RNAD Broughton Moor



RNAD Broughton Moor is a decommissioned Royal Naval Armaments Depot located between Great Broughton and Broughton Moor in the County of Cumbria, England.

History
The site was connected to the main line via a 5 mi branch line to Siddick Junction, north of Workington railway station. The branch closed on 4 June 1992, being the last part of the Cleator and Workington Junction Railway in operation.

The site was decommissioned in 1992 at the end of the Cold War. The United States Navy used the site for storage of its armaments for its North Atlantic Squadron. The site had a gauge railway. Locomotives from this railway are preserved on the Almond Valley and Whipsnade railways. The weapons were taken by rail out of the site to Workington.

The large majority of the buildings and bunkers remain along with underground storage and an extensive network of storage sheds and other military buildings. Ownership of the site was transferred from the Ministry of Defence to Allerdale Borough Council in 2008 who have yet to decide what to do with the site. The site was purchased by the Borough Council for £1. In October 2008 Cumbria County Council called for interest in the redevelopment of the site rebranded as Derwent Forest. As yet there has been little interest due to the huge cost involved with cleaning up the site. There are unexploded ordnance and large amounts of asbestos as well as unmarked mine shafts when it was a colliery prior to World War II. Furthermore, having previously ruled out allowing the site to be used for coal mining, Allerdale council later agreed to allow mining by any prospective future owners as a way to raise funding for any potential tourism development.

It was announced on 13 January 2011 that the two shortlisted developers for the site would not mine the site, allaying fears about the environmental impact of the development of the site. A decision is due by the end of February 2011.

Accidents
An explosion occurred at RNAD Broughton Moor on the 18th January 1944 which resulted in the death of 11 people and left 70 people injured. The coroners hearing was reported in the Cumberland Evening Star in February 1944. The explosion appears to have occurred in one of the traverse laboratories, photos showing the aftermath include a 2 ft 6in gauge box van No. 267.

Sale of Railway Equipment
The railway equipment at RNAD Broughton Moor was sold by tender in April and July 1992 and consisted of approximately 3 miles of standard gauge track and 25 miles of narrow gauge (2 ft 6in) track. The sale also included 4 standard gauge locomotives built by Ruston & Hornsby and Hunslet, 27 narrow gauge locomotives by the same builders and 127 wagons, including 6 box vans, 4 brake vans (2 x 4tons & 2 x 6 tons) and 99 flat wagons.

In 1970 the locomotives in use at Broughton Moor consisted of:

Navy Department Locomotives

2 - Standard Gauge diesels:

1 x Hunslet 0-4-0DM. 1 x Ruston & Hornsby 0-4-0DM Class 165DS.

14 – 2 ft 6in gauge locomotives in use:

2 x Hunslet 0-4-0DM 25HP 4 x Hunslet 0-4-0DM 50HP 2 x Ruston & Hornsby 4wDM Class 20DL, (Nos. R1/2). 6 x Ruston & Hornsby 4wDM Class 48DL, (Nos. R4/6/7/8/10/12).

Ministry of Public Buildings & Works Locomotives

4 – 2 ft 6in gauge locomotives:

2 x Motor Rail 4wDM 2 x Hunslet 4wDM

Industrial Railway Society, Pocket Book EL, Industrial Locomotives 1970, Part One - Second Edition