Morda Tramway
TheMorda Tramwayrefers to twoindustrial railwayssouth of Oswestry, on the border between England and Wales. They connected thecoal pitsaround Morda to transport networks, the first to theMontgomery Canaland the second to theCambrian Railwaysat Whitehaven.
History
[edit]A horse-drawntramwayrunning southeast was built in 1813 to serve the small coal mines of Coed-y-Go and the Bell Pits nearMorda,[1]about 1 mile south of Oswestry. It ran east of Sweeney Mountain, crossedthe Oswestry-Welshpool roadat Albridge Lane, and met theMontgomery Canalat a wharf by Gronwen Bridge south ofMaesbury,where the canal now ends.[2]When the large Drill colliery opened, the tramway was modernised with new rails that could handle heavier loads. By 1850 the canal had been taken over by theShropshire Union Canaland the tramway had closed by 1879.
Railway engineerThomas Savin[3]saw the advantage of connecting hisCambrian Railwaysto the mines at Morda. He bought the Coed y Go mines and built anarrow-gaugerailway from Whitehaven, starting near Nuttree Farm.[4]It ran northwards, west of Sweeney Mountain to the small hamlet Gronwen (this section is walkable today, including a steep bank in a shallow cutting from Sweeney Fen nature reserve opening out onto a causeway as far as Gronwen), then curved west up the brook, under Brook House bridge and then swung northeast to Coed-y-Go.[4]The railway opened in 1861 but Savin's railways collapsed in 1866 and his mine closed in 1869.
Remains
[edit]Most of Savin's railway can be traced today.[4]There is a fine bridge at Brook House, that has a high arch to accommodate the tallchimneysof the locomotives used on the line.[4]It seems that there was an existing bridge taking the lane over Nant-y-Caws brook, now referred to as the Garden Bridge.[4]Savin built a new bridge to take the lane over both railway and brook, and realigned the lane over the new bridge.[4]Limestone blocks that supported the track can be seen in the field east of the bridge.
References
[edit]- ^"Shropshire Routes to Roots - Transport and communication - Getting goods to market".Shropshire Council. 1 August 2007. Archived fromthe originalon 24 July 2008.Retrieved19 September2011.Has maps and pictures
- ^"Map of original tramway".Shropshire Council. 1 August 2007. Archived fromthe original(JPG)on 24 July 2008.Retrieved19 September2011.
- ^Baughan 1980, page 180
- ^abcdef"The local infrastructure: Savin's Railway".Shropshire Council. 1 August 2007. Archived fromthe originalon 24 July 2008.Retrieved19 September2011.Has maps and pictures of Savin's railway
- Baughan, Peter E.(1980).A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain: Volume 11 North and Mid Wales(1st ed.). Newton Abbot: David & Charles.ISBN0-7153-7850-3.OCLC6823219.
- Baughan, Peter E.(1991).A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain: Volume 11 North and Mid Wales(2nd ed.). Nairn: David St John Thomas.ISBN0-9465-3759-3.OCLC26361284.
External links
[edit]- www.northwalesminers.comArchived19 March 2012 at theWayback Machinehas details of Savin's mines