Purbeck Mineral and Mining Museum facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Purbeck Mining Museum
Purbeck Mining Museum under construction
Terminus	Norden
Commercial operations
Built by	Purbeck Mineral and Mining Museum Group
Original gauge	3 ft 9 in (1,143 mm)
Preserved operations
Stations	0
Preserved gauge	2 ft (610 mm)
Commercial history
Opened	1854
Closed	1999
Preservation history
2004	Planning permission is granted to develop a museum at Norden Station
2013	Steam returns to the Line, officially
Headquarters	Swanage

The Purbeck Mining Museum helps us learn about the history of ball clay mining in the Isle of Purbeck. Ball clay is a special type of clay. It was dug out of the ground in this area for a long time.

The museum is right next to Norden station. This station is part of the Swanage Railway. You can visit the museum from late March to late September. It is open on weekends, some weekdays, and Bank Holidays.

The museum has moved an old mine building to Norden. They have also built a railway track around the site. An engine shed has been built, and old wagons from the mining lines have been fixed up.

In the future, the museum wants to build a new home for Secundus. This is a steam locomotive that is 2 feet 8 inches wide. They also want to display more wagons and other old items. This new building will also have a library and a place for learning.

The museum plans to make the narrow-gauge railway longer. It will go under Bridge 15 to land the museum owns. Bridge 15 is a special bridge over the Swanage Railway. It was built in 1885 and was thought to be in good shape. However, it was badly damaged in an accident.

History of Purbeck Mining Railways

The Middlebere Tramway

A small cut in the ground for the Middlebere Tramway

The Middlebere Tramway was a very old railway line. It was paid for by Benjamin Fayle. He was a friend of Thomas Byerley from Wedgwood pottery. When the clay pit owner went bankrupt, Fayle took over. He wanted to make sure Wedgwood always had enough ball clay.

This railway, first called the Iron Rail Way, opened in 1806. It was designed by John Hodgkinson. It was 3 feet 9 inches wide and 3.4 miles long. The rails were L-shaped and made of cast iron. Horses pulled the clay wagons, which had no flanges on their wheels. The railway sleepers were heavy stone blocks.

In 1807, the line was made longer to the south. It went under the road through a tunnel. This tunnel still exists but is blocked. Another tunnel was built in 1825, which is also blocked. In 1881, the LSWR built the Swanage line. The Middlebere Tramway was then extended next to it. Eldons Sidings were built to move clay to bigger trains. The tramway stopped being used in 1907 after 101 years.

Today, the old quay at Middlebere Creek is mostly gone. You can still find some stone sleepers. They have holes where the rails were fixed. Some have been used as paving stones. Others are in the walls at Middlebere Farm. You can still see the old route across Hartland Moor in many places.

The Newton Tramway

In May 1854, a new railway opened. It went from the clay pits at Newton to Goathorn Pier. This pier was on South Deep in Poole Harbour. The Navy had allowed the pier to be built in 1852.

At first, horses pulled wagons on this railway. It was 3 feet wide. But later, it was changed to 3 feet 9 inches wide. This was so a steam locomotive could be used. This engine was built around 1870. It was named "Corfe" but was called "Tiny" because it was so small.

An engine shed was built at Newton for "Tiny." It was next to the clay workers' homes. Water for "Tiny" came from a well. Coal for "Tiny" came by ship to Goathorn Pier. In 1907, this railway joined with the Norden line. Part of it became the "Fayles Tramway."

The Fayles Tramway

Diesel locomotives at Eldons Sidings on the Fayles Tramway

Around 1907, the Middlebere tramway was no longer used. A new railway link was built to Newton. It was 3 feet 9 inches wide. Rails were laid from Norden across the heath to join the Newton tramway. This gave a way to get clay to Goathorn Pier.

This new line was 5 and 3/4 miles long. Another locomotive was bought. This railway helped move clay from Norden to Goathorn Pier. It also helped move clay from Newton to bigger trains at Eldon Sidings. In 1924, the railway helped build the Training Bank. This bank kept Poole Harbour clear for ships. It was made of big stone blocks. The railway carried these blocks from Norden to Goathorn. There, they were loaded onto barges.

The line was built with flat-bottomed rails. These were spiked to wooden sleepers. Earth was used to hold the tracks in place. There was another engine shed at Norden. The railway also had a short branch line at Bushey. It also had a wooden bridge over the Corfe River.

By 1937, the Newton line was not used much. Goathorn Pier stopped being used during World War II. The area was needed for bombing practice. Much of the line across Newton Heath was removed in 1940. The railway north of the Norden engine shed stopped working.

The line was closed in 1937. After that, clay was moved by lorries or by the Swanage Branch Line. In 1948, the railway system at Norden was changed. It became 1 foot 11.5 inches wide. One steam engine and several diesel engines were bought for this narrow-gauge line. The steam engine was "Russell". It was a 2-6-2T Hunslet engine from 1906.

In the last years of the Norden system, several Ruston & Hornsby diesel engines were used. Their numbers were 392117, 175413, and 179889. A Motorail simplex engine was also used for a while.

After Eldon sidings closed, all clay was moved by lorry. For some years, trains carried clay from the mines to the "Lorry Drop." This was a place where lorries picked up the clay. But then it was realized that lorries could pick up clay directly from the mines. This saved money because the railway did not need to be kept up. The buildings were changed so lorries could drive under them. In the early 1970s, parts of the railway were saved and moved to museums. The rest was scrapped. Narrow-gauge railways were still used underground at Norden No 6 & 7 mines. All mining stopped there in 1999.

The Museum's Future

New track laid next to the Swanage Railway

In 2014, the Purbeck Mining Museum made a plan for the future. They worked with the Swanage Railway Trust. The plan was to open the museum more often. This would bring in more visitors. It would also let people see more parts of the museum.

The first goal was to make the inside displays better. This goal is now finished. One main goal now is to fix the skew arch bridge over the Swanage Railway. This will let the museum get to Norden South. This means the museum can make its 2-foot wide railway longer. They could even run passenger trains and show how clay trains worked on special days. The museum also wants to build a home for Secundus and wagon 28. They want to move them from Corfe Castle Station.

Museum Vehicles

All these vehicles are 2 feet wide, unless noted.

Steam Locomotives

Name	Type	Builder	Notes	Picture
Secundus	0-6-0WT	G. E. Belliss and Co.	2 ft 8 in (813 mm) wide, not working. It is at Corfe Castle Station Goods shed.

Diesel Locomotives

Passenger Carriages

Goods Wagons