Royal Arsenal Railway

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The Royal Arsenal Railway was a private military railway. It ran inside the Royal Arsenal, Woolwich, south east London.

The earliest parts of this railway system was constructed as 18 in (457 mm) narrow gauge and it comprised of some 50 to 60 miles of track.^[1] It ran from 10 January 1873 until much of it was abandoned in the 1920s and various locomotives were then advertised for sale.^[1] The dual gauge track was removed at the same time.^[1] However five new narrow gauge locomotives were bought in World War II, between 1934 and 1941; and a final one from Hunslet Engine Company in 1954.^[1] The remaining narrow gauge lines finally closed in 1966.^[2]

Parts of the narrow gauge track were built as dual gauge track, with the outer rails gauged to standard gauge; other parts of the site were only served by standard gauge track.^[1][2] Some 120 miles of mixed or purely standard gauge track existed by 1918.^[1][2]

Contents 1 The 18 inch gauge railway 1.1 History and use 1.2 Locomotives 1.3 Rolling stock 2 The standard gauge railway 3 References 4 See also

[edit] The 18 inch gauge railway

[edit] History and use

Due to the needs of moving ammunition during the Crimean War and the development of steam locomotion, the construction of an 18 in (457 mm) gauge railway was approved in 1866.^[3] It was based on the Crewe Works Railway operating since 1862 inside the London and North Western Railway's Crewe Works.^[2][3]

The Royal Arsenal's 18 in (457 mm) gauge railway opened on 10 January 1873.^[1] It was designed to replace an ad hoc arrangement of individual plateways constructed within the Royal Arsenal.^[1][3] Laying of plateways had started in 1824 and was completed by 1854-5; they then came under the control of the Corps of Royal Engineers.^[3]

The 18 in (457 mm) gauge railway provided for the movement of both goods and passengers within the Royal Arsenal.^[3]

[edit] Locomotives

Name	Type	Builder	Works number	Date	Notes
Lord Raglan	0-4-0ST	Manning Wardle	353	1871	Scrapped at Chatham, 1915
Busy Bee	0-4-0ST	Manning Wardle	424	1872	To Chatham, before 1900
Boxer / Victoria	0-4-0ST	Manning Wardle	477	1873	Sold November 1916
Albert Edward	0-4-0ST	Manning Wardle	482	1873	Sold 1919
Rocket	0-4-0ST	Manning Wardle	555	1875	Scrapped June 1914
Norman Ramsey	0-4-0ST	Manning Wardle	605	1876	Scrapped June 1914
Trumpeter	0-4-0ST	Manning Wardle	612	1876	Scrapped August 1915
Shrapnel	0-4-0ST	Manning Wardle	613	1876	Sold November 1916
Vauban	0-4-0ST	Manning Wardle	685	1877	Sold November 1916
Coehorn	0-4-0ST	Manning Wardle	696	1878	Sold November 1916
	0-4-0	Beaumont			Compressed air locomotive; out of use by 1881
Fusee	0-4-0ST	Manning Wardle	939	1884	Sold to Swainswick Colliery
Gordon	0-4-0ST	Manning Wardle	986	1886	Sold 1919
Torpedo	0-4-0ST	Manning Wardle	1043	1888	Sold February 1918
Arquebus	0-4-0ST	Manning Wardle	1130	1889	Sold November 1916
	0-4-0T	Fox Walker	386	1878	Sold or scrapped before 1923
Iron Duke	0-4-0ST	Vulcan Foundry	838	1878	Scrapped 1914

Locomotive data from ^[1].

[edit] Rolling stock

• A former explosive wagon, previously on display at North Woolwich Old Station Museum,^[3] is now back on the Royal Arsenal site near the Heritage Centre, standing on some ex Chatham cast track plates.

[edit] The standard gauge railway

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This railway was initially linked into the national railway system, to the London Chatham and Dover Railway, near Plumstead railway station.^[1]

[edit] References

[edit] See also

• British industrial narrow gauge railways
• British narrow gauge railways
• Decauville
• Minimum gauge railway
• Royal Arsenal