Sand Hutton Light Railway

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Sand Hutton Light Railway
Locale	England
Dates of operation	1922–1932
Predecessor line	Sand Hutton Miniature Railway
Successor line	abandoned
Track gauge	18 in (457 mm)
Length	5¼ miles
Headquarters	Sand Hutton

Sand Hutton Light Railway
Legend Barnby House Bossall Kissthorns Halt War Memorial halt Claxton Gardens Halt Sand Hutton Warthill York to Beverley Line

The Sand Hutton Light Railway was a minimum gauge estate railway serving the estate of Sir Robert Walker, the Fourth Baronet of Sand Hutton, Yorkshire.^[1] It connected the main house with the LNER Warthill Station and the village of Bossall. It replaced the earlier, shorter, 15 in (381 mm) gauge Sand Hutton Miniature Railway that was built in 1914.

[edit] History

After the First World War Walker obtained an order under the Light Railway Act that allowed him to extend the existing Sand Hutton Miniature Railway to 7 ³⁄₄ miles in length. This would allow the railway to serve as the primary transportation system for the estate and link it to the North Eastern Railway (NER) at Warthill. Construction of the extension was nearing completion by the end of 1920 when it became clear that more substantial rolling stock would be required if the line was to fulfill its intended purpose.^[2]

In December of 1920 the Government put up for sale the 18 in (457 mm) gauge railway at the Deptford Meat Depot. The depot had been established by the Corporation of London shortly before 1900 and had a standard gauge connection to the LB&SCR as well as an internal 18 in (457 mm) gauge tramway system. Around 1916 the army took over the running of the depot as a strategic supply for the war effort and introduced steam locomotives to work the narrow gauge tramway. After the end of the war, the depot was deemed surplus to requirements and the entire railway was purchased by Walker, who saw that the substantially bigger locomotives would be suited to his plans at Sand Hutton. ^[2]

Between 1920 and 1922 the existing miniature railway was converted to 18 in (457 mm) gauge and the extension to Warthill was completed. In April 1922 the first 4 ¹⁄₄ miles of the new light railway were opened to goods traffic. This initial line ran from Warthill station on the NER to Kissthorn's Siding near the main hall, as well as a substantial branch serving the brickworks at Claxton. In 1923 the mainline was further extended to Bossall, and a steep branch to Barnby House was added. The Light Railway Order for the railway allowed for a further ¹⁄₂ mile extension to Scrayingham, but this would have involved a large and expensive bridge over the River Derwent and this was never built. The total length of the line was 5¼ miles. ^[2]

The line carried agricultural produce from the farms on the estate, as well as coal to the brickworks and bricks from them. Most of the goods traffic flowed to or from the transfer sidings at Warthill station. The line also ran passenger services for personnel and visitors to the estate between 1924 and 1930.

The Claxton brickworks closed in 1929 and Sir Robert Walker died in 1930. The line closed in June 1932 and was dismantled by 1933.

[edit] Rolling Stock

Number	Name	Builder	Type	Works Number	Built	Notes
4	Esme	Hunslet	0-4-0 WT	1207	1916	Purchased in 1927. Named after Sir Robert's second wife [1]
10		Hunslet	0-4-0 WT	1289	1917	Purchased in 1921
11		Hunslet	0-4-0 WT	1290	1917	Purchased in 1921
12		Hunslet	0-4-0 WT	1291	1917	Purchased in 1921

All four Hunslet steam locomotives were built for the War Department's meat depot in Deptford. They were all scrapped shortly after the line closed in 1932 by Thos W Ward Ltd of Sheffield. Some sources say there were only three locomotives at Sand Hutton, which note the motive power proir to 1927.

The wagon stock of the line came from Deptford and totalled 75 vehicles. They were built in May 1915 by P&W Maclellan Ltd of Glasgow, and had a simple four wheel underframe on which there was a wooden drop side body. There were three link drawhooks, and large dumb buffers.

There was one brake van (or possibly two - the Ministry of Transport Railway Statistics of 1927 list two), built by Robert Hudson. 15 feet long, they had a screw handbrake, siding doors on each side, and an end door onto a single open platform. The van escaped scrapping, and was known to be in existence in the late 1960s, but its final fate is unclear.

There was one passenger coach, built in 1924 by Robert Hudson of Leeds. It was very large, for so narrow a gauge, being 31'3" long. It seated 30 in two separate compartments, and there was a small private saloon for the Walker family with moveable chairs. Electric lighting and vacuum brake gear was fitted. The roof was of elliptical section, but within months of arrival at Sand Hutton a small section of the roof above each opening was cut out, giving and extra 2 inches of headroom. When the line closed in 1932 the coach was bought for use as a cricket pavilion at Harton. It was saved for preservation in 1967, and rebuilt for 2 foot gauge on the [Lincolnshire Coast Light Railway]. Alas when that line was shut by the Council, the coach was stored outside for many years, and it's condition deteriorated badly.

[edit] References

• Thomas, Cliff (2002). The Narrow Gauge in Britain & Ireland. Atlantic Publishers. ISBN 1-902827-05-8.