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Cromford and High Peak Railway

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Thirty two and a half miles long, this mountain line connects the Cromford Canal and the Midland Railway at Whatstandwell, in Derbyshire, with the Peak Forest Canal and the London and North Western system at Whaley Bridge, in Cheshire. The railways first steam locomotive arrived in 1841 in the shape of Peak, built by Robert Stephenson and Co. Goods came in and went out through Cromford, the High Peak’s hub. A couple of dozen were on the payroll there and Hubert joined their ranks in 1941. By now he’d been passed-out for firing engines and was installed as fireman/shunter – a unique grade, not to be found anywhere else on the network. “There were two fireman/shunters on British Rail” he boasts. “One was Bill Lowe at Sheep Pasture and the other was me at Cromford.” But this was a revelation to the Superintendent from Derby and, following a minor spat, Hubert was confined to his loco as dedicated shunters appeared on the scene. “It was a bit boring then and the days seemed longer.” White Peak limestone formed 340 million years ago from the shells and bones of creatures compressed on the bed of a tropical sea. The stone’s origins proved ironic when the Cromford and High Peak Railway became steam-powered. ‘Steam engines need large amounts of water,’ Corble continues, ‘but porous Peak District limestone doesn’t have many water sources. Supplies had to be hauled here, 1,000 feet [305 metres]above sea level, from further away.’ More ironic still, the railway was a mineral line built to carry coal and quarried limestone between two busy canals. ‘There was a token passenger service,’ says Corble, ‘but it was so slow and uncomfortable that there was only one train per day.’ The railway’s remote, difficult and thirsty route saw the line close in 1967. The Cromford and High Peak Railway is celebrated for its many curves and on the summit, between Longcliffe Goods and Friden, there were 21 curves of 110 yards radius or less, three of these being 66 yards, while one,

This incline was operated by a horse gin (horse capstan or whim) and chain. Its mode of operation never changed until its closure on the 9 Apr 1952.At the end of the half-day session, you’ll end up with a wonderful hand-made object that you can take away with you! Repairing the roof at High Peak Junction workshops

The High Peak Railway, it may be further advanced in the way of preface, is a single line. It is of the same width of gauge, and of the same character of permanent way, as the lines belonging to the London and North Western Company’s ordinary branches. The driver cannot start without this staff, which he receives from the official in charge of the staff station; and on arriving at the station to which the staff extends, the talisman is given up to the person conducting that place. And directly below them the eye rested on a more advanced line of hanging woods divided by bright patches of pasture or furrowed crops, and not yet deepening into the uniform leafy curtains of high summer, but still showing the warm tints of the young oak and the tender green of the ash and lime.”

Wildlife

The story of Middleton and Sheep Pasture inclines: A Balancing Act The story of Middleton and Sheep Pasture inclines: A Balancing Act The scenery, truth to tell, has not been specially attractive during the last few miles. There has been none of these poetic vignettes and glowing wood, that make the ride in a Midland carriage from Derby to Marple such a rich railway romance. Rather a monotonous table-land where niggard fields and stubborn heath are ruled off with bleak stone-walls, and the perspective is unbroken save here and there by a clump of storm-rent ragged pines.

The day ran to a script written by the Traffic Inspector – an intricately woven plot featuring water, coal, stone and timber. Shunts here, run-arounds there. Quarry loads to marshal and weigh. Crippled wagons to sort. Down to the junction, return with empties. Drop off corn at Cromford Goods. The ups and downs of the incline. It was a mundane existence, offering little satisfaction and even less money. But laughs were plentiful. The first part of the line from Cromford Wharf, by the Cromford Canal, to Hurdlow opened in 1830. From the canal it climbed over a thousand feet in five miles, through four inclines ranging from 1 in 14 to 1 in 8 – Cromford, Sheep Pasture, Middleton and Hopton, above Wirksworth. The line then proceeded up the relatively gentle Hurdlow incline at 1 in 16 . The second half from Hurdlow to Whaley Bridge opened in 1832 descending through four more inclines, the steepest being 1 in 7. Whaley BridgeHorse gin, also known as a horse capstan or horse whim. Gradient 1 in 13½, 180 yards long. NoteThe Upper and Lower Bunsall incline planes were combined on the 8 Jun 1857. Mean gradient 1 in 7½, 1,115 yards long.By 1890 permission had been obtained to connect the line directly to Buxton by building a new line from Harpur Hill the two or three miles into the town centre, thus frustrating the Midland Railway‘s plans for a route to Manchester. Corble is a Peak District poet, playwright and photographer who grew up in neighbouring Cheshire. While studying drama at what is now Manchester Metropolitan University, he explored the surrounding area. ‘I became fascinated by the Peak District’s variety of landscapes and have remained loyal to it ever since,’ Corble says. ‘For someone with a curious mind, it’s a wonderful place to live.’ I am at Whaley Bridge this July morning; and before half the world has breakfasted, and while housemaids, drowsy and slovenly, are yawningly lighting the fire to prepare the matutinal meal, the through ‘up’ train to Whaley Bridge is off and away. This Is Ladmanlow,” ventures the driver, shutting off the steam. The information anticipates my query, for there are no name boards on any of the stations to indicate your whereabouts. The stations, indeed, are but sheds; but they sometimes seem to be the only erections within miles of anywhere. A locomotive met us at the summit of the incline, and working tender first, is taking on our train of some twenty wagons: a cargo that is a curious all a podrida of grains, barrels of beer, bags of beans, coal, cans of paint, boxes of tea, and agricultural implements.

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