SAUNDERSFOOT RAILWAY

The Railway was first proposed in 1828 as a means of linking collieries owned by Lord Milford to a new harbour to be constructed at Saundersfoot. In 1829, the Saundersfoot Railway & Harbour Company’s Act was passed by parliament, with Sir Richard Phillipps of Picton Castle, Charles Ranken Vickerman and William Evans named as its main subscribers.

The proposed main line was to run northwards to Thomas Chapel, some 4¾miles from the harbour, and at the outset, it was intended to construct two branches. One branch would run along the coast, via a series of tunnels, north-eastwards to Wiseman’s Bridge. The so-called Ridgeway branch was to run westwards from Saundersfoot to serve coal pits in the Moreton area. It is important to realise that the railway was a horse-drawn tramway during its early years of existence, not a steam railway.

Coal owners ran their own trams along the line, pulled by their own horses, and paid a toll or fee for its use. The main line and the Wiseman’s Bridge branch, and the new harbour, were under construction during 1832, and by March 1834 the railway was functioning as far north as Begelly and as far as Coppet Hall along the coast. By the summer of that year, the line was in place to Thomas Chapel and Wiseman’s Bridge. Various additions were made to the railway during its years of operation. An early branch, built before 1840, connected Barley Park pit to the line near Begelly. In 1842, permission was given to extend the Wiseman’s Bridge branch northwards to Stepaside and the Lower Level colliery.

During the 1860s, C.R. Vickerman became a prominent figure in the running of the railway, and in 1869 he succeeded in becoming the sole owner. In 1873, Vickerman founded the Bonvilles Court Coal & Iron Co. and the Saundersfoot Railway & Harbour Co. became a subsidiary of the new company. During 1874, the eastern branch of the line to Wiseman’s Bridge and Stepaside was converted to a standard gauge line for steam locomotives. The locomotive “Rosalind” started work on this line in April 1874. The closure of Ironworks around this time, and the closure of many coal pits in the district, meant that the 1880s was a lean time for the railway and sections of the track were taken up above Saundersfoot station and around the Kilgetty ironworks site. In 1889-90 the line from the harbour to the Incline was converted to allow its use by the “Rosalind” and in 1893, Bonvilles Court colliery was linked to the Pembroke & Railway by a new branch from Saundersfoot station.

After the closure of Lower Level Colliery in 1900, the focus of activity moved to Bonvilles Court. Miners from the Stepaside area were allowed to ride on coal drams, pulled by the” Rosalind”, as far as the bottom of the Incline, from where they walked to Bonvilles Court. This train was known as the “Armour” locally, a name inspired by the use of armoured trains during the Boer War. It also became known as the “Miner’s Express” and is an important part of the industrial heritage of Saundersfoot.

1n 1913, the opening of a new mine at saw the conversion of the main line to Thomas Chapel for locomotive use, with an extra 1½ miles of track laid to Reynalton. A new locomotive, the “Bulldog” was bought by the Reynalton Anthracite Colliery Co. to take the coal to Saundersfoot Harbour. This colliery worked from 1914-1917 and 1919-1921, but was not successful. When the pit closed in 1921, the western end of the line fell out of use.

The main line continued in use as far as Broom, Begelly until 1936, but by the late 1930s it was only brief revival of mining at Bonvilles Court and Kilgetty collieries which kept the main line and its eastern branch operating, with coal traffic being moved by the “Bulldog” above the Incline and the “Rosalind” from the bottom of the Incline to the harbour and Kilgetty colliery. The closure of both collieries in 1939 brought the history of the Saundersfoot Railway as a working line to a close.

ROSALIND ENGINE

When the Bonvilles Court Coal and Iron Company was formed in 1873, changes to the transport infrastructure were out in place. Until this point the rolling stock on the Saundersfoot Railway had been pulled by horses but a proposal to convert the Kilgetty branch for use by steam locomotive meant that new standard gauge rails were laid and in 1874 the Rosalind started work.

The Rosalind was a standard gauge engine but with a low profile without a cab to enable it to negotiate the tunnels. It is believed that originally it was called “Bonville” but was re-named by CR Vickerman after his daughter Rosalind.

After the closure of Lower Level Colliery the Rosalind was used to pull drams to take workers from the Stepaside area to Bonvilles Court Colliery, the so-called Miners Express. The Rosalind never worked above the Incline, and the Bulldog never worked below it. The Rosalind was finally scrapped at Saundersfoot in 1939/40 as part of the World War II scrap drive.

MINERS EXPRESS; THE ARMOUR TRADITION

When Lower level Colliery at Stepaside closed in 1900, many of the colliers were offered work at Bonvilles Court Colliery and every morning the Rosalind was used to pull drams in which the miners stood to take them to the foot of the Incline from where they walked the rest of the way and then did the return journey in the evening. This has become known as the “Miners Express”, a name seemingly given by a postcard publisher. Locally the train seems to have been called the Armour after the resemblance to armoured trains used during the Boer War.

BULLDOG ENGINE

When Reynalton Colliery was opened in 1913, it was realised that a new rail link was needed so the Saundersfoot Railway from Bonvilles Court to Thomas Chapel was re- laid and an extension created to Reynalton colliery. This was finished by the end of 1915 and a new engine, the Bulldog, pulled trucks from Reynalton Colliery. In order to clear the Kingsmoor tunnel the cab roof had to be removed.

When the Colliery failed in 1921, the Bulldog was transferred to the Bonvilles Court Coal Company where it worked from the top of the Incline to the siding at Saundersfoot Station. When Bonvilles Court closed in 1930, the Bulldog remained in its locomotive shed near the Fan Pit at Bonvilles Court until 1934/5 when a brief revival of mining meant that the Bulldog was used between Bonvilles Court and Broom Colliery until 1939. The Bulldog was sold to Llanelly steelworks in 1939 and was finally scrapped at Llanelly in 1951.