Elsecar Steam Railway
| Elsecar Heritage Railway | |
|---|---|
Peckett OQ Class no. 2150 "Mardy Monster" at the Elsecar Heritage Railway
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| Terminus | Elsecar- Rockingham station |
| Commercial operations | |
| Name | Elsecar Heritage Railway |
| Built by | South Yorkshire Railway |
| Original gauge | 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
| Preserved operations | |
| Owned by | Earl Fitzwilliam, Barnsley Council, Elsecar Railway Preservation Group, Elsecar Heritage Railway Ltd |
| Operated by | Elsecar Heritage Railway Ltd |
| Stations | One, at Elsecar (Rockingham station) |
| Length | 1 mile (1.6 km) |
| Preserved gauge | 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
| Commercial history | |
| Opened | 1850 |
| Closed | 1984 |
| Preservation history | |
| 1994 | Reopened |
| Headquarters | Elsecar, Rockingham station |
The Elsecar Heritage Railway (EHR) is located on the southern part of the former South Yorkshire Railway freight-only branch which ran from Elsecar Junction on its Mexborough to Barnsley Line.
The Elsecar Heritage Railway operates an out and back tourist train ride on a 1 mile (1.6 km) section of the branch using steam and diesel locomotives, currently running between Rockingham station (at the back of the Elsecar Heritage Centre) and Hemingfield Basin. The railway is operated using a variety of different preserved rolling stock.
The EHR plans eventually to operate the line into Cortonwood, with a new halt at Hemingfield, doubling the length of the line to two miles.
The line was built to serve Earl Fitzwilliam's collieries and ironworks, which he leased out to local ironmasters. It opened in 1850 as part of the South Yorkshire Railway, known as the Elsecar Branch. Following assorted mergers the line finally became part of the LNER upon formation of the Big Four.
The whole infrastructure was nationalised after the Second World War, with the mines becoming part of the National Coal Board in 1947 and the railway becoming part of British Railways in 1948.
The Elsecar branch closed in 1984 following closure of the final colliery on the line.
Restoration began in 1994 as a project of Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council, and the line reopened as a heritage railway in 1996, operated by the Council. The Elsecar Heritage Railway became the operator in 2006.
The railway's collection of steam locomotives are used regularly for passenger services.
The railway's diesel locomotives are used to operate both passenger and engineering trains.
Coaching stock is painted in British Railways 'lined maroon' livery.
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Wikipedia