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Claughton Aerial Ropeway
All photographs of this railway in date order.
![The aerial ropeway (or aerial railway) running uphill from the works at Claughton on the closed North Western Railway. The girder bridge protects the roadway from falling material.<br><br>[Ewan Crawford 02/04/2008]](/images/18000/18708.jpg "Claughton")
![One of the aerial ropeways serving Claughton brickworks still operates from the claypits on Claughton Moor. The other was dismantled in the 1990s. This is the final bit of the ropeway where the buckets cross the A683, drop into the wheelhouse and discharge their load of clay. View towards Lancaster. The Lancaster to Wennington railway was behind the brickworks and the trackbed runs very close to the A683 both sides of Claughton village. Map Ref SD 563664. <br><br>[Mark Bartlett 14/06/2009]](/images/24000/24614.jpg "Claughton")
![As seen here, the buckets on the aerial ropeway at Claughton brickworks were removed when the brickworks was mothballed by Hansons during the economic downturn but happily it returned to use in 2013. This is the last gravity operated ropeway in the United Kingdom and can carry 250 tons of material a day down 750' from Caton Moor over a distance of just over a mile. It was constructed in 1924 and its historic status has been recognised by the Transport Trust [see image 29588].<br><br>[Mark Bartlett 29/06/2010]](/images/29000/29587.jpg "Claughton")
![A Transport Trust red plaque, along with a model gantry and bucket, stands outside the lower wheelhouse of the Claughton aerial ropeway, alongside the A683 main road through the village. This is in recognition of it being the last working gravity operated ropeway in the UK. <br><br>[Mark Bartlett 29/06/2010]](/images/29000/29588.jpg "Claughton")
![<I>Welcome back!</I> After a four year period when the site was mothballed during the downturn, Hanson's brickworks at Claughton reopened in 2013 and with it the gravity operated 1 mile aerial ropeway, the last in the UK. A Health and Safety risk assessment has seen the buckets painted yellow but in its 90th year this <I>greenest of greens</I> transport system is otherwise unchanged.<br><br>[Mark Bartlett 26/03/2014]](/images/46000/46773.jpg "Claughton")
![A view of the upper section of the Claughton Aerial Ropeway near the Claughton Moor clay pit, high above the Lune Valley in May 2014. The rope runs anti-clockwise. Four buckets can just be seen in this picture with the two loaded ones creating a noticeable sag between the pylons. Map Ref SD575650<br><br>[Mark Bartlett 09/05/2014]](/images/47000/47269.jpg "Claughton")
![<I>Disused Ropeway</I>. Until the 1990s there were two aerial ropeways that gradually diverged from Claughton Moor clay pit down to brickworks in Claughton itself. Nothing remains of the closed southerly ropeway in the village but high on the moor some old pylons still mark the route. This view looks towards the Lune Valley from Claughton Moor with Morecambe Bay beyond.<br><br>[Mark Bartlett 09/05/2014]](/images/47000/47276.jpg "Claughton")
![The ropeway from Claughton Moor only crosses two public rights of way. The main A683 road in the village is well protected from falling material by a substantial bridge [See image 46773]. Up on the moor near the clay pit entrance this track requires less sophisticated measures. It would have been nice to include a bucket in this picture but, late on a Friday afternoon, operations had stopped for the weekend. <br><br>[Mark Bartlett 09/05/2014]](/images/47000/47288.jpg "Claughton")
![Inside the boundary of the clay pit at Claughton Moor the aerial ropeway runs at a much lower level. One of the shorter pylons can be seen here with a single wheel on the side carrying empty buckets and a double on the loaded side. View over the site fencing towards the loading area. <br><br>[Mark Bartlett 09/05/2014]](/images/47000/47306.jpg "Claughton")
![The entrance to the clay pit on Claughton (<I>pronounced Clafton</I>) Moor, closed for the weekend but with an empty bucket visible on the cable awaiting loading on Monday morning. Also shown is a close up of a bucket loaded with shale, swaying in the wind for the weekend until the ropeway brakes are released and it resumes its descent to the Hanson brickworks on the valley floor. The simple locking mechanism preventing accidental tipping is visible. <br><br>[Mark Bartlett 09/05/2014]](/images/47000/47315.jpg "Claughton")
![After another period of inactivity the aerial ropeway at the Claughton Manor brick works is operating again in August 2017. Further safety improvements have been made including this platform in front of the lower wheelhouse [See image 46773]. The workman seen here will release the loaded bucket for tipping and then reattach to the cable for return to the clay pit.<br><br>[Mark Bartlett 11/08/2017]](/images/60000/60473.jpg "Claughton")
![Looking towards Claughton Moor from the A683 road in August 2017, with a succession of clay buckets on the move to and from the brick works behind the camera. Note the four wheels on the loaded side of the pylon whereas only two are required to support the returning empties. <br><br>[Mark Bartlett 11/08/2017]](/images/60000/60485.jpg "Claughton")
