VOLUME XXVII No. 7 MARCH 1983

VOLUME XXVII No. 7 MARCH 1983 THE RAILWAY & CANAL HISTORICAL SOCIETY Founded 1954 Incorporated 1967 PRESIDENT: H. W. Paar

VICE-PRESIDENTS: Prof. T. C. Barker, Charles Hadfield, Geoffrey Holt, Charles E. Lee, P. G. Rattenbury, Jeoffry Spence CHAIRMAN (Managing Committee): Grahame Boyes HON. SECRETARY HON. TREASURER HON. EDITOR Mark P. Bertinat Peter R. Davis J. V. Gough 20 Neston Drive, 103 North Street, 12 Victoria Gardens Chester Hornchurch, 195 London Road CH2 2HR Essex Leicester RMII 1ST LE2 IZH

MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY: R. J. Taylor, 64 Grove Avenue, Hanwell, London W7 3ES LOCAL GROUP SECRETARIES London R. H. G. Thomas, 174 Markfield, Courtwood Lane, Addington CR0 9HQ North Western — I. P. Moss (Ag.) 5 Oakdene Gdns., Marple, Stockport SK6 6PN North Eastern — S. Tyson, Westwood, 27 Carr Lane, Acomb, York YO2 5HT West Midlands — Miss M. Cooling, 9 Berberry Close, Birmingham B30 1TB East Midlands — F. W. Eele, 75 Brendon Road, Wollaton, Nottingham NG8 1HZ

AREA CORRESPONDENT South Western — D. E. Bick, Pound House, Market Square, Newent, Glos. GL18 1PS

JOURNAL OF THE RAILWAY & CANAL HISTORICAL SOCIETY VOLUME XXVII No. 7 MARCH 1983

CONTENTS TURNPIKES AND THEIR TRAFFIC: AN AGENDA FOR RESEARCH Eric Pawson . . . . . . . • • • • 178 HOLBECK STATION From Jeoffry Spence . . 188 PENLLWYN TRAIVIROAD Gordon Rattenbury . . 189 CANAL INCLINED PLANES: A CONTEMPORARY VIEW Richard Dean . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197 THE LOWER PART OF THE NOTTINGHAM CANAL & THE BEESTON CUT IN 1982 G. Y. Hemingway . . 200 BOOK REVIEWS 202 CORRESPONDENCE .. 212

177 Turnpikes and Their Traffic: an Agenda for Research BY ERIC PAWSON 1. INTRODUCTION `I wish with all my heart that half the turnpike roads of the Kingdom were plough'd up ...' exclaimed John Byng in 1775, at about the same time as Arthur Young was making an uncomfortable journey through Lancashire, complaining amongst other things, of 'ruts, which I actually measured, four feet deep, and floating with mud' on the turnpike to Wigan. On such colourful material has the historical folklore of turnpikes grown. Long ago they assumed the mantle of minor villains of history, helped in this by the writings of Sidney and Beatrice Webb.1 They saw a pattern of heavily indebted trusts, so localized as not even to form a coherent network, and hence of little overall consequence. This wholly inaccurate picture tended to persist because the turnpike road system has not until recently received the systematic attention devoted either to the canals or to railways. Quite why this should be is debatable. Perhaps turnpikes have commanded less enthusiasm since they lack the technical sophis- tication and conspicuous industrial archaeology of their competitors. But it may also be because the turnpike network was largely established in the early stages of industrialization, before the generally recognised watershed of the Industrial Revolution in the 1780s. We now understand, however, the importance of the eighteenth century as the seedbed of the momentous economic and social change that occurred thereafter? And we know far more about the contribution of the turnpike road system in the early stages of industrialization. Indeed, this was what Byng was complaining about — not the poor state of the roads, or high levels of toll, but their effectiveness in having 'imported London manners and depopulated the country'. It is clear too that Young, although not misquoted, has been misrepresented all too often (he commended far more turnpike roads than he ever abused), where- as the Webbs' view is now discredited. Rather, it is apparent that the importance and impact of the turnpike system in its own context was considerable. Its context is primarily that of the pre-railway era, between the 1690s and the 1820s. It was then that the turnpike roads carried their greatest proportion of Britain's — or certainly England's — land-based internal trade. But they also continued to be significant carriers of traffic, complementing and feeding the railways, until all sections of highway were formally disturnpiked in various stages in the latter part of the nineteenth century. In the last ten years, two books focused at the national scale have examined the pre-railway turnpike system,3 along with a number of articles concerned with different regions. Post- railway turnpike fortunes have yet to receive a similar degree of scrutiny. This does not mean, however, that there are not still unresolved issues and grey areas to be explored in the earlier stages and heyday of turnpiking. This is particularly so at regional and local levels. The interplay between growing levels of internal trade and the road transport system, the varying effectiveness of turnpike trusts in dealing with the increasing demands placed upon them, their impact on the evolving economy and changing geography of Britain, the pattern of costs and benefits, are all historical problems about which we could usefully know more. In the later years, the effects of competition between road, canal, 178

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179 and railway, and the process of disturnpiking itself have received little attention. The purpose of this article is to identify some such themes, and the ways in which they might be explored further.

2. THE TURNPIKE ROAD NETWORK A knowledge of the turnpike road network in a particular area is the most useful base from which to' begin. It is appropriate to refer to a 'network' because it is now apparent that from scattered beginnings at the turn of the eighteenth century the turnpike trusts of Britain were sufficiently numerous by 1770 to form coherent networks in most regions. In fact, by 1750, there was a national network of turnpike routes in England, radiating from London and connecting with the major port and industrializing areas (v. diagram). Between these two dates the major turnpiking boom occurred, such that the length of turnpiked roads rose from 3,386 to 14,965 miles, intensifying the network considerably in central, southern, and northern England, spreading into the peripheral parts of that country, and across Wales and the more populated areas of Scotland. Between 1770 and 1836, when the last new trust was set up, the total mileage rose to 21,991. The route length of individual trusts varied considerably, around a rough mean of 25 to 30 miles.4 The unit of study for turnpike research is worth some consideration. The county is often not the best framework, as major routes and economic regions tended to have scant regard for county boundaries. Exceptions to this can be in Wales and Scotland, where in many instances one trust had responsibility for most of the routes turnpiked in a county. Elsewhere, a functional unit such as an industrializing region (e.g. the Potteries, the West Midlands, a coalfield) is usually more suitable. Sometimes, an area focused on a town makes most sense, as many turnpike routes radiated outwards from important urban centres. Trusts in the west of England in particular were often given sole individual responsibility for a series of routes radiating from a town. In other cases it can be rewarding to examine the evolution of turnpiking along a particular highway. Sometimes complementary trusts emerged of different routes between the same two points, either to overcome the costs of traffic switching from a turnpike to a free road, or to provide a less hazardous path in by-passing the hilly routes that most early turnpike trusts inherited. The sequence of turnpiking to Brighton on the Sussex coast is a good example. Once the unit of study has been chosen, its place in relation to the national turnpike network can be assessed by reference to the published maps.5 These are now available for England and Wales for selected dates up to 1770. There are no equivalent maps of Scotland, a task which awaits a future researcher! The reason why accurate network maps can be produced is because, unlike any other eighteenth century economic phenomenon (with the notable exception of canals), there is a complete and fairly specific central record of the turnpike system. This takes the form of printed public Acts of Parliament. Parliamentary consent was required to make a grant of toll levying powers on sections of the King's Highway, as such a grant altered the ancient common right of free passage. This central record is thus invaluable in a regional, county, or local study of turnpiking, as it can be used to ascertain the initial dates and routes of the relevant turnpike trusts. There are two published lists of turnpike Acts which can be used to facilitate the task by providing an initial list of the relevant legislation and its date.6 Reference can then be made to the pertinent Acts. Each new turnpike Act specifies the route of the highways for which that trust was to be responsible, together with a host of additional information, such as 180 lists of trustees, the maximum tolls to be charged and exemptions to be applied. However, the usual problems of historical research arise. The only complete set of Acts is that in the House of Lords Record Office (HLRO) at Westminster. County Record Offices (CROs) invariably do not have a full set of turnpike Acts pertinent to their areas. The routes derived from the Acts can be traced against modern Ordnance Survey maps, although many of the critical place-names are no longer in standard use. Road junctions of importance at the time may not appear with the same name, or even with any name, today. Once this difficulty is surmounted, the resulting map can be regarded only as a working base: it represents legislative intention and not necessarily reality. As was the case with some canal and railway enterprises, what was intended was not always to be. A very small proportion of turnpike trusts seem never to have become operational; some trusts did not assume responsibility for the complete route specified in their Acts. Such difficulties can be surmounted, by reference to already-published information,1 and by tracing the renewal procedure required of each trust to extend the temporary authority of its initial Act. Renewal Acts are unfortunately available in manuscript form only. But valuable information can often be gained in the procedures of Parliament printed in the Journals of the House of Commons (JHC). A check can be carried out using contemporary maps. Examples such as the New Map of the County of Oxford, produced by Richard Davis in 1797, indicate the routes of turnpike roads and the position of toll gates as well. John Cary, a famous cartographer, produced a Road Book in 1790 covering all the major routes leading into London with toll gates marked.8 The first edition maps of the Ordnance Survey are useful too. Minor alternatives in turnpike routing are often, but not always, revealed from archival research in trust documents and contemporary newspapers. These services are considered in more detail below. At this point it is worth mentioning the surviving infrastructure of the turnpike system. This can be quite extensive, in the form of toll-houses and milestones, and can be used as a ground check of the map. It can also be an interesting subject of study in itself, although always in need of supplementary evidence from archives and old photographs to account for the many pieces of archaeology lost in later road widening schemes. Other authorities, and individuals, erected milestones, however, and so those are not necessarily indicative of a turnpike route.9 Thus although it is the milestone and toll-house that often arouse initial interest in turnpikes, these problems do not make them sufficiently reliable indicators of the turnpike network of an area. A much more accurate and orderly appreciation of the sequence and extent of turnpiking will always result by working downwards from the central Parliamentary record. Once the initial goal of a map has been reached, this can be used as a springboard into more important issues. It is a necessary basic framework for research, but not a sufficient objective, given the ready availability of national maps of the system. And it is always well worth checking that for the chosen region or district the task has not already been undertaken.

3. COSTS AND BENEFITS Turnpike trusts were established in order to overcome the high expense to local people and landowners of maintaining busy roads. The turnpike toll was a simple means of transferring excessive cost from the parish to the road users, so it was on through routes in particular — where these two groups were essentially separate — that the earliest turnpikes were set up. Local people paid through the 181 provision of statute labour, materials, and frequently through the levying of highway rates, to maintain pre-turnpike routes. The benefit to a community to be obtained by the granting of a toll was therefore a diminution of its direct contribution towards maintaining a heavily- or increasingly-used route, reinforced as this was by the widespread toll exemptions for everyday local traffic given in each Act. Beyond this, benefits ought also to have accrued both to local people and to through road users in the form of main roads that could be better maintained by the larger and more regular flow of proceeds from the toll. This line of reasoning is clear from the nature of the toll concept, as well as from the claims put forward in petitions from turnpike bills presented to Parliament. However, much can be done to clarify the degree to which reality, claim, and concept concurred. A thorough search of parish highway accounts and court records can establish the extent to which additional cost of highway repair had been forced on communities before application was made for a turnpike Act. From 1563, Justices of the Peace had the power to make presentments at Quarter Sessions for bad highways, and if nothing was done additional statute duty or a money fine could be imposed. In 1662, the power to levy a highway rate to supplement statute duty was granted to Quarter Sessions. Records of such actions have not been widely used in harness with turnpike activity. They could be so used to verify the claims of 'excessive cost' in turnpike petitions, and, for instance, to uncover whether the trusts set up during the boom years between 1750 and 1770 were part of a 'demonstration effect' of presumed benefits, or whether they really were in response to unbearable costs to the local community. Much can be discovered, too, about the identities of the prime movers behind turnpike schemes. All the petitions to Parliament are printed in the JHC, with groups of petitioners listed in descending order of status, such as 'the Mayor, Recorder, Aldermen, and Common Councilmen of the City of Canterbury, and the principal Inhabitants and Tradesmen of the said City, and Whitstable, in the County of Kent', who sent their case to Westminster in 1735.1 ° Individuals, however, are rarely identified, and from the 1740s, the petitions take such a stylized form as to provide little background information. Prime movers are also rarely known. So little attention has been paid to this important facet of the process in local turnpike research in the past that it is an obvious area for attention. We know, for example, that Josiah Wedgewood played a role in turnpiking in the Potteries, as well as being a keen promoter of canals, and that the eminent eighteenth century lawyer Sir William Blackstone was influential in many turnpike schemes around Oxford. Such knowledge can be retrieved elsewhere. A further problem is the extent of and reaction to the costs of turnpiking, that is the imposition of the toll on users who were previously free riders. On this topic there is currently some disagreement.1 1 It is established that few groups of people ever petitioned Parliament against proposed schemes, although this may indicate inability to pay for the procedure, or unwillingness to try in the face of Westminster's clear enthusiasm for road tolls. As local farming traffic, except that going to market, was generally exempt from payment by provision in each turnpike Act, we should expect local opposition to be negligible. However, forms of traffic believed to be particularly deleterious, such as coaches and heavy waggons, were charged at a premium and some long- distance users (for instance, drovers) stood to gain little from improved road surfaces. But turnpike riots — as the extreme form of opposition — seem to have been very limited in occurrence, the main examples being in the west of England in the 1730s, around Bristol in the late 1720s and in 1749, and in the West Riding of Yorkshire in the early 1750s. 182 It has been argued, however, that turnpike trusts were the focus of rather more ill-feeling than was ever manifest in these few cases of rioting. Yet 'popular hostility' to turnpikes is unproven, and is a topic that could benefit from further investigation. Evidence of yet uncovered riots, and substantial levels of individual acts of violence against gatekeepers would help to further the debate. Only one known riot has ever been analysed in detail.1 2

