Bowes Railway Blackhams Hill Hauler House

The hauler house stands 470 ft (143 m) above sea level at the summit of the original 1826 Springwell Colliery Railway. It is a rare example of a single hauler working two inclines.

Inclines

Blackham's Hill East Incline or Springwell Flat runs from the hauler to Springwell and is approximately 1170 yards (1069 m) long with a gradient of 1 in 70 (1.4%).

Blackham's Hill West Incline or Blackham's Short Bank runs from the hauler to Black Fell and is approximately 750 yards (685 m) long with a gradient varying between 1 in 18 (5.5%) and 1 in 13.7 (7.3%).

Engines

Of the original engine little is known except that it had two rope drums built over the track, was steam driven and was operational from 1826 to 1854.

The second engine, operational from 1854 to 1915, was a second-hand beam engine built by Thomas Murray of Chester-le-Street, County Durham which came to the Railway from the Annfield Plain area of County Durham. It had a 27 x 48 inch (68.5 x 121.9 cm) cylinder with a single eccentric with grab motion to the slides. Steam was supplied to the engine by three boilers working at 30 pounds per square inch (2.11 kg/sq cm). In 1904 the three boilers were replaced by two Lancashire boilers with an increased pressure of 100 pounds per square inch (7.03 kg/sq cm). This engine worked the inclines by two rope drums, only one of which could be in gear at any time. Both of the haulage ropes came out of the building on the West side, so a large return wheel was placed under the track about 100 yards west of the hauler to turn the east incline rope through 180^otowards Springwell.

The third engine and present hauler house were commissioned in 1915. The engine was built by Andrew Barclay, Sons and Co Ltd of Kilmarnock (maker's No 7923). It had 18 x 36 inch (45.7 x 91.4 cm) horizontal cylinders worked at 100 pounds per square inch (7.03 kg/sq cm) and was geared 3:1. The engine also had two rope drums - the East drum was 8 feet (2.45 m) in diameter and the West drum was 6 feet (1.82 m). It worked well for over 30 years until it suffered a broken bedplate. Once this was repaired, the engine worked at a reduced load until it was replaced in 1950.

The present engine was installed in the 1915 hauler house and was commissioned on 30th July 1950. Most of the installation work was completed in only two weeks (the annual mineworkers' holiday). The engine is a 300 hp electric motor (2750v, 3-phase) built by Metropolitan Vickers Ltd of Manchester. The mechanical haulage equipment was built by M.B. Wild and Co of Birmingham. Its electric motor drives through a reduction gearbox to the main driveshaft which passes between the rope drums.

Electrical power for the building is supplied from the Railway sub-station at Springwell. The power is divided at a three switch panel at the rear of the hauler interior. This meets the electricity requirements of all the buildings in the Blackham's Hill area, as well as the engine, and also the Black Fell hauler whose supply has since been disconnected.

Controls and Operation

The new driver's cabin which houses the main controls was built on stilts in the middle of the floor area, enabling the driver to see the bankhead through the windows.

The view in the picture is looking west towards Blackhams Hill West Incline. Note the East incline rope (the right hand one) which also leaves the building in the westerly direction, but then dips underneath the wooden decking and then round the horizontal rope return wheel under the boards at the far end of the decking. The rope end emerges, now facing east, next to the 'old man' - the large upright post at the left of the picture.

The driver's cabin contains a hand and a foot brake for each drum and also the hand wheels which are used to slide the rope drums onto the driveshaft for hauling. There is also a power lever to control the speed of the motor. This actuates the mechanism in a water-cooled resistor bank on the floor adjacent to the cabin. The power lever also controls the direction of the rope. It is connected via microswitches to the forward/reverse electrical control box located near the front door of the hauler house. An emergency power cut-out switch is also provided within the cabin. Unlike most railway cut-out switches which are constantly pressed, and which cut power when pressure is released, the hauler cut-out switch must be pressed by the driver to turn off the power.

In addition to the hauler controls, there are also signal bells and telephones in the driver's cabin and on the wall next to the East incline Brakeman's platform, which is situated adjacent to the driver's cabin.

As the hauler driver cannot see the wagons once the set has left the bankhead, there is a mechanically linked distance indicator on a black post next to each drum. A white arrow rises or falls on this post as the rope run onto or off the winding drum. The post is marked with key points on the incline such as footpath crossings, road crossings and rail junctions.

Alongside each indicator post is a rope speed indicator calibrated in feet per second. The driver also has a motor ammeter in view.

The rope drums also have an electrical safety circuit for the high voltage equipment. This circuit prevents the hauler from being started up if both rope drums are in gear.

© Bowes Railway archive
View of East rope drum from the Brakeman's platform.
Distance Indicator on left (white marks on post)

The photograph above was taken in 1967, when the Railway was still working.

The descending East incline sets (to Springwell) were controlled by a brakeman who operated the brakes on the rope drum by means of a capstan wheel. This was to free the engine driver to operate the West incline. The driver though, (in his cabin to the right of the brake platform) could also see the distance indicator and needed it when hauling sets up from Springwell using the engine. The brakeman had no view at all of the train he was controlling and relied solely on the distance indicator and bell signals.

In the view above, the driver's cabin can be seen on stilts, to the rear of the east winding drum. The Brakeman's platform is to the right of the cabin, behind the winding drum. The speed controlling resitor bank is to the left of the cabin, at ground level. At the front is part of the electric motor (on the left), and the main gearbox to the right.

Blackham's Hill Hauler House

Inclines

Engines

Controls and Operation

Blackham's Hill
Hauler House