Colne Valley Waterworks railway
The Colne Valley Waterworks railway was a 2 ft (610 mm) narrow gauge industrial railway connecting the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) Watford to Rickmansworth branch line with the Eastbury Pumping Station.
 Route in 1939 | |
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Watford |
| Locale | England |
| Dates of operation | 1931–1967 |
| Successor | Abandoned |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 2 ft (610 mm) |
| Length | 1 mile (1.6 km) |
History
The Colne Valley Water Company opened the Eastbury Pumping Station near Watford in 1873. In 1931 the company opened a narrow gauge railway connecting the pumping station with the LMS standard gauge branch line between Watford and Rickmansworth. The line ran southeast from a private siding on the LMS line, crossed the River Colne by a relatively substantial plate girder bridge and ended in a yard at the pumping station. The railway carried coal to power the pumping station and chlorine and salt for the water softening plant.
Decline and closure
The pumping station switched from coal to diesel power in 1956; after this use of the railway declined significantly. Chlorine and salt were still carried by rail. The line closed in 1967. The two locomotives were purchased for preservation.
Locomotives
| Number | Builder | Type | Date | Works number | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ruston & Hornsby | 4wDM | 1932 | 166015 | Believed scrapped approx 1970 |
| 2 | Ruston & Hornsby | 4wDM | 1933 | 166024 | Preserved at the Amberley Chalk Pits Museum in 1968 |