4. ROAD TRAFFIC Just as the context of costs and benefits forms a key to the overall picture, so too does a consideration of the traffic carried before and after turnpiking. The toll was a response to perceived costs of heavy or increasing traffic flow; it should have brought benefits in the form of more reliable transport . Traffic is hence the basic variable on both the cause and effect sides of the equation. Despite this, consideration of road traffic has all too frequently been omitted from small-scale studies of the turnpike system. There are several key aspects: volumes, types, service provision, and changes in these through time. Discussion of speeds and costs is left for Section 6 below. Traffic volumes are perhaps the hardest aspect to research. Few detailed road censuses survive from the eighteenth centruy, although it is likely that more await discovery in trust records. Occasionally newspapers printed traffic volumes from turnpike gate records since destroyed: for instance, a Bristol paper claimed that no fewer than 259 coaches, 11,759 horses, 491 waggons, 675 asses, 722 carts, and 206 drays passed through Lawford's Gate on the Gloucester Road during one week in late May, 1765. A completely contrasting picture emerges from the records of trusts in more remote districts.' 3 Generally, however, it is toll proceeds rather than traffic items that are recorded. Even when a sufficient run is available, using these accounts as surrogate measures of traffic flow through time is fraught with difficulties. It cannot be assumed that either the composition of traffic flow or toll charges for particular types of traffic did alter. The latter problem can be overcome by reference to amendment and renewal Acts for the relevant trust; the former remains a problem given the wide range of tolls generally levied. A consistent rise in the volume of wheeled traffic, which was charged premium tolls, would inflate toll receipts ahead of traffic volumes. It is arguable that when trusts let particular gates to contractors in turn for a regular payment these aspects were taken into consideration. On this assumption, one successful regional study of toll traffic levels has been published; it has yet to be replicated elsewhere) 4 For the same reasons, traffic type is also difficult to examine. It was often claimed in turnpike petitions to Parliament that harmful sorts of traffic were increasing: industrial or mineral trade, and wheeled vehicles. It has been generally assumed that wheeled traffic was uncommon before 1750, particularly in the hill districts of England and in Wales and Scotland. This view has recently been challenged.15 Although there is no doubt that wheeled vehicles increased greatly in volume in the eighteenth century, more evidence is needed to assess their extent before 1750. Probate inventories, listing the possessions of those who made wills, are a useful source in this regard. The third aspect of road traffic, that of service provision, has in contrast left a wealth of accessible archival material. Coach and carrier networks can be pieced together from directories. These do not always give a reliable listing, but advertisements in contemporary newspapers form a useful check. Business records, where available can be used as a supplement. The overall picture that emerges for the period between the turnpiking boom and the coming of the 183 railways is of a well-articulated network of inter-urban services for passengers, goods, and information.16 In regions such as the Vale of York, which were also well supplied with water navigations, road and water services tended to interlink.' 7 Some carriers operated services by both road and water.1 8 We know less about competition and complementarity between road and water than we know about the two in isolation, however, and this could prove a fruit- ful avenue of research.

5. TURNPIKE ADMINISTRATION The high degree of integration of road traffic services by 1800 is clear indication of the benefits of an improving road network under turnpike administration. However, this statement need not be accepted uncritically, as trust competence varied greatly from time to time and place to place. It is also easy to confuse a variety of issues when assessing this competence. Many local turnpike studies of the past are of little value because of this, and also because they tend to con- centrate on unique or unusual features of the archival record. One frequent confusion is that turnpike trusts were companies. They were not. They were bodies of trustees appointed by each Act, charged with the responsibility of maintaining an existing resource, the communal right of passage on the King's Highway. Technically, each parish rather than trust remained ultimately responsible for turnpike roads. Trusts could still call on the resources of statute labour, as specified by their Acts or by local Justices. Hence the concept of the toll as supplementary means of coping with excessive traffic volumes. The contrast with canal and railway companies, which established new resources of which they had sole charge, is thus apparent. Turnpike trusts could therefore not issue shares: their financial resources were limited to toll income, and to money they could raise in the form of mortgages on the security of that toll income. Trust 'indebtedness' was thus a general feature, but far from indicating managerial recklessness it was simply a result of the exercise of power granted by Parliament to provide additional means of improving their roads. Recklessness can be indicated by a more precise measure: a high level of toll income devoted to debt servicing. Generally this does not seem to have been the case.' 9 Most CROs have reasonable holdings of trust archives, although it is common to find examples for which little appears to survive. But for those trusts for which a reasonable run of archives exist, useful systematic research can be performed. These archives can be divided into three groups — trust minute books, which record the discussions of Trustees; trust accounts, listing receipts and expendi- ture; and miscellaneous documents, such as gatekeepers' and surveyors' note- books, maps, and plans. First impressions from these records are not always very accurate. Many minute books display a low level of trustee attendance, the usual committee pattern of activity concentrated in a few willing hands being the case. But neither this, nor the often-noted infrequency of meetings, need be indicative of poor management. Trusts employed paid officers, a surveyor, clerk, and treasurer, who were responsible for day-to-day management. On smaller trusts, one person sometimes filled more than one office; on large trusts, there were often more than three in total. The records of the surveyor, and in particular the treasurer's accounts, give a fairer picture of levels of trust activity. That the officers were not professionally trained in the modern sense was the cause of much complaint from people such as MacAdam in the early nineteenth century. Nevertheless, there is considerable evidence in trust records of concern with road drainage, foundations, widening, and realignment schemes long before the 184 MacAdam family became active. Such schemes may have been carried out in a less professional fashion than became acceptable in later years, but this was inevitable in the absence of a tradition of trained road surveyors or engineers before the late eighteenth century. Particularly ineffective trusts could be identified through presentments and indictments made of the relevant parishes at Quarter Sessions — a neglected source in this regard.

6. THE IMPACT OF TURNPIKING The ultimate test of the efficiency of turnpike administration, however, is the impact on road traffic-flows. It is clear that from the regional or national per- spective this impact was considerable. One measure of this is the trend in travel times. The diagram indicates how these fell for coach services servicing provincial areas of England and Wales from London between 1750 and 1811. This was in part due to better organization, with an improving network of coaching inns providing frequent changes of horses. But it was primarily due to higher road speeds on firmer surfaces, and the ability to travel safely in hours of darkness as had not been so before 1750. Local and regional examples of such improvements can be pieced together with relative ease from the advertisements of coach operators in contemporary newspapers. For goods transport as well, minimizing delays and achieving speed and regularity was important for the movement of high-value shipments, such as perishable foodstuffs and cotton yarn. Reconstructions of business history indicate the role of road over water in this regard, but as yet we have found few detailed case studies.2 I We also know far less about the remaining element of road transport cost, that of charges. Goods charges appear to have remained remarkably stable over the period from the 1690s to the 1820s, using the evidence of maximum rates set by Justices of the peace as they were empowered to do by legislation.2 2 Just how these maxima relate to actual charges is not entirely clear. Passenger fares, in contrast, ap_pear to have almost doubled in some districts between the 1770s and 1820s.23 This, however, does not take account of the lower levels of additional charges, for meals and accommodation, resulting from quicker journeys. In both cases, the trend of charges is well below that of the general inflationary trend to the 1820s, so representing an overall saving of resources. Following through the impact of these gains of regularity, reliability, speed, and changes remains one of the most interesting areas of research into the pre-railway turnpike system. Tracing the broader benefits for agricultural, industrial, and urban change is a great challenge. At the broadest level, it appears that the turnpike system was responsible for initiating many of the social, economic, and geographical changes traditionally ascribed to the railways.24 Early in the eighteenth century, Defoe illustrated the widespread regional specialization of agriculture, a process intensified as better road transport drew more remote districts into wider regional economies. Much can be done to trace the extent of this in areas such as the Weald, or the far south west. Certainly, it appears that the process should not be exaggerated given the lack of market integration indicated by the widespread variation of agricultural prices that Arthur Young recorded in his Southern Tour. At the regional level, much can be done in estate records to trace the impact of turnpiking on agricultural development. Sometimes marked rises in rents were recorded. In some areas enclosure and turnpiking seemed to go hand in hand. There has been only one regional attempt to assess this latter relationship, and it did not produce a clear step-by-step pattern.2 5

185 The concern of industrialists and urban corporations with turnpiking schemes indicates the benefit to trade and industry that was believed to accrue. Assessing what did in fact occur is not easy, but painstaking reconstructions of the buying and selling methods of industrial enterprises, the modes of transport used, and spatial links involved can indicate the value to them of improving road services. With regard to urban change, the pattern is clearer, although just as fascinating, mitigated as it was through the characteristics of the turnpike network and the role of the inn as transport and commercial centre. The position of the major town of each region was reinforced by the channelling of road trade towards them, although many smaller places were effectively eclipsed by the marketing functions of the larger centres because of the greater ease of transport over longer distances. Some smaller places lost out altogether, by-passed by turnpike roads. In these cases, microscale adjustment can be traced today, with the old settlement around the church marooned away from a later core around chapel, inn, and shops on the main road. Patterns of settlement-change such as these represent a ready focus for local or regional study.

7. RAILWAY COMPETITION AND DISTURNPIKING The impact of the railways on turnpike traffic was swift. The advantages that turnpikes themselves had brought to land transport were accelerated many times over by the steam engine. The concern of Westminster, particularly for trust creditors, generated some valuable parliamentary reports in the late 1830s on the state and fate of the turnpike system.2 6 Coach owners, in particular, were unable to compete, and coach services had all but died out on main roads by the 1840s. Despite this, the change-over has attracted less attention from historians than it warrants.2 7 We know too that the local road carrier survived, continuing to perform a valuable social and economic role through the nineteenth century — only one effort has been made to assess this properly.2 8 The eventual response to the loss of the most lucrative long distance turnpike traffic was the dissolution of the turnpike trusts. Disturnpiking of roads was a long time coming, however; not until the early 1850s did the process begin. The delay was largely in order that the interests of creditors could be safeguarded. The regional process of disturnpiking has been studied in Cumbria; elsewhere it has not, and this topic remains wide open for the interested historian.

8. CONCLUSION Recent research has indicated that road transport was widely used in eighteenth and early nineteenth century Britain, because the roads offered exactly those advantages of 'privatization' and flexibility that have today brought them back in favour over railways. Road transport was not merely a local affair, as was the case after the coming of the railways, but a basic means of conveying people, goods, and information over longer distances too. The response of local communities to rising volumes of road traffic was the establishment of the turnpike road system, which in turn facilitated the further growth and more efficient transfer of road traffic. Road transport and turnpiking therefore deserve a place in transport history as much as their more conspicuous competitors, the canal and railway systems; their role can be unravelled by application of similar techniques of research. It is a study full of interest and paradox. `... The abuses which the Trustees have committed in the management of (the) tolls, have in many cases been justly complained of', wrote Adam Smith. 'It is... to the turnpike system that England is indebted for her superiority over other countries with respect to roads', said Sir Henry Parne11. 3° Arthur Young would probably have agreed with them both. 186 REFERENCES 1 S. & B. Webb, English Local Government - the Story of the king's Highway, Longmans, Green, 1913 2 Eric Pawson, The Early Industrial Revolution - Britain in the Eighteenth Century, Batsford, 1979; C. Knick Harley, 'British Industrialization Before 1841: Evidence of Slower Growth During the Industrial Revolution', Journal of Economic History, Vol XLII, no. 2, 1982, pp. 267-89 3 William Albert, The Turnpike Road System in England, 1663-1840, Cambridge University Press, 1972; Eric Pawson, Transport & Economy: The Turnpike Roads of Eighteenth Century Britain, Academic Press, 1977. For a list of articles and theses, see Pawson, p. 385, pp. 392-3 4 Pawson, 1977, ibid, pp. 94-7, 136-60 5 Pawson, 1977, ibid, pp. 136-51 6 Albert, 1972, Turnpike Road System, pp. 202-23; Pawson, 1977, ibid, 341-60 7 Pawson, 1977, ibid, pp. 102-3, 109 8 J. Cary, Cary's Survey of High Roads from London, 1790 9 For example, C. Cox, 'Milestones of the Stroud District', Transactions of the the Bristol & Gloucester Archaeological Society, Vol. 83, 1964 p. 119 and `Turnpike Houses of the Stroud District', ibid, Vol. 86, 1967, p. 118; David Hey, Packmen, Carriers, and Packhorse Roads, Trade & Communication in N. Derbyshire and S. Yorkshire, Leicester University Press, 1980, pp. 31-85 10 JHC. Vol. 22, p. 544 11 William Albert, 'Popular Opposition to Turnpike Trusts in Early Eighteenth Century England, journal of Transport History, New Series, Vol. V (1), 1979, pp. 1-17, and Eric Pawson, 'Popular Opposition to Turnpike Trusts', forthcoming in Journal of Transport History 12 R. W. Malcolmson, 'A set of ungovernable people: the Kingswood colliers in the eighteenth century', in John Brewer and John Styles (eds): An Ungovern- able People, The English and their Law in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, 1980, pp. 85-127 12 Pawson, Transport & Economy, pp. 58-60; John E. Heath, 'Road Traffic Flows in the late 18th Century', Transport History, Vol. 10, 1 1979, pp. 5- 12 14 R. G. Wilson, 'Transport Dues as indices of economic growth, 1775-1820,' Economic History Review, 2nd series, Vol. XIX, 1966, pp. 110-23 15 David Hey, Packmen, Carriers, and Packhorse Roads, pp. 91-4 16 Pawson, Transport & Economy, pp. 35-57; G. L. Turnbull, 'Provincial Road Carrying in England in the Eighteenth Century', Journal of Transport History, New Series, Vol. IV (1), 1977, pp. 17-39 17 R. Unwin, 'The transport systems of the Vale of York, 1660-1775', Journal of Transport History, Third Series, Vol. 2 (2), 1981, pp. 17-36 18 G. L. Turnbull, Traffic and Transport, an economic history of Pickfords, George Allen & Unwin, 1979 19 Albert, Turnpike Road System, pp. 87-92; Pawson, Transport & Economy, pp. 222-33 20 Pawson, ibid, pp. 236-52 21 See M. Freeman, 'Transporting methods in the British cotton industry during the industrial revolution', Journal of Transport History, Third Series, Vol. 1 (1), 1980, pp. 59-74 22 Albert, Trunpike Road System, pp. 168-87 23 M. J. Freeman, 'The Stage-coach system of South Hampshire, 1775-1851', Journal of Historical Geography, Vol. 1, 1975, pp. 259-81 24 Pawson, Transport & Economy, pp. 301-38

