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The following article is reproduced by kind permission of RAILWAY BYLINES magazine.
Originally published in RAILWAY BYLINES, October 1999, pages 520-527
THE HOLYHEAD BREAKWATER RAILWAY
by Adrian Booth
with photographs and sketch contributions
by Frank Jones and Roger Hateley
All photographs by the author unless otherwise stated.
The British mainland railway network sprouted hundreds of branch lines which, by the very nature of things, were connected
at some point or other to a main line. However, there were a few totally isolated lines, and one of these was actually worked
by British Railways locomotives until as recently as 1979. This rare beast was the Holyhead Breakwater Railway on Holy Island
off the west coast of Anglesey. It had a rather interesting history, which had its origins in the early nineteenth century.
The construction of the first harbour at Holyhead commenced in August 1810. It was built for the Admiralty under the supervision
of John Rennie, and the work including the laying of 1,000 yards of train-ways. The harbour was protected by two piers: the
lengthy Admiralty Pier and the shorter South Pier. The works were completed in 1821. However, by the 1840s the amount of coastal
shipping using Holyhead had significantly increased and the harbour was sometimes incapable of providing adequate shelter for all
the shipping wishing to use it. Consequently, in the mid-1840s plans were mooted for a major 'new' harbour which would cover an
area of 316 acres and be capable of accommodating up to 1,000 vessels. It was considered that
the proposed harbour would provide a suitably capacious refuge for coastal shipping, thereby leaving the Admiralty Pier free
for the mail packets to operate unhindered, An important factor in the equation was the embryonic Chester & Holyhead Railway,
which had been incorporated in 1844 to construct a main line between the communities of its title. It had been anticipated from
the outset that the C&HR would bring much additional traffic - especially passengers and mails - to Holyhead, and so, if the town
were to become a major mail packet port, the harbour facilities had to be improved. Indeed, the C&HR had itself planned (albeit
under the guise of a subsidiary company) a tramway along the west side of the harbour to the Admiralty Pier, but this particular
plan did not come to fruition.
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Looking east along the breakwater on 24 May 1979. The line from Wild's quarry runs in from behind the photographer and down
to the water's edge in the middle distance, before curving left to run out along the length of the breakwater. The points
in the foreground give access to the double-track engine shed.
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In 1847/48 the Admiralty awarded contracts to the London firm of Messrs. J.& C. Rigby for the construction of what was termed the
'Great Breakwater' at Holyhead. This was to extend from Soldier's Point fa little to the north-west of the old harbour) and was
intended to provide one of the main protections for the new harbour. The first contract, signed on 24 December 1847, was for the
construction of sea walls around Soldier's Point and Salt Island Point; the second contract, dated 16 August 1848, detailed the
works themselves. The Great Breakwater was to be 5,360 feet in length from Soldier's Point, while the secondary breakwater (from
Salt Island Point) was to be 2,000 feet long. The Great Breakwater required copious quantities of stone for its construction and,
fortuitously, a suitable supply was found at Holyhead Mountain, at the north-west end of Holy Island. Work on the breakwater began
in 1848, and a 7ft gauge railway line was laid from the quarry to Soldier's Point, for transporting stone, The choice of the 7ft
gauge was certainly very unusual and owed nothing to a certain Mr.Brunei — it was simply that a wide gauge was necessary to cope
with the large pieces of stone. No less than fifty mobile cranes were employed at the quarries to load the stone on to the railway
wagons - there were 250 iron-built, side-tipping wagons on site. Trains of wagons were run out along the alignment of the breakwater
on timber staging which stood 17 feet above the high water mark. (The staging was alongside the actual breakwater itself). Each day,
up to 5,000 tons of stone were tipped direct into the sea, while cranes at the end of the existing staging erected new staging just
in advance of the stone deposits. The stone was levelled to a depth of 30 feet below the low water mark, and stone blocks were laid
on top of it to form a wall which, ultimately, had a basic height of 38ft 9in above the low water mark. Some 1,400 workmen were
employed at any one time.
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The remarkable 7ft gauge Longridge 0-4-OWT at Holyhead on 5 March 1912. We know that this locomotive was named PRINCE ALBERT,
but there is scant evidence of any name-plate here. Just look at the home-made cab, that wonderful chimney, and those brake blocks.
What a machine!
