Royal Arsenal Railway

A saddle-tank loco hauling on the Pier

A carriage-master with a team of horses and wagons was employed at the Arsenal from 1682 to cart ordnance and other stores, but the first primitive tramroad was not installed until 1824. The advent of steam and the growth of the national rail system opened discussions as to how this could be adopted for the Arsenal; orders were eventually given in 1866 for the construction of an 18" narrow guage system. Extending about half a mile, this was opened in 1873, under the control of the Royal Engineers.

The original narrow-guage track was developed by Maj. PH Scratchley RE, and had been used at Chatham where, as with the Arsenal, both horses and engines were used to haul. Made up of 4' solid cast plates, with flanges for joining and a checkered surface to allow hooves to grip, many sections of Scrathley-pattern have been recovered during the recent excavations. The minimum curve radius was 25', allowing the system to operate both between the closely-packed buildings and within them.

The Invincible, 0-4-0 ST, ex-RAR and restored in original livery at the Isle of Wight Steam Railway

A passenger service was run over a 5-mile circular route, with 1st, 2nd and 3rd class carriages. The 2nd and 3rd class carriages are visible (left), as is the Guard. Guards wore a blue frock-coat uniform collared in red, with peaked cap and (dress) leather cross belts. The building in the background is the Grand Store, and the shell appears to be one of 36" calibre made for Mallett's Mortar.

Lt. EPC (Percy) Girouard RE was appointed Traffic Manager in 1891; he had in his charge over 1,000 items of rolling stock, 2/3rds of which were narrow guage. A Canadian officer, he later achieved great distinction in Africa, both as an Engineer and a colonial administrator. As a Major General, with a DSO and KCMG collected on the way, he returned to his roots in the Great War as Director General of Munitions Supply with the Ministry of Munitions.

It is thought standard guage track was first laid in the Arsenal in 1870. Between 1890 and 1918 some 120 miles of mixed or wholly standard guage track was laid, extending the total track length to around 150 miles. The narrow guage track was run down from the 1920s, the rolling stock being disposed of in large lots. The sole surviving Avonside 0-4-0 "Woolwich" was sold in 1959. She was recently sold by Bicton to the Royal Gunpowder Mills at Waltham Abbey (below).

Of the scores of engines that once worked the Arsenal, few remain. "Rameses" (appropriately, perhaps) went to Sudan, where she was photographed half-buried in sand in 1920. Others went to cement works or collieries, most were simply scrapped. An 18" Gunpowder Wagon is believed to survive somewhere, and English Heritage have been influential in preserving a section of mixed-guage track outside Building 19 (The old Mounting Shop).