Skye Marble Railway
Overview | |
---|---|
Fleet size | 1 Hunslet Engine Company steam locomotive |
Headquarters | Broadford, Skye |
Locale | Isle of Skye, Scotland |
Dates of operation | 1910–1912 |
Successor | Abandoned |
Technical | |
Track gauge | 3 ft (914 mm) |
Length | 4 mi (6 km) |
The Skye Marble Railway was a
which operated from 1910 to 1912.The light railway extended 4 mi (6 km) from Broadford pier[5] to the quarries, and there was a branch line to the factory.[6] The blocks of marble were cut in workshops on the Island and shipped to Antwerp from the pier in Broadford.[7] The railway was operated by a Hunslet Engine Company steam locomotive named Skylark, which was acquired second-hand from Ireland.
Shortly after completion in late October 1910, Lachian Macleod, a native of the Isle of Raasay, was employed by the company on a service train between Broadford and the quarry when a wagon got out of control on an incline. He leapt from the wagon and received a fracture of the skull which proved fatal.[8]
The quarry railway was not successful for very long, and by 1913 the line was being offered for sale as part of the liquidation of the business.[9] The sale comprised a 9½-in, 4-wheeled locomotive, 500 tons of 35 pounds (16 kg) and 56 pounds (25 kg) flat-bottomed rail and 9,000 6-foot creosoted sleepers.
References
- ^ "Skye Marble Railway". Hlrco.wordpress.com. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
- ^ "Am Baile - Letter concerning the railway construction of Skye Marble LTD, page 1". Archived from the original on 7 March 2012. Retrieved 27 November 2010.
- ^ "Skye District Committee". Northern Chronicle and General Advertiser for the North of Scotland. Scotland. 2 February 1910. Retrieved 24 November 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "The Western Isles". Northern Chronicle and General Advertiser for the North of Scotland. Scotland. 10 August 1910. Retrieved 24 November 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- Aberdeen Journal. 3 July 1911. p. 4. Skye Marble Quarries. Industrial Transformation in the Highlands
- ^ Sheffield Telegraph. 18 February 1911. p. 8. Skye Marble. Highland Industry with a future.
- ^ "New Factory for Skye". Overland China Mail. England. 7 January 1911. Retrieved 24 November 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Skye. Broadford Man Killed on the Railway". Northern Chronicle and General Advertiser for the North of Scotland. Scotland. 2 November 1910. Retrieved 24 November 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Inverness-Shire - Marble Quarries. Skye Marble Ltd in Liquidation". The Scotsmanl. Scotland. 28 June 1913. Retrieved 24 November 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
57°13′05″N 5°56′35″W / 57.218°N 5.943°W