Remains of Tramways associated with the Salterforth Quarries

[Stanley]

Remains of Tramways associated with the Salterforth Quarries
[See the Jack Platt interviews for general information on the quarries LTP ref. 79AO 1-4. See also the Harold Duxbury interviews. LTP ref. no. 82HD.3]

Park Close Quarry and Salterforth Quarry lie on either side of Moor Lane at Salterforth 1 mile to the South of Barnoldswick. The Quarry to the North of the lane was run in conjunction with Upper Hill Quarry to the West of the Upper Hill Road into Barnoldswick. These two quarries were leased out by the Roundells of Gledstone and early in this century were run by Sagars from Barnoldswick. The quarry to the South of Moor Lane was in the possession of William Bracewell from 1870 until the sale of the Bracewell interests in 1887. It was later run by Whitham and in the 1960s became Gibson’s scrapyard. There used to be a brickworks run in conjunction with Park Close Quarry using offal from the quarry.

Just South of Park Bridge which carries the Barnoldswick New Road across the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, on the West bank at OS ref SD886455, are the remains of a wharf. There are mooring posts which are lengths of light section tram line(bull headed and flat bottom) driven into the bank behind the retaining wall. About six yards back into the field, away from the bank, is an inclined embankment which slopes up to the North and runs for about 50 yards parallel with the bank. This is the start of the line which runs up to the North Quarry at Salterforth Lane Head. The track bed is wide enough for one set of rails only and runs away from the canal in a left hand curve until it is running WSW towards the gateway SD 883455. The track bed then carries on straight for about 30 yards and then swings southwards crossing a culvert over a dyke at SD 88254540. There is a large disused concrete water tank West of the line just beyond this culvert and in the dyke below it is a length of rail of the same section used for the mooring posts at the wharf. Immediately before the culvert there is a transverse baulk of timber on the track bed which looks like an old sleeper. This is confirmed about 15 yards further on when another sleeper can be seen, this one has a spike left in it.

The track bed continues along the low side of the stone wall which runs along to the footpath leading down to Bashfield. It then curves around the corner of the wall on a pronounced embankment and strikes away in a SSW direction up the slope until it enters the boundary wall of the quarry at SD88254495. There are traces of a junction in the field at SD88254500 and another track bed strikes NNE from here and can be easily traced for about 100yds. I have yet to walk this but it seems likely that it is a connection with the Tubber Hill Quarry. (Upper Hill Quarry). As the bed is single track it seems likely that the tramway was run by gravity and possibly horse drawn on the return (uphill) journey. There is no sign of rope drive.

3 August 1982.
Revised SCG/03 October 2004