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Cromford & High Peak / Clee Hill Rope worked inclines.


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Hi Folks,

 

I am looking for some more information in relation to my interest in Bitterley yard (Shropshire) and Clee Hill incline.

 

1) Does any one have any dimensions of the horizontal and vertical rollers set in the 4 foot for either the Cromford & High Peak, Clee Hill or Bowes rope worked inclines, or any other rope worked incline in the UK?

I have been told that the rollers used on the Cromford & High Peak  and the  Clee Hill inclines were the same.

 

2) Can any one confirm if any rollers still exist at Middleton Top or Cromford that I could measure?

 

Any help appreciated.

 

Gordon A

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Gordon,

Pictures in Colin Mountfords book appear to show different horizontal rollers in use on the Clee Hill incline as to that on The C&HP

A pic of Clee Hill incline  (1909) shows  parallel non flanged rollers of approx 6" diameter and I'd estimate between 33" to 39" wide. These a fixed along the sleeper length.

Whaley Bridge incline would appear to use deep dished narrow (9") rollers of much larger diameter that require a siting between sleepers or a split sleeper and a pit to run in. I have not come across any dimensions for rollers in the book. Somewhere in the library I have an NCB manual on track laying  for haulage systems. That may have some information in it but it is heavily biased towards underground.

Sorry that's not much help but if i come across anything I'll let you know. 

 

Edit

What time period are you talking about?

Having just noticed the rollers on this site:

http://www.photobydjnorton.com/CleeHillIncline.html

 

Which are different to the rollers in this image.

http://www.archive-images.co.uk/index.proxy.php?cmd=image&image_id=595

 

and taking into account there was a good few different roller types to serve different purposes in the same hill.

 

P

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For Cromford & High Peak, try Middleton Top and bottom of Sheep Pasture incline - next to workshop/museum.

 

Rollers were mainly flanged. see A Rimmer's C&HPR book, published by Oakwood. 

 

See later photos on this thread http://sutherland.davenportstation.org.uk/ws-116.html

 

Dava

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Thanks chaps.

Porcy - I have copied the pictures off your first link so have them.

 

That ****** photo by A2 winds me up a treat. I cannot find any siding veering off to the left in any plans or photos for Clee Hill or any mention of it.

 

There is a run off siding above the trap point at Bitterley that was controlled from the box. But this siding veered to the right. I wonder if A2 used the negative the wrong way round?

I do question if it is in fact Clee Hill?

 

Dava - I am contemplating a day trip up from Bristol just to measure the rollers if any are still in existence.

Confirmation would be nice before setting off on a three hour plus drive from Bristol.

 

Gordon A

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Thanks chaps.

Porcy - I have copied the pictures off your first link so have them.

 

That ****** photo by A2 winds me up a treat. I cannot find any siding veering off to the left in any plans or photos for Clee Hill or any mention of it.

 

Your right. You made me think twice about it so I went back and had another look at it. I should be shot with sh*t, as should the folk running the Archive Images website.

It's nowhere near to Clee Hill. I thought it had a Durham feel about it. Particularly those rollers. Typical NCB. It's the Bowes railway between Kibblesworth and Marley Hill. (Birkheads Incline.) 

The current view:

https://goo.gl/maps/77X3a9Shppu

 

A pic looking further up the incline from the bridge on the horizon in the AI image can be found here:

http://www.freerails.com/view_topic.php?id=6926&forum_id=43&page=1

The CEM on the image stand for Colin Mountford. A few rollers but I guess not the type you're looking for.

 

P

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Hi Folks,

 

I am looking for some more information in relation to my interest in Bitterley yard (Shropshire) and Clee Hill incline.

 

1) Does any one have any dimensions of the horizontal and vertical rollers set in the 4 foot for either the Cromford & High Peak, Clee Hill or Bowes rope worked inclines, or any other rope worked incline in the UK?

I have been told that the rollers used on the Cromford & High Peak  and the  Clee Hill inclines were the same.

 

2) Can any one confirm if any rollers still exist at Middleton Top or Cromford that I could measure?

 

Any help appreciated.

 

Gordon A

Gordon

 

Rope-Worked Inclines by Mountford has a good 'looking down the incline' pic. for Clee Hill showing the horizontal rollers in the '4ft that could be scaled - can scan/send if that would help

 

Buckland-Smith's Treatise on Cable or Rope Traction has a bit, including an illustrated page from the Hadfields Steel Foundry showing a range of sheaves/rollers etc but nothing dimensional

 

Let me know if you need a copy of the latter

 

Graham Woodruff

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Gordon,

 

Apologies, I've only just picked up this thread. I have some very faint copies of LNWR Soc drawings of the incline pulleys on the CHPR. Probably too feint to copy again, but I could possibly redraw them in CAD if you're still interested. I have both the straight track pulleys and the special pulleys and frames used on curves.

 

When I built the incline on Middlepeak, I formed the pulleys from a pair of N Gauge wagon wheels turned inwards and mounted on a 1mm dia. axle. The pulley boxes were fabricated from square brass tube with short sections of fine bore tube set into the sides as axle bearings. See MRJ 110 for photos.

 

Please PM if you're interested.

 

Regards,

 

Geraint

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  • 3 weeks later...

Any news on the potential Cromford visit?

 

Hi Paul,

 

Not as yet that has been postponed mainly due to the offer of some drawings from Geraint.

 

Did manage a round trip to the mining museum at Overton on the Bank Holiday to look at old Land Rovers though.

 

Gordon A

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