Silkstone Waggonway
INFO:
Silkstone Waggonway was a 3-mile narrow gauge horse-drawn railway, built by the Barnsley Canal Navigation Company, between Silkstone Common and Cawthorne on the outskirts of Barnsley, South Yorkshire. The line was opened in 1809, transporting coal, coke across from Silkstone to Barnby Basin at the end of Cawthorne Canal, where it was loaded onto barges for distribution across the north of England and also London. It was also used for conveying industrial materials to other businesses in the area. It was extended to Silkstone Common in 1830 as well as to a colliery then under construction at Moorend. The line closed in 1860 along with the canal as full gauge branch line railways started to take over the business.
Today the Silkstone Waggonway is a footpath and bridleway and unlike lot of others, can be explored in its practical entirety.
The trackbed retains many of the original stone sleepers - one of eleven such lines in the country to do so, with another notable example being the Peak forest Tramway in Derbyshire - and the holes that held the rail fittings can still be clearly seen. Occasional relics can be found, such as short 3 metre stretches of railway, the one at Silkstone High St also supporting a full-size replica coal wagon.
Silkstone Waggonway
INFO:
Silkstone Waggonway was a 3-mile narrow gauge horse-drawn railway, built by the Barnsley Canal Navigation Company, between Silkstone Common and Cawthorne on the outskirts of Barnsley, South Yorkshire. The line was opened in 1809, transporting coal, coke across from Silkstone to Barnby Basin at the end of Cawthorne Canal, where it was loaded onto barges for distribution across the north of England and also London. It was also used for conveying industrial materials to other businesses in the area. It was extended to Silkstone Common in 1830 as well as to a colliery then under construction at Moorend. The line closed in 1860 along with the canal as full gauge branch line railways started to take over the business.
Today the Silkstone Waggonway is a footpath and bridleway and unlike lot of others, can be explored in its practical entirety.
The trackbed retains many of the original stone sleepers - one of eleven such lines in the country to do so, with another notable example being the Peak forest Tramway in Derbyshire - and the holes that held the rail fittings can still be clearly seen. Occasional relics can be found, such as short 3 metre stretches of railway, the one at Silkstone High St also supporting a full-size replica coal wagon.