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FOXCOTE COLLIERY RAILWAY (Radstock)
(1853 to 1931)

(From tree visits on the 9th and 17th of September 2020 and 23rd April 2921)

(Updated April 2021)

The Writhlington Colliery Tramway to Foxcote Colliery layout. (NLS Maps)

The 2' 8.5" tramway ran from within the Colliery to a three-way junction on the south side. The Foxcote tramway ran off to the east, crossing the Upper Writhlington Road
and off through the fields up to the bottom of the Foxcote Incline. There was a single siding with an ash pit with a mess room where train crews rested between trips. 
From here there were two railway inclines. One to a quarry and the other to Foxote colliery. Another tramway ran from the colliery to a coal depot by the A368 road..

At closure the Ex three-way junction at Writhlington on the 2' 8" Tramway had been reduced to just a single spur to
Foxcote Colliery. Set in concrete the remaining rails run for a short distance to where it crossed the Upper Writhington
road. The track bed can be followed via a footpath up to the base of the Foxcote Inclines then up to the Colliery site.

No longer a three way junction the remaining track, cut short just within the trees on the right came from the south side of
Writhlington colliery. I have no idea when the south curve and the straight ahead line were removed. I expect the track is set
in concrete here because lorries also used this way taking waste coal to the slag heap.

 
Left: The remains of the three-way triangle junction. Only the north facing spur remains. The south facing curve and the straight ahead line must have
been removed some years before the colliery finally closed. Right: The north facing spur leaving the colliery and heading for Foxcote colliery and coal
depot. The road crossing was gated and still is on both sides of the road.

Where the branch to Foxcote colliery crossed the road. This is looking towards the lower triangle junction just up ahead..

 
The track ends on the west side of Upper Writhlington road.

On the east side of the road the tramway track bed heads off to the base of the Foxcote Colliery incline.

View over the road where the line came out of the colliery site.

Where the tramway branch to Foxcote colliery crossed the road. Heading eastwards then sharply curving southwards beyond
the colliery to a coal depot on the Frome Road. The footpath along the south side of the track bed is on the far right by the
tree. The road did in fact go through the middle of the colliery the colliery on the west side and the Engine house and
associated building on the eastern side. There was a short branch into the pump house.

This is a much later building that is part of the house that its' self was built after the pump house building had been demolished.

Further ahead a (unused) stable is built upon the old track bed.

As far as you can go. The track bed is fenced off and the way fully over grown. However, you can follow the track bed along
the north side via an official footpath and get back onto the track bed about quarter of a mile up ahead.

Looking ahead over the gate.The line went on ahead for a way then turned sharply southwards.

Looking back towards the colliery. The two building are more recent additions encroaching upon the old track bed. .

Behind the trees on the right there was a short spur off the Foxcote branch at this point turning into the house site..

On the opposite side of the trees where the spur came off the main running line and into the house site.

Massive change here! This was the site of the Engine house and associated buildings. The line of view is of the spur.
Looking northwards.

A fine house, awaiting a new owner.

Where the spur ended. The stones used for the raised garden may have been from the pump house or associated buildings.

The Foxcote colliery was demolished in the 1950's.

ON THE FOOTPATH AND UP TO THE BASE OF THE INCLINE

As you join the Footpath from the road you follow along the south side of the Foxcote branch in an open field that
leads up to a turn style where you enter the wooded area along the track bed up to the bottom of the Foxcote Incline.

 
At the end of the field path you go through a gate to continue towards the Ex Loco shed site and the base of the incline.

The track bed runs down the center of the photo and you can just make out the Ex loco shed and service pit site to the right.

The way is very dense within a heavily wooded area. However at
one point there is a short clearing with a view over the fields,
northwards.

Not easy to spot when everything is in full growth but just a few yards on and to the right you find the remains of the Loco
Shed and inspection pit. Locomotives and crews would have used the shed as a rest room and safely parking the steam
locomotive over the pit. Whether any actual servicing was done to the locomotive is unknown. But the crew would have
had to wait here for loaded wagons to be hauled up the incline and empty ones lowered,

   


It is difficult to imagine a loco shed standing here and I am not sure if the shed was built over the servicing pit or stood outside
where the tree on the left is now standing. It's a shame that so much is lost of haw these lines were worked and a pure lack of
any photos. As a retired driver you can guess quite a lot but that's not the same as having actual facts.

The incline has been back-filled from this point to the summit to protect private farmland at the summit. The only way to get
up to the coal mine site is to "scramble" up the coal batch, which is very difficult and possibly dangerous.

