Monument record MWX67 - The Portland Railway, Portland

The Portland or Merchants mineral railway, 1826-1939 (now dismantled). SY 6853 7285 (linear)

The Portland (or Merchants) Railway. Receiving Royal Assent on June 10th 1825 (6 Geo Cap 121), and completed in 1826, at a cost of £5869, the Portland Railway was Dorset's earliest. It ran a distance of 2 miles and 4 chains from the Priory Lands (SY 6853 7285) to Castletown Pier (SY 6872 7445). Of 4ft 6ins gauge, it was principally used to transport stone from the Tout, King Barrow and Waycroft Quarries to which it was connected by a system of tramways. It utilised an incline to the north west of the later Verne Fort. The last train ran in 1939. [See Illustration card] (2,3) Act 1825, 4ft 6in gauge. Horses drew trains of loaded wagons around the contour from Priory Corner to the top of the incline for descent to Castletown Pier. There was a higher branch below the Verne. Many tramways branched into Waycroft, King Barrow, Tout, Inmosthay quarries. Shown as a ‘Rail Road’ on 1828 and 1841 maps (4-5). An 1861 plan (6) shows upper branches of Portland Railway including incline and East Drum, and Cottage & Stable (removed 1866 for fort). Many branches by 1863 (7) and reached greatest extent c1889 (8). Reduced to single track to Priory Corner, qhich had short sidings and a crane, by 1927. (9) Closed 1939 and rails lifted in 1956. (10) Traces of stone sleeper blocks survive along the courses and incline. Other features include massive stones bordering the line, and a curved stone-walled cutting at Tillycombe. (11) Site of Priory Corner terminus destroyed by road works in 1996. (12)

Record last edited

Aug 17 2023 9:23AM