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So, last week I told you about my doorstep, or more accurately my Father's doorstep. I have since spoken to my Father, 93 years young, and he corrected a couple of minor mistakes - but not to worry - the tale is in the telling.Now running through my Father's back yard was the bed of the West Somerset Mineral Railway. Now it seems like I write a lot of diaries about railways, but I am not a railway fanatic (we call them anoraks). It is simply that as an economist I am fascinated by the industrial revolution, which was made possible by the combination of steam power and iron and steel, both of which were interdependent.
In the mid 1800's, the Iron and Steel industry was surging in the South Wales coal fields, and while the coal resources seemed limitless, the iron ore soon was mined out. The Ebbw Vale steel works ( which in the 1930's would be the biggest in the world - suck on that Thyssen and Krupp) needed more iron ore. This iron ore could be found in the Brendon Hills, across the Bristol channel about 50 miles away as the crow flies. The only problem was the mines were on top of some hills around 1000 feet above sea level, and there was a sizeable piece of water between the hills and South Wales.
The solution was to build the West Somerset Mineral Railway, which was composed of three sections. The first section basically followed the route of the Washford River through Old Cleeve and Roadwater. ( I used to fish for trout in this river as it ran through my Grandparents back garden - the biggest I ever caught was maybe 8 inches long and I was so proud!!!)
The second section was the incline. In order to get to the mines on the hill, a method of climbing a 800 feet vertical drop on a 1 in 4 gradient had to be devised.The solution was to make a level incline, and construct a system based on funiculaires. As a carriage was hauled up the incline another would be lowered, and a chain would link the two, and this means that the energy required was only the weight difference between the two loads.
As in general usage the wagons going down were full of iron ore, and the wagons going up were empty, this system required brakes more than power. However the winding house had a stationary steam engine to assist when for example passenger cars were brought up the incline.
The third section was a couple of spurs across the hilltops to some villages.
The railway operated from 1861 to 1898, with a 3 year attempt to operate it in the early 1900's.
In a bizarre connection, the railway ran through my Father's backyard in Roadwater to Washford where it's cargo was loaded onto ships that transported it to Newport, where my Father now lives.
So for those interested here is a video.