Foxfield Railway question

I wonder if a Foxfield expert can answer a few questions I've often wondered about.

As I understand it, the line was built to connect Foxfield Colliery to the NSR. The track linking the existing Caverswall Station to the main line appears to be in place for at least part of the way down, from what I can see in person and from using Google maps.

The gradient of this section seems pretty severe, and I wondered how it compared to that up from the colliery.

I also wondered if this section of track was ever used these days? I assume there is little point given it seems to end in a corner of a field, and I further wondered how long it was since there was a mainline connection.

It just seems a little strange for the track to be left in situ if this section has no place in the preserved setup.

Thanks for any enlightenment

 

First the gradients is shown on this plan http://album.atomic-systems.com/showPic.php/22993/foxfield2.jpg which is listed on the gradient profiles section of this site and shows it is 1 in 37 so flat against some of the other sections. This section of line is still used on gala days with mineral trains been hauled up them. The curve linking the Foxfield line to the exchange sidings is too sharp for MK1 coaches to go around.

See this youtube of a train coming up from the old exchange sidings .

 

Thanks very much. Positively flat then, compared to the pull up to Dilhorne Park, simply on a par with the Lickey incline

I've only seen freight demos on the Foxfield Colliery to Dilhorne Park section. Presumably there is a path of some sort, or access to the fields across the road from Caverswall Rd. station to view the ascent from Blythe Bridge sidings direction towards the junction at Caverswall Road station?

 

A bit of proper industrial track thee. Can't be too much like it left these days.

 

As always @Avonside1563 can help confirm , but the gala freights haven't gone beyond the bridge since the mid-90's as the sleepers are too rough. I would have to look up the actual year... Very infrequently a loco has made its way down to move a few wagons about.

In recent years the section through the cutting to the bridge has also become mostly disused.

The exchange sidings remain largely in place, although three of the six were lifted years before the society's days. The two fans of three sidings are separated by a ridge of coal/spoil shovelled by hand from returning empties. The mainline connection was used for the delivery of the LMS coach 27249 and also the LMS ex-scenery vans , but was lifted around 1971.

The check curve was on at least one occasion a curve too many for a runaway wagon- back in the 90's a gent called Patrick Hayley explained how in his time working in Foxfield Sidings signal box he witnessed a wagon come to a spectacular end there having run away from further up the line. Incidentally runaways on the much steeper Foxfield bank were unheard of, as the policy was to pull the empties down and push or bank the loaded trains up .

Hopefully one day the section to the exchange will be resurrected, at least for freights. The good news is that the rails are very good, having been replaced by the NCB in the latter days of regular operation.

Eit- some footage of a charter on the Blyth section from '95 here, with Barclay CPC UK rare in facing chimney-first to the colliery

Jon

 

Thanks for that detailed information and the video @oldmrheath Much appreciated.

 

Pretty much as oldmrheath has outlined. We do try and get down to weedkill and there is a requirement for the fence to be repaired/replaced but there are no plans to do anything with this part of the railway at present as there is no access to the exchange sidings other than via the railway. A footpath does cross the line at 90 degrees half way down but it doesn't follow the line.

 

does anyone know if the foxfield railway will be having a gala this year with trains running up from the colliery have missed these events always a good show.

 

Definitely Not a gala, but Knotty 100 is this weekend [14th to 16th July 2023] but trains only to Dilhorne ie not down t'bank.
Visiting engine is Horden, from the Tanfield.
Entering service after overhaul / restoration are Hawarden and Midland Saloon 348.

 

Does anyone know if the foxfield railway will be having a gala with runs up from the Colliery in 2025

 

Not sure when they'll reach a time when trains return to the colliery, but their is now an active group of volunteers reviving the colliery site, with regular updates: https://www.facebook.com/groups/815536477139036

 

Foxfield Colliery site
Private
Only members can see who's in the group and what they post.

 

Well join and see what's going on or don't and don't. You pays your money you takes your choice

Sent from my PGT-N19 using Tapatalk

 

I prefer to keep Zuckerberg and all the other "tech bros" at a distance, ta.

 

That's fine, everyone's entitled to their choice. It's inescapable though that an awful lot of heritage railway news gets on Facebook and is more easily followed there than anywhere else. So if you aren't on Facebook, you are going to miss out. If you're fine with that, great! But it's no good railing against being unable to keep up with every single thing on Facebook if you're not on it.

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Good for you, I see fine with Flamethrower (owners of this forum), etc...

 

I have a mild interest in many things. I will look at information that is readily available. I will not go out of my way to find information to which access is limited unless my interest is great enough.
The question here is whether organisations such as the Foxfield Railway wish to make their doings widely known to anyone who has any interest (including potential customers and donors) or to restrict access. It is the organisation's choice.

 

I think I'm right in saying the team making great progress at the colliery are predominantly former miners who were looking for a project.

Jon

 

To the best of my knowledge, this site doesn't peddle misinformation about e.g. vaccines and conspiracy theories on the scale that Faecebook and X does. I've also noticed in my other hobby interest that Facebook attracts a lot of idiots who speak loudly but impart nothing to the subject under discussion. I have no time for that.

By the way - do read what you are about to post before doing so; I assume you meant to put a "you're" in your sentence. I hate having to interpolate.