THE restoration of the self-acting incline brakeman’s cabin at the top of the Bowes Railway’s Springwell incline, supported by Heritage Lottery funding, has been completed.
It was the first incline on the 1826 Bowes system running between Springwell Yard and the bank foot at Wardley.
It was a self acting (gravity) incline and depended on the weight of full wagons descending hauling the empty wagons uphill.
Both sets of wagons were connected by a rope which passed around a 14ft wheel attached to a braked drum located in a purpose-built pit at the bankhead.
Read more in Issue 251 of HR – on sale now!
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About the Author
Railway Production Editor at Mortons Media Group Ltd.
Nigel Devereux is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Lincoln, working in the School of English and Journalism. He has worked within the print publishing industry for 38 years. Nigel was editor of his hometown newspaper - The Horncastle News - from 1998-2001. Nigel is currently the Production Editor on The Railway Magazine, the UK’s biggest selling magazine for railway enthusiasts. He is also responsible for maintaining and updating several websites across the Mortons portfolio.
01507 529529 | NDevereux@Mortons.co.uk
01507 529529 | NDevereux@Mortons.co.uk
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