Plateway
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/79/Little_Eaton_Tramway_Replica_Wagon_small.jpg/220px-Little_Eaton_Tramway_Replica_Wagon_small.jpg)
A plateway is an early kind of railway, tramway or wagonway, where the rails are made from cast iron. They were mainly used for about 50 years up to 1830, though some continued later.
Plateways consisted of L-shaped rails, where the flange on the rail guides the wheels, in contrast to edgeways, where flanges on the wheels guide them along the track.
Plateways were originally horsedrawn but, later on, cable haulage and small locomotives were sometimes used.
The plates of the plateway were made of cast iron, often fabricated by the ironworks that were their users.[1] On most lines, that system was replaced by rolled wrought iron (and later steel) "edge rails" which, along with realignment to increase the radius of curves, converted them into modern railways, better suited to locomotive operation.
Plateways were particularly favoured in South Wales and the Forest of Dean, in some cases replacing existing edge rails. Other notable plateways included the Hay Railway, the Gloucester and Cheltenham Railway,[2] the Surrey Iron Railway, the Derby Canal Railway, the Kilmarnock and Troon Railway, the Portreath Tramroad in Cornwall, and lines at Coalbrookdale, Shropshire.
Plates and rails
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4a/Richard_Trevithick_railway_%28England%29.jpg/220px-Richard_Trevithick_railway_%28England%29.jpg)
The plates of a plateway generally rested on stone blocks or
The L-section plateway was introduced for underground use in about 1787, by John Curr of Sheffield Park Colliery.[3] Joseph Butler, of Wingerworth near Chesterfield, constructed a line using similarly flanged plates in 1788. A leading advocate of plate rails was Benjamin Outram, whose first line was from quarries at Crich to Bullbridge Wharf on the Cromford Canal. The early plates were prone to break, so different cross sections were employed, such as one with a second flange underneath. Some lines later introduced chairs to support the plates on the blocks, and wrought iron plates, increasing the length to 6 feet (1.8 m) and, later, 9 feet (2.7 m), spanning several sleeper blocks[4]
In 1789, on a line between
Combined plate and rail
An alternative design, with the flange on the outside designed to be additionally used with flanged wheels, was unsuccessfully trialled on the
Operations
The early plateways were usually operated on a toll basis, with any rolling stock owner able to operate their wagons on the tracks. Sometimes, the plateway company was forbidden to operate its own wagons, so as to prevent a monopoly situation arising.
Some plateways, such as the Gloucester and Cheltenham Railway, were single-track, with passing loops at frequent intervals. The single-track sections were arranged so that wagon drivers could see from one loop to the next, and wait for oncoming traffic if necessary. However, others, such as the Surrey Iron Railway, the Kilmarnock and Troon Railway, the Monmouthshire Railway and Canal Company tramroads,[6] and the Severn and Wye Railway, were wholly or partly double-track.
Advantages and disadvantages
Because they had un-flanged wheels, wagons that ran on plateways could also run on ordinary roads.[dubious – discuss] Plateways tended to get obstructed by loose stones and grit, leading to wear. Edgeways avoid the stone obstruction problem.
, but timber sleepers had an advantage over stone blocks because they prevented the track from spreading. The gauges of some tramroads increased by a couple of inches after decades of horses passing up the middle but, being loose on the axles, the wheels could usually be adjusted slightly with washers.Level crossings could be made truly level, the carts being re-engaged with the flanges once across the roadway.[7]
Antecedents
Even older than plateways were
See also
- Kerb-guided Buses
- Mine railway
- Rail tracks
- Railway
- Tramway (industrial)
- Tramway track
- Wagonway
References
- ISBN 0-946043-00-0.
- ^ Strickland, A. R. & Wilson, R. "The Gloucester and Cheltenham Tramroad 1811-1861" (PDF). Gloucestershire Society for Industrial Archaeology. Retrieved 18 October 2012.
- ^ Lewis, M. J. T. (1970). Early Wooden Railways. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.
- ISBN 0-7153-5707-7.
- ^ "Frequently Asked Questions About Toronto's Streetcars". Transit Toronto. April 4, 2020. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
- ISBN 0-946043-00-0.
- ISBN 978-0-85361-538-5.
- ISBN 0-86114-559-3.
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- Calvert, J. "Tramway Engineering".