Celebrating 200 years of train travel

 

Did you know that Purbeck had an “iron rail way” nearly 20 years before the opening of the Stockton and Darlington Railway?  The Middlebere Plateway was constructed in 1806 to move clay from Purbeck’s clay mines to Middlebere quay for transport by boat to the potteries of Britain.

During 2025, Purbeck Mining Museum will be telling the story of the narrow gauge tramways and plateways serving the clay industry in Purbeck, and their links to the UK’s national railway development.