Purbeck Mineral and Mining Museum

The Purbeck Mineral and Mining Museum is a museum about the history of ball clay mining in the Isle of Purbeck. The museum is based at Norden and is open April-May, and October at weekends and June-September, Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday, 11am to 5pm (last entry at 4:30pm). on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays from 11.00AM to 4.00PM. Closed during Winter Months

At the site the group has relocated a redundant mine to Norden and built a railway around the site with a new engine shed and the restoration of wagons that worked on the lines around Norden. It is planned to extend the line over the other side of the Swanage Branch line to land owned by the group via Bridge 15. In 2010 a structural engineer surveyed bridge 15 "Skew Bridge" over the Swanage Railway. The condition of the bridge was good for a "temporary" bridge built in 1885.

History

Middlebere Tramway

The railway was built to remove a "bottleneck" to Staffordshire potteries by building a line from Norden to Middlebere Tramway which was opened in 1806 to a 3ft 9in gauge for 3.4 miles long. In 1807 the line was extended south under the Wareham to Corfe road. The tunnel exists still but is blocked, a second tunnel was built in 1825 east of the tunnel but is now blocked. In 1881 when the LSWR built the Swanage line the line was extended east parallel to the line and Eldons Sidings were built to transfer clay to the standard gauge network.

Fayles Tramway

Steam locomotive 'Russell' of Fayle's Tramways

In 1905 construction commenced of a link from Norden to the Goathorn Railway and was completed in 1907. This line was known to the company as the Norden & Goathorn Railway (N&G Railway). Today many refer to it as Fayles Tramway. The line was abandoned in 1937 and clay then left by lorry or via the Swanage Branch Line. In 1948 the complex at Norden was regauged to 1 ft 11 ¹⁄₂ in (597 mm).

Future

To develop the museum, providing a shed for Secundus and wagon 28 and an exhibition hall. To collect artifacts from the clay industry and display them. To create a Mine Shaft Head and to develop the Narrow Gauge Railway with possible passenger capability to add the demonstration clay trains.

References

• Fayle's Tramways: Clay Mining in Purbeck by Chris Legg 2014 ISBN 978-0-906294-79-6
• Railways of Dorset J.H.Lucking Railway Correspondence and Travel Society 1968 (No ISBN)
• The Railways of Purbeck R.W. Kidner The Oakwood Press 1973 (reprinted 1979, reprinted & enlarged 1988) ISBN 0-85361-372-9
• The Swanage Branch Then and Now Andrew P.M. Wright Ian Allan 1992 ISBN 0-7110-2046-9 (Amazon)
• Branch Line to Swanage revised edition to 1992 Vic Mitchell and Keith Smith Middleton Press 1992 ISBN 0-906520-33-9

Notes

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Swanage Railway.

• Swanage Railway website
• Swanage Railway Trust website
• Purbeck Mineral and Mining Museum website

Coordinates: 50°36′49″N 1°58′56″W / 50.61353°N 1.98235°W / 50.61353; -1.98235