 |
THE COLONEL STEPHENS SOCIETY
|
Welcome to a short history of the
Railways of Colonel Stephens
THE COLONEL STEPHENS RAILWAYS
In chronological order of opening
THE CRANBROOK & PADDOCK WOOD RAILWAY
Colonel Stephens’ first professional appointment, this 11-mile standard gauge branch ran from Paddock Wood, on the South Eastern Railway’s Redhill-Ashford route, to Hawkhurst in the Weald of Kent. Stephens was resident engineer during construction of the line between 1890 and 1894. The line opened in 1893 and was operated by the SER, becoming part of the South Eastern & Chatham Railway in 1900. It closed in 1961.
Stephens was engineer and locomotive superintendent for this 3ft gauge line that ran alongside the River Rother for 2˝ miles between Rye and Camber in East Sussex. It opened in 1895 to carry passengers to the Rye Golf Club links, and was extended to the beach resort of Camber Sands in 1908. It was closed in 1939, when it was taken over by the army during World War 2, and never re-opened. The tramway company was dissolved in 1949.
SELSEY TRAMWAY – WEST SUSSEX RAILWAY
Running 9 miles from Chichester in West Sussex, on the LB&SCR line from Brighton to Portsmouth, down Selsey Bill to a terminus at Selsey, this standard gauge line opened in 1897 as The Hundred of Manhood & Selsey Tramway. It changed its name to the West Sussex Railway in 1924 and closed in 1935. Stephens was the railway’s engineer and locomotive superintendent, and became its chairman in the 1920s.
ROTHER VALLEY RAILWAY – KENT & EAST SUSSEX RAILWAY
The Rother Valley Railway was a standard gauge line from a junction at Robertsbridge in East Sussex, on the SE&CR’s Tonbridge-Hastings line, to Tenterden, 12 miles away in Kent. It opened in 1900 and was extended to Tenterden Town station in 1903 (the original terminus was renamed Rolvenden), and through to a junction at Headcorn on the SE&CR’s Redhill-Ashford route in 1905, whereupon it was renamed the Kent & East Sussex Railway. Stephens was engineer, locomotive superintendent and managing director of the railway, which was closed by British Railways in 1961. Re-opening as a preserved railway began in 1974, and a 10-mile stretch of the original RVR now sees regular steam trains run by the Tenterden Railway Company as the Kent & East Sussex Railway.
This 9-mile standard gauge branch left the SE&CR’s Sheerness branch, on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent, from Queenborough and ran the length of the island to Leysdown, which was to be developed as a holiday resort. Stephens was the engineer for the construction, but after its opening in 1901 ceased to be involved. It was worked – initially by steam railcars – and taken over by the SE&CR, and closed in 1950.
BERE ALSTON & CALSTOCK LIGHT RAILWAY
Originally the East Cornwall Mineral Railway, a 3ft 6in gauge line from Callington in Cornwall to the banks of the River Tamar at Calstock, this railway was bought by the Plymouth, Devonport & South Western Junction Railway in 1891. It was rebuilt as a standard gauge railway, and extended across the Tamar via an impressive viaduct to Bere Alston on the LSWR’s Tavistock-Plymouth line, opening in 1908. Stephens was engineer, locomotive superintendent and – briefly – general manager. The upper section of the 10-mile line was closed in 1966, but the remaining four miles to Gunnislake is still open.
BURRY PORT & GWENDRAETH VALLEY LIGHT RAILWAY
Stephens converted this goods-only line of 1869 to a light railway for passengers too, in which form it re-opened in 1909. It ran for 13 miles from a junction near Llanelli, through Burry Port and up the valley of the Gwendraeth Fawr to Cwm Mawr, serving collieries along the way. Stephens was also a board member of the company, which was absorbed by the GWR in 1923. The line closed to passengers in 1953, but remained partly open for freight.
SHROPSHIRE & MONTGOMERYSHIRE LIGHT RAILWAY
The Colonel was the engineer for the reconstruction of this 20-mile standard gauge railway between Shrewsbury in Shropshire and Llanymynech, on the GWR’s Oswestry-Welshpool route, in Montgomeryshire. It had opened in 1866 as the Potteries, Shrewsbury & North Wales Railway, only to close due to lack of support in 1880. Stephens rebuilt most of it to reopen in 1911, and was also locomotive superintendent and managing director. It was closed to passengers in 1941 and run by the military until 1960.
