Harrogate Gas Works Railway – from the archive

Archive article from a 1969 issue of The Railway Magazine. This detailed account describes the Harrogate gas works railway, its construction, locomotives, operation and eventual closure. It includes technical specifications, gradients, rolling stock and historical context drawn from contemporary sources.

Harrogate gas works railway, built because of road maintenance charges, eventually succumbed to cheaper road transport

WHEN the gas works at Harrogate was first built in 1846, output was small and thus the coal required was easily transported by horse and cart from the Leeds & Thirsk Railway sidings at Starbeck, about three miles distant. This method became unsuitable, however, when gas requirements grew larger, and in 1880 the gas company decided to change to transporting the coal in trains of seven-ton carts, hauled by traction engines. These travelled on a shorter route, for the company had, in conjunction with the North Eastern Railway, laid down sidings at Bilton Junction, meeting-point of the lines from Harrogate and Starbeck to Northallerton. This was undoubtedly an improvement on the previous method, but because of their weight and solid wheels, the traction engines damaged the roads and the company found itself responsible for maintenance. This was most uneconomic, as between the commencement of this traffic and the opening of the railway, more than £6,500 was paid to the local authority.

It became obvious that a positive solution to the transport problem would have to be found, and the gas company considered various schemes. The cost and capital loss involved in transferring the works to Bilton were prohibitive, as was the cost of building a standard-gauge branch line from Bilton to the gas works. In 1902, the N.E.R. was approached by both the gas company and Harrogate Corporation, which was interested in coal for its electricity works, to assist in the construction of a standard-gauge line, but the railway was not willing to co-operate sufficiently.

Narrow Gauge Proposal

Finally, in 1904, the directors were invited by the corporation to inspect its seven mile-long, 2 ft.-gauge light railway which ran from Masham to the site of Roundhill reservoir, then under construction. They were so favourably impressed by the running and overall efficiency of this line that the engineer, Mr. Edward Wilson Dixon, M.Inst.C.E., was asked to prepare plans for a 2 ft.-gauge line from Bilton Siding to the gas works. These plans were completed by mid-1906, and after thorough examination, tenders were invited in early 1907 for the construction of the line. The tenders received were considered at the Board meeting of March 26, and that of Holme & King of Liverpool was accepted subject to the shareholders consenting to raise capital and construct the railway.

Provisional orders were then placed for the locomotive and rolling stock required. The order for the locomotive was to have gone to Peckett & Son, of Bristol, but that firm refused to deliver direct to the gas works at New Park. The order was then withdrawn, and placed with T. Green & Sons, of Leeds. Seven hopper wagons, each of 6 tons capacity, were ordered from Arthur Koppel Limited, but this was later amended to six of ten tons capacity, along with two tank wagons.

Construction was authorised at the Board meeting of April 8, 1907, when it was announced that the line would be designed to accommodate a yearly traffic of 10,000 tons. The total outlay would be around £20,000, and construction was expected to take between fifteen and eighteen months.

Construction and Opening

Work began on sinking a shaft 53½ ft. deep on April 25 to enable construction of the tunnel to commence. The rest of the line was not begun until after the cutting of the first sod on May 7, 1907. This ceremony took place in a field near the site of Knox Lane bridge, where a number of local dignitaries, including the Mayor and Town Clerk, were present. Mr. F. Barber, the gas company chairman, cut the first sod with a silver spade which had been made specially for the occasion, and which was presented to him by the engineer of the line, Mr. E. W. Dixon. After prayers led by the Vicar of Bilton, and a speech by Col. Holme of the contractors, the party walked over the site of the tunnel to Skipton Road, whence they travelled to the George Hotel where luncheon was served.

Certain delays were experienced because of bad weather conditions, but in early 1908 the new locomotive Barber arrived, and along with a wooden hopper wagon assisted in the construction of the line. This was far enough advanced by July, 1908, to permit the abandonment of coal transport by road, and the gas company had full possession of the line by November of the same year.

Locomotive Barber

It had been decided at the Board meeting of January 14, 1908, to name the locomotive Barber as “a compliment to the Chairman and his respected father, who had a deep interest in railway scheme”. Barber was painted green, with red buffer beams and underframe. An 0-6-2 saddle-tank with 2 ft. 6 in.-dia. driving wheels and 1 ft. 6 in.-dia. trailing wheels, it was 20 ft. 10 in. long over buffers and weighed 19 tons empty. Stephenson valve gear was fitted, the outside cylinders were 10 in. dia. by 16 in. stroke, and the boiler pressure was 155 lb per sq. in. The coal bunker held half a ton, water capacity was 350 gal. and the tractive effort was 7,000 lb.

