The Story of the Haytor Granite Railway - Dartmoor

[@pwhitewick]

Here is the link we mentioned at the end of the film: www.littlefashionhut.com/collections/paul-and-rebecca-whitewick

[@chrishall3802]

Is there arr new link etc as this one is not working

[@kejadi]

If this granite was used to build the 1831 London Bridge, the stone was later transported to the newly planed community of Lake Havasu City in Arizona, USA, where it was used in the construction of a new bridge over the Colorado River. Dedicated in 1971 as “London Bridge”. I doubt the quarry owner could have ever predicted that! Love your videos. This is a good one.

[@pwhitewick]

Wow... thats a tad mad.

[@annarboriter]

I was waiting, too, for the story of transporting the granite for London bridge to end up in Lake Havasu

[@geoffwysham1731]

I’ve *been* on that London Bridge! Feels good to have one up on Paul & Rebecca!

[@MrPWalden]

Technically that London Bridge wasn’t built over the river, the bridge was built on dry land then the river diverted under it.

[@sightscreen66]

Thanks for this. At 09:00 you can see a hole which took a peg attached to a long iron bar (pointing towards the viewer). These were used as primitive point blades to deflect the wagons. In line with the straight, wagons would go straight. Flipped to the left, the right hand wheels would be deflected to the right and cause the whole wagon to move in that direction.

[@vsvnrg3263]

i was wondering how the switching was done. that looks like a rather clever way to switch lines.

[@markthompson3577]

a jolly good laugh and an awesome adventure ....what a way to finish the day with paul & Rebecca

[@captainlockheed]

Since I got a Roku I only watch KZbin now, and this channel is among my favourites, Love history, and I take my hat off to our ancestors.

[@DevonSalad]

Sat in Bovey Tracey watching this it always makes you appreciate something you've known all your life more when you have other people's excitement in seeing it!

[@bertelliott1456]

Very interesting. And if I may say so, Rebecca looks beautiful in that dress.

[@georgemiller7717]

I’ve never seen anything like this!! It’s so well preserved!

[@pwhitewick]

Pretty amazing isnt it.

[@georgemiller7717]

@@pwhitewick so you have an email? I know of a couple of disused lines that you could do a video on 💰

[@lindamccaughey6669]

Thank you so much Paul I enjoyed your waffle. That was so good thanks so much for taking me along. Please stay safe and take care

[@joeobyrne3189]

Walked the line on the moor lots of times. Lucky to live near by.

[@GiacomodellaSvezia]

Originally, the company that built the railway station I live nearby had "Iron Railways" in its name. In French and Italian, railways are called 'chemins de fer' and 'ferrovie'. Up till now I never really understood the necessity for mentioning the material used. Thank you for clearing that up.

[@daveallen63]

A few days late to the show, sorry. I think what you are doing is important especially in the world we live in today. I appreciate that you are not only documenting these points of human evolution, but sharing them as well. It's good to see you lovely folks as always, and I want you to know I do plan on supporting what your doing as soon as I am able to. I think what you're doing is that important. Thanks again.

[@raytheron]

So much fun watching and listening to you two!

[@xPyroxx]

Didn't even know this was here, and I was at Haytor last week. Brilliant story though!

[@douglasfleetney5031]

That was fantastic! Thanks Guys, the Haytor is one of the 'Holy Grail' lines for me and I feel you did it justice. Paul if you have not got a copy put 'Stone Blocks and Iron Rails' by Bertram Baxter (printed David and Charles (my copy is dated 1966)) on your must have reading list. You will get a lot of hints and locations from within its covers. Again I must put high praise upon your wonderful video. Thank you and Rebecca for all your work.

[@simonmcowan6874]

That is an excellent book, not easy to get hold of, a other I'd highly recommend is 'Early Wooden Railways' by MJT Lewis. Published by Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd 1970. The last time I spoke to the author (20 years ago) he said it was difficult to find a copy, if you do it's well worth space in your book collection.