187 25 Albert, Turnpike Road System, pp. 114-16 26 These are listed in Albert, ibid, pp. 281-2 27 See Freeman, 'Stage-coach system', L. A. Williams, Road Transport in Cumbria in the Nineteenth Century, George Allen and Unwin, 1975, pp. 129-62 28 Alan Everitt, 'Town & Country in Victorian Leicestershire: The Role of the Village Carrier', in Alan Everitt (ed): Perspectives in English Urban History, Macmillan, 1973, pp. 213-40 29 Williams, Road Transport in Cumbria, pp. 178-201 30 Quoted in Pawson, Transport & Economy, pp. 222-3 Biographical note ERIC PAWSON is Senior Lecturer in Geography at the University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand. His research on the turnpike road system was published as Transport & Economy, The Turnpike Roads of Eighteenth Century Britain (Academic Press, 1977). He has also contributed to An Historical Geography of England and Wales, edited by R. A. Dodgshun and R. A. Butlin (Academic Press, 1978), and is the author of a text on the historical geography of 18th Century Britain, The Early Industrial Revolution: Britain in the Eighteenth Century, (Batsford 1979).

Holbeck Station In December 1926 the District Manager (Goods and Passenger Depts.) of the London & North Eastern Railway (Southern Area) at Leeds (Central Station) sent a memorandum to the Station Master at Holbeck with an extract from the North Eastern Area Passenger Manager's Working Agreement Book, 'in view of the present arrangements for supervision at your station.' `Originally the Midland and North Eastern (Leeds Northern) lines ran through Holbeck side by side. The portion of the North Eastern line through the station was afterwards made joint with the Great Northern Company. Each Company had a separate station. In 1860 it was agreed to build a new joint station which was opened on 6 June 1862. The cost of alterations was borne in equal proportions by the two Companies, and the NE Company had the right of use of the station free of charge. The joint station consisted of one island platform and the NE junction with the Midland line was transferred from the south to the north end of the station. A portion of the station was built on land jointly owned by the GN and NE Companies. In 1873 the Midland Company at their own expense constructed an additional platform with waiting rooms and staircase to upper level, also a goods line through the station. In 1878 an additional lift for luggage was provided on the new platform at the joint expense of the GN, NE and Mid. Companies. It was also agreed that passengers requiring to pass from one platform to the other in the low level station could use the stairs and high level platform. Until November 1898 each Company employed and paid its own staff, but the cost of stores and maintenance of the station was borne by the two Companies in equal proportions. In November 1898 the staff was made joint, and in September 1899 it was agreed by the General Managers that from the time the staff was made joint the staff and maintenance charges should be borne in the following proportions, the arrangement to be subject to revision on the opening of the Leeds and Wetherby route to Harrogate. 188 Permanent Joint Staff. North Eastern Three fifths Midland Two fifths Extra Summer Staff. North Eastern Two thirds Midland One third Rates, Taxes, Stores and North Eastern Three fifths Maintenance of Station. Midland Two fifths Staffing of Station: From 1 January 1901, the Mid. Company staff Holbeck. See Minutes 1743 (O&I Joint Committee) and General Manager's letter 29 October 1900.' (From Jeoffry Spence)

Penllwyn Tramroad BY GORDON RATTENBURY The Sirhowy Tramroad connecting the Tredegar Ironworks with the Monmouth- shire Canal Company's tramroad from Newport to Nine Mile Point ran on the western side of the Sirhowy Valley. On the eastern side, Hall's Tramroad provided communication from collieries on that side to Hall's Basin on the Crumlin branch of the canal, also giving access to Newport. In the neighbour- hood of Blackwood, the two lines ran close to one another, at one point coming within 300 yards. Each was about 100 feet above the floor of the valley at this point. With two tramroads available it might be thought that the Blackwood area was adequately supplied with transport facilities, but the local landowners realised that the easiest and cheapest way to obtain the abundance of coal known to exist in the district was by means of levels driven into the valley sides from the river level rather than to drive shafts vertically from the level of the tramroads. Much of the financial advantage to be derived from employing the former method would, however, be nullified by the additional cost of lifting the coal to the level of the available transport. To overcome this disadvantage, John Hodder Moggridge of Woodfield applied to the MCC on 18 August 1816 asking them to construct a tramroad for him from Pont Sir Dafydd (ST 181 985) to Nine Mile Point running entirely on the valley floor. His request was turned down at a special assembly held on 24 December, but he was informed that the company had no objection to his constructing the line for himself. There is no record of his having made any attempt so to do. The Jones family of Llanarth, near Abergavenny, had acquired the Penllwyn estate to the south of Blackwood by marriage in the first quarter of the 18th century. This was another estate rich in coal, and in August 1820, John Jones, the current holder, let the Penllwyn Colliery to Thomas Edwards and Charles Robinson. From the situation of this colliery it was evidently intended that the coal should be conveyed to Newport by the Sirhowy Tramroad, but they were given permission to make tramroads over Jones's lands. They had to give an undertaking to export all their produce from Jones's wharf at Pillgwenlly, Newport, and clauses were inserted in the lease indemnifying the Sirhowy Tramroad Company for any damage caused by mining operations.1 With future developments in mind, and realising the comparative ease with which coal might be obtained from the river level, Jones applied to the MCC on 2 May 189 To Sirhowy To tlafodyr- To , Isclowydd kendon Crumlin

Rock Colliery . Woodfield Peninain Colliery Cwmdowe

,9,411:JA AmR oAD

Pontlionfrodh Newbrmige

RenlIwyn Colliery Abercorn 6elhgroes Mill Pricei Meadow Pone Gorr,

TIN

O PENLLWYN Ynysddu & ADJACENT TRAMROADS 1825 ti .chord To Newport mai. C.C.' TRAMR°Al2 1 0 2 MILis Nine Mile Point

AAP 1821 for the construction of a tramroad from Tyr Sir Dafydd, to the east of the Pont Sir Dafydd of Moggridge's application of 1816, to Nine Mile Point. The request was rejected without discussion. Realising that transport was the key to the development of his estate, Jones took counsel's opinion and was advised that provided that he gave three months notice of his intention, he was entitled to make the tramroad for himself under the `eight-mile clause' of the MCC Act of 1792, and that no formalities between himself and either the MCC or the Sirhowy Tramroad Co. were necessary.2 Owing to Jones's failing health, Joseph Beaumont, the Steward for his Monmouth- shire estates, seems to have taken charge of matters at this stage, and on his recommendation George Overton, the engineer of the Penydarren Tramroad, was engaged in that capacity by Jones. Overton made his initial survey on 14 August 1821, and in his turn engaged David Hopkins of Llangevelach as contractor. On 3 16 October Hopkins commenced pegging out the line and forming the track bed. Beaumont's chief responsibility at this time was negotiating with the owners of the land through which it was intended to carry the line. His task was not particularly difficult, as the great majority were strongly in favour. By far the greater part of the land belonged either to Jones himself, to Moggridge, or to Sir Charles Morgan of Tredegar Park, Newport. With Sir Charles he arranged that in return for the use of his land he should be given a one fifth share in the undertaking. In only one or two cases was it necessary to call for the appointment of Commissioners under the 1792 Act to settle the price to be paid. He did experience difficulty in respect of a small piece of land near Penllwyn Mill (now known as Gelligroes Mill ST 177 947), where the tramroad was planned to pass through a meadow belonging to the Rev. James Price and Miss Price. (It is not known if the lady was his sister or his daughter.) Before Beaumont could settle for this part, the reverend gentleman sold his share of the interest to David Williams, a Newport solicitor. Beaumont called on Williams and arranged that the land should be made available at £80 per acre, and Williams undertook to prepare the necessary legal documents. Later Beaumont called on him again and was shown what purported to be a draft conveyance, on which Williams inserted particulars of the boundaries of the tramroad at Beaumont's dictation, and on 9 November Williams informed Overton that it would be in order for him to enter the land to start construction. One can imagine Beaumont's surprise when he was informed on 24 November that Williams had sold the whole meadow two days previously to Watkin Homfray, the younger son of Samuel Homfray of the Tredegar Ironworks. Accompanied by another solicitor, Thomas Protheroe, Beaumont called on Williams and asked him to produce the conveyance to John Jones. Williams blustered, but finally admitted that he had not prepared one. It later transpired that Williams relied for the greater part of his income on his position as Steward to the Manor of Abercarn. Until his death in July 1817 Benjamin Hall had been Lord of the Manor. The estate was now being administered by his executors during the minority of his son, and one of the executors, John Llewellin, had been behind the move to sell Price's meadow to Homfray as he considered that Jones's tramroad would be injurious to the interests of Hall's Tramroad.4 Before Beaumont could call out the Commissioners, Homfray obtained an injunction to prevent Jones crossing his land. This was on 27 November, but Beaumont and Overton knew nothing of it until 30 November. However, on 27 November, they were made painfully aware that they had to deal with more than an injunction by Watkin Homfray. Whilst Hopkins and his 191 men were actually laying plates on Price's field, a mob of some five hundred men from Tredegar Ironworks led by Samuel Homfray, junior, (Watkin's elder brother) descended on the tramroad with: . tents and pick-axes shovels and other instruments forcibly to prevent the men in the employ of George Overton proceeding with that part of the Road...

