The
set of 11 6x4 ins views recalls one of the most extraordinary of all railways
in the British Isles. It was promoted when the need for steel was acute during
the Great War, and the initial engineer was Col H F Stephens. Construction did
not start until 1919 and by 1922 it was able to open for traffic, but an
accident on a formidable 1 in 6 cable worked incline in October 1922 spelled
the end. The line lay derelict until World War Two when the lower part of the
site was swallowed up by Kineton Army depot!
Sorting sidings were provided at the foot of the incline and EHLR brake
No 2, second hand ex the GER is seen there in 1929. Two LBSCR Terriers were
acquired, No 1, being a rebuilt A1X which had been LBSCR 673 Deptford. The man
to the right MAY be caretaker who was the only employee from 1922 to 1937!
Interestingly, the smokebox door has been opened between the two views! EHLR No
2 was an unrebuilt A1 Terrier, former LBSCR 674 Shadwell. Because of
objections, a number of overbridges were provided and we see one such bridge and
the decking plus some of the cast iron chairs and bullhead rail used for parts
of the line. A couple of views of the trackwork include one of the chairs with
their prominent LONDON branding. The remaining view is a close up of one of the
oil lamps on EHLR No 2, which differs to the lamp on No 1. Entries from
McCorquodale’s “Railway Diary and Officials’ Directory for 1925 and 1937 show
the E B Butler-Henderson (after whom the preserved GC Director 4-4-0 was named)
was a director of the EHLR in 1925, and Col Stephens was nominally manager,
engineer and loco supt, although the secretary & general manager is also
given as C B Piggott, the Huts, Arlescote, nr Banbury! No passenger trains ran
and very little ironstone but the railway survived for almost quarter of a
century after closure as the engines were only scrapped in 1946. These views
are copyright; Reproduction by any means is prohibited without our prior
written permission.