Leadhills and Wanlockhead Railway

Leadhills and Wanlockhead Railway

File:Leadhills & Wanlockhead Railway 05-08-29 64.jpeg Locomotive No.6 Clyde with typical train at Leadhills station
Locale	Scotland
Dates of operation	1986–Present
Track gauge	2 ft (610 mm)
Headquarters	Leadhills

The Leadhills and Wanlockhead Railway, a 2 ft (610 mm) narrow gauge railway in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, is laid on the trackbed of the former Leadhills and Wanlockhead Branch of the Caledonian Railway which led off the main line between Carlisle and Glasgow at Elvanfoot.

Overview

The "preserved" section runs from Leadhills for about 1 kilometre (0.6 mi) towards Wanlockhead and is the highest adhesion railway in the UK. The rack and pinion Snowdon Mountain Railway is higher. Trains are currently diesel worked with the locomotive propelling the train up hill away from Leadhills.

The original railway closed in the late 1930s shortly after the mines in Wanlockhead had closed.

The railway currently stops at the border of South Lanarkshire and Dumfries and Galloway.

Operation

Trains operate on the push-pull principle as there is no run round loop facilities at the end of the run. Movements within the main station site at Leadhills are controlled from the reconstructed signal box which contains the original lever frame from Arrochar and Tarbet signal box.

Locomotives

Most locomotives are fitted with air brakes to allow them to operate passenger trains.

Number	Name	Builder	Type	Date	Works number	Livery	Notes
2	Elvan	Motor Rail	4wDM	1955	9792	Blue	Built for the London Brick Company, King's Dyke Works, Whittlesea.
4	Luce	Ruston and Hornsby	4wDM	1966	7002/0467/6	Green	Built for contractors Edmund Nuttall Ltd, Leith. Acquired 1987
5	Little Clyde	Ruston and Hornsby	4wDM	1966	7002/0467/2	Green	Built for contractors Edmund Nuttall Ltd, Leith. Acquired 1987
6	Clyde	Hunslet	4wDM	1975	6347	Blue	Built for National Coal Board, Eppleton Collery. Acquired 1990
8	Nith	Hudswell Clarke	4wDMF	1956	DM1002	Red	Built for the National Coal Board, Waterloo Main Colliery. Acquired 1993
9	Charlotte	Orenstein & Koppel	0-4-0WT	1913	6335	Black	Acquired 1994. Being restored to full working order.
(10)	Mennock	Hunslet-Barclay	0-4-0DM	1994	LD 9348
(11)		Decauville	0-4-0T	1915	917		Under restoration
12		Clayton	4wDM	1994	18190B
21		Moeyse	4wDM	1941

Rolling stock

The railway maintains four, air braked, coaches for use on its passenger trains. Three of the coaches are mounted on ex-peat wagon underframes, the fourth is mounted on the chassis of a former Simplex locomotive.

There are many wagons around the railway including the ubiquitous Hudson skip wagons and examples from RNAD.

See also

• British narrow gauge railways

External links

• The Railway website
• Video and commentary on the Leadhills & Wanlockhead Railway.