Description

Wrought iron bolts with washers (x2) and fragments (x2) from the Bell Rock Lighthouse plate railway. The railway was constructed under John Rennie’s direction in 1808 to aid the building of the lighthouse which was completed in 1810. These objects were collected by Professor Roland Paxton on a visit to the Bell Rock Lighthouse on 19-20 August 1986 at which time the railway was being repaired.

The objects comprise:

1. A threaded bolt with a square head and a square washer: possibly a Victorian replacement (c.1880)
2. A bolt (with longitudinal slot and no thread) with a square head and a square washer: the head is eroded – possibly an original bolt (c.1808)
3. A bolt (with longitudinal slot and no thread) showing considerable erosion; the slot is blocked with crustaceous material: possibly original (c.1808)
4. An incomplete bolt with no head and longitudinal slot (end eroded): possibly original (c.1808)

For further information on the plate railway read Professor Paxton’s paper on the Bell Rock see Achieving the Seemingly Impossible – Bell Rock Railway 1810.

Also available for inspection is a copy of a paper:
Paxton, R. The Bell Rock Lighthouse Railway. Presented at the Fifth International Early Railways Conference at Carnarfon on 9 June 2012. For an abridged version of this paper see The Bell Rock Railways.