[@AlexanderWright1]

For those looking for the quarries, they are the opposite side of Hay Tor from the road and car park. Please be careful not to fall into a quarry working. There are not always fences.

[@eddiek0507]

Great Video, An interesting railway & canal. Looking forward to part 2 next week !!...😀👍

[@17Blower]

Great to see you walking this route, I'm lucky enough to cycle past Ventiford basin on my commute to work, I work in an old pottery building which used the railway for supplies and has some of the railway still outside.

[@TheEulerID]

Some of that stone eventually travelled a great deal further than London and is now to be found at Lake Havasu City in Arizona.

[@stephendavies6949]

Wow, a stone railway?! I had no idea such a thing existed. Thanks for sharing.

[@UKAbandonedMineExplores]

We definatly enjoy your waffle and passion for history and informative videos. Using granite as rails, genious when it was so abundant.

[@MrTarmonbarry]

There is anothe example of this near Kitt Hill mine , near Callington . Quarry way up high with a similar problem of how to get it down . There is a very very long slope that i believe at one time had some sort of carriage system. The stone from that quarry was used for the London embankment and i thing Westminster palace , there are still some worked pieces up there , some beautifully worked stone

[@nicholaskelly6375]

David The railway at Kit Hill Quarry is explained on page 76 of an amazing book 'INCLINED PLANES IN THE SOUTH WEST' by Martin Bodman. This book is a gazetteer of over 200 cable, rope & chain worked locations in South West England. Published by Twelveheads in 2012 ISBN 978 0 906294 75 8 As noted earlier this is a truly remarkable publication listing and describing literally hundreds of inclined planes. Well returning to page 76. The incline was self-acting (ie the loaded wagons descending raised the empty wagons). Originally 3' 6"/1067mm gauge (As it connected with the East Cornwall Mineral Railway which was one of the very few railways built to that gauge in these islands). The dimensions of the Incline being as follows. Length (approx) = 1,600' Gradient = 1in 8 at the foot increasing to 1 in 5 at the head. The incline was single track at the foot and three-rail above the central passing loop. The stone was shipped out from Calstock (Originally via the ECMR and it's incline down to quays at Calstock and later in P&SWJR/LSWR/SR/BR days via the wagon lift on Calstock Viaduct). The system was eventually regauged to Standard during the 1930's. The system closed in 1955. Today the Incline forms the easiest route up to the old quarries at the summit of Kit Hill. Kit Hill granite was wide used on jobs suited to its robust qualities. Including six Thames bridges in London (Blackfriars, Chelsea, Lambeth, London, Putney & Waterloo).

[@bobsrailrelics]

Another fascinating look at a bit of industrial history. Granite tramways was not in my bingo card.

[@Sim0nTrains]

Wonderful video, the Haytor Tramway does look amazing that it still survive.

[@jordesclark]

Such a beautiful representation of one of my favourite places to visit. A bit of my heart will always remain at Haytor, always a favourite place for me to visit throughout my life! It's lovely to see some of my local site popping up guys, thank you for the effort you put in, raising attention to some wonderful hidden heritage.

[@pwhitewick]

Thank you, a pleasure to be able to visit here

[@divarachelenvy]

love that dress on you Rebecca :) awesome video too...

[@janinapalmer8368]

Well done ... MOST interesting... how you find all these places beats me !

[@pwhitewick]

Loooooots of research.

[@janinapalmer8368]

@@pwhitewick I'll bet ... yes 😀

[@MG-cp8xk]

Have you been to Caradon railway lots to see, walk, explore from quarries and mines to bridges, granite level crossing posts, cuttings, road side monuments, down to filled in cuttings, filled in cannel down to Looe harbour? Well worth at least one bit of filming. Close to Brunel's bridge.