and started to rip up such plates as had been laid and to destroy the earthworks. Their activities were only stopped when a local magistrate read the Riot Act to them.5 On 30 November Beaumont and Overton learnt that another injunction had been obtained, this time by the Sirhowy Tramroad Co., claiming that Jones was deliberately depriving them of an income from tonnages that were rightfully theirs. Undeniably, Watkin Homfray, as owner of the land concerned, had the right to deny passage to the tramroad, but this could easily have been overcome by calling out the Commissioners, if as Jones contended the tramroad was being constructed under the MCC Act of 1792. The Sirhowy Tramroad contended that the 'eight-mile clause' of that Act had not been re-enacted in that of 1802 under which the Sirhowy Tramroad had been incorporated. If this was so, there was no power to call on Commissioners to settle differences, so it was against the tramroad company's injunction that Jones appealed. The appeal hearing came before the Lord Chancellor late in January 1822, and with adjournments lasted until May 1823. The loose wording of the 1802 Act was severely criticised, and in truth, as far as the tramroad was concerned they were not obliged to hold an annual meeting, keep minutes, or appoint any officers, nor was it laid down if applications for ancillary tramroads should be addressed to the MCC or the Sirhowy Tramroad. In vain Jones produced evidence of the difficulty that would be incurred should his tramroad take the shortest distance to connect with a 'mainline' tramroad, but the court maintained that this had been the intention of Parliament, the Lord Chancellor remarking that it was easier to get over a steep bank than an Act of Parliament, and the appeal was dismissed.° Apparently thinking that Jones was finished, Moggridge applied to the MCC on 7 May 1823 for a tramroad from Rhiw Sir Dafydd to the Crumlin branch of the canal a little way above Abercarn, stating that should the canal company refuse, he would, after the expiry of three months, make it for himself.? Of necessity, any such tramroad would have had to be carried over land already occupied by Hall's Tramroad and it is very unlikely that he would have been able to obtain permission from Hall's executors to pass over any part of Abercarn Manor. Jones and Morgan were by no means down and out, and in September 1823 they issued notices of their intention to apply to Parliament for an Act to enable them to construct on the line already marked out. Plans drawn by Thomas Wakeman of Gloucester were deposited on 26 September.8 The project was supported by Moggridge acting for himself and his partners in the Penmain Colliery, Thomas Protheroe and his partners in the Rock Colliery, and Edwards and Robinson of Penllwyn Colliery. In return for their support, the colliery owners were to receive preferential rates of tonnage. Both Watkin Homfray and the Sirhowy Tramroad Co. could see that if the application succeeded they would not have a leg to stand on, and if it were to fail, they would be involved in considerable expense to ensure the failure. Eventually meetings were held between the opposing parties, resulting in the following agreement being signed on 14 February 1824 by all concerned: 9 192 1. Jones and Morgan were to construct a tramroad at their own expense from the Rock Colliery water level (ST 175 975) to the junction of Sirhowy Tramroad's line with that of the MCC at Nine Mile Point, with a minimum of four turns-out per mile each at least one hundred yards long. When the line was completed, the two miles nearest to Nine Mile Point, (i.e. as far as Ynysddu) was to be vested absolutely in the Sirhowy Tramroad Co., who undertook to maintain it in per- petuity. Should they fail to so, Jones and Morgan were free to effect repairs at the expense of the tramroad company. 2. Tonnages on all goods carried the full two miles was to be 31/2d per long ton,1° with a proportional reduction for shorter distances; this tonnage was to be paid directly to the Sirhowy Tramroad Co. by the freighters. 3. Commencing two years after the tramroad was open for traffic, should Jones and Morgan fail to realise a net profit of £1,000 in any year the Sirhowy Tram- road Co. would pay them 1/2c1 per ton for all goods carried over their two miles out of their 3'/2d tonnages. 4. The Sirhowy Tramroad undertook not to enforce an agreement under which the proprietors of Rock Colliery were to carry a minimum of 20 tons daily over their line. The colliery company hotly denied any such agreement existed! 5. Should an Act be applied for, the tramroad company was not to enter any opposition; should Jones and Morgan proceed without an Act, they were to give all help in their power towards successful working provided that the terms of the agreement were kept. 6. As part of the land over which the Sirhowy Tramroad Co.'s portion passed was Morgan's property and would be removed from the direct control of Jones and Morgan, Morgan's share in the undertaking was to be reduced from a one fifth to a one sixth share. 7. Tonnages payable by the three collieries supporting the Penllwyn were to be fixed at the rates quoted in the agreement; Jones and Morgan were to be at liberty to arrange rates with any other freighter provided that the Sirhowy Tram- road received its 3'/2d per ton direct. With much of the work already done it is probable that the Penllwyn was completed by mid-1824. It was certainly operational by December of that year, when Jones' younger son, Philip, undertook to make a tramroad from Penllwyn Colliery to it.11 Tonnages in this case were arranged at ld per ton over Philip Jones's line, 2d over the Penllwyn and 31/2d to be paid to the Sirhowy Tramroad. Constructional materials seem to have been obtained as close as possible to the site, as is witnessed by the orders given to the Clerk to the MCC on 20 June 1825 requiring him to write to David Hopkins to point out that he had not made good the damage done to the company's turnpike road running alongside the tramroad at Nine Mile Point, and that the pits made 'in getting stone for Mr. Jones' Bridge' required either to be fenced or filled in. Should he fail to do so, he was to be warned that the company would put the matter in the hands of their solicitor. That Hall's executors were justified in their fear that the Penllwyn might prove detrimental to Hall's Tramroad was proved in October 1825. Early in 1815 Evan and Lewis Lewis had taken a copyhold in the Manor of Abercarn with the object of digging coal. One of the conditions of their holding was that all produce should be sent via Hall's Tramroad and shipped on the Crumlin branch of the canal at his basin at Abercarn. In consideration of this they were granted the low royalty of 4d per ton with no minimum rental. They later took other partners irrto the concern, (including Zephaniah Williams, who was tranported for his part in the Chartist Riots in Newport of 1839). It occurred to the partners that it would be advantageous if they could send their coal to Newport without the necessity to tranship to the canal at Abercarn. They drove a heading from the 193 colliery running beneath Hall's Tramroad and emerging at the side of the Penllwyn and commenced sending coal to Newport by that route. In October 1825 John Jones realised what was happening and informed John Llewellin. Hall's executors applied for an injunction to enforce the agreement with the Lewises and their partners, and this was granted on 25 February 1826 with a penalty of £5,000 for non-compliance.12 Beaumont had conducted all negotiations for land in the name of John Jones, but in June 1826 it transpired that all outgoings had actually been paid by the younger son, Philip, who conveyed the property to John on 1 June 1826 for a consideration of £9,995. As this was for a five-sixths share the total cost of the tramroad must have been £11,994.13 With the father and the elder son having the same forename it is difficult to ascertain if this transaction was between Philip and his father, or with his elder brother. In the light of John senior's indifferent health there is the possibility that the opportunity was taken to transfer the property into, the son's name to avoid death duties. John Jones, senior, died on 29 June 1828.14 One of the Jones family employees, Morgan Thomas, was brought in from Mamhilad and installed at Ynysddu as Agent for the tramroad,15 and Beaumont remained in financial control. The only accounts that have been traced, those for the year ended 1 April 1832, are headed 'Joseph Beaumont in Account with the Penllwyn Tram Road CompY ' 16 The accounts show that in the year receipts amounted to £969 Ils lid, of which £985 lOs 8d was for tonnages on coal, Rock Colliery paying £640 18s ld, Penmain Colliery £169 3s 11d, and the remaining coal owners £148 8s 8d. Working on the tonnages agreed in 1824 the quantities carried work out at 38,454, 10,151, and 14,249 tons respectively. Expenses totalled £458 9s 6d, but it is not possible to break these down, as Morgan Thomas charged his salary of £5 per month and all other disbursements once a quarter as a lump sum. The only item that can be definitely attributed to maintenance is a charge of £27 5s for tramplates. With a net profit of £511 2s 5d, the Penllwyn would have been eligible for a refund of £130 18s lld from the Sirhowy Tramroad Co. at 1/24:1 per ton on 62, 854 tons, making a final profit of £622 is 4d to be divided between Morgan and the Jones family. Several vouchers relating to the following year's accounts have survived, and the show that in the month of June 1832 ink and paper cost 2s 9d, hire of a man and a horse 5s per day, two labourers each received 2s 8d per day, and one was paid only is 8d daily. The carpenter received 3s 6d for repairing a tram, oil for the trams cost is 8d per quart, and the church rate was £5. Stone blocks cost £3 lls for 142 pairs; at 6d per pair this seems remarkably cheap in view of the fact that in 1811 the Hay Railway had to pay 71/2d each!1 7 A draft affidavit, undated but probably some time in 1835, shows that Jones contemplated taking action against Thomas Protheroe of Rock Colliery for a breach of the agreement of 1824 to send all of his coal out by the Penllwyn. It appears that in extending the colliery underground, Protheroe had encountered a fault and found that the remaining coal could be more easily obtained by working from the Rhymney Valley to the west. Even whilst he was making the new adit he had been warned that he was still under an obligation to forward his coal via the Penllwyn, but he had ignored the warning and was sending his coal to Newport by the Rumney Railway, thereby effecting a saving of 6d per ton on carriage to Newport." The outcome of this dispute is not known, but the traffic returns for the Rumney for two weeks in December 1836 show that Protheroe sent down 120 trams containing 362 tons of coal by that route, but the colliery from which it originated is not stated.19 Their returns for 1846 show that Protheroe was sending coal by that route from three collieries, but 194 as the draft affidavit does not give a name to the colliery entrance in the Rhymney Valley through which he was extracting Rock coal it is impossible to know if one of those named formed the subject of Jones's complaint.20 In 1845 the MCC obtained an Act (8&9 Vict. c.169) authorising the construction of a railway from Newport to Pontypool, and the improvement of their existing plateways to make them suitable for locomotive haulage. They were also authorised to purchase or improve private tramroads leading into their lines, and to become common carriers. For various reasons the MCC took no immediate action to implement the Act other than to purchase 500 tons of wrought-iron tramplates in November 1845. In May 1847 the general assembly was informed that 'the Tram Roads have to a large extent been relaid with Wrought-Iron Plates', but only negligible progress had been made in other directions. A further Act obtained in 1848 (11&12 Vict. c.120) authorised an extension of two years in the time allowed for the completion of the various works, relieved the company of the obligation to become carriers, and changed its title to the Monmouthshire Railway & Canal Co. After 1 August 1849 all haulage over the MRCC lines was to be by the company's locomotives, barring the use of horses and forcing the Tredegar Iron Co. to hand over their traffic at Nine Mile Point to the MRCC. In September 1848 the MRCC notified the proprietors of all ancillary lines that it was their intention to alter their lines to edge rails as soon as possible, with the aim of ultimately becoming a standard gauge railway. As a first step, all freighters were required to adopt a 'combined' wheel capable of running on plates or edge- rails (a method suggested by Summers Harford of Ebbw Vale Ironworks some ten years previously),21 and the company's engineer designed a foim of standard waggon intended to be the only type allowed on the MRCC after August 1849. The latter aspect of the plan met with considerable opposition from the freighters both on account of the cost and on the grounds that as the standard waggon was longer than the trams in use, it would necessitate the easing of curves on the private lines. Memorials complaining of the proposed regulations were laid before the Board of Trade, and Captain J. L. A. Simmons was sent by the Railway Commissioners in April 1849 to examine the whole MRCC scheme. In his report Simmons stated that the sharpest curve on the Penllwyn was under one chain radius, and the ruling gradient was 1:156. In the previous year 50,201 tons of coal had been carried, some 12,000 tons less than in 1831-32. John Jones owned 73 trams, but many more would have been needed to carry the quantity of coal stated. Unfortunately, where colliery owners had operations in more than one valley Simmons quoted only the total number of trams owned and did not specify on which line they were used.22 Eventually the time for the introduction of the new waggons was extended to 1 August 185123 on condition that all trams in use should be submitted for examination by the MRCC engineer, who was to debar any he considered unfit for locomotive haulage. In September 1852 the MRCC sent a sub-committee accompanied by the engineer and William Llewellin, who had succeeded his father, John, as Agent to the Hall family, to inspect Hall's Tramroad and the Penllwyn to find out if it would be a profitable proposition to take over the two tramroads under the terms of the 1845 Act. They reported that Hall's line was in a bad state of repair and that they considered that the only way in which use could be made of it would be to make an incline from Cwmdows to the canal at Newbridge to be used by the traffic from Kendon, near Crumlin, and another incline near Rock to direct the Sirhowy Valley traffic onto the Penllwyn. Their views on the Penllwyn were more favourable, as it had been relaid with wrought-iron plates and was generally reasonably straight; they thought it would need to be relaid 195 on wooden sleepers and reballasted and the sharper curves re-aligned before it would be suitable for locomotive use. All told, it was thought that the scheme was too costly to show an adequate return.24 All the lines in the Western Valley with the exception of that from Risca to Nine Mile Point had been relaid with edge rails by January 1855, and it was proposed to commence to alter this line on 19 February. Owing to a severe frost the changeover was postponed, and it was not until 4 May that the MRCC notified freighters that the line would be closed from 12 May to 15 May to enable work to proceed. Despite repeated representations from the MRCC, the Sirhowy Tramroad Co. made no attempt to convert their line to railway standards until the end of 1857, when plans were deposited. These plans showed that it was intended to run on the line of the tramroad, including where it was on the main street in Blackwood. The notice of intent stated that they intended to apply for powers to run express passenger trains, so it is not surprising that the scheme did not get very far! Fresh plans were submitted early in 1859, and the enabling Act was obtained in 1860, without a clause forcing them to convert their part of the Penllwyn to a railway that the MRCC attempted to have inserted. The omission was not surprising, as in the previous December Samuel Ilomfray, junior, had informed the MRCC committee that traffic over their part of the line was so sparse that the outlay would not be justified. 25 It was not until 1865 that the Sirhowy Railway was opened, and it is most probable that by this time only the portion of the Penllwyn between Nine Mile Point and Ynysddu was still in use. In 1876 the London & North Western Railway purchased the Sirhowy Railway in the face of strong opposition from the Great Western who had leased the MRCC in August 1875. Interest in the Penllwyn was re-awakened in 1906, when descendants of the original proprietors obtained an Act (6 Edward VII c.70) granting powers to construct a railway from the end of the LNWR-owned portion at Ynysddu to Pontllanfraith, where it was proposed to re-open the Penllwyn Colliery, a distance of just over 2'/4 miles. Petitions against the Bill were lodged by the LNWR and several landowners. Amongst the latter was one by the descendants of John Hodder Moggridge which stated that the tramroad: . had not been used as such for upwards of forty years. .. and the site has for upwards of thirty six years been in uninterrupted use as a road and footway... Your Petitioners and their predecessors in title have... since the tramroad fell into desuetude acquired by prescription full and free right of way along the said site. For their part, the LNWR stated that the line from Nine Mile Point to Ynysddu was still a plateway, and whilst they admitted that they intended shortly to alter it to a railway, they objected to so doing for the benefit of another company.26 Powers to purchase the site lapsed in 1909 but were renewed in the following year for a further four years, (1-2 George V c.90), but still no attempt to make the Penllwyn Railway was made, possibly owing to the outbreak of the 1914-18 war. An Act of Abandonment was obtained in 1920 (10-11 George V c.13), section 7 of which restored the right of way along the track of the tramroad as though the Act of 1906 had not been passed. From Nine Mile Point to Ynysddu remained in use as a railway by the LNWR and later by the LM&SR until December 1937 when this remnant of John Jones's enterprise of 1822 was finally closed. 196 REFERENCES GRO = Gwent Record Office PRO = Public Record Office, Kew NLOW = National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth 1 GRO D749/397 2 GRO D1078/81 3 ibid 4 GRO D1078/304 5 GRO D1078/81, Joint affidavit of Joseph Beaumont and George Overton 6 GRO D43/1312 7 PRO Monmouthshire Canal proprietors minutes 7 May 1823 8 GRO P&BR 36 and 37 9 GRO D43/6377 10 A 'long ton' consisted of 21 hundredweights each of 120 pounds 11 GRO D43/1641 12 GRO D43/4764 13 GRO D43/1649 14 Hereford Journal, 9 July 1828 15 Lewis, J. K. Presenting Monmouthshire No. 38, Autumn 1974, p.10 16 GRO D749/373 17 Hereford Record Office, Hay Railway minutes 8 January 1812 18 GRO D749/113 19 NLOW Tredegar 84/835 20 NLOW Tredegar 57/150-153 21 PRO Monmouthshire Canal proprietors minutes 6 May 1840, and NLOW Tredegar 57/136 22 Blue Books, 1850. Vol. xxxi 23 PRO Monmouthshire Canal committee minutes 2 May 1849 24 do. 11 September 1852 25 do. 21 December 1859 26 GRO Dons 1939/GWR 8

