The Bulkeley Hill Narrow Gauge Railway was a 350 yards (320 m) long 2 ft (610 mm) gauge rope-hauled incline on the Bulkeley Hill near Bulkeley in Cheshire, England.[2] With a grade of nearly 1:1 in one section, it is known as Cheshire's Steepest Railway.
| Bulkeley Hill Narrow Gauge Railway | |
|---|---|
 Remains of the track at the top end, looking downwards 2016  Fuel tanks of pumping station at the bottom end, 2002  Incline (disused)[1] | |
| Technical | |
| Line length | 0.2 miles (0.32 km) |
| Track gauge | 2 ft (610 mm) |
History
editThe Staffordshire Potteries Water Board was granted permission in 1937 to build drinking water pumping stations at Peckforton and Tower Wood in Cheshire with a reservoir on Bulkeley Hill, from where the water was piped to a large reservoir at Cooper's Green near Audley for distribution to Tunstall and the Potteries. After the water was pumped into the elevated reservoir, it ran in a 27-inch pipeline (ø 686 mm) to the potteries.[3][4]
The incline was used during the construction of the Bulkeley Hill Reservoir and the water pipeline to overcome a height difference of about 345 feet (105 m).[5] It has three catch points for derailing runaway vehicles. At its bottom station, five reused Lancashire boilers are available as diesel storage tanks for the pumps.[6][4]
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Catch point in the lower part, uphill view -
Steep area near the top, sidewards view -
Top end, uphill view
External links
editReferences
edit- ^ Cheshire West and Chester: Public Map Viewer. Retrieved on 4 July 2020.
- ^ Henrys Adventures: Cheshire's Steepest Railway - The Bulkley Hill Narrow Gauge Railway. (CC BY 3.0) Retrieved on 4 July 2020.
- ^ Roger Foden: The Peckforton ‘Railway’. Archived 4 July 2020 at the Wayback Machine South Cheshire Harriers, Newsletter, June 2009.
- ^ a b Bulkeley Hill Tramway.
- ^ Tarboat: Waterworks railway.
- ^ David Kitching: Bulkeley boilers: Old Lancashire boilers in use as storage tanks at the Bulkeley waterworks.