Middleton Top incline

Описание: The Cromford and High Peak Railway holds a place in railway folklore being one of the earlier railways in the United Kingdom as well as having some impressive gradients upon its journey from Whaley Bridge to Cromford over the High Peak Of Derbyshire which ran from 1830 through to full closure in 1967.


Middleton incline was one of six inclines including the infamous 1 in 19 gradient at Hopton bein the steepest adhesion (locomotive) worked in line in the British Isles and following closure the route was turned into a cycleway/walkway but the engine house at Middleton top was kept as a historic building together with the workshops at High Peak Junction at the lower end and after some restoration work the engine does again run albeit on air pressure rather than steam.

We visit both sites on an October open weekend to get to see how the incline was operated, how wagons were hauled and how the two seperate parts communicated with each other over the half mile distance of the incline.

Our thanks to the volunteers and staff for showing us about.

Points of note: it was quite a windy day so the audio does sometimes go a bit quite on the outside parts and all photographs shown are on full public display that appear in the video, so respects to the original authors of those photographs.