The railway line of the Marsden Rattler, its history, and the four reasons for its fame

The Marsden Rattler - which carried miners to Whitburn Colliery - was in the headlines in October 1953.

A four-fold claim to fame

Despite the nickname, the railway upon which it runs was unique in four ways. And it meant the line got a place in the history books.

A publication called Bradshaw (the official guide to railways) said the line was;

The only one whose passenger trains do not make connexion with those of British Railways;

First to be nationalised

The most northerly light railway in England;

The first to be nationalised;

And the shortest railway mentioned in Bradshaw.

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