Canal Inclined Places—A Contemporary View BY RICHARD DEAN In the first flush of enthusiasm following the founding of the Canal Association in 1855, a sub-committee was appointed to consider the best means of passing craft from one level to another. A report on the subject by N. Beardmore of the River Lee Navigation and Robert Skey of the Shropshire Union was printed as an appendix to the proceedings of the second annual meeting, and whilst not being particularly comprehensive it is of interest for the light shed on the construction and operation of the tub-boat inclines on the Chard and Shropshire Canals. CHARD CANAL The report reproduces correspondence between Sidney Hall, Resident Engineer on the canal until its completion in 1842, and John Farquhar, the canal Agent, concerning the subsequent performance of the inclines, information which Hall wanted for the benefit of Sir William Cubitt. His own considered opinion was that the Thorne Plane had been a failure, the works being unnecessarily expensive and complicated: that the Wrantage Plane lost a 197 large amount of water: that at Ilminster the general plan of caisson working had been most completely carried out: and that Chard Plane was on the whole the most successful both from simplicity of construction and economy of water. Farquhar's response was as follows: "Bridgewater, "Sydney Hall, Esq., Swansea. "11th May, 1857 "My dear Sir, "In reply to your letter of the 8th instant, I have to state that having resigned my appointment under the Chard Canal Company in July, 1853, I have now no official connexion with that Company; still I shall be happy to give you such information as my memory will assist me in doing. "The cubic capacity of the Chard Reservoir was 36,000,000 cube feet, or 1,000,000 tons of water. The top water level was reduced usually about 11 feet, but on two occasions it had been reduced about 20 feet; once before I left the concern, and once since, in the last instance nearly down to the upper Culvert. I forget the first season, the last was 1855. The traffic varied from 23,000 to 33,000 tons per annum. "The boats usually contained eight tons each, and took about ten minutes in passing the Planes, each boat; the train of boats consisted of eight boats. "I have not seen the Planes since 1853; they continued to work well; decay in materials is the only difficulty. "There was an accident at the Ilminster Plane (a rise of 70 feet), from care- lessness of the Incline Plane Keeper, and from want of the Scotches being in proper order they did not act in stopping the descent of one Caisson. This was in November last. It is represented that the man allowed the Caisson to come up with violence against the sills at the top, which caused some of the iron to give way and break under the Caisson in connection with the screw at the end of the chain. The Caisson ran to the bottom, materially injuring itself, the frame and gate at the bottom, and the boat in it. It is said that the break was not in proper order. It took about five weeks to repair the damages, at an expense of about £200, as the wheels, axles, &c., at Wrantage, came in aid. "I think the Planes have worked well, but I give the preference to the Chard Incline Plane, and no doubt great improvements might be made in them. It was my intention to have walled up under the longitudinal sleepers of the rails and between the piles at Ilminster and Chard Inclined Planes, so as to have rendered them permanent and more durable. More water was required to be sent down than was wanted for the Planes to supply leakage and evaporation of the Ponds, still there is ample supply of water and to spare. "I am, my dear Sir, "Yours very truly. (Signed) "JOHN FARQUHAR."

SHROPSHIRE CANAL An interesting description of the inclined planes on the Shropshire and Shrewsbury Canals (part of the Shropshire Union system) furnished to the sub-committee by Mr Beech, the Engineer of the company, is reproduced below. A party from the Association subsequently visited the inclines on 5 August 1858. Presumably they would have seen only the inclines at Wombridge (Trench) and Hay, as the others had been closed the previous June for construction of the Coalport Branch Railway anticipated by Beech at the end of his note. 198 These inclines have been in work about sixty years, and form perhaps the largest system of Canal Inclines in use in this country. They are four in number, viz.:— The Wombridge Incline on the Shrewsbury Canal. The Donnington Wood Incline, The Strichley Incline, and on the Shropshire Canal. The Hay Incline, The two first mentioned inclines rise from the level of the Trench Lock to the summit level of the Shropshire Canal, a height of 195 feet. The fall of the last two form the summit level to Coalport 350 feet. The inclination varies from 1 in 5 to 1 in 15. The planes are formed by heavy cast iron frame plates laid upon longitudinal balk 10 inches X 6 inches, the latter being supported by cross sleepers of suitable scantling. The Wombridge Incline differs from those on the Shropshire Canal, in having wrought iron rails instead of case metal plates. In all cases there are double parallel 'ways' rising from the lower levels to the summit of each incline, and descending thence into the upper bays. On each incline two Cradles are used, one ascending, the other descending, and although a loaded boat will draw up an empty one, still to surmount the summit a steam engine is necessary. The Cradles are very strong carriages, running on four inside wheels, but having two outside or bye wheels which run on elevated rails to preserve the horizontal position of the boat on entering the upper bay. To the upper part of the Cradle is fixed the 'Carriage Head,' to which are also fixed two strong back stays, to which latter the rope is attached by a chain bridle. The use of the carriage head is to elevate the fastening of the rope in order to allow a boat to float under, as well as to act as a guide in placing the boat on the carriage. The cost of a carriage or cradle, fitted complete, is about £90. The Machinery of each Incline is composed of a Steam Engine of from 16 to 20 horse power, with a large Drum Barrel 6 feet diameter and Break Wheel, also a `Winding out Drum' and Break Wheel, the whole being connected with suitable spur gearing. The ropes (of wire) are laid from the drum barrel upwards and passed over two large independent pullies (6 feet diameter), situate over the upper bays, and fixed to the carriage heads, the one being, we will suppose, in the upper, and the other in the lower bay; we must also premise that a chain has been led from the winding out shaft, or drum, and attached to the hind part of the Cradle. The following is the operation in passing Boats from one level to another:— A loaded Boat is floated on the Cradle lying in the upper, an empty one is at the same time placed on the Cradle in the lower bay. The signal is given and the Engine (being in connection only with the winding out shaft) draws the Cradle out of the upper bay over the summit. This being done, the breakman puts down the break of the large drum barrel to stay the Cradle, till he or his assistant can disconnect the winding out chain and throw it on one side. All being clear, the breaksman raises the break, when the cradle carrying the loaded boat descends, drawing up the cradle with the empty boat. On the latter reaching the top, or nearly so, the chain from the winding out shaft is attached to the cradle, as before described; the Engine is put in gear with the large drum (having been previously disengaged from the winding out shaft) and the cradle drawn over the 199 summit, at which moment the breaksman applies the break to the winding out shaft, thus allowing the boat to run easily into the upper level, and which on floating leaves the carriage by the impetus it has acquired in the descent. Whether a loaded boat is ascending or descending the operation is the same, with the exception that the Engine must be put in motion to assist in bringing up a loaded barge. Eight boats per hour is the maximum number that can be passed, to do which requires an engineman and boy at the summit, and a man to 'put on' at the lower level. The average cost of maintenance for the years 1855 and 1856 was £1,599 18s., and the cost per ton for working the Inclines is 21/16d. for the four Inclines, the total amount of tons passed annually is about 135,000. The Boats are 20 feet long by 6 feet 3 inches wide, and draw when loaded 2 feet 4 inches, when empty 8 inches. The Boats on this Canal, as on the Chard Canal, are moved along the levels in trains; and as eight boats only can be passed in the hour, great delay necessarily arises, indeed the average voyage of a boat is not more than five or six miles in the twenty-four hours. From this cause great additional cost is incurred in haulage. Though this Canal cannot be considered a commercial failure, having paid a large dividend for very many years, still it has been found incapable of meeting the requirements of the present day, and in the last Session of Parliament an Act was obtained authorising its abandonment, and the substitution of a Locomotive Railway.'

The writer holds a fairly complete set of the circulars issued by the Canal Association from 1855 to 1885, and these will gladly be made available to any Society member interested in compiling an appreciation of the work of that body.

The Lower Part of the Nottingham Canal and the Beeston Cut in 1982 G. Y. HEMINGWAY This waterway, once used by all the extensive Trent traffic to by-pass the obstruc- tions at and above Nottingham Trent Bridge, remains in good order and is still much used by pleasure-craft. The Meadow Lane Lock, giving access to the river below the bridge, has walls of large squared ashlar blocks and, a little beyond the inner gates, additional flood- gates carried somewhat higher, with corresponding ramps to bring the towpath (on the east side) to the same height. A yard and buildings adjoin on the east, occupied by "Trent Carriers Ltd". A notice here states that the speed limit for vessels on the river is 6 m.p.h. and on the side-cuts and connecting canals 4 m.p.h. On the west side is a large five-storey warehouse, apparently of mid-nineteenth century date, and more recent offices on the east side. The channel is broader than would be necessary for mere passing of wide boats, and several pleasure- boats were moored in it. There may once have been wharves along the east side, but on the west buildings rise straight out of the water, the base of the wall being of heavy ashlar blockwork, probably dating from the building of the Canal at the end of the eighteenth century. 200 A narrow girder bridge communicates with a works on the west, then a modern girder bridge carries a new road. Soon after this, an apparently eighteenth century masonry arch (bearing a plate "No. 1") carries a narrower and older road, clamps supporting the stonework being inscribed `G.N.R.' — thus dating from after 1850, when the Railway Company purchased the Canal. Just beyond this, a bridge carries the towpath over the entry to a small basin: on the west, steel sheet piling now supports London Road, then a wall with a concrete base. A two-span girder bridge then carries another road over the canal, with masonry abutments and central pier and an openwork cast-iron parapet. Just beyond this is another small basin on the east, and there is again steel sheet piling along London Road. A girder bridge then carries the towpath over the entrance to another small basin. A two-span girder bridge carries the Midland Railway, soon after which a masonry arch carries the towpath from the east to the west side. Next is a massive bridge carrying the (now closed) GNR line which used to connect with the GCR and Victoria Station: London Road High Level Station used to be situated above it. There are two lattice girders on either side, the outer pair once carrying the platforms, and decking over the top of these. The canal then turns sharply to the left, and the former Sneinton Branch, to the right, has been blocked off by a line of steel sheet piling. A girder bridge, widened on the east side, now carries London Road over the canal, on the north side of which warehouses rise straight from the water, with doors once used for transhipment. Again, the channel is generally wide enough to allow boats to stand for loading and unloading. The former GNR viaduct runs close along the south side, until the canal turns slightly left and the railway crosses it on the skew, with a span generally similar to that which carried the High Level Station. A low-level girder bridge carrying a road immediately precedes a massive blue- brick arch, on a slight skew, under the vanished Great Central line, followed by another girder bridge under Carrington Street. An old warehouse on the north, with a basin carried under it, has been recently converted into a Canal Museum. A little further on, an arch under the towpath gives access to another basin carried under a works. On the north is a six-storey British Waterways warehouse, apparently of twentieth century construction, with four sets of doors opening from all floors on to the waterway. A girder bridge carries Wilford Street over the canal, with the Navigation Inn adjoining to the north-west. Then comes Castle Lock, in good order, with ashlar walls and a rise of about 5-6 feet. On the towpath is a small pillar with the inscription: '1869. SAML. PARR, W. G. WOODWARD, Overseers, T. GODFREY, Assistant Overseer'. A small stream now leaves on the south, with a weir down from the canal and a footbridge to carry the towpath over this, the channel disappearing under two small low-level arches. Presumably this carried off excess water during floods. From this point, the towpath area is being tidied up and trees planted. Behind the present towpath is a stagnant ditch, which may indicate that the waterway was once much wider. A marker is inscribed miles from the Trent': no number is shown, but it would probably be two miles from Meadow Lock. For a while, the canal runs close on the south of the Beeston Road. A footbridge carries the towpath over what was once the entrance to a basin adjoining sidings (now lifted) of the Midland Railway. A large Marina is being built here, with a modern concrete bridge, on a curve, to give road access to it. The Mansfield line of the former Midland Railway now crosses on a low-level girder bridge, 201 then Lenton Lane, on a modern concrete bridge. On the north is the works of `Trevithicks, Boat Builders, established 1895'. The Beeston Cut now continues straight on, on a slightly winding course, the entrance to the original continuation of the Nottingham Canal, which followed the course of the River Leen, being blocked off by steel sheet piling: the river is now carried under the canal by a siphon and continues to the south. This is the end of the commercial area, the Beeston Cut being now in largely open country. A slight narrowing, with heavy ashlar walls, does not indicate a former lock, but may once have accommodated flood-gates. It passes under the A614 road, with a modern high-level concrete bridge, then by a lower-level girder bridge under the Nottingham — Derby line of the former Midland Railway, with blue-brick abutments. After more than a mile across open country, with a few minor bridges, a slightly hump-backed brick arch carries the towpath from the south to the north side, where it is now superseded by a road, 'Canal Side'. The final lock from the Trent is in good order and has ashlar walls: there is a weir in the river, and another lock once gave access below the weir, but this is now blocked off by steel piling. This lock has brick walls and a stone coping. Pleasure-boat traffic is considerable, but nothing was seen of commercial boats. However, some of this (on a small scale) may still remain, as the warehouses do not appear to be wholly derelict.

