Listed Building record MDO37330 - Locomotive shed at Ridge, Arne

A railway locomotive shed built for Pike Brothers around 1870-80, part of a line to transport clay to Poole Harbour. The building is rectangular with brick walls and a slate roof, and has sliding wooden doors at the north end.

One of the earliest known narrow gauge locomotive sheds, possibly built to house the engine Secundus (1874) which is now housed in Birmingham Museum of Science and Industry. A horsedrawn railway was built 1833-9 by Pike Brothers to take clay from Blue Pool to Ridge, from where the clay was taken by canal to the river Frome and on to Poole Quay. The original line was edge rails of around 4 foot gauge. It was extended to the Frome and by 1863 had been extended to Creech. In 1866 the line had been re-gauged to 2ft 8in to take a railway locomotive. The line to Ridge remained in use until World War II and the whole line closed in 1959.

Record last edited

Nov 2 2015 10:57AM