Construction
The first part of the line from the wharf at High Peak Junction, on 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. The highest part of the line was at Ladmanlow, a height of 1,266 feet (386 m). For comparison, the present day highest summit in England is Ais Gill at 1,169 feet (356 m) on the Settle-Carlisle line.
The railway was laid using so-called "fishbelly" rails supported on stone blocks, as was common in those days, rather than timber sleepers, since it would be powered by horses on the flat sections. On the nine inclined planes, stationary steam engines would be used, apart from the last incline into Whaley Bridge, which was counterbalanced and worked by a horse-gin. The engines, rails and other ironwork were provided by the Butterley Company. It would take around two days to complete the journey. Luckily it was laid to the Stephenson gauge of 4 ft 8½ inch, rather than Outram's usual 4 ft 2 in.
While its function was to provide a shorter route for Derbyshire coal than the Trent and Mersey Canal, it figured largely in early East Midlands railway schemes because it was seen as offering a path into Manchester for proposed lines from London. However, the unsuitability of cable railways for passengers became clear within a few years.
The following table lists the inclines as originally built :
| Incline | Length | Gradient | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cromford | 580 yards (530 m) | 1 in 9 | combined with Sheep Pasture in 1857 |
| Sheep Pasture | 711 yards (650 m) | 1 in 8 | this name retained after combining with Cromford in 1857 |
| Middleton | 708 yards (647 m) | 1 in 8½ | |
| Hopton | 457 yards (418 m) | 1 in 14 | |
| Hurdlow | 850 yards (777 m) | 1 in 16 | abandoned 1869 |
| Bunsall upper | 660 yards (604 m) | 1 in 17½ | combined with Bunsall lower in 1857, abandoned 1892 |
| Bunsall lower | 455 yards (416 m) | 1 in 7 | combined with Bunsall upper in 1857, abandoned 1892 |
| Shallcross | 817 yards (747 m) | 1 in 10¼ | abandoned 1892 |
| Whaley Bridge | 180 yards (165 m) | 1 in 13½ | abandoned 1952 |
Read more about this topic: Cromford And High Peak Railway
Famous quotes containing the word construction:
“Striving toward a goal puts a more pleasing construction on our advance toward death.”
—Mason Cooley (b. 1927)
“The construction of life is at present in the power of facts far more than convictions.”
—Walter Benjamin (1892–1940)
“There is, I think, no point in the philosophy of progressive education which is sounder than its emphasis upon the importance of the participation of the learner in the formation of the purposes which direct his activities in the learning process, just as there is no defect in traditional education greater than its failure to secure the active cooperation of the pupil in construction of the purposes involved in his studying.”
—John Dewey (1859–1952)