Book Reviews CHRONOLOGY OF LONDON RAILWAYS, by H. V. Borley. 96 pp, A4 size, card covers. Railway & Canal Historical Society, 1982. Available from the R&CHS Sales Officer, 134 Westway, London SW20 9LS. ISBN 0 901461 33 4. £3.85 post free. This work is a historical record of all railway routes and stations in the London area, of both London Transport and British Rail, giving details of opening dates and, where applicable, closing dates. In many cases, footnotes enlarge on information relevant to such opening or closing dates. The book is divided into two parts, the first dealing with chronologies of lines and train services. This comprises twenty sections, the first eleven being BR lines and the other nine London Transport lines (the ninth being the City Widened Lines of the Metropolitan!). Each section shows the part of line concerned, opening dates (for passenger and/or goods services), the owning company and similar appropriate closure details. Part II is an alphabetical list of the individual stations contained within the sections listed in Part I, again with opening and closing dates. This includes goods facilities where provided, and previous names of the stations concerned. Useful footnotes are again provided. At the end, a useful list of Company and general abbreviations can be found. Your reviewer has no hesitation in recommending this book to all railway enthusiasts — of LT and BR alike. It is a valuable and informative document, which has been hand-typed and presented in easily readable form. Mr. Borley is well known for his detailed interest in rail transport over many years and I have no doubt that accuracy has been achieved to perfection. B. R. J. HARDY (Mr Hardy is the Editor of Underground News, the monthly magazine of the London Underground Railway Society.) 202 A REGIONAL HISTORY OF THE RAILWAYS OF GREAT BRITAIN: VOLUME 2: SOUTHERN ENGLAND, by H. P. White. Fourth Edition, 1982. 225 pp, plus index, 47 plates, maps and graphs in text, folding map inside back cover. David & Charles, ISBN 0-7153-8365-5. £9.50. It is now over 20 years since I first welcomed Professor White's competent geo- grapher's overview of the development of the railway network south of the Thames and east of the Reading/Salisbury/Bournemouth axis. Taking it down from the shelf (its pages show signs of regular use) and comparing, I found the new edition has a further chapter beinging the story up to 1980 and some fairly minor changes elsewhere. Almost all the original plates appear again (demon- strating in some cases that book illustration techniques have regressed rather than advanced), but there are a few new ones. The maps and graphs are unchanged (though some could have usefully been brought up to date). Along- side the neat coloured folding map of the First Edition, the monochrome offer- ing is but a poor thing. We can guess the publisher's explanations for these shortcomings; indeed he is to be congratulated for his efforts in keeping this useful series going and up to date. The original book fulfilled a real need. Since 1961, as Professor White acknow- ledges, there has been a good deal of work published about this area, not least Dr Course's pleasant trilogy and R. A. Williams' soundly-researched LSWR history, sadly curtailed at volume two and 1899 by current publishing fashion and economics. Professor White's well-organised book nevertheless remains a valuable source for quick reference, and for those who have none of the earlier editions, it can be confidently recommended as a readable basic survey which omits none of the important factors and features in the growth, change, and occasional decline of what is still some of the busiest railway in Britain. Vehicle history is kept very much in its proper place. ALAN A. JACKSON

A HISTORY OF THE LNER, VOL. 1 — THE FIRST YEARS, 1923-33, by Michael R. Bonavia. pp. xii, 90, with 60 illustrations. George Allen & Unwin, 1982. ISBN 0 04 385088 X. £6.95. His earlier books — The Organisation of British Railways, The Four Great Railways, Railway Policy between the Wars and British Rail: the first 25 years — have established Dr Bonavia as the most authoritative author of British railway company history from 1923 to 1973. Except for the first-mentioned, the style of these books is the literary equivalent of a broad brush on a wide canvas. Uncluttered with detail, they provide a clear, readable account of the essential ingredients of railway history of this 50-year period. This is an important contribution, providing the necessary backcloth for narrower specialised studies and the starting point for the more detailed definitive company histories, which it is hoped will one day be written. Although the author is perhaps better placed than anyone to write the definitive history of the LNER, the book here reviewed — the first of a three-volume work — clearly does not have this aim. It is largely material from some of Dr Bonavia's earlier books re-worked into a more popular format, attractively presented for wider readership. In his preface, the author says that his intention was to com- plement Cecil J. Allen's History of the LNER, laying more emphasis upon the Board and Management problems faced by the company and less upon locomotive design and performance. This he has done admirably. GRAHAME BOYES

203 A HISTORY OF THE LMS, Vol. 1, The First Years, 1923-1930; by 0. S. Nock. 94 pp, 230 x 195 mm. with 60 illustrations. George Allen & Unwin, 1982. ISBN 0-04-385087-1. £6.95.

It is now over sixty years since the Railway Magazine announced that what had been referred to already as the North Western, Midland and Western Scottish Group would be known as the London, Midland & Northern Railway. The name London, Midland & Scottish was evidently substituted in the last weeks of 1922 and some locomotives (probably very few) actually bore the initials `LM&SR' before the familiar letters `LMS' began to appear everywhere. Those who remember the company in its earliest years will have their own memories of interesting but perplexing changes. Here we have a clear and very readable account, reminding us that the amalgamation of the London & North Western with the Lancashire & Yorkshire had taken place already and how, for a time, there were ideas of a separate Midland group. Mr Nock recalls the `Midlandisation' of the other constituents and widespread uneasiness before the new company began to take on LMS characteristics and his account ends with the scene set for great developments (under new leadership) during the 1930s. One could not expect to find a detailed record of the 1923-1930 period in a book of ninety-four pages, particularly with so many photographs occupying half a page. Most of these illustrations show locomotives at work and they are an excellent selection, reminding us that many pre-grouping classes were still kept very busy; indeed many continued on important trains until their successors designed by Stanier were able to take over in 1934. The majority of readers will find them attractive and interesting. G. 0. HOLT.

RED FOR DANGER, by L. T. C. Rolt. 4th Edition, with additional material by Geoffrey Kichenside. 308 pp, with 21 illus. David & Charles, 1982. ISBN 0 7153 8362 0. £6.50. This classic book on railway accidents was originally published by The Bodley Head in 1955 and the narrative ends at the Norton Fitzwarren accident in 1940. As in the previous edition this latest edition has two excellent additional chapters (52 pages) by Mr Kichenside on the more noteworthy accidents in the last 40 years. The latest one mentioned (and only the third in Ireland serious enough for inclusion in this book) is the derailment at Buttevant in 1980, in which an express train was diverted at high speed into a siding, the facing points — admittedly temporarily — not being connected to the signal box nor interlocked with the signals: an extraordinary reversion to primitive practices of over a century ago referred to earlier in the book. H. C. L. TRICKETT

PRIVATE AND UNTIMETABLED RAILWAY STATIONS, HALTS AND STOPPING PLACES, by Godfrey Croughton, R. W. Kidner and Alan Young. 148 pp with 16 pp plates and 5 maps. Oakwood Press, 1982. ISBN 0 85361 281 1. £4.50. Minor railway stations, now largely things of the past, have as a class been rather neglected by historians, and as they are of a perishable nature anything which helps to create their record is to be welcomed. The authors have cast a wide net, and provide basic particulars not only of the handful of purely private stations on public railways, but of those public stations which were closed but later used for excursion traffic, and stations which are situated on private lines. Moreover their definition of a passenger station as 'any definable point, with

204

or without platforms or buildings, at which trains consisting wholly or partly of rolling stock designed for the conveyance of passengers habitually stopped .. lets in a number of road/rail crossings as well as such places as Pentewan and Spurn Head. A 13-page introduction deals with stations under various headings — private, institutional and sport (asylums, race courses), industrial, armed forces, railway staff halts, unopened stations and ticket platforms. Having been written in con- junction with the Transport Ticket Society, three pages are devoted to repro- ductions of appropriate tickets, e.g. Maryport & Carlisle R. Dovenby Lodge; LM&SR workman's Wolverton to Loughton Sdg. The main body of the book is a tabulation of stations in alphabetical order giving name, pre-grouping or other railway, location, grid reference, use, start and finish dates of such use and remarks. Ticket platforms and nineteen unopened stations are listed separately. Not surprisingly, in view of the subject, there are fairly numerous gaps in the data, mainly in the dates column, although poor Angling Club Cottage Platform seems to have been sunk without trace — no railway, location or purpose, never mind dates! The authors say 'It is no doubt far from complete, but it is hoped that by publishing it now, with any shortcomings, readers will tee! challenged to research original documents to which they have access .. . the authors would welcome any contribution of information, however small, with an indication of its source, so that conflicting reports can be evaluated'. With a subject so obscure, it was a very sensible decision, and it is to be hoped that the book will be studied widely, and that readers will advise the authors of corrections and additions. This writer estimates that approximately 1400 stations are listed, of which about 26 were purely private stations on public railways through their entire existence, about 450 had been or later became public stations, and about 120 were in Ireland. The book is well produced and illustrated, contains much of value to those whose railway interests are regional, systemic, national or social, and it provides both a service and a challenge to historians. H. W. PAAR

THE BATH TO WEYMOUTH LINE, by Colin Maggs. 74 pp, plus 32 photographs. The Oakwood Press, 1982. ISBN 0 85361 289 7. £3.90. The Wilts, Somerset & Weymouth Railway was forced by financial failure to sell out to the Great Western in 1850, after a mere five years, whereupon the Broad Gauge was extended through Westbury to Salisbury and Yeovil at a very leisurely rate, finally reaching Weymouth in early 1857. The London & South Western Railway exercised its running powers from the start over the mixed gauge from Dorchester, and a century's pattern of services was established, only ended by the withdrawal of Weymouth — Paddington services in 1960. This book not only describes the Great Western lines to both Weymouth and Salisbury, but also includes some description of the branches to Bridport and Radstock, the Weymouth Quay tramway, and the lines in Portland. Overall one gains the impression that this book grew rather than being planned. Clarity of aim suffers as a result. Thus, while there are separate sections for historical development and topographical description the distinction is not adhered to in the text. In an account such as this there is great merit in adopting a tabular approach to openings and closures, which would very considerably lighten the load which the narrative must otherwise carry. The book is perhaps

205 most useful on post-nationalisation closures and changes in service patterns. It is less good on early railway politics which gave us such oddities as Dorchester South and the complications of Yeovil. There is a very full bibliography. The photographs are of mixed quality. Some, including the cover picture, are quite anonymous in terms of locality, while others are of the greatest interest. Perhaps the abiding impression is of too much attempted in the space allowed, but within that space there is a quite astonishing quantity of information on a rather neglected part of the Great Western system. E. R. Ll. DAVIES

THE BIRMINGHAM & DERBY JUNCTION RAILWAY, by C. R. Clinker. 24 pp, card covers, no illus. Avon Anglia Publications and Services, 1982. ISBN 0 905466 47 0. Special offer to RCHS members: £1.30, post free (see Bulletin 258). When the Midland Railway was formed out of the amalgamation of three companies in 1844 it became the largest system in the country, extending over 170 miles. The Birmingham & Derby Junction provided less than 50, but its important link between the East and West Midlands became the North to West route which provides a valuable service to this day. Railway historians have been inclined to treat the Midland constituents as inseparable, but here we read of a promising, self-contained little railway which was no mere satellite of the North Midland nor the nigger in the Midland Counties woodpile. Its brief career was full of interest and two most eminent Midland officers came from this line. This little book had its origin in a paper which Mr. Clinker read to the Dugdale Society in 1954. The account is particularly clear and concise, reminding us that it was addressed to local historians who may not have had much interest in Warwickshire's railway system at that time. They subsequently published the paper and their recognition of the importance of the subject was most encourag- ing to members of the newly-formed R&CHS. A review appeared in one of the earliest Journals (September 1956) and this new edition will please many who have not had opportunities of seeing it before. G. 0. HOLT

RAILWAYS OF TEESSIDE, by K. Hoole. 72 pp, with 100 photographs and 1 map. Card covers, 177 x 217 mm. Dalesman Books, Clapham via Lancaster, 1982. ISBN 0 85206 683 X. £2.95. Subtitled A Pictorial History, this is not just another picture book, as the illustrations have been selected with great care and the text written to Mr Hoole's usual high standard. The author, or compiler as he styles himself, says the book is 'complementary to Railways in Cleveland' (1971), but the two are quite different in format. This book is better compared with the author's Railways in Yorkshire — The East Riding, Branch Line Trains in the North East, etc. The map is the same as the one in Railways in Cleveland, an official map of the `Middlesbro' District, 1912'. The book covers the area from Yarm to Loftus and, on the north bank of the Tees, to Port Clarence. Two pictures of the Stockton Quay branch are nostalgic to the reviewer as he remembers it in 1930. He is also impressed with the elab- orateness of the 'overheads' of the Shildon-Newport electrification.

