Out and About

Black Fell and Mount Crossing

Black Fell is the western limit of the remaining operating section of Bowes Railway.

Black Fell hauler from the rear ( © Stafford M. Linsley, 1974)

Black Fell hauler is all that is left of the once significant Black Fell Colliery site. The original pits sunk here in the early 1700s formed Mount Moor colliery. Later the site became known as Black Fell Colliery and the last working pit here was Vale pit, which closed in 1929. However, the shaft was still in use for man-riding and escape purposes as late as the 1960s, being linked underground to other pits in the area. Black Fell in the early 1900s is shown below and demonstrates how industrial the area was at the time. The hauler is centre left, viewed in the same direction as the picture above. The boiler house is adjacent, to the left of the hauler building. A set of wagons stands on the kip. Vale pit is seen centre right, beyond the wagons. The view is from Shadons Hill.

© Bowes Railway Archive, courtesy of Mrs A Miller

As can be seen from the map, Black Fell bankhead is on a very sharp curve. This is because the original 1826 alignment towards Springwell and the direction that had to be taken for the later extension to Kibblesworth were almost at 90^o to each other. The result is that the hauler for the Black Fell incline down to Team Valley stands well clear of the short bank up to Blackhams Hill. To the casual observer, the building seems to stand in splendid isolation in the surrounding fields.

The raised kip is the middle of three tracks, and is curved. The full wagons coming up the Black Fell incline were landed either side of the kip alternately. The rope was slipped just as the wagons entered the curve, the track sloping down past the kip to form a "dish" where the wagons would come to a standstill without the need for heavy braking. The rope from Blackhams Hill would then be attached for the haul up Blackham's short bank.

Empty wagons descending Blackhams short bank came straight down onto the kip. The track lifted slightly at the entry to the kip in order to slow the wagons, but mechanical rail mounted wheel retarders were used to bring the sets to a halt. After slipping the Blackhams rope, the sets were run forward around the curve onto the top of the Black Fell incline and the Black Fell rope was then attached for the run down.

Black Fell incline was operated with two ropes, each wound onto separate adjacent sections of the winding drum. Both ropes wound off the bottom of the drum. One rope came out of the front of the hauler building and straight down the incline. The second rope went in the other direction, out of the back of the building at high level and then around a large vertical rope return wheel mounted some 20m behind the building before returning at low level via a conduit under the building and then down the incline. The rope return behind the hauler can be seen in the picture at the top of this page. The effect was that as the engine wound the drum, one rope paid out while the other wound in.

This enabled a set to descend the incline while another was hauled up. The work required to haul a full set up the incline was a combination of winding by the engine and the weight of the empty set descending.

The descent from Black Fell to the bottom of Team Valley was via a three-rail arrangement. There was a passing loop half way down, below Dunkirk Farm. A view looking up the incline is shown below. Dunkirk Farm is at the top of the picture.

Black Fell incline, looking up towards Dunkirk Farm ( © Stafford M. Linsley, 1974)

The next view was taken in 1988, looking up towards Black Fell hauler. It shows all that remains of the track on the incline. This short section of track was not removed by the NCB as it was attached to the floor of the bridge that went across the Pelaw Main line. It shows the 3-rail track. However, the right hand rail has been lifted and moved in to make a narrow gauge way. Immediately following closure by the NCB in 1974, Black Fell incline was narrowed and used for a few months for testing narrow gauge underground locos. This was because the gradient was typical of gradients underground.

Black Fell incline, looking up towards the hauler ( © Peter Norman, 1988)

On the side of the road to the rear of Black Fell hauler is the local landmark known as Shadons Hill. This was the place where the Durham miners met in the 19th century and created the first mineworkers' union. Meetings of Duram miners were frequently held here. It is also reputed to be a place visited by Julius Caesar’s army. The hill has public access by several footpaths and has some fine views across Team Valley to the west and across Washington to the east.

The picture below shows the Mount Crossing cabin just before closure in 1974. This cabin is situated on the level crossing half way down Blackhams short bank. The crossing was equipped with two gates. However, in later days of NCB operation, the crossing keeper only used one. The other was swung back against the trackside fence. The Keeper used a flag tripod to halt traffic coming up the main road past Shadons Hill.

Note the small wooden hut attached to the cabin on the right hand side. This was the keeper's toilet. There was no opportunity to leave the post during a working shift!

The cabin was, in its time, a social venue and there were many casual visitors. It was possible to arrange for television and radio sets to be repaired and also to get a haircut! The cabin had a coal fire and was equipped with a cast iron oven located in the flue which was ideal for boiling kettles and warming pies. Of course, at that time road traffic was far less than it is now.

Mount Crossing cabin, looking up Blackhams short bank ( © Stafford M. Linsley, 1974)

The second view of the cabin was taken in 1988, shortly after the local Northern bus ran into it. The structure was not badly affected and the cabin was restored and returned to its original use as a crossing cabin, used when rope haulage is run on Blackhams short bank (the 'west' incline). After the railway returned to operation in the care of Bowes Railway Co Ltd., and at the request of the Railway Inspectorate, three gates were installed at the crossing. The two original gates blocked the main road through Eighton Banks but it was still possible to enter the crossing from a side road leading to the Ship Inn.

Mount Crossing cabin ( © Peter Norman, 1988)

The distance from the cabin to Black Fell can be judged from the next view, taken from the cabin doorway. Black Fell hauler roof just appears over the rear of the set. Shadons Hill and the road running down from the crossing can be seen on the left.

Set of six wagons being hauled up Blackhams short bank from Black Fell ( © Peter Norman, 1989)

The final view is from Shadons Hill (early 20th century). Mount Crossing cabin is exactly in the cetre of the picture and the incline can be seen running down from top right to bottom left - Black Fell is just off to the left. Blackhams Hill hauler can just be seen on the horizon at the extreme right, just above the Ship Inn. The road swings sharp left through Eighton Banks once past Mount Crossing. The chimney and buildings in the centre on the horizon comprise Eighton Banks hauler on the Pelaw Main line. To the left of Eighton Banks hauler, on the horizon, it is just possible to make out a set of 'black wagons' (chauldrons) waiting to descend the steep Eighton Banks incline which ran parallel to Bowes at this point. At the bottom of that incline, the Pelaw Main swung left under the Bowes line (see above).

© Bowes Railway Archive, courtesy of Mrs A Miller

For further details refer to the definitive history of Bowes Railway by Colin E Mountford:

The book is now out of print but many copies are in circulation and available in libraries

This page last updated 18th March 2006