Gradients and Track

Leaving Bilton, the line descended sharply at first, at 1 in 22, and then more gently alongside Willow Wood, a small copse. There then followed a short level across a stone culvert over a stream, and the line which led to the Harrogate Corporation sewage works. Next came a steep climb at 1 in 37 past the local allotments, levelling out slightly, but soon steepening further through the meadows near Oak Beck to 1 in 23 at first past the loop and then to a gruelling 1 in 21½ on a 3½ ch. radius curve up to the 72-ft. plate girder-bridge over Old Through (later Knox) lane.

A short cutting with the rock strata jutting through the grassy banks led to the imposing tunnel mouth, made from concrete with a stone capping. It was originally proposed to make the whole facing from stone, but concrete was substituted. Inside the tunnel there was a short level stretch, followed by a gentle downgrade at 1 in 15½ and 1 in 440, until the gradient changed under the air shaft to uphill at 1 in 200 and 1 in 484 around S-bend. The tunnel was 9 ft. high and 8 ft. wide, and lined with concrete throughout, except where it passed under Skipton Road, where it was reinforced with a 9 in.-thick arch of bricks.

Rolling Stock and Operation

Out in the open there was a short, sharp stretch at 1 in 22.6 into the gas works yard. Passing the weighbridge and the three-compartment tank which was used for tar, liquor, and water for the locomotive, the tracks curved round to terminate in the four-bay coal store, which had a total capacity of 6,000 tons.

The line was laid with 40 lb. per yd. flat-bottom rail spiked to wooden sleepers, and ballasted with clinkers. For the whole of its length it ran unfenced, and where it passed from one field to another, cattle guards were provided which consisted of a number of triangular-section wooden beams laid on the same level as the track and at 90 deg. to it. Following an accident which took place on one of these in 1915, however, an alternative method of preventing cattle from straying was sought. This took the form of a wooden bar which had to be opened and shut by the crew when the train passed, but the method was time-consuming and the final form of guard was a concrete pit, 3 ft. 6 in. deep and 10 ft. wide, over which the line was laid on two 14 in. x 6 in. R.S.Js. These were most effective and no trouble was experienced with them.

Later Locomotives and Closure

When the line first opened it was only necessary to work two or three days per week, but as the demand for gas increased, pressure on the line became greater, and it was finally decided in 1919 to purchase another locomotive. At this time the War Office had for sale extensive stocks of new and used 60 cm.-gauge locomotives, which had been built for use on the Western Front. One of these, W.D. No. 3224 (Hunslet No. 1340, outshopped February, 1919), was bought, and returned to the makers for modifications. These consisted of re-gauging to 2 ft., lowering the chimney, and fitting a new top half to the cab to give an overall height of 7 ft. 11½ in. from rail level. The cab floor was lowered between the frames to give 6½ in. extra headroom. The safety valves and whistle were replaced on the leading side of the dome, new centre-buffer couplings were fitted, and the W.D. number plates were replaced by new nameplates Spencer. Despatched from Hunslet in February 1920, Spencer was named after the vice-chairman of the gas company at time, and was painted black. A 4-6-0 side-tank with Walschaerts valve gear, the driving wheels were 2 ft. and bogie wheels 1 ft. 6½ in. diameter. The working pressure was 160 lb. per sq. in., 15 cwt. of coal were carried, and the water tanks held 375 gal. The two outside cylinders measured 9½ in. dia. x 12 in. stroke, and tractive effort was 5,415 lb.

Performance of Spencer

When Spencer arrived it was discovered that it was unable to haul trains up the 1 in 21½ incline to Knox Lane bridge, and thus plans were prepared by the Gas Engineer, Mr. F. H. Robinson, for the line to be diverted. The new section was on a gradient of 1 in 23, and was opened in 1921. At the same time the passing loop, which had been at the bottom of the incline, was resited at the New Park side of the bridge, where the line was level.

Even after these improvements to the gradient, Spencer never performed as well as Barber, mainly because it was too light, and tended to slip. Also, whereas the fire on Barber only needed to be made once a day, that of Spencer was stoked with ash and clinker by midday that it had to be made up twice. The only fuel it steamed freely on, and which did not need the fire making up twice, was foreign briquette coal which was imported in 1926 during the General Strike, but unfortunately no further supplies were obtained.

Rolling stock consisted of six Tinnerbrow steel hopper wagons of 4 tons tare and 10 tons capacity, riding on two four-wheel bogies, two tank wagons of 5 tons capacity for tar and ammoniacal liquor, and a home-built hopper wagon which had assisted in the construction. This was latterly used for locomotive coal transport and storage, and was notable in that it had two wheels at one end and a four-wheel bogie at the other. A four-wheeled wooden platelayers trolley was also used.

