Bitterley Wharf, Clee Hill, Shropshire.

[RThompson]

Heres the photos as promised now i've found them of the former Titterstone Clee workings where the narrow gauge system ran and was also cable hauled down the incline to Bitterley Wharf to meet with the Standard gauge wagons.

 

[Mike Hart]

I was given a copy of this L&NWR drawing headed "Brake Van for Clee Hill Incline" which Ive now had scanned as a pdf and is (hopefully!) attached.  Hoping it might be of interest and use  to modelers .  Mike Hart

 

LNWR Clee Hill Brake Van.pdf

Edited January 10, 2020 by Mike Hart

[Gordon A]

Thank you very much for the drawing Mike. I will put it to good use.

 

Gordon

[Hesperus]

I was chatting to an old man the other day who grew up in Middleton.  He remembered seeing an incident where a cut of about 3 wagons ran away from Middleton siding towards Ludlow.  Lacking a locomotive a guard jumped into a brake van and 3 men gave it a good shove down the track.  Apparently he managed to catch and stop the wagons just before they reached Ludlow Station.

[Gordon A]

Hello Hesperus,

 

Thank You for the  info re the run away wagons.

I have only been able to find one picture of Middleton Siding.

 

The other bit of information I am after is the bell codes used between the foot of the incline and the winding engine at the top of Clee Hill.

 

Hope you are keeping well.

 

Gordon A

[Hesperus]

Hi Gordan, hope lifes treating you well.  I'm all good thanks when I'm not being blown away

 

I've never seen a picture of the siding, presumably it faced down the hill if the wagons ran away from it?  Don't know anything about the bell codes either but I'll keep listening out.

[Gordon A]

Hi Hesperous,

 

At the moment keeping well thank you.

From the picture I have seen and Cooke's layout diagrams, Middleton Siding faced up hill towards Bitterley. I would think they were either shunting the siding or splitting a train when the wagons ran away.

Middleton Siding was adjacent to Middleton village between Ludlow and Bitterley.

 

I have been collecting a number of photos of Bitterley and the top of Clee Hill which I have in a picture album for reference.

 

Many thanks for your help.

 

I am hoping to visit the CM&DP railway and industrial museum when this virus quietens down.

 

Gordon

[Hesperus]

Thanks, that would make sense.  I remember there were different maximum train lengths above and below it.

 

No worries, most of the infomation I know about the railway in my back garden is from this thread.  Give me a shout when you're heading up.  I don't know much about the CM&DPLR but I'd be up for a trip out to find out more.  Could be worth waiting till the ground drys up a bit.  Its soggy everywhere at the moment.

[Hesperus]

Village newsletter came today.

 

 

 

[Gordon A]

Interesting Hesperus, especially on the first column where there is a reference to "mount a lorry".

As this is before the track layout at Bitterley was changed which would have precluded such happenings.

 

Gordon A

[Hesperus]

It did remind me of the complaints about the press refering to carriages in the thread about the recent oil train derailment in South Wales.

[sidmouth]

I'm sure you do, but there are some nice images in Branch Line Byways vol 1 The West Midlands by G F Bannister and published by Atlantic Press in 1986. A number of images of Bitterley are included 

 

Edit , should have read page 2 first ! 

Edited October 28, 2020 by sidmouth

[BernardO]

Might anyone have the dates of construction and opening of the two inclines at Bitterley? Bernard fquirk202@aol.com

[Gordon A]

"On the 24th August1864 the first 4.5 miles from was opened from Ludlow to the sidings at Bitterley Wharf,

On the1st June the line was extended a further 1.5 miles to the quarries at Clee Hill, which included a cable operated incline as far as the village of Dhustone.

Subsequently a rope haul incline was constructed, also from the sidings in Bitterley running via Bedlam up to the quaries on top of Titterstone Clee.

"Wagons on the Titterstone incline were narrow gauge."

 

Extract from Bitterley Parish Plan. page 13.

 

Gordon A

[Artless Bodger]

Lorry, in outdated use, meant a horse drawn flat wagon, and was used in early days for some kinds of railway wagon too, it was also used to mean a small tramway cart for use in mines. Originally spelled lurry and derived from a word to lug or drag about.

https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/lorry

I've seen the word rulley used for horse drawn flat wagons, the sort of thing the Scammell mechanical horse was originally developed to pull as a replacement for a horse.