Railway & Canal Historical Society

Walk from Hopton top to Steeple Grange railway - the Killers branch of the Cromford & High Peak Railway.

Thursday April 26th 2018

Meet at Buxton railway station for the coach to Hopton leaving at 11.00am latest.

12.00, Hopton Top, walk to Middleton Top, approx 1½ miles - 1.00pm

Middleton Top, Time to eat packed lunch. View the engine working, group will need to split onto two halves as there is not enough room for the full group to get into the engine house all at the same time.

2.30pm walk to Steeple Grange railway where Martin Smith (chairman) will give a talk about the railway.

4.00pm return to coach which will be parked at the National Stone Centre about 200 yards from Steeple Grange.

The coach will be available for those who do not wish to walk any section.

1

Hopton Top National Stone Centre

elf n’ safety, trespassing,

Never have so much enjoyment today, and nobody got hurt.

2

Driver Sam Buckley, never had the pleasure of meeting this man but I am told he was one of life's gentlemen. It was he who on the last day when the train stalled on Hopton incline and asked by the engine driver (who had no line knowledge) to drive the loco, did so with no qualms what so ever.

He had been made redundant three weeks before his official retirement.

The original staff house at Hopton Top. When looking at this building the sorting sidings are in the wooded area to the right hand side.

3

Previous picture, Crewe Allen type tank loco on Hopton incline stopped for photographic purposes. Adhesion working commenced on Hopton on 16.4.1877. Circa 1894 incline eased and reduced to single line. So the picture must have

4 been taken between 1877 and 1894. The line on the right was removed. This picture at closure, removed line from water tank down incline, sidings can be seen going off to left.

Handyside experiment on Hopton incline circa 1876

5

The siding to the bone mill was first proposed in 1859.

This is at the bottom of Hopton incline, going off to the right as seen in the next two pictures.

Speed unrestricted - but not the siding, 1964 showing the incline and the bone mill siding.

6

Platelayers hut still in existence

30th April 1967, last day, descending Hopton for the last time.

7

Ascending Hopton for the last time 30th April 1967, going into the wilderness.

8

6th October 1937 an accident which killed the driver. Approaching the bottom of Hopton incline to fast so spreading the track and falling down the embankment.

9

Hoptonwood quarry branch, previous picture just after closing i.e. after April 1967, onto the loop before the branch to Hoptonwood.

10

Could this be the boiler that powered an engine that was employed to pull wagons up the incline from Hoptonwood quarry? No engine or conduit through the embankment for the ropes has been found.

11

See also top picture of page 10. Hopton quarry branch and loop from the top of the tunnel.

Start of the passing loop looking at the north portal of the tunnel 1967.

12

Hopton tunnel south portal, the picture below shows where the top of the tunnel has been removed (anybody know a date when this happened) and the (Gabions) cages of stone positioned to provide a retaining wall.

13

At the next information board it describes the Intake quarry

14

Intake quarry on the left to the side of the fence posts and the cover over a lead mine.

Trackwork at Middleton Top showing tracks to quarries.

15

Middleton Top, top picture is a tour, date unknown but bottom picture shows the truncated sidings to the quarry under the gate. North London tanks, again on a tour.

16

Reservoir, see map page 14

17

Middleton Top engine. One cylinder.

I do not have a photograph to hand but, whilst visiting an elderly colleague recently, discussing the C&HP among others he mentioned that when the Middleton incline was closed he visited the winding engine house a day or so later. The engineman was still there. They were discussing that there were two brackets attached to the beam that appear to do nothing. They decided to clean out the bottom of the wheel pit. 130 years of grease, dirt, leaves and dead mice. When all of this was removed they found a trap door, when removed it was apparent that it was covering a lead mine shaft, which the Peak Mining Soc (I think it was) subsequently went down the shaft and confirmed it was a lead mine. It was then assumed that the two brackets on the beam were connected to rods to a water pump to keep the mine clear of water, but also could have been the boiler water supply.

18

Pride in you work, a little spit and polish. Middleton winding engine.

Middleton Top incline gradient post, it was downhill in both directions.

19

This was the notice and closure date for the section from Steplehouse to High Peak junction.

3.6.1963, the Middleton incline section closed.

2.12.1964 Middleton bottom to Steeplehouse (Steeple Grange as is now) closed.

The section of track from Middleton Top to Friden, last enthusiasts trip 30.4.1967, was officially closed on the 1st May 1967.

20

Middleton Top with an old DX boiler, the boilers seen today having been condemned.

21

Final closure; gone, but not forgotten. Above, looking to top of incline, below, looking towards Hopton incline and into the wilderness. If B.R. had kept this, they could have made a fortune every weekend.

22

Water tanks about to descend Middleton incline.

23

Looking down Middleton at overbridge.

From meeting minutes for LNWR officers for April17th 1894, the additional line of rails which has been laid down at Middleton Incline to make it a balanced working was opened for traffic on the 2nd inst.

From C&HPR minutes for November 28th 1856 it was reported that a siding was put in at the middle of the Middleton Incline to serve a quarry being worked by William Wheatcroft. Obviously a siding could not be taken off a continuous chain incline and so the incline was to be worked as two single roads. This necessitated the engine to be rebuilt with a winding drum.

Nothing known about this.

On June 15th 1865 it was suggested that the incline was put back to balanced working as the quarry had long been out of use. From above you will see that it took 29 years to carry out the re-installation of balanced working.

24

RCTS July 1964, note ladders to get into trucks. (elf n’ safety?)

Note wagon loads with tarpaulins going into Middlepeak quarry.

Middleton incline after closure and tracks lifted. Note quarry siding to left.

25

Sidings from bottom of Middleton incline and what is now Steeple Grange. Was Killers branch.

26

Looking from the Killers branch towards Black Rocks and Cromford. Main line from Middleton Bottom is where the train is coming from.

27

The wagons are on the Steeplehouse (Smart's) Quarry siding of 1909. The gate to the right is on the 1884 Killer's Branch to Middleton (Killer's) Quarry, now the Steeple Grange Light Rly. The line immediately left is the first of the two lines into Steeplehouse & Wirksworth Goods with the stables on the left. The main line to Middleton Bottom curves to the left in front of the wagons. It was the point foreground left that was incorrectly set that allowed 47000 to be diverted to the 60 yard siding in the wharf and falling 15 feet off the end of it on 31st July 1955!

28

29

Just some of the sidings on this short length of the C&HP.

30