Steaming through Whaley Bridge

 Mark Lomas has kindly sent some photographs from his collection, of railway scenes around Whaley Bridge. Many of these pictures are from the early part of the 20th century when the railway was operated by the London, North Western Railway Company. 

Engine, crew and platelayers. 0-6-2 Locomotive 1590 was built in 1898 to the design of F Webb. It was withdrawn from service in June 1928

An arrival from Manchester. The unidentified engine is a "Precursor" class 4-4-2 locomotive built by the LNWR between 1906 and 1909. The last of this class was withdrawn in 1940.

 A Manchester bound train approaches. The full length women's dresses suggest that this photograph is from the first decade of the 20th century. 

The water tower was at the northern end of the station spanning a siding. The Locomotive a Webb designed "Coal Tank" was built in December 1881. It remained in service until 1955.

Water supply for the tank came from a small reservoir higher up the hillside. Not the brazier to prevent the water from freezing in frosty weather.

The water tower and, on the left, the small goods shed. Most goods traffic at WhaleyBridge was handled at the Shallcross Yard at Horwich End.

The station staff pose for the cameraman. 

 Whaley Bridge Station in the 1950s. The view from the signal box.

The view from the footbridge as a Buxton bound train arrives.
 

Posing by the weighbridge
 

A mixed goods and passenger train heads towards Buxton. The engine is either class G or G1 0-8-0 built at Crewe betweeen  1912 and 1918.

An early version of containerisation.

 A goods train heads south in 1959.

Manchester bound in 1959

Along Industrial Lines.

 Mark Lomas has sent us some locomotive photographs from his collection. These engines were all used in the construction of Fernilee Reservoir during the 1930s and Kinder Reservoir between 1903 and 1911.  Fernilee was built by the Derbyshire Company,  Lehane McKenzie & Shand Ltd.  Kinder was built for Stockport Corporation by  Abram Kellet of Ealing, London.  

Contractor's locomotives frequently changed hands and locations or might be hired for a limited period.

Brownhill was one of the 3ft gauge locomotives that worked on the construction of Fernilee Reservoir. The locomotive was built in 1903 by The Hunslet Engine Company of Leeds.
 

                                                Only the nameplate has survived

 Locomotive "Kinder" at Fernilee. This 0-4-0 engine was built by Orenstein & Koppel of Berlin in 1925

An almost identical engine was "Vyrnwy" built in 1930.  It was built specifically for reservoir constrution and was perhaps delivered new to Fernilee, It is named after another reservoir built 50 years earlier at Lake Vyrnwy in North Wales.

 
No 2 was built by Kerr Stuart & Co. Ltd of Stoke on Trent. This tiny engine was one of the "Wren"  class built in large numbers between 1902 and 1930.

                                        Two further views of No 2 at work.

For construction of Kinder Reservoir near Hayfield, a standard gauge railway was laid from Hayfield Station to the site of the dam, a distance of nearly 2 miles
/ 3 km.  The railway carried both building materials and workmen. The train of four small passenger coaches was known as "The Kinder Mail".

 

No 6 is a standard design of   Hudswell, Clarke & Company of Leeds who specialised in small industrial engines.

This is possibly the same locomotive hauling wagons loaded with stone.

A lot of activity at the dam site in 1910 with three locomotives visible. 

"The Kinder Mail" The workmen's train of five, 4-wheeled coaches.
 

 

Our Local Railways

 Mark Lomas has sent us some photographs from his collection, featurning some local railway scenes. 

 

An unidentified loco arrives in 1938 from Buxton with a train of six coaches.
 

This photograph of Chapel-en-le-Frith South is undated.  The signage and style of dress would suggest early 20th century.

Locomotive 2382 passes Fairfield Halt on its journey to Manchester. The 2-6-4 Tank engine was built in 1932 by the L M S. The station, just outside of Buxton, only had one platform. It was built in 1907 to serve the nearby golf club. Trains arriving from Manchester would call to set down passengers but nobody was allowed  to board  the train. There was no service in the other direction. The station closed in 1939.

A train emerges from Cowburn Tunnel in 1953. The loco appers to be number 40672, an L M S 2P Class 4-4-0 built in 1932.  The tunnel takes the Hope Valley line under the moors between Chinley and Edale and is just over 2 miles, 3.3 km in length. The photograph appears to be at the eastern end of the tunnel, near to Barber Booth.
 

Chee Tor Tunnel near Millers Dale carried the Midland Main Line through Derbyshire's Wye Valley. The line operated between 1863 and 1967. The locomotive number 1274 had been built in 1881 at the Midland Railway's Derbys Works. It is seen here hauling a local train in 1937,  possibly the shuttle service between Buxton and Millers Dale. The locomotive was withdrawn in that same year.

On the same line as Chee Tor, but near to Peak Forest is Great Rocks. The railway here is still operational and serves various quarries to the east of Buton. The locomotive is probably a class 4F,hundreds of whch were built between 1911 and 1941.

Buxton once had four railway stations.  That at Higher Buxton was on the line to Ashbourne and had opened in 1894. It was never busy and closed in 1951 although passenger trains on this line continued to operate until 1954. The bridge in the background carries Clifton Road across the railway. Out of viewto the left was a goods yard.  The railway is still operational, carrying limestone traffic from Dowlow Quarries. The locomotive 6899, is one of 300 built by the LNWR from 1881.

Hayfield Station at the end of the branch from New Mills. The photograph is either from the 1950s or early 1960s, before the introduction of diesel trains. On the right, a locomotive waits outside the engine shed.  The railway closed in 1970.

Mark Lomas Photography

Mark's photography often features on Facebook, especially among local interest groups. Prints are available as below.  Mark also offers a wedding and special event photography service.