Matt Ditch Photography Blog

 Railways around Chopwell Chopwell and Garesfield Railway  The Chopwell and Garesfield Railway was opened in 1899 by the Consett Iron Co LTD, although some parts of the railway date back to earlier waggonways. The railway carried coal from Chopwell Colliery and High Spen/Garesfield Colliery(Bute Pit) to Derwenthaugh Coke works (built 1928) and onto Derwenthaugh staithes on the River Tyne. Today the section of trackbed through the woods is called the “Old Colliery Railway Footpath”, which is where the following pictures were taken. A short section of track has been relayed on the former trackbed and a pair of 21 ton wagons placed on top of it. The wagon closest to the camera is painted in National Coal Board livery and the furthest is painted in Consett Iron Co Livery, to reflect the two owners of the railway. These are located a short distance from the main car park. This wood carving depicts one of the Kitson long boiler 0-6-0 Pannier tanks that used to work the line. This is one of

 Cockermouth, Keswick & Penrith Railway   Part one: Cockermouth to Keswick 46458+46426 leaving Cockermouth 02-04-66  John Boyes. Armstrong railway photographic trust. www.arpt51a.com. No authourised use. Introduction The Cockermouth, Keswick & Penrith Railway ( CK&PR for short)  was a railway in North West England that linked the town of Cockermouth with Penrith on the West Coast mainline. There were 10 stations on the line with one of the most noteble being Keswick.  Permission to build the railway was granted in 1861 when an act of parliament was passed with work starting in May 1862. By the early summer of 1864 inspection trains had ran for the directors of the line. It officaly opened to goods traffic on the 1st of Novemember 1864 and for passengers on  the 2nd of January 1865, although passenger trains for an agricultrial show had ran on the 29th of September 1864. The railway had support from the London & North Western Railway and the Stockton & Darlington rai