The gravity hauled incline has a long history. There are fascinating traces of early wooden railways around the Mediteranean, but that is for another time. Suffice to say that those pioneer porters knew that, when there was timber, coal, wheat etc to be carried, gravity was a good friend and an implacable enemy.When commodities were being extracted from a hillside, gravity was a potential friend, so the principles of using gravity to take freight out of a quarry were not new. The Germans used it, then the miners of North-east England, then the quarries of North Wales. In our part of the world, at the Wells of Lecht, near the watershed between Spey and Don, manganese was extracted from an adit into the frowning face of Cairnmor.
Below in a more rural setting, a 16mm Wrightscale model of an 'Alice' Class Hunslet conveys some wagons. Here is the story of how the prototype negotiated a gravity incline and could do so on your layout.
2’ gauge proved to be the most convenient gauge - as Prosper Péchot was to demonstrate though he translated this into 60cm. Wanted! A locomotive tough enough to stay out of the workshop for long periods, small enough to be cable-hauled up and down where necessary and powerful enough to haul significant tonnages of slate and waste. Although the company loved a bargain as much as any, only three of the 31 they purchased were second-hand. A worn loco was a false economy.
Most of these were from the Hunslet Engine Co Ltd of Leeds. Above is a 16mm model by Wrightscale. Broadly speaking, they provided three types of loco. Port and Tramway were both seen around the loading docks while the Alice class, as pictured above, generally stayed in the high quarries. Although the quarries are closed, the National Slate Museum of Wales gives an idea of the atmosphere and grandeur of the site. If you can’t get there yet, at least visit the website, (directions below).
The Alice locomotives which were destined for narrow slate galleries had neither cab nor steam dome. Their looks were peculiar.They catered neither for health, safety nor comfort. And yet … these ‘Quarry’ Hunslets are much loved. Although they have been manufactured in several different workshops in 16mm scale, the interest in the Wrightscale model is undiminished.
Strictly speaking, your Dinorwic (Dinorwig) Hunslet, or any other well-loved Quarry locomotive, should have its own little circuit on your garden railway. It should be connected to the main layout by a gravity incline. Above, we see a short train on the gravity incline on Peter Kinnear's layout. Most people won’t want to reproduce the majesty of a Welsh quarry in the back garden, but that shouldn’t stop you from having your own little gravity system. Peter Kinnear, as mentioned before, has made a splendid feature of one. Some day, our South Deeside Railway will have one too.
Thanks to Jim Hawkesworth, we have some pictures of an incline he knew when he was a lad. It was built to serve one of the Beeston collieries. These would have been known to DH Lawrence. The hero of one of his novels tries his hand as clerk in the office; no doubt Lawrence wrote from experience. He himself quickly decided to become a ‘stool-harsed Jack’ and become a writer instead. The area was well known. The labouring class knew the mines, of course and the Quality also liked it. They would drive past workings and Incline to picnic by the Hemlock Stone picturesquely placed on the top of the hill.
By the 1950s, the incline was abandoned and became a playground for naughty boys. The photo above is courtesy of Jim Hawkesworth. It was great fun to pull an abandoned wagon to the top of the slope and let it roll down again, until, one by one, the wagons were smashed. In 1979, Bramcote crematorium and garden of remembrance was built on the site.
Jim’s first photo is the view from above. You can see the line running into the loading shed. This was fed from the left by a ramp up which was hauled the coal, or spoil, ready to be dropped into the tippers waiting below. A small engine house beside it would have provided the power. DON’T ask what powered the engine – coal of course! Empties would be hauled back up on the bypass lane – an overturned example is seen on the track. Near the top of the photo can be seen another building.
The second photo, also courtesy Jim Hawkesworth, gives us a better view of this building, no doubt at one time the lower winding house. An incline and the remains of a coal store are visible. The building was also shelter for the switchman – the site of the original turnout is clearly visible. Two naughty boys are engaged in an altercation while a third looks on, waiting for a bit of help in removing the ‘dead’ tipper wagon.
Jim’s third photo show the line then running alongside a lane, complete with telegraph poles. The footprints show just how narrow the gauge is.
Although the scene is one of decay and the weather is filthy, you can just see its beauty. It makes use of a valley – hills, trees and swift-flowing stream. There must be potential for a modeller.
Peter Kinnear modelled his incline on the Waste Transfer System at Powderhall, Edinburgh. Although the prototype is no more glamorous than the Nottingham one, Peter has made it beautiful. inspiration for art can be found anywhere, even in a waste transfer system!
The above photo shows a wagon and haulage rope.
Unlike a true gravity system, the Kinnear scheme depends on a Prime Mover. The sequence goes as follows. The train gets shunted on to the incline track, leaves the wagons that are going down the hill. The 'Mule' (blue loco) comes from the shed, couples on, then pushes the wagons along, they start to roll down the incline and the mule carries on lowering them down.Peter explains that to reproduce a true gravity worked balanced incline, there has to be a lot of human intervention. We 16 millers don’t like too much ‘hands on’ and the alternative, humans in 16mm scale, is not yet available!
In this system, the 'Mule' is attached permanently to an endless cable; the winding-house powers the cable, one direction of winding taking the mule down the hill, the other direction bringing it up again. Before you embark on your model, a fact-finding tour is highly recommended. Once lockdown ends, watch out for East of Scotland 16mm Association Open Days. There will be an opportunity to see Peter’s layout.
A trip to the Welsh
Slate Museum
would be worthwhile. Alternatively, you can visit the old manganese mine. It is free, and open to the public all year round. Follow the A939 Cockbridge to Tomintoul road. The Well of Lecht nearby is clearly visible and there is a public footpath. The main limit is weather.
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