Snailbeach District Railways
Map of the Snailbeach District Railways | |
The locomotive shed at Snailbeach | |
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Tonbridge until 1948 |
| Locale | England |
| Dates of operation | 1877–1959 (rail operation) |
| Successor | abandoned |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 2 ft 4 in (711 mm) [a] |
| Length | 3+1⁄2 miles (5.63 km) |
The Snailbeach District Railways was a British narrow gauge railway in Shropshire. It was constructed to transport lead ore from mines in the Stiperstones to Pontesbury, where the ore was transshipped to the Great Western Railway's Minsterley branch line. Coal from the Pontesford coal mines travelled in the opposite direction. The line ended at Snailbeach, home to Shropshire's largest and richest lead mine. Although there were plans to extend it further, which would have brought it closer to more lead mines, the extension was never completed.