| Esholt Sewage Works Railway | |
|---|---|
 Bridge over the Leeds and Liverpool Canal that carried the works railway. | |
| Overview | |
| Status | Closed |
| Owner | Yorkshire Water (at closure) |
| Locale | Esholt, West Yorkshire |
| Termini | Apperley Bridge Viaduct |
| Stations | 0 |
| Service | |
| Type | Works railway |
| System | Private |
| Operator(s) | Yorkshire Water (at closure) |
| History | |
| Opened | 1910[1] |
| Closed | 1977 |
| Technical | |
| Track length | 22 miles (35 km) (at peak) |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) |
Esholt Sewage Works Railway was a standard gauge works railway constructed in 1910 to serve a sewage works in Esholt, West Yorkshire, England.
The works were built to remove wool-grease and other wastes from effluent coming out of the many mills of the Bradford woollen district. At its peak, the railway extended to 22 miles (35 km) of track served by 11 locomotives, as well as a shorter section of narrow gauge railway served by three engines. Trains were employed to remove solid waste from the site; several of the engines were converted to run on oil derived from recovered wool-grease.
The railway was closed completely in 1977, but the sewage works continues to operate.[2]
- ^ Binns, Donald (1984). Steam in Airedale. Skipton: Wyvern. p. 27. ISBN 0907941117.
- ^ "'Poo powered' Bradford sewage works opens". BBC News. 3 October 2014. Retrieved 4 April 2016.