WESTON, CLEVEDON & PORTISHEAD LIGHT RAILWAY
This 14-mile standard gauge railway, originally planned as a tramway, linked the three seaside towns of its title on the Bristol Channel, opening throughout as a light railway in 1907. Stephens became its traffic manager in 1911, and swiftly became engineer, locomotive superintendent and general manager. Never a commercial success, it closed in 1940, although the company was never officially wound up. See the WC&PR web site.
Built to serve the East Kent coalfields, this 11-mile standard gauge line has a convoluted history. It opened to goods traffic in 1912 and passengers in 1916 between a junction on the SE&CR’s Canterbury-Dover route at Shepherdswell and Wingham, in the middle of nowhere. A further 2˝ miles to the port of Richborough opened in 1925. Stephens was engineer, locomotive superintendent and general manager. The line closed bit by bit between 1949 and 1950, with the final section, serving Tilmanstone Colliery, surviving until 1987. A preservation group, the East Kent Light Railway Society, now operates trains between Shepherdswell and Eythorne, about 1˝miles away.
Built for the Oxfordshire Ironstone Company in 1920, this ill-fated 3-mile, standard gauge railway ran from a junction with the Stratford-on-Avon & Midland Junction Railway at Burton Dassett, via a rope-worked incline, to ironstone mines at Edge Hill in Oxfordshire. Stephens engineered the route, but five years later it was closed after the ores ran out. The railway and its rolling stock was left to rot for another 22 years before it was demolished.
Hardly more than a siding, this one-mile standard gauge line was opened in 1922 from the LNWR’s Runcorn Dock branch, alongside the Manchester Ship Canal, to serve a chemical works subsequently taken over by ICI. The line, for which Stephens was the engineer only, is still in use today.
First opened in 1877, this 2ft 3žin gauge mineral railway served various mines and quarries around the Stiperstones hills in Shropshire. It ran from exchange sidings near Pontespury station on the GWR/LNWR joint branch to Minsterley, and had ground to a halt by 1920. Colonel Stephens assumed control in 1923, becoming director and engineer. The local county council took over a short stretch of it in 1947 and it closed altogether in 1961.
FESTINIOG & WELSH HIGHLAND LIGHT RAILWAYS
The 1ft 11˝in gauge Welsh Highland Railway started life in 1877 as the North Wales Narrow Gauge Railway between Tryfan Junction, 3 miles south of Caernarfon on the LNWR’s Bangor-Afon Wen route, to Rhyd-ddu in Snowdonia, 9 miles away. It was never a financial success and closed throughout in 1916. The Colonel played a part in its revival and surveyed an extension through to Porthmadog, which opened throughout in 1923, by which time the 20-mile line had become the Welsh Highland Railway.
From this date, Stephens became the civil engineer and locomotive superintendent of both the Welsh Highland and Festiniog railways, which at this time were under joint management. He retained these positions until his death in 1931.
Since 1951, the Ffestiniog Railway has been running as a preserved steam railway. The Welsh Highland Railway Ltd has been running trains from Portmadog and planning the total reconstruction of the WHR. However, in 1999 the Ffestiniog Railway was given permission to start work began on reconstructing the WHR, which was closed in 1937 and dismantled in 1941. The first rebuilt section, the three miles between Dinas Junction and Waunfawr, opened in August 2000. The aim is to eventually reopen the entire route to Porthmadog. The FR has to include and work with the WHR in this project.
This 60cm gauge railway ran for 7 miles between Clay Cross, on the LMS Derby-Chesterfield line, to Ashover in Derbyshire. Opened in 1924 for goods, it was owned by the Clay Cross company and mainly carried granite railway ballast, although passenger services were introduced in 1925. The Colonel was the line’s engineer, suggesting the gauge because ex-WW1 railway materials to this specification were readily available via his army contacts. The line closed to passengers in 1936 and throughout in 1950.
NORTH DEVON & CORNWALL JUNCTION LIGHT RAILWAY
Another reconstruction job by the Colonel, this time of the 6-mile, 3ft gauge Torrington & Marland Mineral Tramway. He also extended the route to a total of 20˝ miles between Torrington, the terminus of an LSWR branch from Barnstaple, and Halwill Junction on the LSWR Okehampton-Bude line. It opened in 1925 and was run by the Southern Railway. Closure to passengers came in 1965 and to all traffic in 1982.
Kidderminster Railway Museum - has a growing collection of pictures related to Colonel Stephens various railways.
Weston Railway Modellers - See the page about recreating Weston WC&P
The Ashover Light Railway Society - and their plans to reopen a section of this historic narrow gauge railway
Return to the Colonel Stephens Home Page
