List of horse-drawn railways

This is a selective worldwide list of horse-drawn railways, an early form of rail transport that utilised horses, mules and other similar animals to pull rail cars. Horses and mules were also used for shunting.

Examples

Before 1800

Horses were used to pull railways in funiculars and coal mines as early as the early 16th century. The earliest recorded example is the Reisszug, an inclined railway in Austria dating to 1515. Almost all of the mines built in the 16th and 17th centuries used horse-drawn railways as their only mode of transport.

1800–1849

NameYears of operationGaugeLocationImageNotesTicknall Tramway1802–1913Ticknall, EnglandSwansea & Mumbles Railway1804–1877Swansea, WalesThe world's first passenger railway service. Later electrifiedLeiper Railroad1810–1828Delaware County, PennsylvaniaThe first permanent tramway in AmericaBryn Oer Tramway1814–1861Talybont-on-Usk, WalesHill's Tramroadc. 1815 – c. 1926Llanfoist, Wales Hay Railway 1816–1860 /Eardisley, England to Brecon, WalesConverted from gauge plateway to gauge edgewayBlaafarveværketOpened c. 1820sNorwayPlymouth and Dartmoor Railway1823–1888, 1860)Princetown, EnglandStockton and Darlington Railway1825–1833Darlington, EnglandOperated with both horses and engines between 1825 and 1833Granite Railroad1826–1871Quincy, MassachusettsSaint-Étienne–Andrézieux railway1827–FranceČeské Budějovice–Linz Railway1828–The first public railway in continental EuropeBavarian Ludwig Railway1835–1863Fürth, GermanyWhitby and Pickering RailwayOpened 1836Whitby, EnglandPort Arthur, Tasmania Tramway1836–Human poweredFfestiniog Railway1836–1863Porthmadog, WalesHorses hauled empty trains uphill, and rode down in dandy waggons under gravity power. Later replaced by steam locomotives.Patent (1838–1844) G. PeppercorneBratislava to Svätý Jur to Trnava Váh horse railway1840 – 10 October 1872Now in SlovakiaBazias to Anina via Oravița1846–1863Present-day RomaniaUsed for coal transport to a port on the river DanubeLeith and Musselburgh Tramway1841– Scotland

1850–1879 NameYears of operationGaugeLocationImageNotesFintona Railway1853–1957Ireland lost lines, Ian Allan, 2006, p71Ireland(now Northern Ireland)Goolwa Port Elliot Railway1854–1884 South AustraliaExtended to Victor Harbor and Strathalbyn by 1869.Used up to 16 horses, 29 to StrathalbynTreffry Tramways1835–Cornwall, EnglandClay mining1861-?Nelson, New ZealandDun Mountain Railway1861–1901New ZealandWallaroo (smelter and port) to Moonta (mines) – tramway1862–1890sSouth AustraliaPort Macdonnell to Mount Gambier – proposalSouth AustraliaProposed, but never builtOmaha Horse Railway1867–1889Omaha, NebraskaPort Wakefield Railway1870–1876South AustraliaConverted to locomotive haulageKingston-Naracoorte railway line1871South AustraliaOperated with horses for first six months after construction before locomotives were availableFerrocarril de Antofagasta a Bolivia1873–1876ChileMule-drawnDouglas Bay Horse Tramway1876–presentDouglas, Isle of ManShires and Clydesdales are used to pull a fleet of original tramcars along the seafront.Port Broughton1876–1926South AustraliaAlways isolated; locomotives proposed in 1906Namaqualand Railwayopened 1869–1876South AfricaSteam followed graduallyKailan – Lutai Canal1878–1881ChinaMule-drawn for coal

After 1880

NameYears of operationGaugeLocationImageNotesHorse Tramways in Fiji1884–FijiSome assisted by manpower. Cane tramways.Spiekeroog tramways1885-1949East Frisian Islands, GermanyThe last horse-drawn railway in Germany. Horses were replaced by diesel locomotives on 31 May 1949McKenzie Creek Tramway1887–1925Horsham, VictoriaShire-operated, long Nasik Tramway1889–1930sIndiaBärschwil gypsum railway1894–1952Switzerland Welshpool Jetty railway 1905–1941 Port Welshpool, Victoria, Australia Finton TramwayClosed 1957 Steaming through Briton p28IrelandGawler1879–1931Gawler, South AustraliaMoontaYorke Peninsula, South Australia

Bibliography Discovering Britain's First Railways - A guide to Horse-drawn Tramroads and Waggonways, by Mark Jones. The History Press 2012. (144 pp). Map shows locations of 40 waggonways with a bibliography of 40 books.

List of horse-drawn railways

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