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i Reviewers are professional grumblers, but my only, very minor, grumbles are that Mr Hoole, in his photograph of Eaglescliffe station, might have stated that the Stockton & Darlington Railway originally ran on the other side of the Yarm to Stockton road and was diverted in 1853, and, in the picture of the Q5, he might have drawn the attention of the reader to the symbol of the Royal Engineers and the chevrons on the smokebox, indicating overseas service in World War I. A. L. BARNETT

MARPLE RAIL TRAILS by Warwick R. Burton. 24 pp. Card covers, with 28 photographs and a map. Published by M. T. & W. R. Burton, 69 Bowden Lane, Marple, Cheshire SK6 6ND. 1982. ISBN 0 9507288 2 9. £1.00. This book is complementary to the author's Railways of Marple and District from 1794, reviewed in the July 1982 Journal, and is up to the same high standard. It contains two guided trails for the walker (or cyclist and motorist) to follow. One, 41/2 miles long, keeps close to Marple and describes something of railway or canal interest every few yards. The other walk goes further afield to include High Lane, Middlewood and Strines in its 10 miles length. Directions are clear and grid references are given. A handy pocket size, this is a most com- mendable work. ALLAN BRACKENBURY

THE INDUSTRIAL ARCHAEOLOGY OF NORTH-WEST ENGLAND, by Owen Ashmore. 241 pp, with 60 illus. and 12 maps and plans. Manchester University Press, 1982. ISBN 0 7190 0820 4. £9.50. This book fulfills a major need for the industrial archaeologist, who will no doubt hope to see a much cheaper paperback edition some time in the future. The introduction gives a brief history of every major industry in the region — textiles, metals, engineering, coalmining, stone quarrying, salt, chemicals and soap, hat-making and corn milling as well as road transport, rivers and canals, railways, ports and harbours. Further reading on these topics is suggested in the detailed bibliography. Most of the book is taken up with a gazetteer which lists all major sites in the region in alphabetical order, county by county. The title is perhaps a little mis- leading as the book covers Cheshire, Lancashire, Greater Manchester and Merseyside but does not include Cumbria. Locations are shown on a clear map of each county, and in the text by Ordnance Survey grid references. Its very detailed subject index makes it easy to use as a reference book. The gazetteer is well illustrated with detailed plans of factory layouts and maps of particularly important sites such as Birkenhead Docks, Runcorn Docks, and the canal and railway sites of Central Manchester and Salford. There are also many excellent photographs, including some historical scenes such as the interior of the British Westinghouse works at Trafford Park about 1903 and a late nineteenth century interior of a hat factory at Denton. Of particular interest is the detail given to towns which were created by canals or railways such as Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Glasson, Crewe, Horwich and Earlestown. The book is an excellent guide for the amateur and is an essential starting point for anyone contemplating a detailed study of a particular area. S. ALASDAIR MUNRO

207 THE INDUSTRIAL ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE MONTGOMERYSHIRE CANAL, by S. R. Hughes. 33 pp. Card covers 242 x 185 mm with 16 plates, several plans and drawings and a map. Published by the author at 7 Glanffrwd, Penrhyncoch, Aberystwyth, Dyfed. £1.95 incl p&p. A lot of research has gone into this booklet. Its chapter heads incorporate: `Physical Formation', 'Water Economy', 'Trade Installations', 'Canal-Trade Housing', 'Canal Generated Industry' and 'Waterway Settlements'. Interesting features emerge, some of which are not industrial archaeology. The author begins by defining the Montgomeryshire Canal as 'this 34 mile lenth consists of four completely different canals' and then refers only to the Llanymynech branch of the Ellesmere and the Eastern and Western branches of the Mont- gomeryshire. Any fourth is not mentioned (nor known!) and indeed the two parts of the Montygomeryshire proper to which the author confines his work thereafter were separate only in so far as they protected the original share- holders by creating a second company to continue the line to Newtown, after years of termination of Garthmyl. `The story of the aquedects of the canal is one of abysmal failure' and the author thoroughly condemns John Dadford, the engineer until 1796, and even William Jessop, who was called in to advise, claiming that the latter was 'white- washing' the inadequacies of Dadford following his own design failures executed by Dadford on the Cromford Canal. With current attempts to give Jessop credit hitherto accorded to other engineers this will be contested, and when one reads on page 5: 'A boat descending a flight of locks would take the same body of water with it all the way, but one ascending required this amount for every lock it passed and could therefore use a considerable quantity' many readers may sus- pect a curate's egg situation for the whole book. But parts of it are excellent. Inevitably in a work of this kind items mentioned are the arbitrary choice of the writer, but the omission of any reference to the stone mullioned windows and other so far unexplained features of the Severn Street warehouse in Welshpool — perhaps the most interesting building on the whole canal — is curious and would have warranted space in preference to the irrelevant comparisons with canals in South Wales. Description of the pumping systems at Newtown from river to canal is among other serious omissions. Proof reading might have saved several misspellings, but I enjoyed 'The stream was already depleated (sic) through feeding the park lakes'. To say more might discourage, and hopefully this booklet will go into a second, but corrected, edition. JOHN DENTON

THE SHROPSHIRE & MONTGOMERYSHIRE LIGHT RAILWAY, by Keith & Susan Turner. 44 pp 250 x 170 mm with 54 illus. and a map. David & Charles, 1982. ISBN 0 7153 8233 0. £4.95. When a standard work on a railway already exists, it must be difficult for later authors to find new things to say about it. When that work is the excellent account by Eric Tonks, which went into a second, enlarged edition only ten years ago, it is doubly difficult. But the authors have made a successful 48-page album of text and photographs of which the latter are well reproduced. Some have not appeared before. Some are a little repetitive and it is a pity when there are two photographs of Wern Las that the station should have been omitted from the map. Enthusiasts of this fascinating railway may regret the omission of such bizarre items as the seven-arch bridge than once carried a minor road over the equally minor single-tracked Criggion branch at Melverley, and aficionados of the Paddington-Birkenhead main line will be horrified to learn that the railways's

208 eastern terminus was 'east of the main GWR route from South Wales to Chester and between the radiating branches to Wellington and the Severn Valley' (italics are mine). But no matter; it is a pleasant book, usefully brought up to date with plans of the many additional sidings put in by the military authorities in the final phase. JOHN DENTON

BUILDING THE RIDEAU CANAL: A PICTORIAL HISTORY' By Robert W. Passfield. 184 pp, 219 mm square, with 44 coloured and 29 b&w illus. and plans. Fitzhenry & Whiteside, 150 Lesmill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, M3B 2T5. 1982. ISBN 0-88902-706-4. $24.95 (+$1.00 p&p). The Rideau, that romantic canal-river-lake line, 123 miles long with 49 locks, which was opened in 1832 and is still busy with summer cruisers, has generated two very good books: Robert Leget's Rideau Waterway, 1955, and now Passfield's. This admirable work was produced for the sesquicentenary in 1982 of the canal's opening by a historian working for Parks Canada, its owners. The first pages describe briefly the military origin of the waterway, its construction, and the background of its engineer, Lt.Col. John By. There follows, delight- fully, a series of contemporary coloured and black and white illustrations which, with their accompanying text, take the reader along the whole route while it was under construction — from Bytown (now Ottawa) up the Rideau River to Upper Rideau Lake, then down the Cataraqui River to Kingston on Lake Ontario — with, intermediately, a number of pages of contemporary engineering plans and sections. A short epilogue brings the story from 1832 to the present day, and is followed by a good bibliography. This book is quite first-class in its historical writing, and in its construction and presentation. Robert Passfield and Parks Canada are to be congratulated. CHARLES HADFIELD

THE WELLAND CANALS: A COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE. 140 pp, 215 mm square, coloured card covers, with 135 illus. and maps and plans. Welland Canals Foundation, PO Box 745, St. Catherines, Ontario, L2R 6Y3. 1982. $9,95. This nicely-written, well-printed and illustrated book is produced as a guide for visitors and gives an impression of the history of the four Welland Canals from the opening of the first one in 1829 to the present; of places of interest along them; and of the traffic that passes and how it is worked. Far the best section is the last, 'Canal Data and Information' which tells one where else to find what one really wants to know. We who are interested in history will find little solid nourishment here. The pictures though varied and in themselves interesting are seldom given a date, and some are very odd, e.g. the only good pictures of the great 3-rise pairs of locks at Thorold is captioned as if it were up-to-date, but in fact shows steamships. The serious historian should start the book at the Bibliography, then take off elsewhere. The industrial archaeologist who wants to understand and find the plentiful remains of the three earlier canals should get hold of The Welland Canals, Heritage Planning Study 1, by Michelle Greenwald and others, from the Ontario Government Bookstore, 880 Bay Street, Toronto. CHARLES HADFIELD 209 THE HAWKHURST BRANCH LINE, by Peter A. Harding. 32pp, card covers, with 33 illus. and 7 maps and plans. Obtainable from the author at Mossgiel, Bagshot Road, Knaphill, Woking GU21 2SG. £1.50 (+25p p&p). With the increasingly cautious approach of commercial publishers, the indepen- dently produced branch-line history is becoming commonplace. This is a good example of the genre, attractively produced on glossy paper with maps and photographs throughout. The book follows a familiar pattern of outline history, description of the route, motive power and closure. Since the line did not open until 1892 and closed in 1961 the author has found it difficult to put flesh on the bones of his story; this problem could have been partially overcome by using local newspapers as a source of less familiar material, but in fact Mr Harding seems to have relied rather extensively on standard published sources. Two sections are worthy of comment. There is a brief chapter on Colonel Stephens, the line's Resident Engineer at the early age of 22, and another on Hop-Pickers' Specials. The latter phenomenon perhaps deserves fuller study, since these trains have been often referred to but never fully discussed. The maps, particularly the general one of the line at the start of the book, are not altogether helpful, being rather clumsy and undetailed. However, there is a good selection of photos and line drawings; notable is one of Stephens with the local vicar and squire at Hope Mill station, which confirms that it is the human touches that make successes or failures out of nostalgic branch-line books such as this one. ADRIAN GRAY

THE GRESLEY PACIFICS, Combined Volume, by 0. S. Nock. 284 pp, 252 x 200 mm, with 232 illus. and numerous drawings. David & Charles, 1982. ISBN 0 7153 8320 5. £11.50. The re-issue of Mr. Nock's extensive work on this subject in one volume, instead of the original publication in two volumes, is a great improvement and an honour which it merits, making a more compact work of reference. The author has known the classes of Pacifics designed by the late Mr (afterwards Sir Nigel) Gresley for the Great Northern and London & North Eastern Railways since their earliest years, taking a very great interest in their running on the main line expresses of the East Coast route. He has supported his text with numerous photographs of various members of the designs, showing 58 examples of classes Al and A3 and 25 members of the later streamlined A4 class. Some other classes are illustrated and there are also a number of drawings of different features to cover the many points he discusses. All these are up to his usual excellent standard. The various trial runs made during the early years of the Railway Grouping, both on their own and on other companies' lines are shown at considerable length, with speeds, loadings, fuel consumption, etc. data extracted from the journals of that period. A few of the great many items in the original books could have been improved, had they been checked before this new issue. On page 176, for example, there is a photograph of Gresley with 17 members of his staff; the caption names eight of these staff only, leaving the remainder anonymous. Another point that could have been explained in this later edition is Mr Nock's comment that several of the the 40 engines built during 1924 and 1925 were sent to unusual sheds when new. 210 This was only for 'running-in' as suitable districts and rostering for such extremely long engines was difficult to find. At least ten of the Doncaster-built batch went to Gorton and were run-in on Cheshire Lines Committee local trains, with an odd trip from Manchester London Road to Marylebone afterwards. There are a large number of logs of their workings on express trains. Only a few of these are dated, the rest left blank. To my mind, undated logs lose a great part of their value in a book of such historical interest. G. DUDLEY WHITWORTH

ON STEAM, by 0. S. Nock. 166 pp, 240 x 210 mm, 64 illus. Granada Publish- ing, PO Box 9, Frogmore, St. Albans AL2 2NF. 1982. ISBN 0-246 11736 2. £9.95. Mr Nock has produced another book with excellent photographs to accompany the many points in his descriptions of the engines which have been saved from the scrap-heap. His text gives a good account of the growth of steam locomotive preservation and of the preserved lines on which these engines are kept, many of them in their original liveries. At £9.95 the book is very good value in text, photographs and production. G. DUDLEY WHITWORTH

A HISTORY OF NORTHERN IRELAND RAILWAYS, by William Robb. Paper- back 205 x 145 mm, 44 pp with 29 illus. Published by the author and obtainable from Model Irish Railways, 35 Kingsway Drive, Portadown, Co. Armagh BT62 3DU. 1982. £1.50 +20p post. The title of this book refers to Northern Ireland Railways Co., Ltd, the company which now operates all railways in the province, and it is a useful publication bringing the story of these railways up to date. It commences with brief histories of the Great Northern, Northern Counties Committee and Belfast & County Down Railways, the three companies whose surviving remnants together consti- tute the NIR of today. It then goes on to recount the vicissitudes these railways passed through after the 1914-1918 war, the formation of the Northern Ireland Road Transport Board, the Second World War, the formation and eventual down- fall of UTA (officially Ulster Transport Authority, also known as Ulster's Terrible Affliction) and finally the creation of NIR which has been followed by a welcome revival of what is left of the railways in the province. The final chapter is entitled 'Mile by mile on Northern Ireland Railways' and contains much useful information on features to be seen on the railways still open in the province. Brief reference is also made to the Dundalk—Dublin line of the former GNR, as although not in Northern Ireland it is traversed by the Enterprise expresses which are jointly operated by NIR and CIE. The treatment is necessarily brief in a slim volume such as this but a bibliography is appended for those seeking further information on the earlier histories of the companies. No mention is made, however, of Casserley's Outline of Irish Railway History. This a welcome book on a subject which has not been extensively written about. It does, however, lack a map of the system and its value would be enhanced if there were one showing the present lines and another of the system at the time of the formation of the UTA in 1948. A book to be recommended to anyone interested in the recent history of Irish railways. NEIL PITTS