[@rontanser9369]

Wow that was really interesting guys you would never of known walking along there but it was ever a railway

[@brianartillery]

Thank you for that - I've been to Hay Tor a couple of times, and had no idea that that tramway even existed, let alone such an extensive one. Nice one. Not surprised about the weather on Dartmoor - I camped there once, in the early 1990's, and was treated to almost a complete set of British weather (minus snow), in a 24 hour period.

[@scottc1589]

I'm fascinated by how the concept of railroads developed, so I really enjoyed this posting. Amazing so much is still intact. Thanks!

[@EdLeslie-h4w]

There is a 'stone' railway (or rather the stone tracks) on Dartmoor built by French PoWs from Princetown (Dartmoor Prison) up onto the moor.

[@nilo70]

Beautiful , beautiful countryside . Thank you again for taking me along guys !

[@Dave5843-d9m]

There’s a similar tramway up in South Derbyshire between Ticknall lime pits and the Ashby Canal. It probably had flanged cast iron rails but some tunnels and the stone sleeper blocks still exist. The lime pits are amazing. There’s even a natural cavern uncovered by the mining work.

[@mybelovedgoodnews]

only just come across your videos and am really enjoying them.

[@gaugeonesteam]

Brilliant Video. Amazing they could build such a long route from stone rails. I've seen this stone rails technique somewhere else in the UK on a "Mark Williams" industrial history programme but I don't think it was anywhere near as long as this one. Great presentation style. Please don't change it. You two should be on the History or Discovery channel. great stuff.

[@rrich52806]

London Bridge is a bridge in Lake Havasu City, Arizona . It was built in the 1830s and formerly spanned the River Thames in London, England. It was dismantled in 1967 and relocated to Arizona.

[@Dave5843-d9m]

I absolutely love this part of the world. Teign valley is stunning. Last august we had sea trout spawning just a couple of hundred yards from the canal lock at Teigngrace. The local tame crow was politely asking for food and a kingfisher keeping busy completely ignoring any people coming by.

[@AdamOpie]

Reminds me of my local Wylam Wagonway, passing by George Stephenson's birthplace. Then replaced by the North Wylam Loop, now a cycle path.

[@stephenlehardy]

Fantastic! Probably my favourite tramway. Once persuaded my University lecturer to use a day of a geography field trip to walk it and that was a while back. Couldn't find the Stover canal so great to see the missing piece. Love those stone points.

[@christopherbraiden6713]

Thanks for the video totally enjoyed it. Such a beautiful stunning railway made from stone good to see so much history still there and works so beautifully down into the canal area!!😎🚂🚃🚃🇬🇧

[@Conan500]

Such a brilliant video, I’d no idea that tramway still existed! Thanks Paul and Rebecca, well done. 👍

[@RDoling]

Visited Haytor a long time ago on a field trip. Suffice it to say the weather was substantially worse than you had!

[@leeclift4666]

Ahh in janner land love dartmoor cheers for posting

[@kevg4571]

great video thank you. you mentioned London Bridge and the Granite... if you walk the old tramway around Swell Tor Quarry there are still some of the pieces to it... quite obviously shaped by stone masons on site, but never actually transported to London.

[@chrisneno1764]

It's in Devon, just up the road from me!!!

[@Richard_Barnes]

This is the only video of yours I’ve see and only now as it ‘appeared’ in my feed. I enjoyed the walk! Thanks you pair 🙂 very interesting to see the granite railway and the length of it still visible today. Looks a nice walk as well.

[@brucenichols9153]

Your enthusiasm about what you both do is a joy to behold.

[@hubertvancalenbergh9022]

As ever, an interesting bit of history. Oh, and what a lovely dress, Lady Rebecca!

[@rogermorris6957]

Fantastic bit of filming Paul, no knowledge of the area so good to see. Like it when you pull in the history if the place thanks to both of you.

