"Gayton Wood Farm"

2010-07-08T18:56:21.000Z

The position here is that the branch to Gayton Wood Pit was, in its later stages at least, not really part of the SMJ line. The pit was run by Richard Thomas & Baldwin, who also owned the railway. It ran from the sidings at Blisworth round a sharp curve at the very commencement of the SMJ line, and then diverged south eastwards, passing under the Blisworth to Gayton road by means of a bridge about half way bewteen the SMJ bridge at OS 709541 and the cross roads at 713538. The line continued on a curve towards the south east into the pit, which lay between Gayton Wood Farm and Rectory Farm. This pit had a very large dragline that, if the wind were in the right direction, could be heard groaning from Stoke Bruerne. The railway closed about 1967 and the pit's machinery was gradually dismantled in the following years. There was an 0-6-0 tank called "Ettrick" that worked the line, taking loaded steel tubs to the BR sidings at Blisworth, and towards the end it was driven by my friend Tony Warwick. Your picture shows the farm as it is today, farmed by a family called Huckerby, who were there when the pit was working. The concrete building in the centre of the view was the engine shed, where I believe there was another spare engine kept. The square brick building on the left is also a relic of Richard Thomas & Baldwin's time at the pit.

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"Gayton Wood Farm"