Wartime Changes and Replacement

By the beginning of the second world war, the condition of the hopper wagons had deteriorated so much that it was necessary to replace them, and new ones were supplied by Hudson & Company. At the same time, new rectangular tar tanks were supplied by the same firm (the previous ones had been cylindrical). It was also about this time (circa 1941) that all the centre-buffer couplings on locomotives and stock were replaced by those of the “buckeye” type.

With increasing pressure of work and wartime maintenance economies, both locomotives were nearing the end of their working lives, and in 1943 a replacement for Spencer was ordered from Peckett & Sons. The new engine, a squat 0-6-0 saddle-tank, works No. 2050, was despatched on February 22, 1944. It was painted black, and lettered “Harrogate Gas Company” along the tank sides. The cylinders were 9½ in. dia. by 14 in. stroke and the driving wheels were 2 ft. 3½ in. dia. Boiler pressure was 200 lb. per sq. in., the total frame length 19 ft. 3 in. and height from rail level was 7 ft. 10½ in. A Wakefield 10-feed mechanical lubricator was fitted. The tractive effort was 7,810 lb.

Some trouble was experienced at first as the locomotive had no bogie and became derailed on the sharper curves, because it forced the rails out of gauge. This was overcome by strengthening the track with steel ties fastened under the rails. Apart from this minor fault, the new engine was a complete success and performed well.

Withdrawn from service when the Peckett arrived, Spencer remained in the yard at New Park until cut up and sold for scrap in 1946. By this time, however, Barber was in poor mechanical condition and it was decided to order a replacement. Because of the post-war economic situation, the order, which was placed with the Drewry Company for an 0-6-0 diesel, was not fulfilled until 1949.

Drewry Diesel

Drewry No. 2262 weighed 12 tons in working trim, and had a Gardner 6LW four-stroke engine which drove the six-coupled 2 ft.-dia. wheels through a Wilson four-speed epicyclic gear box, fluid flywheel and final drive of a jack-shaft and connecting rods. Electric starting and pneumatic brakes, sanding, and whistle were provided. The tractive effort in first gear (3½ m.p.h.) was 8,300 lb.

After standing for some time in New Park yard, looking a little tired but nonetheless of 40 years service, Barber was eventually restored in Leeds under the auspices of the Narrow Gauge Railway Society, and presented to Leeds City Museum, by which she was placed in store.

Traffic and Output

The amount of coal carried increased steadily over the years, from some 38,000 tons in 1924, a record 51,500 tons in 1940, and 40,000 tons in 1953 (that year, however, 28,000 tons also came by road). By this time gas output was six times that of 1908, and even with a seven-day week and overtime the demand for coal for the works could not be met. The introduction of diesel lorries to carry the excess traffic revealed that this method was 25-33 per cent. more economical, even for liquids. To have kept the line in service would have necessitated extensive track renewals with heavier rail and mechanisation of Bilton sidings. Even then the main-line sidings would have been inadequate.

In September, 1955, it was decided to close the line, and the last coal train ran in July, 1956. Tar and ammoniacal liquor were carried until October, when arrangements for road transport were finalised. Demolition commenced on November 10, 1956, and was carried out by W. Grace & Son of Odhams. The Drewry hauled the materials to New Park, and was then sold, along with the rails and the Peckett 0-6-0, to the demolition contractors. They, in turn, sold both locomotives.

The Peckett was purchased by the Festiniog Railway Company, and travelled from Harrogate to Portmadoc by road. It is still in store at Portmadoc, however, and has not yet been rebuilt to 1 ft. 11½ in. gauge. The Drewry was sold to W. G. Bagnall of Stafford on March 20, 1958, and was then resold for shipment to Johannesburg, being finally purchased there by Rhodesia Chrome Limited, of Selukwe, Rhodesia. This company rebuilt it with a larger cab and put it into service hauling trains of chromium ore about the mine for processing. It is still active in this capacity. Land over which the railway passed was disposed of soon after the rails were taken up, with the exception of the area at Bilton sidings and New Park yard. Some of the land at Bilton was sold for use as a pig sty in 1958, and the New Park site has now been developed for light industry. The fate of the bridge over Knox Lane was sealed by maintenance charges, and it was taken down in early 1957.

The course of the line can clearly be seen in most places, although several fences cross the trackbed and those cattle guards which have not been filled in are blocked up with barbed wire. The tunnel ends are walled up, and the air shaft was sealed during road building operations.

In conclusion the author would like to acknowledge the help given by the North Eastern Gas Board, in particular the Group General Manager, Mr. N. C. Struck, and Mr. N. A. Walker, formerly Group Sales Manager; Mr. H. Potter, who drove Spencer for many years, and whose father was the first driver of Barber.

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