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Harlaxton Quarries Railway

The Harlaxton ironstone quarries were the last to be developed for the extraction of ironstone from the long escarpment which stretches from near Melton Mowbray right through to Scunthorpe. An agreement was reached between the Stanton Ironworks Company and Mr Pearson-Gregory of Harlaxton Manor in 1922, extraction not to commence before 1932, but at that stage nothing happened. This was also the case with a further lease with the Welby Estate which covered (as far as the Harlaxton system was concerned) areas near Stroxton.
The onset of the Second World War brought matters to a head and construction of the line began in 1940. The major problem was the steepness of the escarpment which had to be surmounted to reach the extraction areas. This was achieved by creating a reversing point at Swine Hill, allowing the hill to be climbed in two stages. The average gradient of the climb was around 1 in 40, with the steepest section as much as 1 in 20, close to the adhesion limit for steam locomotive operation.
The line started at a junction with the existing LNER Denton branch near Casthorpe Road. It ran roughly south-east past the east of Denton Village before passing under the A 607. It then curved east to the reversing point at Swine Hill. From here it started off roughly south west, curving steeply up the hillside before reaching the centre of operations close to Gorse Lane. Here were located the quarry workshops as well as a locomotive shed and sidings where wagons from the quarry faces could be made up into trains to be taken down to the main railway system. From here lines ran off into the various quarries, the network changing as areas were first opened up and then subsequently closed.
Rationalisation of the steel industry reduced demand for home-produced ores, and the end was clear when it was announced that Stanton Ironworks, which had taken output from the beginning, would close their ironmaking plant in March 1974. However, due a coal-miners' strike, production ceased earlier than anticipated and the last loaded train ran on 14 February 1974. The track was removed during the ensuing months, although the only section of trackbed that was restored to agricultural use was that adjacent to the Swine Hill reversing point.
This however was not the end. A private contractor obtained a contract to supply the British Steel Corporation with ore from the area and looked to reopen the No.4 (Hungerton) Quarry, close to the top of the main line. It was considered impracticable to re-lay the railway, the decision being made to use lorries to carry the ore from the quarries over the line of the railway to a tippler point close to Casthorpe Road. However, to make best use of this mode, the long detour to Swine Hill was eliminated and a new, steeper, section of road was built cutting off this section. The operation never came up to expectation and lasted only for less than 12 months between April 1976 and March 1977.
Nevertheless, the trackbed was clearly useful to local farmers and has remained in use for field access to this day. As a result the line of the railway is still very clear - both on 1:25000 maps and on the ground - and can be seen at a number of points where it crosses public roads and footpaths. It is not a right of way, although it does appear to be used by local walkers.
The most obvious relics still readily visible are the bridge under the A607 between Denton and Harlaxton (the farm track still passes under this) and the bridge under Gorse Lane. The parapets of this are still visible at the roadside, although the bridge has been filled in. At Swine Hill the stone-built buffer stop at the end of the reversing loop is still visible from the road, although now heavily overgrown with woodland.
Many of the details of the railway are taken from the publication: The Ironstone Quarries Of The Midlands, by Eric Tonks, Part 8, South Lincolnshire ISBN 978-1-907094-07-1
by Alan Murray-Rust

Created: Thu, 15 Aug 2013, Updated: Mon, 7 Nov 2016


27 images use this description. Preview sample shown below:

SK8731 : Trackbed of the Harlaxton ironstone railway by John Sutton
SK8633 : Harlaxton ironstone railway: the site of Casthorpe Sidings by John Sutton
SK8732 : Trackbed of the Harlaxton ironstone railway by John Sutton
SK8832 : Harlaxton ironstone railway: reversing point at Swine Hill by John Sutton
SK8732 : Route of the Harlaxton ironstone railway by John Sutton
SK8831 : Former ironstone quarry by John Sutton
SK8732 : Trackbed of the Harlaxton ironstone railway by John Sutton
SK8730 : Tollbar Plantation by Alan Murray-Rust
SK8730 : Lane to Welby Hill Top Farm by Alan Murray-Rust
SK8732 : Harlaxton Quarries railway trackbed by Alan Murray-Rust
SK8831 : Former ironstone quarry by John Sutton
SK8633 : Route of the Harlaxton ironstone railway west of Casthorpe Road by John Sutton
SK8730 : Bridge parapet by Alan Murray-Rust
SK8732 : Trackbed of the Harlaxton ironstone railway by John Sutton
SK8731 : Route of the Harlaxton ironstone railway by John Sutton
SK8831 : Field gateway on Swine Hill by Alan Murray-Rust
SK8633 : Harlaxton Quarries railway trackbed by Alan Murray-Rust
SK8732 : Harlaxton Quarries railway trackbed by Alan Murray-Rust
SK8832 : Harlaxton ironstone railway: reversing point at Swine Hill by John Sutton
SK8732 : Harlaxton ironstone railway: former quarry and the climb to Swine Hill by John Sutton
SK8730 : Harlaxton ironstone railway: Gorse Lane bridge parapet by John Sutton
SK8732 : Nether Lane by Alan Murray-Rust
SK8831 : Former ironstone quarry by John Sutton
SK8732 : Harlaxton ironstone railway: former trackbed and bridge under the A607 by John Sutton
SK8831 : Footpath to Harlaxton by Alan Murray-Rust

... and 2 more images.

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