The Barber line - Harrogate Gasworks railway
The Barber line - Harrogate Gasworks railway The Harrogate Gasworks railway was a narrow gauge railway that opened in 1908 to carry coal from Bilton Yard on the Leeds to Northallerton railway to New Park, the site of the Gasworks. Bitumen was then transported from New Park back to Bilton from transport to Middlesbrough. The railway ran for 1 mile and featured a very confined height 800 yard tunnel. Due to the size of the tunnel all the locomotives were built with a reduced height cab and fittings giving them a squat appearance. The lines first locomotive was "Barber" it was built in 1908 by Thomas Green & Sons of Leeds and spent its entire working life on the Harrogate Gas Works railway. It even used during the construction of the railway. "Barber" is based on a similar engine named "Masham" which worked on a nearby reservoir construction railway, both railways were built by Mr Edward Wilson Dixon M.Inst.C.E. "Barber" was named after Francis