[@malcolmsmith6615]

Assuming each track block is 1m long, then for the single line (ignoring loops, sidings and branches), that’s 32,000 blocks of granite that had to be hand cut and then chiselled to the required profile. That was no mean task, and it astounds me that it was considered practical and cost effective. It clearly must have been though! It wouldn’t surprise me if the total number of blocks run to 35,000 or more when you count sidings etc. They must have employed 100s of masons else it would have taken years. Why I didn’t already know about this unique tramway I’ll never know, it’s so unusual. Thank you for the enlightenment!

[@PhilipStorry]

I saw "the granite for London Bridge" and I immediately thought "But London Bridge has little if any granite. It's a brick viaduct and was just rebuilt as steel and glass, and before that it was steel and concrete from the 1960's." Then I realised you were talking about the ACTUAL bridge, not the station... 🤦‍♂️ Great video folks, thanks!

[@hirisk761]

I've seen a similar track system here in the states. went to a train museum in Kentucky and they had a old strap rail line running through the grounds.

[@Tuberuser187]

Was gonna say its not totally unique, though its usually done in solid bedrock rather than "sleepers" like that.

[@sagitreshef2142]

Thank you for a lovely video. I wish there were subtitles added to it, like you usually do

[@barrythedieselelectricstea5217]

a great video👍 if you didn't know about this granite railway you would think it just stones in the ground glad they have survived for us to enjoy and look at 😀

[@jondevon64]

Awesome only walked along canal this week love the back of Haytor where few people go.

[@tardismole]

Thank goodness that it's protected. Many other lines, as we know, have not been so lucky.

[@robinjones6999]

Absolutely superb guys - perhaps your best video yet - they just get better

[@shirleylynch7529]

So very interesting. Lovely walk and scenery. So much history. Thank you for all your research.

[@RideCamVids]

You two matching your stride when you walk in this video, too funny. Thanks for the great history lesson.

[@Andrewjg_89]

Never knew there was a granite tramway in Dartmoor, Devon. Very interesting.

[@jamesgilbart148]

Fascinating. I don't think those granite rails would make for very smooth running of passenger trains. I also enjoyed the sound of the skylark you captured on your recording

[@HenrysAdventures]

Another brilliant video! I remember seeing those stone points on a walk up on Dartmoor a few years ago but had no idea there was more stone rails to be found along the trackbed.

[@ExploringWithEmAndStu]

Fascinating.. Sadly we don't have anything like this in my neck of the woods over here in Norfolk, but I guess on the plus side we do have plenty of disused railways and stations to explore. Great video as always 😁

[@simonbertioli4696]

I like these video...

[@daveglover6115]

I really enjoy your videos! Thank you for posting them, a little haven of interest and knowledge is very much appreciated!

[@phillunn4691]

I never knew about this ancient tramway. Thoroughly enjoyed the video again and I look forward to seeing you next week too! A really great video and very interesting. Paul is so knowledgeable. Thanks again Paul and Rebecca 👍🏼👍🏼

[@AlexanderWright1]

Pronunciation guide for visitors: The Teign estuary is pronounced "Teen". Teignmouth is pronounced "Tinmouth", and Kingsteignton is "kings-tain-town". (Rhymes with rain). You can get a very good view of the set of quarries from the top of Haytor. There are steps carved into the side of the tor nearest the car park. Around other tors nearby you can visit mediaeval village remains. Rippon Tor, in particular.

[@AlexanderWright1]

Also of note in the area are the leats that take water down to the potteries of Bovey Tracey. One parallels the tramway dipping through the top of nature reserve Yarner Wood.

[@zombywoof849]

Excellent as always. Thank you

[@andrewfanner2245]

Excellent video and its Dartmoor, what weather did you expect:-)

[@PrimephotoStudio]

Great video, thank you for sharing it.

