The railway line of the Marsden Rattler, its history, and the four reasons for its fame
A very special train with an uncomplimentary nickname - and the line it ran on - created history 70 years ago.
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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