The Mansfield and Pinxton Railway was a horse-drawn railway constructed in 1819 to transport stone and lime from Mansfield to the head of the Pinxton branch of the Cromford Canal. Coal was carried on the ballast run.
The Mansfield and Pinxton became the first railway in the East Midlands to be incorporated by Act of Parliament, in 1817. Although the idea of the railway was mooted in 1811 there was considerable delay while a decision was taken as to what form it should take. Wagonways had developed into steel plateways, for which Benjamin Outram of the Butterley Company had gained considerable expertise. His partner, William Jessop, had however, pioneered the use of fish-bellied iron edge rails on the earlier Charnwood Forest Canal. In the end, his son Josiah, as engineer, used the latter.
The first load of coal arrived in Mansfield on April 13, 1819 and was taken to the marketplace to be ceremoniously burnt. The railway facilitated the opening of a number of new pits, for which branches were provided, along with a branch to the Butterley Company's works at Codnor Park. Another important cargo was moulding sand from Mansfield. In 1832 a passenger carriage was introduced each Thursday (the market day) for second and third class passengers from the Boat Inn at Pinxton Wharf.
The line was taken over by the newly-formed Midland Railway in 1847. Several parts of the old lines had been winding with gentle gradients for the horses. Most of these curves were realigned and there were one or two changes in succeeding years. Most notably in 1871 a deviation was made which avoided Jessop's Kings Mill Viaduct. This structure with its five stone arches remained in use as part of a siding until 1970. The viaduct now carries a footpath and is a Scheduled Ancient Monument.
By road: Off A38 - Kingsmill Lane, on western side of Mansfield.
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Nottingham's Lost Railway Heritage
Forgotten Relics - Listed Bridges and Viaducts