PHOTOGRAPH: FRANK JONES COLLECTION
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The railway which aided the construction of the Great Breakwater was not the only one of its kind in the immediate area.
The contractor's 7ft gauge system also extended along the shore to terminate near the site of the Chester & Holyhead's
main line station. (The C&HR opened to Holyhead on 1 August 1848 and, as per
the earlier expectations, it generated a considerable amount of additional maritime traffic at Holyhead).
The extension of the contractor's line was used to bring construction materials to the site of the Great Breakwater;
in the mid-1860s it was also used in connection with the construction of the Inner Harbour.
The contractor had a fleet of eight 7ft gauge steam locomotives to help in his work. Six of these were 0-4-0WTs built by Messrs.
R.B. Longridge of Bedlington, Northumberland; this firm was relatively unknown, but was responsible for the construction
of more than 200 locomotives between 1837 and 1852. Two other 7ft gauge tank locomotives were products of Neilson of Glasgow.
Details of all these locomotives are given in the accompanying table.
It should not go unmentioned that, in 1856, one the contractor's engines fouled an overbridge while being conveyed by
the L&NWR over the Crewe-Chester line while en route to Holyhead. It was presumably returning to 'base' after an overhaul.
The Great Breakwater was completed in 1854, and the refuge it protected became formally known as the New Harbour.
The earlier harbour became known, somewhat logically, as the Old Harbour. At the New Harbour, the facilities were soon
found to be in great demand, and so (by a contract dated 23 April 1857) J. & C. Rigby undertook to extend the Great Breakwater
to a total length of 7,860 feet.
In 1862 - while the extension of the breakwater was Hearing completion - the ownership of the harbour complex passed from
the Admiralty to the Board of Trade. The take-over was formally effected in January 1863. At least five of the contractor's
locomotives were auctioned on site on 17/18 December 1872, and four of these passed to Isaac Boulton of Ashton-under-Lyne
(this is the 'Boulton' of the famous 'Boulton's Siding'), who converted them to stationary engines. The fifth of the
contractor's locomotives was acquired by the harbour authorities at Punta Delgada in the Azores; it is feasible that this
sale was made via Boulton's. The 7ft gauge railway from the quarry to Soldier's Point and out along the breakwater was
retained by the Board of Trade, together with one of the contractor's locomotives, Longridge-built 0-4-OWT PRINCE ALBERT.
The Board of Trade used this locomotive for routine maintenance duties, particularly tipping additional stone into the
water alongside the breakwater to bolster the foundations. This engine, incidentally, is thought to have received its
name in 1853 in honour of a Royal visit to Holyhead.
The extension of the Great Breakwater was completed on 30 June 1873 and was ceremonially opened on 19 August of that year
by the Prince of Wales. A train, hauled by one of the contractor's locomotives, conveyed the Prince along the breakwater
to the point to where the ceremony was conducted.
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Manning Wardle 0-4-OST CROWHURST in steam on the Breakwater Railway, date unknown.
PHOTOGRAPH: FRANK JONES COLLECTION
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Further expansion
In 1865-66 the Old Harbour was expanded by the construction of what was termed the Inner Harbour, the work again being
undertaken by Messrs. J.&C. Rigby. The L&NWR (which had taken over the C&HR in 1858) instigated further improvements
- principally an extra quay and additional passenger platforms at the Pier station -which were duly carried out between 1873
and 1880.
Meanwhile, at some time after 1878 the quarry at Holyhead Mountain was leased to William Wild (who became a limited company
as William Wild & Sons Ltd in November 1924). The extraction of stone at the quarry had earlier revealed large quantities
of material suitable for brick making, and so Wild's established a brickworks at the quarry. The 7ft gauge locomotive
PRINCE ALBERT (which.was rebuilt in 1902), together with the railway from the quarry to Salt Island, were leased by Wild's
for their brickworks traffic. Wild's also laid a network of 2ft gauge handworked tramways (i.e. the wagons were pushed manually)
to transport the clay from the working faces to the brickworks.
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MAP BY ROGER HATELEY.
Click here for enlarged version.
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By 1910 the Great Breakwater was in need of major repairs. The contract was let to Messrs. S.Pearson & Son, who started work
in August 1911. Their first job was to replace the 7ft gauge with a standard (4ft 8Vfein) gauge railway along the length
of the breakwater; they also laid a standard gauge line parallel to the 7ft gauge between Soldier's Point and the quarry.