[@bostonrailfan2427]

love it: when you say granite railway, you mean it literally! hey, use what you have in abundance and it lasted so it was a smart idea even if it seems odd. funny how one of the first railways in the USA was for the very same reason, only ours was for a monument. unfortunately ours were capped with iron so it wasn’t as interesting. and a compliment to Rebecca on her nice hairstyle, it looked great

[@TheCelts01]

What for a lovely Part of the country. Great vid as always. All the best your Nr1 Fans in Hamburg Germany

[@martinhew981]

Hi guys. Great video. One of the first places that i explored a few years back. Very enjoyable and many thanks.

[@pwhitewick]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@busterboy7505]

Cheers guys very interesting 👍👍.

[@jimmunro4649]

Great video well all Good keep up good work Cheers from NZ

[@Cchogan]

(Psst! Slight spelling mistake in the title...) Great video as always, chaps!

[@pwhitewick]

Thanks for that!

[@eastwoodsadventures]

Great video once again

[@GedMaybury23]

I love this stuff. Was an Industrial Revolution Nerd since I was about 8. But this is entirely new to me: Wow: railways laid without iron, horse-drawn, and linking into the canal system (my other huge love.) Thanks so much. Hoping to see Rebecca doing the narration sometime. (Paul - you can butt in every 45 seconds, okay?)

[@bobparsons77]

What a great interesting story.

[@neilthehermit4655]

Thanks for the great video. I never knew about this! . Oh and now my Fathers days gifts are sorted out,excellent.

[@andrewfox7861]

Nice one ,was up there the other day ,great history lesson thanks

[@ZPHOENIX27]

Love your videos! Keep up the awesome work! Have a great day :)

[@bethanycollins4485]

Didn't know this was here and I was at Haytor today! Fab video as always :)

[@Gaspode_]

I don't comment enough, but I love and look forward to your videos :)

[@pwhitewick]

I appreciate that!

[@MrGreatplum]

Fantastic, really interesting! If you want something to last, make it out of granite!

[@timdaugherty5921]

What amazing info!! thanks for sharing this!

[@acleray]

Once again very moody music, great story and you open up the story you started last week. A great piece of continuity, indeed a masterpiece.

[@laszlofyre845]

Folks, IIRC, there is the Diolkos of Corinth, something very similar that crosses the isthmus of Corinth in Greece, built c.600 B.C. and was used to portage sailing vessels overland. Bit older than the Haytor, methinks! 'There's nowt new under the Sun', as my granny used to say, lol! Have a butchers here-- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diolkos But, that one ain't been 'Whitewicked' - yet! I enjoyed this one, and thanks for uploading. Cheers'n'beers.

[@brianfretwell3886]

I think I have been watching too many LT videos. When you mentioned "entertaining Sarah Siddons" I got a picture of him with the LT Bo-Bo electric loco of that name being entertained.

[@danielbarrows7144]

If Paul is the waffle then Rebecca is the strawberries and cream on top! Thanks for another beautiful video you two 😊

[@yorkiemalone8727]

I have not read all the comments but there is anoter on goin out to Foggiing Tor on Dartmoor Which when you did the yomp around Kings Tor then you missed pieces of granite which had been left but was supposed to be for London Bridge

[@davie941]

hi paul and rebecca , yet another cool interesting video , i love stuff like this with the old stone tracks , its a good waffle lol :)

[@simonmcowan6874]

That was brilliant never knew of its existence, another waggon way for your perusal may be the similarly dated Brecon Forest Tramroads, a book of the same name by Stephen Hughes published by RCAHM Wales 1990. Not had the opportunity to visit but it was an extensive system.

[@alexhando8541]

I think that was a metal plateway, rather than a granite tramway unlike that at Haytor

[@simonmcowan6874]

@@alexhando8541 yes it was 👍

[@ADJ_83]

Would love a Hoodie!

[@pwhitewick]

Links in the description

[@CLechleitner42]

Great one, Thanks!

[@tobyrosoman7438]

Another Great video, Keep on waffling :-)

[@bd4_l]

Such a cool video 👏👏👏

[@williamwelbourn7932]

Another great video.

[@tedpritchard3571]

well done you did it told you it was good