Jersey Railway

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Jersey Railway / Jersey Railways & Tramways
Locale	Jersey
Dates of operation	1870–1936
Track gauge	standard gauge till 1884 then 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm).
Length	7¾ miles, 12.47 km
Headquarters	St. Helier

The Jersey Railway was opened in 1870 and was originally a standard gauge railway, 3.75 miles (6km) long, on the island of Jersey in the Channel Islands. Converted to narrow gauge in 1884 and extended, the line closed in 1936. It is not to be confused with the Jersey Eastern Railway.

1 History
2 Standard Gauge Locomotives
3 Narrow Gauge Locomotives and Railcars
4 References
5 See also

[edit] History

Plaque on old St Helier terminus

Frontage of former Saint Aubin terminus building

In 1864 the States of Jersey passed a law authorising the construction of the island's first railway. This standard gauge line was constructed, connecting St. Helier to St. Aubin, and the first train ran 25 October 1870. This railway was not a success and the company declared bankruptcy in 1874. The railway continued to operate but passed through a succession of proprietors until 1883.

Meanwhile the owner of a granite quarry near La Moye had petitioned to build a railway linking his quarry to St. Aubin. This law passed in June 1871 and the St Aubin & La Moye Railway commenced construction to the narrow gauge of 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm). This line too, ran into financial problems and although construction trains ran on the section from La Moye to Pont Marquet, the company declared bankruptcy in 1878 before completion or opening to the public.

In 1883 the Jersey Railway and the partially completed St Aubin & La Moye Railway were amalgamated into the Jersey Railways Company Limited. The St. Helier to St. Aubin line was relaid to 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) gauge and the railway re-opened to passengers on 15 March 1884, initially operating as two separate sections until the two lines were connected at St. Aubin in 1885 to form a complete railway. The first through service ran between St Helier and La Corbière on 5 August 1885.

This railway too hit financial difficulties and in 1895 entered voluntary liquidation.

Jersey Railway

Legend

Section relaid by German Occupation

Forces during World War Two

St Helier

West Park

Beloranne

First Tower

Millbank Halt

Millbank

Bell Royal

Bell Royal Halt

Beaumont

La Haule

St Auban

Greenville

Pont Marquet

Don Bridge

Blanches Banques

La Moye

Old Quarry

Corbiere

In 1896 a new company, the Jersey Railways and Tramways Co. Ltd. was formed to take over the assets of the failed company. The railway was improved, with an extension to La Corbière Pavilion opening in 1899 and was successful up to the outbreak of the First World War. The railway continued during the war, but by 1917 traffic had declined significantly. In 1922 the decision was made to introduce railcars to reduce operating costs. These helped the company to revive its fortunes in the mid 1920s with 1925 being the peak in terms of passengers carried and profitability. By 1928 competition from buses and private cars were threatening the railway's future.

By 1932 the winter service had been withdrawn. In October 1936 a fire destroyed the roof of St. Aubin station and consumed 16 carriages. The line did not reopen for the 1937 summer season, and all remaining locomotives and railcars were scrapped in 1937.

The States purchased the route of the line from St Helier to La Corbière on 1 April 1937 for the sum of £25,000. The rails were lifted and the smaller stations demolished. A seafront promenade, cycle track and walking and cycling trail now occupy the route.

Former Millbrook Station building - Now Old Station Cafe

The final use of the trackbed was in 1940 when the occupying German army rebuilt the coastal St. Helier to St. Aubin line to 1,000 mm (3 ft 3⅜ in) gauge. This line was worked by steam locomotives for the duration of the war but were taken up at the cessation of hostilities.

The former station at St Aubin now serves as the Parish Hall of Saint Brelade. The former terminus in St Helier housed Jersey Tourism until 2007. The intermediate station at Millbrook is now the Old Station Cafe.

