Horse-drawn railway

Namaqualand Railway mule train, c. 1876

Horse-drawn railways were used before the advent of steam locomotive traction, which gradually superseded them in most instances.

Examples

Examples include:

1800

• Swansea and Mumbles Railway (1804–1877) ; later electrified ^[1][2]

• Leiper Railroad (1810–1828)
• Brinore Tramroad (1814–1861)
• Blaafarveværket (c. 1820s), Norway
• Plymouth and Dartmoor Railway (1823–1888, 1860) 4 ft 6 in (1,372 mm) gauge
• Stockton and Darlington Railway operated with both horses and engines for a while. (1825–1833)
• Granite Railroad (1826–1871) 1,524 mm (5 ft)
• France (1827– ) Saint-Étienne to Andrézieux Railway
• Czech rail records (1828–) 1,106 mm (3 ft 7 ¹⁄₂ in) gauge
• Port Arthur, Tasmania Tramway (1836– ) convict (human) powered
• Festiniog Railway (1836–1863)^[3]
• Patent (1838–1844) G. Peppercorne^[4]
• Leith and Musselburgh Tramway(1841– )^[5]

1850

• Fintona Railway, Ireland (1853–1957) 1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in) gauge.^[6]

• Goolwa Port Elliot Railway (1854–); used up to 16 horses^[7] 1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in) gauge

• Newquay Railway (1855–) clay mining

• Nelson, New Zealand (1861-____)^[8]

• Dun Mountain Railway (1861–1901) 914 mm (3 ft)

• Wallaroo (port) to Moonta (mines) – tramway (1862–1890+)^[9][10]

• Port Macdonnell to Mount Gambier – proposal ^[11]

• Omaha Horse Railway (1867– )

• Port Wakefield Railway (1870–1876) 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) gauge. Converted to locomotive haulage.

• Narracoorte to Lacepede Bay (1871) 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)

• Ferrocarril de Antofagasta a Bolivia, Chile (1873–1876) – mule-drawn – 762 mm (2 ft 6 in)

• Port Broughton (1876–1926) always isolated; 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) ; locomotives proposed in 1906 ^[12]

• Namaqualand Railway 762 mm (2 ft 6 in) gauge opened 1869-1876; steam followed gradually.

• Kailan – Lutai Canal (1878–1881) ; mule-drawn for coal ^[13]

1880

• Horse Tramways in Fiji (1884–) 762 mm (2 ft 6 in) gauge and 610 mm (2 ft) gauge. Some assisted by manpower. Cane tramways.

• McKenzie Creek Tramway, Horsham, Victoria – Shire-operated, 8 km long – (1887–1925)
• Nasik Tramway (1889–193x)
• Bärschwil gypsum railway (1894–1952)
• 1905–1941 Welshpool Jetty line 762 mm (2 ft 6 in) gauge

---

• Finton Tramway, Ireland 1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in) (????-1957)^[14]
• Kingston (port) Naracoorte^[15]

• Gawler^[16]

• Moonta^[17]

Proposed

The Governor of New South Wales and the Railways Engineer John Whitton fought a long battle in the 1860s over the introduction of horse-drawn railways and the narrow gauge, at least for lightly used branch lines; neither were never introduced. Comparative costs were prepared.^[18]

Gauge

In a debate in the South Australian Parliament in 1876, it was observed that while the wider 1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in) and 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 ¹⁄₂ in) gauges allowed for 2 horses side by side, the narrower 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) gauge did not.^[19]

Horse shunting

Horses continued to be used for light shunting well into the 20th century. Charlie, the last horse used for shunting on British Railways, was retired on 21 February 1967, at Newmarket, Suffolk.

Horses have several advantages for this purpose:^[20]

• cheap
• could easily move from track to track
• no warm-up time like a steam locomotive
• they can learn to obey instructions

Disadvantages of horses include:

• they may be spooked and bolt.
• they may trip and fall and get injured or killed.

See also

• Rail gauge^[21]
• Rail transport in South Australia
• Corduroy road

References

1. "Horse-Drawn Train.". The Examiner (Launceston, Tas.: National Library of Australia). 12 December 1908. p. 3 Edition: DAILY. Retrieved 25 September 2011.
2. "The Oldest Railway.". The Horsham Times (Vic. : 1882–1954) (Vic.: National Library of Australia). 24 January 1928. p. 10. Retrieved 15 July 2012.
3. "The Festiniog Railway.". The South Australian Advertiser (Adelaide: National Library of Australia). 27 May 1872. p. 2. Retrieved 1 December 2011.
4. "Correspondence.". Illustrated Sydney News (NSW: National Library of Australia). 25 March 1854. p. 3. Retrieved 26 September 2011.
5. "To the Editor of the Sydney Morning Herald.". The Sydney Morning Herald (National Library of Australia). 17 November 1856. p. 3. Retrieved 18 April 2012.
6. Ireland lost lines, Ian Allen, 2006, p71
7. "Adelaide Philosophical Society.". South Australian Register (Adelaide: National Library of Australia). 17 August 1867. p. 3. Retrieved 25 September 2011.
8. "Cheap Railways.". The Maitland Mercury & Hunter River General Advertiser (NSW: National Library of Australia). 28 November 1861. p. 2. Retrieved 25 November 2011.
9. "House of Assembly.". South Australian Register (Adelaide: National Library of Australia). 31 July 1889. p. 6. Retrieved 19 November 2011.
10. "Meeting at Moonta.". Kadina and Wallaroo Times (SA: National Library of Australia). 12 July 1890. p. 2. Retrieved 17 October 2013.
11. "Horse-Drawn Railway Was Once Proposed For Port MacDonnell.". The Border Watch (Mount Gambier, SA: National Library of Australia). 23 June 1953. p. 13. Retrieved 29 July 2012.
12. "THE SOUTH AUSTRALIAN PARLIAMENT.". The Advertiser (Adelaide: National Library of Australia). 25 July 1906. p. 3. Retrieved 5 October 2014.
13. "China's Moral Debt to Great Britain.". The West Australian (Perth: National Library of Australia). 10 December 1918. p. 5. Retrieved 14 July 2012.
14. Steaming through Briton p28
15. "S.A. Benefits From Gauge Change .". The Advertiser (Adelaide: National Library of Australia). 18 May 1954. p. 13. Retrieved 22 November 2011.
16. "Railway Management.". The Advertiser (Adelaide: National Library of Australia). 22 November 1918. p. 6. Retrieved 24 November 2011.
17. "Railway Management.". The Advertiser (Adelaide: National Library of Australia). 22 November 1918. p. 6. Retrieved 24 November 2011.
18. "Horse, Traction Railway.". Empire (Sydney, NSW : 1850–1875) (Sydney: National Library of Australia). 18 September 1861. p. 8. Retrieved 17 November 2012.
19. "The Parliament.". South Australian Register (Adelaide: National Library of Australia). 12 July 1876. p. 5. Retrieved 31 August 2012.
20. http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/gansg/8-yards/y-intro.htm
21. http://sinfin.net/railways/world/brazil.html