It is possible that the old contractor's line along the shore of the New Harbour was dispensed with during the gauge conversion
of 1911; the accompanying Ordnance survey map is dated 1924, and clearly shows that the section of line at Soldier's Point
(curving round in front of the engine shed) had been lifted by this time.
The new standard gauge railway from the quarry to the breakwater was used to transport stone for maintenance
and repair purposes — a mammoth 150,000 tons was transported during 1912 alone. Pearson's brought in a pair of standard gauge
locomotives - one a product of Manning Wardle, the other built by Hudswell Clarke — to work on the contract. While the work
was in progress, the surviving section of 7ft gauge line (between Soldier's Point and the quarry) continued to be used by Wild's.
Pearson's completed the works at the breakwater circa January 1913. The Board of Trade duly acquired the newly laid standard
gauge line, and retained Pearson's Manning Wardle 0-4-OST CROWHURST for maintenance duties along the breakwater.
The Board of Trade also obtained a four-wheeled petrol-mechanical railcar, built by Messrs Baguley of Burton-on-Trent,
for the use of inspection and maintenance gangs on the breakwater. The Manning Wardle and the railcar were eventually scrapped;
the former was dealt with circa 1938, while the latter was dismantled (at an unrecorded date) and its frame used to support an
oil tank in the engine shed.
Meanwhile, with the installation of the standard gauge lines in and around the breakwater, the proprietors of the brickworks,
Messrs. Wild's, also adopted the standard gauge. Wild's 7ft gauge lines were abandoned; their locomotive, PRINCE ALBERT,
was unable to work after the gauge conversion of 1913, but !ay in store for an incredible thirty-two years, eventually been
cut up in 1945, possibly in a wartime scrap drive. Apart from TINY (the preserved South Devon Railway 0-4-0WT), PRINCE ALBERT must
surely have been the last 7ft gauge locomotive in existence in Great Britain. If only it could have lasted a few years longer
its rarity would almost certainly have been appreciated and it would have been a prime candidate for preservation.
In 1934 the administration and maintenance of the Great Breakwater and its railway passed from the Board of Trade to the Ministry
of Transport (MoT). Under MoT auspices much of the standard gauge railway was relaid with new rails, and it seems that almost
all the surviving remnants of the 7ft gauge were also taken up at this time. Also in 1934, Wild's entered into a contract to
supply stone, as required, to the breakwater, and the MoT purchased a new steam locomotive from Peckett & Sons Tor W.Wild & Sons Ltd'.
The fact that the MoT purchased the locomotive 'for W.Wild' emphasises that, although the breakwater was administered by the MoT,
the railway was actually worked by Wild's; indeed, the drivers were Wild's employees. The new Peckett was an M5 class 0-4-OST,
and had the standard lOin x 15in outside cylinders and 2ft 9in diameter wheels. The MoT also purchased a new railcar from the Drewry
Car Company of London and anew electric crane for use on the breakwater. In 1938 another steam locomotive was acquired; this was a
second-hand Andrew Barclay 0-4-OST named STAFFORD VERNON which had previously been in the employ of W.Vernon & Sons of Seacombe in
Cheshire. The locomotive's name was presumably that of a director of the Vernon company.
State ownership
A major change occurred on 1 April 1948 when responsibility for the breakwater and its railway passed from the MoT to the
recently formed British Railways, At the time, the two locomotives - the Barclay and the Peckett — were at the breakwater,
along with the Drewry railcar. The Drewry car was transferred to the BR network at Bangor
in 1958 and the Barclay locomotive was scrapped in 1959, being cut up by W. J.Davies & Co of Holyhead. The Peckett soldiered on until
the end of March 1966 when it was considered unfit for further use, though it was not scrapped until August 1967.
The sidelining of the Peckett meant that a replacement had to be found. This took the form of BR departmental locomotive ED6,
a John Fowler diesel, which had started life with the LMSR in 1935 and had been used at Ditton Sleeper Depot, near Widnes.
As the breakwater railway was completely isolated from the main line network, ED6 had to be brought in on a lorry. It arrived on
23 June 1966. BR routinely leased ED6 to Wild's for use on their brickworks traffic and, of course, for working the stone trains
when maintenance of the breakwater was required.
