A Brief History of the Foxfield Railway

The Foxfield Colliery was situated in the Cheadle Coalfield of North Staffordshire. Originally, transport of coal from the colliery was by packhorse and tramway. A production increased thoughts turned to the provision of better transport. Up to that time every scheme to build a railway to Cheadle had failed, the owners of the colliery decided that they had to take matters into their own hands.

The Foxfield Railway was built in 1892-1893 to provide a link to the national railway network for the Foxfield Colliery, on the Stoke-Derby main line. The railway itself was built by local labour provided by the North Staffordshire Railway employees at weekends and supervised by the NSR (North Staffordshire Railway) foreman plate layer Noah Stanier. The railway was built with second hand material from the NSR.

In order to keep the cost of the railway to a minimum there are almost no earthworks on the railway, the only notable ones being a cutting, dug through rock and a road over Rail Bridge. The total cost to build the railway was £3000. The lack of earthworks have resulted in a railway with huge gradients, running as steep as 1:19 in places and the steepest adhesion worked standard gauge line in Britain.

The railway, once built, led a quiet but productive life until the eventual closure of the colliery by the NCB (National Coal Board) in August 1965.

Foxfield Railway

Bagnall No 2 at Caverswell Road Station

Bagnall No.2

Typical of the products of Bagnall’s Castle Works, Stafford No.2 is typical of the firm’s 14” saddle tanks, weighing 27 tons in working order, it was delivered new to the Kent Electric Power Company at Littlebrook Power Station, near Dartford on 31 July 1946. Number 2 was later moved to Croydon ‘A’ Power Station during the mid 1950s.

Purchased privately for preservation in November 1972 it was moved byroad to Alresford, becoming the first locomotive to arrive at the new Mid Hants Railway preservation scheme. It received some attention but with boiler repairs also needed it remained a static exhibit. In May 1980 No. 2 was named ‘Hampshire’ immediately prior to a period of loan to Tucktonia, a model village in Christchurch, Dorset. The locomotive later moved on to spend several years at the Avon Valley Railway at Bitton, latterly on display at Warmley where it was basically complete but suffered some vandalism.

Bagnall No.2 was eventually purchased privately by three members of the same family for restoration to working order at the Foxfield Railway. Number 2 arrived at Foxfield, complete with a graffiti livery, on 23 September 2003. Following purchase the locomotive has had an extensive overhauled, including a new firebox, new axle bearings and replacement parts for the valve gear. The work took several years to complete, culminating with its first steaming since 1965 in June 2010.

Since returning to traffic No.2 has proved a valuable member of the operating fleet and has also visited several other railways, flying the flag for Foxfield at home and away.

Florence No2

This locomotive was one of a batch supplied to the NCB North Staffordshire Area where it worked with similar locomotives on a 2 mile long steeply graded line from Florence Colliery near Longton to a washery and BR main line connection at Trentham. It left the Castle Engine Works in Stafford on 29 January 1954, and joined an identical locomotive at Florence that had also arrived new in 1950, known simply as ‘No1’. A Giesel ejector with its characteristic ‘squashed’ chimney was fitted to ‘Florence No 2’ in April 1962 to improve steaming. Diesels took over the operation of the line in 1968 and sister loco ‘No 1’ was scrapped in 1971, but ‘Florence No 2’ remained spare loco for several years. On 10 January 1975 it was moved to NCB Cadley Hill Colliery, part of the South Midlands Area.

The NCB loaned the locomotive to the Battlefield Line Railway when it was in need of further motive power for its passenger trains, and it arrived there for preservation on 12 May 1978. Until it required heavy boiler repairs it was used on the line, and then put into store. Ownership eventually passed to the Battlefield Railway but without the resources to restore it, ‘Florence No2’ remained on static display at Shackerstone Station. A Foxfield Railway member subsequently purchased ‘Florence No2’ to bring it back home to North Staffordshire, and since arrival in 2000 it has had an extensive overhaul including major boiler repairs prior to a return to traffic in 2008.

Florence has subsequently been the mainstay of the operating fleet and, despite the slightly ungainly appearance of the chimney, is well liked by Foxfield crews for the economy and power available from the Giesel ejector.

Kerr Stuart O-4-OWT, ‘Willy’

“Willy the Well-Tank” is an 0-4-0 tank engine built by Kerr Stuart in 1918, works number 3063. It was delivered new to the National Shipyard at Chepstow, where ¡t spent its working life before being sold by Fairfield Mabey (the then owners of the shipyard) in 1982.

The somewhat antiquated appearance of this locomotive owes its origins to a design by Edward Borrows & Sons of the Providence Foundry, St. Helens, Merseyside. Borrows built a number of locomotives to this design for industrial concerns in the North West of England including Pilkington Bros., Brunner Mond and United Alkali. It is unclear quite how Kerr Stuart came to build locomotives to the Borrows design but, following the closure of Borrows in 1910, it is presumed that Kerr Stuart were approached and asked to supply a locomotive to this design by the Government who were responsible for the development of the national shipyards scheme during the first World War, Chepstow being one of 3 shipyards created under this scheme.

‘Willy’ has been a very reclusive locomotive following preservation but it has more recently been at The Flour Mill at Bream in Gloucestershire where an overhaul was completed in August 2012 and it now operates as the works shunter.

Dubs Crane Tank 4101

Affectionately known throughout its life as ‘Dubsy’ but never actually named, this locomotive was built by Dubs and Co of Glasgow in 1901 and delivered to the Shelton Iron & Steel Works in Stoke-on-Trent. It remained at Shelton Bar throughout its life and was used on various lifting jobs and rerailing locomotives or wagons that had come off the track. Unlike many Shelton locomotives which endured a hard life on a system of three continuous shifts per day, the crane tank was only required on a single daily shift. The crane cylinders are 4.5in diameter by 6m stroke, the jib radius is 14 feet 6 inches, and the maximum load is 6 tons. Large dumb buffers are fitted, and photographs show that the locomotive was often seen with an old flat wagon to avoid the overhanging crane jib fouling other stock. ‘Dubsy’ was originally coal fired but was converted to oil firing in 1962. This modification prolonged the useful life of the locomotive, but not by much as it was taken out of regular use in 1968.

Dismantled for restoration on arrival at Caverswell Road some of the work required in restoration included the boiler being fitted with a new front section of boiler barrel, new tube plate, new firebox wrapper plates, reconditioned girder stays and replacement crown stays. The frames have required over 50 rivets replaced and one cylinder was removed and fitted with a liner due to cracking. The crane has also been overhauled and inspected to allow lifting to take place.

Wimblebury

‘Wimblebury’ is a representative of the Ministry of Supply Austerity Saddle Tank as designed by the Hunslet Engine Co during the second World War. It was delivered new in 1956 to the National Coal Board at Cannock Wood Colliery near Hednesford in Staffordshire and worked there until withdrawn in the early 1970s. ‘Wimblebury’ was purchased privately for preservation and moved to Foxfield on 26 September 1973.

 Once fitted with vacuum brakes ‘Wimblebury’ became a regular performer on Foxfield passenger trains in the mid 1970’s. After an overhaul in the early 1980's including a repaint in original livery, it has put in many more years of service. ‘Wimblebury’ also took part in a memorable photographic charter at Littleton Colliery in 1992. A further overhaul was completed in 2004.

All the information regarding the various locomotives taking part in the steam gala has been obtained from the Foxfield Summer Steam Gala Programme.

Visit their web site at   URL: http://www.foxfieldrailway.co.uk/

View the video made at this gala below.