Rail Track

Around 1807 a tramway was built from Stone Trough Farm, going up the bank and a long what is now Congleton road. It then descended down to Mossley for the purpose of supplying coal to Congleton. The track was oval in shape and was made of cast iron; steel wouldn’t be invented for another 50 years. Stone blocks formed the sleepers and can apparently be seen on the embankment above lime works at Astbury. Judging by the width of the embankments we can also assume that the tramway was 2ft gauge. The tramway crossed over what is now Ganny bank on a bridge; again the embankments are still there. There is a fragment of this rail at Wesleyan Chapel Museum From what has been written of the tramway and it is not a lot, it would seem that it was only used for a short period of time. The route of the tramway is now a footpath, and is clearly sign posted.

This picture shows how the ends of the oval track were joined. They were found on the route of the old track, and are an excellent example of this kind of rail system.

To the left is a piece of the rail track that was used at Falls Colliery