Leighton Buzzard Railway

Today it was across the border from Buckinghamshire into Bedfordshire to renew our acquaintance with the Leighton Buzzard slow train! Leighton Buzzard is a town in Bedfordshire, England near the Chiltern Hills and lying between Luton and Milton Keynes. It adjoins Linslade and the name Leighton Buzzard is sometimes used to refer to the combination of the two towns. It is set on the Grand Union Canal the first great industrial artery of England which joined London to Birmingham. Located in the southern suburbs at Pages Park station you’ll find the local Buzzrail which served the network of sand quarries and brickworks across the area, the unique narrow gauge Leighton Buzzard Railway.




The industrial locomotive "Beaudesert"

The Leighton Buzzard Railway is one of the last survivors of the thousands of little lines that served factories, mines and quarries across the country - and also one of the oldest, having just completed 90 continuous years of operation. It was built in 1919, using materials and equipment that were surplus from the War Department Light Railways that had supplied the battlefields in World War 1. Originally built to serve the local sand quarrying industry, the railway has carried a passenger service, mostly hauled by historic steam engines, since 1968. It is operated by the volunteer members of a non-profit society. The track is 2 foot (610mm) gauge and with its gentle pace, sharp curves, steep gradients, level crossings and roadside running, the Leighton Buzzard Railway offers today's travellers a unique and relaxing experience and a living reminder of times gone by. Plus some great views towards the Chiltern Hills in the final mile. The return journey takes 1hr 10 mins, and most trains are hauled by a vintage steam locomotive the railways working museum collection.




Carriage interiors

A bed of Lower Cretaceous sand across Bedfordshire has been quarried on a small scale for centuries. The most significant occur around Leighton Buzzard. In the 19th century sand was carried by horse carts from quarries south of the town to be shipped on the Dunstable-Leighton Buzzard railway. The carts damaged roads and resulted in claims for compensation against the quarry owners from Bedfordshire County Council. At the end of the century steam wagons were introduced which increased the damage to roads.





The outbreak of the First World War cut off supplies of foundry sand from Belgium. Sand was needed for ammunition factories and new sources were sought. Leighton Buzzard sands proved well suited and production increased. After 1919 the quarry companies were told they could no longer transport sand by roads, so a private industrial railway was proposed to take the traffic.






Page's Park Station

Leighton Buzzard Light Railway opened on Thursday November 20, 1919, linking the sand quarries (Double Arches at the far end of the line) with the mainline railway south of the town at Grovebury sidings. The line was built using surplus equipment from the War Department Light Railways. After the Second World War sand traffic returned to the roads. In 1953 a strike on mainline railways pushed more traffic onto the roads. By the mid-1960s only one sand quarry, Arnold's, still used the light railway. The mainline to Dunstable was lifted in 1965.


LBR Route Map

The aftermath of WW11 also made a contribution to the demographics of the area stretching from Bedford to Aylesbury which contained numerous sandpits, quarries and brickworks – the large Italian community. One of the reasons they settled in this area was after the Second World War Italy was devastated and had huge unemployment whilst Britain had a manpower shortage as it set about rebuilding. Italians were allowed to come over to work in the Brickworks, cement plants and sandpits which were north of the Chiltern escarpment. Conditions were harsh in dangerous and backbreaking conditions by today’s standards; only young Italian males could be employed, they had to live in camps for three years before they were allowed bring their wives and children into the country and their movements were restricted as “controlled aliens.” As they left the camps and set up home they integrated well into the local communities whilst keeping their Italian connections.

See Buon’ Amici

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2008/04/buon-amici.html

One of the great threats to this unique railway is the increased urbanisation of the area which encroaches on the line. Staff at Leighton Buzzard’s narrow gauge railway have spoken out against planning applications for nearby greenbelt land. The application proposes 4,000 homes plus roads, industry and amenities in South Bedfordshire. The development would cover the last remaining stretch of open countryside on the route of the Leighton Buzzard Railway (LBR), which is designated greenbelt land. The railway’s chairman, Mervyn Leah, is sending out a rallying call to make sure that not only is the landscape around LBR protected, but that people speak out against threats to greenbelt land, which is protected by law.





“I have been saying for some time that what happens to us tomorrow will affect what happens to everyone else the day after,” said Mr Leah. “So now is the time for all of us in the heritage and tourism sectors to stand up and say very loudly that this is just not on!”


The track between housing

The developers, Arnold White Estates and Willis Dawson Holdings Ltd, have submitted their plans despite public consultation showing support for development around the existing Luton conurbation. Ironically, Arnold White Estates is the successor of Joseph Arnold and Sons – the local sand quarrying company that owned and operated the Leighton Buzzard Light Railway in its industrial era.






Stonehenge Works

Lets hope these schemes to concrete in and suburbanise Green Belt land don’t come to fruition not just for the sake of the railway but for the sake of the Bedfordshire countryside. Meanwhile a trip to the charming “Slow train of Bedfordshire” is well worthwhile. There is a buffet and shop at th terminus at page’s Park where you start your gentle journey on the unique industrial trains that brought workers and materials to and from the network of sandpits. Quarries and brickworks that once dotted the area. With its gentle pace, sharp curves, steep gradients, level crossings, roadside running and in the last mile, great views towards the Chiltern Hills it provides a good day out for all the family. At the other terminus at Stonehenge Works, an old brick factory, you can explore the museum collection of old locomotives and carriages collected from factories, heavy industry, WW1 Battlefields and Colonial plantations. Like the railway itself, they all have a fascinating story to tell.





View Larger Map

Page's Park Station
Billington Road, Leighton Buzzard
Bedfordshire LU7 4TN

Enquiries

station@lbngrs.org.uk

Telephone

01525 373888

http://www.buzzrail.co.uk



A trip up the narrow gauge railway originally built to transport sand. Video shows the original vertical-boilered Chaloner, trains passing at the loop, and the demonstration area at Stonehenge Works station of loading sand from the quarries into the tipper wagons. Note the need for flagmen to control the road crossings!