Surrey Iron Railway (SIR) is a railway with L-shaped horse-drawn rails with approximately European gauge connecting the former cities of Surrey and , passing through (All is now part of south London . The company was founded by an Act of Parliament in 1801 [1] and was opened on July 26, 1803. [2]
| Surrey Railway | |
|---|---|
| Surrey iron railway | |
 A painting depicting the Surrey Railroad passing by Colesdon, Surrey | |
| Years of work | 1803 - 1846 |
| A country |  Great Britain  England |
| condition | It does not work |
| Subordination | London and South Western Railway (since 1844, sold the same year); London and Brighton Railway (from 1844 to 1846) |
Content
- 1 Origins
- 2 Operations
- 3 History
- 4 notes
- 5 Links
Origins
By the end of the 18th century , several short horses were already built. Their main purpose was to transport minerals to the nearest channel for further transportation. Kuzma Dmitrievich Frolov-1763. The first rail road was laid at the Zmeinogorsk mine of Altai.
The original plan for transport between Wandsworth on the Thames River and the Wendle Valley industrial plants was the construction of canals, which was launched in 1799 , but due to concerns about water shortages, the plan was changed to show jumping. As the rail , not the now standard form was chosen, but the L-shaped form, in which the wheel rolled on the inside, held by an external higher wall. A similar system was often used on railways until the 1830s . This rail was the first publicly confirmed fully railway. [3]
The Parliamentary Act approving the construction received Royal approval on May 21, 1801 , and work immediately began under the direction of engineer and contract . The line began at the Fringing Pan Creek Pier on the Thames River in Wandsworth, and climbed smoothly through Tuning and Mitchum along the Wandle Valley all the way to Croydon, where the terminus was built. A branch was also built in the direction of the town of Hackbridge, where there were cake mills.
Share capital was £ 35,000, borrowed capital was £ 15,000, but the total cost was £ 60,000. Lime , chalk , clay for workshops and agricultural products were transported to London along the road, and coal and dung from the countryside around the railroad in the opposite direction. Horses and mules were the only driving force involved, and passengers were never carried along the road.
The railway was not financially successful and closed on August 31, 1846 . [four]
Operations
The line was a toll railway, where independent carriers used their own wagons and horses. The company did not operate its own trains.
The road was double track with a track width of about 1,500 mm between the concrete blocks and about 1,427 mm between the outer parts of the rail. The modern European gauge has a width of 1435 mm.
History
William Jessop was the chief engineer only on the later constructed branches around Croydon, and his paths turned out to be more reliable. The development of steam locomotives brought an end to the era of horse-drawn railroads. In 1823, William James, one of the largest shareholders of the railway, tried to negotiate with George Stephenson on the supply of steam locomotives. However, he understood that the cast-iron road could not support the weight of the locomotive and refused. [5]
In 1844, the owners sold the road to , which resold it to (L&BR). L&BR received the Parliament Act to close the railway in 1846 . Part of the route was later used on the West Croydon - Wimbledon line of since 1856 , and some parts are still in use at London Tramlink . [2]
Notes
- ↑ Introduction to Rail 150: The Stockton and Darlington Railway and what followed , Jack Simmons, ed. 1975, Methuen
- ↑ 1 2 A History of British Railways Down to the Year 1830, Dendy Marshall, CF, Oxford University Press, 1971
- ↑ Henry Grote Lewin, The British Railway System , G Bell and Sons, Ltd, London, 1914
- ↑ EF Carter, An Historical Geography of the Railways of the British Isles , Cassell, London, 1959
- ↑ LTC Rolt, Great Engineers , G Bell and Sons Ltd, London, 1962, p. 64
Links
- 200th anniversary of the Surrey Railroad - July 26, 2003 at the Stephenson Locomotive Society 200th anniversary commemoration
- Croydon Online: Surrey Iron Railway
- Peter Mcgow, Notes on the Surrey Iron Railway : [1]