However, the most interesting BR locomotives were two Andrew Barclay diesel-mechanical 0-4-Os - D2954 and D2955 -which arrived
at the breakwater by lorry on 9 June 1967. They were identical 153hp engines, members of one of BR's smallest diesel classes;
just four of these engines were supplied to BR - they originally carried BR Nos.l 1503-11506, but were later renumbered D2953-2956.
The Barclay diesels were ideal for what was, to be fair, a somewhat untaxing lifestyle, and their arrival enabled ED6 (which had last
worked on 19 January 1967) to be laid aside. It was eventually scrapped in December 1968 by Mona Fuel & Trading Co Ltd.
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The breakwater railway was latterly famous for its use of the rare 'Class 01' Barclay diesels. On 24 May 1979 both were inside
the shed; by this date No.01002 had acquired a set of oval buffers, while long disused No.01001 was sheeted over. Sadly,
and somewhat surprisingly, both Barclays were eventually scrapped.
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On 24 May 1970, D2954 and D2955 became well and truly isolated. Not only were they on their own unconnected section of railway,
but Holyhead - and, indeed, the whole of Anglesey - became cut off from the rest of the BR system. The cause of this increased
separatism was a serious fire on the Britannia Bridge, which carried the main line across the Menai Straits between Bangor and
Anglesey. The bridge was rendered unusable, and this meant that thirteen main line diesel locomotives, four ordinary shunters,
a two-car DMU set, seventy-two passenger coaches plus, of course, the two breakwater shunters, were marooned on Anglesey.
Most of the main line locomotives finally escaped in June, being shipped from Anglesey to Barrow in Furness.
By the very nature of their duties, the two breakwater shunters were completely unaffected by these events.
D2954 ceased work in 1971 and was put up for sale; however, a purchaser was not found and so it was retained as a source of
spares for its partner. D2955 soldiered on until December 1975 when, as a result of a dispute with BR over the price of stone,
Wild's terminated the arrangement and closed their works and quarry. Consequently, as from 1976 the stone required for repairs
was brought in by road and the rail movements along the breakwater were looked after directly by BR, using its own labour.
The two Barclay diesels were to become remarkable survivors. They remained in BR stock long after most small shunters had
been scrapped; indeed, in June 1974, as representatives of what had been designated 'Class 01',
they were renumbered 01001 and 01002. It must be said that the renumbering of 01001 was, perhaps, a little extravagant,
as it had been laid aside since 1971. The two locomotives were nominally allocated to Holyhead and so one wonders how many
gricers made unsuccessful visits to the main line depot, not knowing that the Barclays were secreted in their sturdy shed
1½ miles away on the breakwater!
It should not go unmentioned that, in BR days, two Wickham railcars were acquired and used for inspection and manriding duties.
The first of these, TR33, was replaced at the breakwater in April 1975 by TR23.
Visiting hours
The author visited the breakwater railway in July 1970, September 1976 and May 1979. The headquarters of the railway was reached
via narrow lanes from Holyhead. The stone built engine shed was beside an area of sandy heathland; it was a two-road affair and at
its rear was an office building—the two structures formed an L-shape, and the space within the angle was occupied by stores and
equipment. On the author's first visit in 1970, the two diesels were numbered D2954 and D2955; the Baguley 'railcar' and Wickham
car TR33 were also seen. By the time of the final visit in 1979, the engine shed had its windows boarded up as a protection against
strong westerly winds, but the interior contained some interesting relics. At the rear was the remains of an old turntable which,
in earlier years, hail been used to give access-via an adjacent door at the back on the right - to the stores yard.
However, the most interesting find was the remains of the original 7ft gauge railway. In both inspection pits, standard gauge
rails were spiked down on to longitudinal sleepers carried on cribbing within the original 7ft gauge inspection pits. One rail of
the 7ft gauge track remained in situ, albeit unused. Outside, to the west of the shed, the line to the quarry
was very overgrown and disused, passing through a cutting, beneath an overbridge and parallel with a rough road, on its way to the
quarry. The rusty railway tracks ended at the remains of a set of points, while the quarry itself was abandoned and atmospheric,
echoing to the sound of seagulls, with ruined buildings and the remains of a crushing plant.
