Colne Valley Waterworks railway
 Route in 1939 | |
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Watford |
| Locale | England |
| Dates of operation | 1931–1967 |
| Successor | Abandoned |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 2 ft (610 mm) |
| Length | 1 mile (1.6 km) |
The Colne Valley Waterworks railway was a 2 ft (610 mm) narrow gauge industrial railway connecting the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) Watford to Rickmansworth branch line with the Eastbury Pumping Station to deliver coal.
History
[edit]The Colne Valley Water Company opened the Eastbury Pumping Station near Watford in 1873. In 1931 the company opened a narrow gauge railway connecting the pumping station with the LMS standard gauge branch line between Watford and Rickmansworth. The line ran southeast from a private siding on the LMS line, crossed the River Colne by a relatively substantial plate girder bridge and ended in a yard at the pumping station. The railway carried coal to power the pumping station and chlorine and salt for the water softening plant.
Decline and closure
[edit]The pumping station switched from coal to diesel power in 1956; after this use of the railway declined significantly. Chlorine and salt were still carried by rail. The line closed in 1967. The two locomotives were purchased for preservation.
Locomotives
[edit]| Number | Builder | Type | Date | Works number | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ruston & Hornsby | 4wDM | 1932 | 166015 | Believed scrapped approx 1970 |
| 2 | Ruston & Hornsby | 4wDM | 1933 | 166024 | Preserved at the Amberley Chalk Pits Museum in 1968 |
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- Neale, Andrew (April 1992). "Coal, Chemicals and Salt. The Colne Valley Waterworks Railway". Narrow Gauge & Industrial Railway Modelling Review. 2 (10). Ram Productions Ltd. ISSN 0958-0808.
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