[edit] Standard Gauge Locomotives

Name	Builder	Type .	Date Built	Works number	Notes
Haro Haro	Sharp Stewart	2-4-0T	1870	2047	Withdrawn in September 1884 when gauge changed. Used during construction of the Manchester Ship Canal (opened May 1894). Sold to the Woolpit Brick & Tile Co, Suffolk.
Duke of Normandy	Sharp Stewart	2-4-0T	1870	2048	Withdrawn in September 1884 when gauge changed. Used during construction of the Manchester Ship Canal (opened May 1894). Sold to T. W. Ward of Sheffield and re-sold in 1897 to the Vulcan Foundry, Newton-le-Willows as a yard shunter. Scrapped 1904.
	Sharp Stewart	2-4-0T	1871	2140	Larger design than Haro Haro and Duke of Normandy. Re-shipped to Tunis Railway, Tunisia in May 1872.
North Western	Sharp Stewart	2-4-0T	1872	2241	Identical replacement for #2140 above. Sold to Jersey Eastern Railway in May 1878. Re-sold for use in a Scottish Quarry and left Jersey in 1898.
General Don	Dubs	2-4-0T	1879	1222	Withdrawn in September 1884 when gauge changed. Sold to North Cornwall Railway then to Weston, Clevedon and Portishead Railway in 1901. Renamed Clevedon in 1906. Scrapped in 1940.

[edit] Narrow Gauge Locomotives and Railcars

Number	Name	Builder	Type	Date Built	Works number	Notes
	General Don	Black Hawthorne	0-4-2ST	1877		Supplied to and used in construction of the St Aubin & La Moye railway. Left Jersey by 1900
		Black Hawthorne	0-4-2ST	1877		Supplied to and used in construction of the St Aubin & La Moye railway. Left Jersey by 1900
1	St. Heliers	Manning Wardle	2-4-0T	1884	916	Rebuilt with larger boiler in 1910. Scrapped in Jersey. Nameplates preserved at National Railway Museum, York.
2	St. Aubins	Manning Wardle	2-4-0T	1884	917	Rebuilt with larger boiler in 1909. Scrapped in Jersey. Nameplates preserved at National Railway Museum, York.
3	Corbiere	W.G. Bagnall	2-4-0T	1893	1418	Rebuilt with larger boiler in 1907. Scrapped in Jersey. Nameplates preserved at National Railway Museum, York.
4	St. Brelades	W.G. Bagnall	2-4-0T	1896	1466	Rebuilt with larger boiler in 1912. Offered to York museum for preservation in 1937. Accepted but not delivered. Scrapped in Jersey. Nameplates preserved at National Railway Museum, York.
5	La Moye	Andrew Barclay	2-4-0T	1907	1105	Little used after 1918. Sold in 1928 to the Victoria Falls Power Company, passing to ESCOM. Withdrawn from service in 1992. Now preserved in South Africa by SANRASM (South African National Railway And Steam Museum), near Johannesburg.
Railcar 1	Pioneer No. 1	Sentinel	Steam railcar	1923	4863	The first railcar built by Sentinel-Cammel. Scrapped / Sold in 1935
Railcar 2	Pioneer No. 2 later Portelet	Sentinel	Steam Railcar	1924	5159	A more powerful version of Pioneer No. 1
Railcar 3	La Moye Also known as the Wembley Car	Sentinel	Steam Railcar	1925	5833	Exhibited at the 1925 Wembley Exhibition.
Railcar 4	Normandy	Sentinel	Steam Railcar	1925	5655	Purchased from the standard gauge Jersey Eastern Railway in 1930 via A.O. Hill Ltd. and converted to 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) gauge. W.J. Carmen states: After closure Normandy was used - with passenger accommodation removed to become a flat bed - to remove the track as it was lifted)

[edit] References

The Jersey Railway, N.R.P.Bonsor (Oakwood Press) ISBN 0-85361-344-3
Thomas, Cliff (2002). The Narrow Gauge in Britain & Ireland. Atlantic Publishers. ISBN 1-902827-05-8.
A Chronology of Jersey, Ralph Mollet, Jersey 1954
* "Channel Island Transport Fleet Histories. Vol. 2 Bailiwick of Jersey", W.J. Carman, 1995 (no ISBN)