211 Shire Publications Ltd, (Cromwell House, Church Street, Princes Risborough, Aylesbury, Bucks) produce an extensive range of inexpensive booklets about transport, the countryside, &c. Discovering Canals in Britain (£1.35) by Peter L. Smith is an excellent little introduction to the subject by an author who certainly knows his waterways. It would be a good stocking-filler for a member's young nephew. A member is however unlikely to want to be parted from his own copy of Discovering Lost Canals (85p) by Ronald Russell despite having a copy of that author's Lost Canals and Waterways of Britain on the bookshelf, for this fine book is too heavy and expensive to carry among the brambles of an abandoned canal. This booklet describes and maps 16 lost canals where there is still a lot to be seen. Their fascination will be appreciated by those members who have attended my illustrated talks on the subject in Manchester and London. Derek Pratt is better known for the quality of his photographs than for his prow- ess with the pen. In Discovering London's Canals (£1.10) he combines both his talents and offers an excellent insight into the mysteries of London's waterways, parts of which remain too little known or used. Nowhere is this more true than at the bottom end of the River Lee Navigation where is the secret world of the Bow Back Rivers. Derek could give them only a brief reference in his booklet. A leaflet about them is however available at 10p in the BWB Canal Shop and Information Centre at Melbury House or by post for 25p from Jessie Nicholas, 300 Baring Road, London SE12 ODS. The Thames as a whole is covered by Discovering the Thames: a Motorist's Guide (£1.25) by Leon Metcalfe, describing over 50 places where motorists can now approach the river for the best viewpoints and most interesting features. On the subject of railways there are two books in the series by F. G. Cockman: Discovering Lost Railways (95p), in which he describes 23 selected closed lines, with details of remaining relics, and Discovering Preserved Railways (95p), in which 36 preserved railways are described, including some lesser known ones such as the Whipsnade & Umfolosi Railway. The booklet concludes with lists (without descriptions) of no less than 34 'other interesting railways' and 49 railway centres and museums. Another and larger book by Mr Cockman from the same publisher is British Railways' Steam Locomotives (80pp, £2.50), a pleasant production describing most of the steam locomotives at work on BR between nationalisation and the end of steam. An error or two in dates does not detract from the interesting accounts accompanying the 93 illustrations. PHILIP DANIELL

Correspondence Stopping Places Sir, — It would scarcely befit a serious Journal for this note to be entitled `Innsignia' but such an expression hints at what is to follow. Although in some cases, of which examples appear later, railway stations were named after public-houses, in many more cases the converse applied. At the height of the railways' popularity the motor-car was less common than today, and what we now call 'reps' (then`commercial travellers') made great use of trains, and hotels near stations were a great convenience.

212 The Romans probably invented the use of trade-signs on buildings and the tra- ditional sign of an 'inn' (obliged to remain open at all times to receive guests) and a 'tavern' (for casual refreshment) was a bush, which good wine proverbially does not need. The seventy thousand or so public houses in this country now share some seven thousand different names, and railways have contributed to these. As the intruding lines displaced stage-coaches, so the signs such as 'Coach and Horses' changed to 'Railway Bell, Hotel, Tavern, Signal, Inn, Public House, or Telegraph'. This was the most frequent appellation, followed by 'Station Hotel' etc. Many still show the names of former lines (`Great Western', 'North London', etc), and there are interesting ones such as 'Silver Bullet', 'Golden Arrow', `Puffing Billy', 'Engine and Tender', 'Railway and Bicycle', 'Iron Rails' and `Railway and Linnet'. The post-Beeching era finds us with The Silent Whistle', while Spennymoor, Co. Durham, with no station, still has public houses named `Railway', 'North Eastern' and 'Station'. The Post Office has long been an important railway customer, and 'Porter and Sorter' is the revised name of a former 'railway' inn near East Croydon Station. The London and Croydon Railway was laid out in territory so lacking in popu- lous places that two of its stations were named after public houses, 'Dartmouth Arms' (now Forest Hill) and 'Jolly Sailor' (replaced by Norwood Junction). Other London Stations carry current names from nearby hostelries — Angel, Elephant and Castle, Royal Oak and Swiss Cottage; to these might be added a former terminus, Bricklayer's Arms, which surrendered its passenger traffic in 1852, though handling an immense amount of goods and parcels traffic since then. Since drafting the above I happened to mention it in passing to Harry Paar, who was good enough to remind me of an article Jeoffry Spence wrote in the Greville Memorial Issue (Vol. XXV No. 3 Sep. 1979 pp. 116 & 117) dealing with MG's interest in Railway Pubs. A. LEONARD

Station Closure, Great Eastern Style Sir, — The Great Eastern Railway, it will be remembered, was formed in 1862 by the amalgamation of the Eastern Counties Railway and other companies in East Anglia, creating a long and rather ramshackle railway which was still trying to recover from the mismanagement of early years, culminating in George Hudson's chairmanship (1845-1849), and which was in a receiver's hands for a time in 1867. A search of certain records, of the period 1854-1866, specifi- cally undertaken to provide details of the original Loughton station, has provided light on the day-to-day activities and events on the line. On 20 June 1866 the GER Traffic Committee discussed a suggestion to close eight unprofitable stations, where the annual receipts did little more than cover out-of-pocket expenses, viz. wages, stores, and taxes. These stations were as follows: Receipts Expenses Bilney E. Anglian line Magdalen Gate E. Anglian line Redenhall Waveney Valley line I Abt. £90 Abt. £80 Starston Waveney Valley line Wortwell Waveney Valley line Eastrea Nr. Whittlesea £137 £116 Brundall £183 £158 Earsham Nr. Bungay £166 £80 213 It was also recommended that Pulham Market station be closed, as it was only 3/4 mile from Pulham Mary station. The Committee resolved that the first four, and Eastrea, be closed on 1 August, and Mr Clinker's Register records that these sen- tences were duly carried out. In the case of Brundall, the Committee sensed a rodent, and asked the General Manager, R. Moseley, to report further on the expenses there. And how right they were! On 18 July Mr Moseley reported that Brundall should have read Belton, on the East Suffolk line between Yarmouth and St Olaves jcn. The receipts were £183 and expenses £91, and as there was no probability of the traffic being increased, Moseley recommended that the station be closed. The Committee, however, its suspicions now apparently thoroughly aroused, would dispense no further quick sentence; they deferred further consideration until their next meeting, and asked for full particulars of the traffic to be obtained. On 1 August, even as the other stations fell silent, the Committee met again and — lo and behold — poor Moseley had to report that at Belton station receipts were, in fact, 'in excess of what was stated', the day tickets taken at Yarmouth not having been included — the total traffic receipts for the year ending 30 June were £403 12s 4d. Not surprisingly, the Committee resolved that the station should not be closed. An interesting sequel to the closing of Magdalen Gate station was noted in September 1866, when the Committee decided to replace the existing crossing gates, which were so heavy that they needed a man to operate them at an expense of £40 p.a., by lighter ones which 'could be attended to by a platelayer's wife, and thus considerable expense saved'. Of the other passenger stations mentioned, Wortwell was closed in 1878, Earsham and Pulham Market remained open until 1953, and Brundall alone survives today to serve that public. HARRY PAAR

Origin of the Standard Gauge Sir, — The standard gauge promulgated by George Stephenson had been pre- determined in 1763-4, when 4ft 8in was adopted as the gauge of the first section of the Willington waggonway system — the system which subsequently included the Killingworth line on which Stephenson gained his early experience. However, Mr K. Thurston Hoskins has recently drawn attention2 to a book by John Muller, Professor of Artillery and Fortification at the Royal Academy of Artillery, A treatise of artillery (1st edn. 1757) which shows that 4ft 8in had already been adopted by the British army as the standard gauge of its gun carriages. The relevant paragraph reads: The Span, or interval between the wheels varies in different countries; even every county in England observes a different width, which is very incon- venient for those who travel in carriages. Artillery ones are made like those in Flanders, which is four feet eight inches; but as the fellows [wheel rims] are not of the same breadth in all wheels, we shall make the distance between the middle of the fellows five feet in all the carriages used by land [as distinct from the small gun carriages used on board ships] .3 This certainly adds further wieght to Charles Lee's theory that the standard gauge is about the optimum for a one-horse vehicle. But one might also conjec- ture that Muller's book, published only six years previously, had a direct influ- ence on the selection of 4ft 8in for the Willington waggonway. 214 REFERENCES 1 Charles E. Lee, The evolution of railways (1st edn., 1937) p.54; M. J. T. Lewis, Early wooden railways (1970) pp.114, 183 2 Letter in Railnews, June 1982 3 John Muller, op.cit., p.177 GRAHAME BOYES

Cheap Fares on the Arbroath & Forfar Railway Sir, — I was interested in Don Martin's article on the Arbroath & Forfar Railway (Journal, July 1982) since cheap fares have been one of my particular subjects of research for a number of years. It is invaluable to bring to light information from local newspapers and company minutes in local records and connect it with what appears in better-known sources. Some references from Parliamentary sources could expand what Mr Martin has to say: 1 Petitions for Tax Remission The Arbroath & Forfar Railway was indeed a pioneer in the campaign for better taxation on passenger traffic by railway. It was the first company to send a petition to the House of Commons on the subject (Public Petitions volume for 1839, no. 9975, unfortunately not reproduced in the appendix). It was followed by 23 similar petitions in 1840 (mostly Scottish companies), 35 in 1841 from the whole country, and 12 in 1842. They all originated from small companies since taxation was favourable to main-line companies which discouraged traffic at low fares. If L. Carnegie gave evidence to the Second Report of the Select Committee on Railways in 1840, as stated by Don Martin, Thomas Grainger, the engineer for the railway, had appeared before a similar committee in 1839 complaining about the evil effects of unjust taxation on Scottish railways with low fares. He read a long statement including a letter to an MP and a table (PP 1839, X, QQ.3454-5 and Railway Magazine 1839, pp. 242-3). As Carnegie said before the 1840 Com- mittee, the tax amounted to 12% of receipts and 80% of profit on passenger traffic (PP 1840, XIII, QQ.4795-4828). 2 Extent of Tax Remission According to appendix 27 p. 552 to the Report of the 1839 Select Committee, the railway was allowed by the Lords of the Treasury to pay £10 instead of £138 for the period January 1838 to January 1839, thus enjoying a much more _ generous treatment than any other Scottish railway, not to mention English railways (this so-called 'composition' amounted to an average 40% of the actual tax in England and only 18% in Scotland). A few railways had some matter for complaint: the Monkland & Kirkintilloch had to pay £5 although the full tax amounted to £3, and the Ballochney railway, not normally subject to tax, had to pay £5! Apart from these minor discrepancies the Treasury was obviously aware of the particular situation arising from very low fares on Scottish railways, but as mentioned by Don Martin this partial remission of duty came abruptly to an end in 1840 (at dates varying from April 1839 to January 1840 according to the Select Committee on Railways PP 1840, XIII, 5th Report, appendix 14, p. 469). 3 Variation of Fares Variations of fares were very common in the early years. The summary in the Second Report of the Select Committee on Railway Acts Enactments PP 1846, XIV, appendix 2, pp. 298-561 mentions 17 such companies in the British Isles 215 including the Arbroath & Forfar Railway (p. 298) and the Newcastle & North Shields Railway (p. 507) with 5 variations each, but there were 6 variations on the Chester & Birkenhead Railway (p. 318) and on the Eastern Counties Railway (pp. 337-8), 11 variations on the Birmingham & Gloucester Railway (p. 308) and 'many' variations on the London & Birmingham Railway (p. 444). This was clearly a consequence of severe competition and of the changes introduced by the obligation to run parliamentary trains which came into effect on 1 November, 1844. Another peculiar feature of the Arbroath & Forfar Railway, which it shared with its connecting line, the Dundee & Arbroath Railway, was its 5ft 6in gauge, converted to standard gauge in 1846 for interchange of traffic with the Scottish Midland Junction Railway, the Aberdeen Railway, and the Dundee & Perth Railway. G. GUILCHER

Tyne Iron Works Sir, — The reference to the location of the Tyne Iron Works in the first paragraph of the article on C. A. Hartley in the November 1982 Journal (XXVII, 138) is incorrect. The Tyne Iron Works were at Lemington, on the north bank of the Tyne about four miles west of Newcastle, not at Lymington. B. S. COOPER

Engraved fleuron. 17th Century

Charges for advertisements: £20 full page and £12.50 half page and £7.50 quarter page. Remittance should be sent, with camera-ready copy, to Mr Pat McCarthy, 6 Carisbrooke Close, Wistaston, Crewe CW2 8JD. All copy for the July Journal should be with the Editor by 15 April and should conform to the style-sheet published in the November 1981 issue. All material published in the Journal is copyright and must not be reproduced without the permission of the Editor. Views expressed in any article or item of correspondence in the Journal of the Railway and Canal Historical Society are not necessarily those of the Editor or of the Society. Published by the Railway & Canal Historical Society at 12 Victoria Gardens, 195 London Road, Leicester LE2 1ZH, and printed by Hobbs the Printers of Southampton.

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