British quarrying and mining narrow-gauge railways

Many of the cement works and their associated chalk pits had narrow gauge railways, particularly those in the South East of England. The Associated Portland Cement Manufacturers Ltd. (APCM, later Blue Circle Industries, and Lafarge) was the major producer of cement in the United Kingdom in the second half of the twentieth century and many of their plants used railways. == Lime works ==

Image:Bugsworth 058063.jpg|Peak Forest Tramway == Brickworks ==

China clay extraction In Britain large deposits of Kaolinite (commonly known as "china clay") were found in Cornwall. Many industrial railways, both narrow gauge and standard gauge, were built to serve the china clay quarries and mines of this area. == Sand and gravel extraction ==

The sand and gravel extraction industries made extensive use of narrow gauge railways, and several of these lasted into the 1980s – this was one of the last industries to make significant use of narrow gauge industrial railways in the UK. Image:Simplex at Leighton Buzzard 05-09-11 30.jpeg|Leighton Buzzard Light Railway quarry locomotive Red Rum Image:PentewanLocomotiveShed.jpg|Pentewan Dock & Concrete Company locomotive shed == Stone quarrying and mining ==

Slate The most well-known of the British industrial narrow gauge railways were those serving the slate industry of north Wales. Many of the quarries had internal tramways and feeder lines connecting them to transhipment points on local railways, rivers, roads or coastal ports. Granite Other stone == Coal ==

Image:Wagonway.jpg|Little Eaton Gangway The British coal mining industry made extensive use of narrow gauge railways, particularly underground where the restricted size of the tunnels meant that narrow gauge lines were and are particularly well suited. Many National Coal Board (NCB) mines used railways both underground and in the stock yards above ground. There were also many short lines at private mines, particularly in south Wales and the Forest of Dean regions. == Peat extraction ==

== Other mineral extraction ==

Tin, lead and zinc Image:SnailBeachLeadMine.jpg|Snailbeach Lead Mine Iron Mainly ironstone quarries Image:RussellPorthmadog.jpeg|Russell that ran at the Brymbo Ironstone Railway File:Irchester Railway Museum - Flickr - mick - Lumix.jpg|Peckett metre gauge locomotive from the Wellingborough Iron Company tramway Gold == See also ==