ThePeak Forest Tramway was an early horse- and gravity-poweredindustrial railway (ortramway) system inDerbyshire,England. Opened for trade on 31 August 1796, it remained in operation until the 1920s. Much of the route and the structures associated with the line remain. The western section of the line is now the route of the Peak Forest Tramway Trail.[1]
The tramway was originally planned to be about 4 miles (6 kilometres) long fromChapel Milton toDove Holes. However, it was decided to start the tramway at Bugsworth (now calledBuxworth) and, as built, it was about 6 miles (10 kilometres) long. Its purpose was to carry limestone from the vast quarries around Dove Holes down toBugsworth Basin viaChapel-en-le-Frith andChinley, where much of it was taken by boat along thePeak Forest Canal and theAshton Canal toManchester and beyond. The remaining limestone was put into lime kilns at Bugsworth where it was converted intoquick lime (or burnt lime).
Built byBenjamin Outram, the tramway was initially single-track, on a4 ft 2 in (1,270 mm) gauge, constructed of stone sleeper blocks and L-section cast-iron rails that were fastened directly onto the blocks, in the same manner as hisLittle Eaton Gangway built for theDerby Canal. The rails, known as gang rails or plates, were provided byBenjamin Outram and Company who also supplied the mineral waggons.
From Bugsworth it rose 129 feet (39 m) to Whitehough, then proceeded to Chapel Milton on the level. It then climbed 56½[further explanation needed] to the base of the inclined plane, which took the line upwards 192 feet (59 m) over a distance of 512 yards (468 m). After a more gentle slope to Barmoor Clough the line proceeded to the Dove Holes quarries.
To aid acceleration from the top, and braking at the foot, the inclined plane varied from 1 in 6 at the top to 1 in 12 at the base. It was intended to be, at least partly, self-acting with descending wagons counterbalanced to some extent by partly loaded wagons being drawn up. Initially rope was tried, followed by a patent twisted chain, passing round a wheel, with a brake to control it, in a pit at the top. Eventually a chain with 5-inch (130 mm) links was purchased fromBirmingham, which proved more equal to the work. By the beginning of the 20th century this had been replaced by asteel rope.
There was another small incline of 33 yards (30 m) within the quarry complex worked by a horse-gin at the top and a continuous rope.
Themineral waggons were originally similar to those used for the earlierLittle Eaton Gangway, with a substantial wooden chassis with a wrought-iron body held in place by two wooden wedges. The axles were bolted onto axle trees and the cast-iron wheels (about 20 inches in diameter) were held on the axles by a linchpin (known as a "lily-pin"). Later the bodies were fixed with a door at the back, unloading by means of a tippler mechanism mounted on aturntable. Each waggon carried between 2 and 2.5 long tons (2.24 and 2.80 short tons; 2.03 and 2.54 t) of limestone.
From the bottom of the plane to Bugsworth Basin, a team of four horses could draw up to twenty wagons. The ganger and nipper (apprentice), controlling a gang of waggons, rode on the axles and kept the speed at 4 to 6 miles per hour (6.4 to 9.7 km/h) by spragging the wheels to make them skid.
In 1803 the tramway was made double-track, with the exception ofStodhart Tunnel[2] and below Buxton Road Bridge, using the same method of fixing the rails.
Problems were experienced because the rails became loose, and to overcome these the main line was relaid between 1832 and 1837 using pedestals or saddles placed between the rails and the stone sleeper blocks. Over the years the design of the rails and saddles underwent many modifications and in circa 1865 much of the main line was replaced by L-section steel rails 9 and 12 feet (3.7 m) long rolled at the Gorton Works (Gorton Tank) of theManchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway Company.
In 1846 the MSLR's predecessor, theSheffield, Ashton-under-Lyne and Manchester Railway, took on a £9,325 a year (equivalent to £1,140,000 in 2023)[3] perpetual lease of the Peak Forest Canal, including the tramway. The railway became owner of the canal in 1883. The tramway closed in 1920 and its rails and waggons were sold by theLNER.[2]
The most important surviving features of the tramway are the elevated tramway branch at Bugsworth Basin,Stodhart Tunnel and the self-acting inclined plane atChapel-en-le-Frith, known as theChapel inclined plane. The elevated tramway branch forms part of thescheduled monument of Bugsworth Basin. It was believed that the Grade II*listed Stodhart Tunnel was the oldest railway tunnel in the world until archaeological work on theButterley Gangroad (also in Derbyshire) in May 2013 suggested thatFritchley Tunnel on that line was older than Stodhart Tunnel. Awagon is on display in theYork Railway Museum anda wheel and track items at theNarrow Gauge Railway Museum.[2]
53°20′07″N1°58′08″W / 53.3354°N 1.9690°W /53.3354; -1.9690