Lindal Moor

Overview

Lindal Moor, in the Furness district of Cumbria, was a major source of the haematite iron ore that fed the region's steel industry — and became briefly, unwittingly famous in 1892 when a railway locomotive vanished into a subsidence hole caused by its own workings, never to be recovered.

History

Haematite iron ore was worked on a large scale at Lindal Moor from the mid-19th century, part of the wider Furness iron-mining district whose ore fed the Bessemer steelmaking process pioneered nearby at Barrow-in-Furness. The mine was worked by the Parkside and Lindal Moor Mining Company, and later leased to Harrison, Ainslie and Co; large, irregular ore bodies were worked using the top-slicing method, and the ground beneath the surrounding area, including the Furness Railway line through Lindal-in-Furness, became honeycombed with workings for around half a mile. On 22 September 1892 the ground gave way beneath a Furness Railway locomotive, No. 115, that was shunting at Lindal station: the driver, Thomas Postlethwaite, escaped as cracks opened in the ground, and the 35-ton engine dropped nose-first into a hole around 30 feet across, deepening to some 60 feet as the ground continued to subside. The locomotive was never recovered and remains buried beneath the site to this day. A further six feet of subsidence closed the line again in November 1893. Mining at Lindal Moor continued into the early 20th century before the mine finally closed around 1914-1915.

Geology

The mine worked haematite iron ore deposits within Carboniferous limestone of the Furness district, formed where iron-rich solutions replaced pockets and fissures in the limestone — large, irregular ore bodies rather than regular veins, which were worked using the top-slicing method suited to their shape.

Geological setting: Iron Replacement Deposits (well documented example)

Workings

Large, irregular haematite ore bodies were worked using the top-slicing method; contemporary accounts describe the ground for around half a mile beneath the surrounding area, including the Furness Railway line, as 'honeycombed' by the mine's underground workings.

Closure

The mine closed around 1914-1915, after more than half a century of large-scale working.

What remains

The locomotive that fell into the ground here was never recovered and remains buried beneath the site.

The buried locomotive remains beneath the site of the 1892 subsidence, close to Lindal railway station; further subsidence in the area has continued to be monitored in the years since closure.

Related mines

• Roanhead Iron Mine — Roanhead was worked by the same top-slicing method used at the neighbouring Lindal Moor mines.

Recorded claims

Individual factual claims, each attached to the source(s) that support it below. Where sources disagree, both are kept.

• On 22 September 1892 a 35-ton Furness Railway locomotive fell into a subsidence hole around 30 feet across, deepening to some 60 feet, and was never recovered. ¹
• The ground for around half a mile beneath the surrounding area, including the Furness Railway line, was honeycombed by the mine's underground workings. ¹
• Locomotive No. 115 was a Furness Railway D1-class 0-6-0 built by Sharp Stewart, nicknamed a 'Sharpie'. Its tender was successfully uncoupled and pulled clear before the ground gave way further — only the locomotive itself was lost. Rumours that a full passenger train had been swallowed spread quickly through the watching crowd, though no passengers were involved. ¹

Sources

1. (secondary) Lindal railway incident — Wikipedia
2. (primary) Lindall Moor Iron Mines mine plan — British Geological Survey / Cumbria Amenity Trust Mining History Society
3. (secondary) Lindal Moor Mine, Lindal & Marton, Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England, UK — Mindat

Record created: 24 August 2026 · Last researched: 28 August 2026