage. In 1983 a public meeting was called by interested parties in the little railway and the council stated that should restoration go ahead no public money could be spent on the line. Despite this the Saltburn Miniature Railway association was born and started raising money to re-lay the track and have 'Prince Charles' and the carriages restored the intention of the society being the re-opening of the line and operating it at Easter and summer school holiday's. One expensive problem was that the former railway bridge over the beck that was regularly used as a footpath was washed away in a flood and needed to be rebuilt.
Skelton Beck looking towards the original Cat Nab Halt (Left centre)
In 1984 after the relevant permissions by the local council and the ministry were granted, the reconstruction of the line commenced. By 1987 the line was in a ready state for inspection by the HMRI. The Loco and rolling stock had returned from refurbishment and were also ready for inspection. The inspector pointed out 12 points that needed to be corrected before the line could open to passengers and on
'George Outhwaite' outside new shed
The line continued to give rides to the public along its length until the November of 2000 when severe flooding struck the north east and the area around Saltburn. The valley was badly hit with high water swallowing the railway bridge over the beck and it is believed that the water actually reached the top of the railings about four feet high! The result when the floods subsided was that much of the little railway had much of its foundations washed away due to its location in the valley flood plain. Strangely enough the track itself appears to have mostly remained in situ and where the bridge was the track hung suspended in the air over the beck. Perhaps in a strange twist of fate the local council had already asked the society if they would move the railway to a new point on the opposite bank f the river with a new Cat Nab station near the foot of the hill of that name and by the local car park. With the proposed move, a new engine shed, station and ticket-office would be built to cater for the railway, funded by a lottery grant the building costs taken up by the council. Though I am sure that there was some debate at the time the floods must have helped finalise the decision as a good one and the laying of the new line started in earnest from 2001 work having already started in the September of 2000 with the demolition of the Bridge Halt platform that was still in place.
Looking across the beck at the old engine shed and site of Bridge Halt
The move saw the old track taken up in panel sections where possible, so that there would be the minimum of work in relaying on the new alignment. The new track bed had already been prepared by a JCB digger so it was just a matter of laying the track on to a shallow layer of ballast, where it would eventually be re-aligned and gauge checked before the final ballast filler that would hold it all in place was added. As there was no rolling stock or machinery to transport ballast, sleepers or equipment it must have been a hard task transporting the materials using wheelbarrows. However by 2001 all the new track was in situ allowing it time to settle and bed down in to the new ballast, the track having been moved by the JCB hauling a flat wagon. Unlike the original line a fence had to be built along the whole route to meet current railway operation standards, the original line classed as Open access meaning it did not require fencing. In December 2001 the movement of the Locomotives and rolling stock was carried out by a tractor pulling the flat bed truck and to put the vehicles on the flatbed ramps had to be made out of old track and sleepers to gain the required height. As the old track had all been lifted the carriages were taken directly out of the old engine shed which still had its two roads in place. A similar ramp was situated at the new shed for unloading. For the Engines to be moved it was necessary to use a fork lift truck to lift them on to the flat bed.
Effie with a full train at the New Cat Nab station, Cat nab is to the left of centre
Picture courtesy of Mr C Gatenby
In 2002 the new line had settled and a lot of jacking and packing (Re-ballasting and levelling) had to take place to get the running rails level including the installation of point work for the shed and the two termini. The new Cat Nab station (sea front terminus) was also built. As the line progressed it became possible for the use of the 0-4-0T 'George Outhwaite' to work engineering trains shunting equipment along the line rather than the previous carrying by hand or wheel barrow methods. By the summer of 2002 the line was ready for traffic, all that was necessary was the HSE (Health and safety executive) inspection and operating licence to be granted before people could be carried though the only problem was the arrival of the inspector due to their busy schedule not allowing the line to be inspected until early 2003 though the time was not wasted with many further improvements carried out including the re-painting of 'George Outhwaite' especially for the re-opening of the line. After the flooding wrecked the original line it took 2 1/2 years to get the it up and running with a new section from the sea front to a point where the line once crossed the river by means of a bridge and then joining the original route from there to its terminus, the line reopened to traffic on Easter Sunday 2003 and since then the line has continued to give good service along the small valley from the sea front to the Italian gardens refusing to die and now continues its tradition of giving rides first started in 1947!!
Do go and visit if you are ever in the area as this little line is one of those lines that demonstrates' what a group of volunteers can do. A big thank you to Colin Gatenby for his help and information for this R.o.B article.