Bulkeley Hill Narrow Gauge 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) |
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.
History[]
The Staffordshire Potteries Water Board was granted permission in 1937 to build drinking water pumping stations at Peckforton and 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]
Catch point in the lower part, uphill view
Steep area near the top, sidewards view
Top end, uphill view
External links[]
References[]
- ^ 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’. 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.
- 2 ft gauge railways in England
- Railway inclines in the United Kingdom
- Rail transport in Cheshire