Wellingborough Tramway

In 1870, Wellingborough businessman James Rixon opened a brickworks on the west side of the Midland Railway line, opposite the terminus of the Finedonhill Tramway.

[1] By 1884 their ironstone quarrying was more successful than their brickworks, and they installed a blast furnace at the western end of the tramway in order to maximise profits from their ore.

They expanded the leases of land to the south and west of Finedon, and extended their tramway to over 4 miles.

This new company significantly expanded the ironworks, and relaid the tramway on a new alignment, which passed under the Midland Railway line in a tunnel, and avoided running alongside the Finedon Road.

From 1913, a number of underground adits were driven from the quarry face eastwards to access deeper ore deposits.

[1] In 1926 the ore quarries at Sidegate Land that John Clark had been operating were taken over by the Wellingborough Iron Company, and the tramway was extended to serve them.

Five new 2 ft 4 in (711 mm) gauge Ruston & Hornsby diesel locomotives were purchased to work the underground trains.

Locomotive No. 86 that ran on the Tramway until 1966, seen preserved at the Irchester Narrow Gauge Railway Museum
The quarry face of Glebe Quarry, seen in 2006