From the base of the quarry site you can see how much the incline has been blocked by falling trees and back-fill. This is
looking sideways at the incline as it ran up and down,

This looked a bit too much for me and I checked out a slightly easier path by going up the 'groove' where coal and materials had slipped
 Batch side over the years. The loose material made it easier going but it  was a matter of one step forwards and 2-3 slips back on the
crumbling debrie. It was slow going and I only managed to reach the surface by scrambling on all fours for the last few yards. I packed
my camera away for safety and  didn't get any photos of that For a moment I thought I was fenced off from going  any further as you get
onto private land but there was a gap in the fence off to the far left and I was free to follow the fence until the far corner where the ground
was  open onto the top of the coal batch where there are numerous old vehicles of all sorts  t

I already had images of me not being ale to get back down the batch due to the situation. I knew I could get out at the Mine site but it was
a very long  walk back into Radstock on a very busy and narrow road that I didn't care to tackle.  On my way back after completing my
search of the site  I got back to where I reached the top and considered the chances of getting back down the Batch side. Again, the grove
proved much  easier than it first looked. I had images of reaching the bottom in a fracton of the time it took me to scramble up it! However,
I was lucky enough to find hard patches of stone, or was it 'coal' where I had a firm grip that stopped me from sliding or falling forward and
and  was very satisfied on how easy it had turned out. I was thankful too that  avoided that long walk back into Radstock and it kept me on
on the path that I had planned out. My only disappointment was not getting out of the batch site to have a look around the Mine site as
I hoped.

 
Left: The track bed where it levels off from the embankment. It had been blocked off from Writhlington but the fence has been removed in part.
The short spur that lead to the locomotive pit and crew Mess Room branched off around this spot.Right: From the same spot, looking eastwards
towards the bottom of the incline.

From up ahead I came to the base of the Foxcote Incline that took a
sharp turn southwards.

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The only photo I got of the coal mine site was from pointing my camera over the locked gate. The Ex loco shed
was for the loco working the Coal Depot branch which wasn't connected to the incline. The loco building is in
excellent condition and suggests that there may be other buildings worth checking out. However, you may
have to request permission.

INCOMPLETED

I still couldn't conclude this section. While I got up to the top of the Batch, with quite a scramble and almost giving up. I managed to look around the old
vehicle collection spread around the site but couldn't get to the Colliery site due to a high locked gate and that the colliery site is a private residence and
didn't want to be seen climbing over the high gate just to be on the safe side. I'm not sure about the copyright of photographing the old vehicles and while
photographing them all  have decided not to publish the photos on this page. I turned back to Radstock the way I got there via the batch. I only found
one reasonably safe way down by following the natural groove of the batch that was filled with branches and stones that while still quite scary at least gave
me enough grip not to slip or fall over and descend the side of the batch several times faster than I got up it!

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The only photo I have found on the internet of Foxcote Colliery'

Until I can get to the actual site I have taken screen grabs of Foxcote Coal Depot from Google Earth.

The tramway as it approached the coal depot. (Overview from Google Earth).

Road level view looking eastwards along the A368. The house is a private dwelling.

The entrance. N.B. this is now a private dwelling and should be treated with respect. Don't enter without seeking permission and accept refusal if that
is what the landowner wishes.

Westward view along the A368. Some of the original buildings are still in use.

I would think the locomotive building was the ruins seen within the trees on the right. This spot is quite a long way out from Radstock and not on
a bus route.

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                                                                                       To: Lower Writhlington To Upper Writhlington (North)  Incline

Other railway walks.

The Dundee & Newtyle Rlwy Walks  Opened in 1831 the route had three incline planes. The first was from the terminal station on Ward Street, up the Dundee Law, where there was
also a tunnel. The second was the Balbeuchley incline at Rosemill and the third at Hatton that ran down to Newtyle station. It was also the very first passenger train service in Scotland.
Worked by Horse over the levels until the first steam engine was purchased in 1833. Came under the Caledonian Railway with it's terminal moved to Dundee West station. Passengers
service ended in 1952 and the line totally closed in the mid 60's. The inclines were by-passed in the 1860's.

The Cromford & High Peak Incline railway in Derbyshire has been luckier in having much of it's buildings, including an Engine House preserved. This is what could have happened with
the D&N, indeed, should have happened with at least one of the D&N inclines. However, the C&H gives an excellent comparison of what the D&N would have looked like, albeit the
inclines were only single track.

Boddam To Ellon Branch (Walks)   By Bill Reid. Ex GNSR branch line.

Dyce To Fraserburgh and Peterhead Walks. Ex GNSR

Bath To Wellow Rlwy Walks Ex Somerset & Dorset Rlwy.

Chippenham To Caln Walk.

The Test Valley Railway Walk. (New Mills To Hayfield).

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