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On 24 May 1979 the breakwater railway's complete complement of rolling stock stood on the quay side, with flat DB710155
nearest the camera. They were loaded with slate slabs brought in from Penrhyn Quarries. Note that the right-hand track
is proud of the surface, while the track upon which the flats are standing is inset in 'tramway' style.
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After walking back past the shed, the railway was noted to be still in situ on the breakwater.
In September 1976 there were two trailing sidings on to the quay, the one nearest the water's edge was
proud of the surface, while the other was inset in 'tramway' style. Further out along the breakwater was a passing loop.
The author did not walk any further than this point, although the 1924 OS map indicates that two short sidings were
provided: the first was a trailing siding for the 'Life-saving Rocket Apparatus House', the second a few yards
from the end of the system, just before the lighthouse- Beside the quay (in September 1976) were piles of stone,
which had been brought in by lorry, and an attendant mobile rail crane (the tracks of which were approximately 10ft 'gauge')
which was used to load stone on to flat wagons. By May 1979 the stockpiles of stone had all gone,
and large slabs of slate were being brought in by road from Penrhyn Quarries at Bethesda, some thirty miles away.
The crane had loaded some slabs on to flat wagons numbers DB710155 (Swindon 1959), DB709304 (Derby 1959), M418362
(LMS Derby 1945) and E311393 (Ashford 1948). The two Barclay diesels were inside the shed;
both were in BR green livery, with red coupling rods, red buffer beams and stocks, yellow and black striped
cab back, and with the lion and wheel motif on the cabside. No.01002 was last used in August 1979 and,
by the following month, rail operations had virtually ceased; indeed, in order to reduce double-handling of the slate,
plans were afoot to completely eliminate rail traffic by mid-1980.
The plans came to pass. The last recorded rail activity involved No.01002, which was required briefly in July 1980.
The lifting of the track along the breakwater commenced in October 1980, the job being undertaken by Mona Fuel & Trading Co Ltd
using road vehicles. The Great Breakwater was resurfaced to enable subsequent deliveries of stone and/or slate to be taken by
lorry directly to the place where they were needed on the breakwater. The last Wickham trolley (TR23) was moved by lorry to BR
Bangor on 30 October 1980, while the two Barclay diesels were stored in the shed until being sold to local scrap merchants
O.R. Davies & Sons. Cutting up commenced on 12 February 1982; No.01001 was completely cut up by 26 February, with 01002 similarly
treated by 3 March 1982, By this date the engine shed was still standing, but the only remaining track -and that totally overgrown
-was a length of approximately 250 yards from near the shed to the old quarry.
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Over the years, William Wild's quarry provided umpteen thousands of tuns of slums Cor breakwalur repairs,
in addition to manufacturing countless bricks. All was abandoned, however, when photographed in 1979.
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A close-up view of the 'headquarters' of the breakwater railway, also on 24 May 1979. The engine shed is prominent -
it has stone walls, but at some time had received a timber frontage. The ravages of the prevailing westerly gales had
re-suited in the original slate roof requiring substantial repairs -note the patching up at the front end. The offices
are at the rear, forming an L-shape, while the mobile crane stands alongside the shed wall. A lorry, complete with BR
'two way arrow' logo on its cabside, is delivering stores, while two men are working alongside the front gate. Note the
castellated tower behind the offices.
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Beyond the engine shed the line curved left to run beside the quay; a track can just be discerned on the quay at the water's
edge (extreme right). On the left of this picture -which was taken on 18 September 1976 - are stockpiles of stone, waiting to
be used on breakwater repairs, with an attendant mobile crane which was used to load the stone on to flat wagons hauled by the
Barclay diesel.
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The line from Wild's quarry passed
beneath this small bridge on its way to the breakwater. The width of the bridge is due to the former need to accommodate double track.
The engine shed can be seen in the distance. Yes, it is that visit once again - 24 May 1979.
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Additional graphics
List of locos that operated
on the Breakwater Railway
OS Map from 1924 showing the Breakwater Railway (339 KB)
Contributor's note: For historical information I have drawn heavily on Industrial Locomotives of North Wales by V.J. Bradley
(Industrial Railway Society 1992) and The Chester & Hotyhead Railway by Peter E. Baughan (David & Charles). I also wish to acknowledge
the assistance of Messrs. J.E. Tennent, A.D.K. Young and Bryan L. Wilson.
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