Monmouth Railway
| Monmouth Railway | |
|---|---|
| Overview | |
| Type | Horse-drawn plateway |
| Status | Defunct |
| Termini | May Hill, Monmouth, Wales 51°48′41″N 2°42′27″W / 51.8114°N 2.7076°W Howler Slade, Coleford, Gloucestershire, England 51°47′14″N 2°34′08″W / 51.7872°N 2.5690°W |
| Operation | |
| Opened | 1812 |
| Closed | 1870s |
| Technical | |
| Line length | 5 mi (8.0 km) |
| Track gauge | 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) |
The Monmouth Railway, also known as the Monmouth Tramroad, was a horse-drawn plateway of 3 ft 6in gauge. It ran for about 5 miles (8.0 km) from Howler's Slade, east of Coleford, in Gloucestershire and Monmouth; there were two branches from other mineral sites. It was intended to bring mineral products of the Forest of Dean to Monmouth, and to the works alongside the River Wye.
It was opened from 1812 and for some time was the only railway at Monmouth. From 1853 technologically superior edge railways were built serving the area, and the Monmouth Railway declined and became dormant. It finally closed in the 1870s. It was purchased by the Coleford Railway, which used part of its alignment to build its line from Monmouth to Coleford, which opened in 1883.
Some fragments of bridge structures and a short tunnel survive at present, and part of the route can be surmised from aerial photographs.
The Forest of Dean had long been a productive source of minerals, but the difficult terrain and the poor quality of the road network made transportation to market expensive. Coal deposits were located at Howler's Slade, near Cannop Hill east of Coleford, and there were numerous other coal pits, iron ore deposits and stone quarries in the area. Primitive tramroads had been made in many locations in the Forest for short distance transport, generally reserved to the exclusive use of the mine operators.
Monmouth was five miles west of the Forest of Dean, but the poor transport facilities kept the price of coal in the town high. In 1802 a 2-ton wagon load cost upwards of 28 shillings. 10 wagons and carts and 300 horses and mules were constantly in use bringing coal to the town in 1802.
In 1807 and again in 1808 a railway or tramroad connection was proposed, and at the end of 1808 a wagon ferry at Redbrook was suggested.
In September 1809 an engineer, Astley Bowdler, presented plans for a railway; his estimate for the construction was £20,384, including land acquisition.
In the Forest of Dean special rights of mineral extraction were reserved for Free Miners, but this had the effect of preventing large scale investment by external companies. However in 1808 David Mushet, a Scottish metallurgist, became involved. Thomas Halford was the owner of ironworks at Whitecliff, and he brought Mushet in to improve the quality of the iron produced there.
The improved quality stimulated demand for local iron ore and coal, and emphasised the poor quality of the transport facilities locally, and Mushet was involved in the promotion of the railway as an aid to the efficiency of the metal industry.
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