The Bowes Railway Birkheads incline Traditional Cache
Workyticket: As there appears to have been no response from the CO we are archiving the cache listing to prevent it from continually showing up in search lists and to prevent it from blocking other cache placements in the area.
Drew and Kaz
Workyticket
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The Bowes Railway Birkheads incline
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(small)
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Placed on really nice path with many parking spots along the path so you can choose how much of a walk you want to make it, park at Marley hill if you want a decent walk or at the road crossing near the cache for a quick find. Great path for dog walkers and cyclists.
Enjoy
Bowes Railway History
Bowes Railway was originally a colliery railway built to carry coal mainly from pits in north west Durham to the Tyne at Jarrow. The earliest section was designed by George Stephenson and opened on 17 January 1826, making it one of the world's first modern railways. It was 15 miles long when completed in 1855.
Each end was locomotive worked, the six mile middle section consisting of rope worked inclines with very steep gradients.
At its peak, the Railway handled over 1 million tons of coal per year and remained virtually intact until 1968. Between 1968 and 1974, most of the line was closed until only the last 3.5 miles between Monkton and Jarrow staithes were operated by the National Coal Board.
However, the original 1826 section between the Black Fell bank head and Springwell bank head was acquired for preservation in 1976 by Tyne and Wear County Council.
This comprises Blackham's Hill West and East inclines, which are operated by a stationary haulage engine.
It is the only working preserved standard gauge rope hauled railway in the world.
In 1977, the Railway's Engineering and Wagon Shops at Springwell were added to the scheme, providing the facilities needed for maintenance.
The whole railway, including the buildings, machinery and rolling stock is now a Scheduled Ancient Monument and is managed by the Bowes Railway Company, Ltd. (Registered Charity Number 511691) on behalf of the current owners, Sunderland City Council and Gateshead Council
The Inclines between Birkhead and Kibblesworth and Springwell to Springwell Bankfoot were self acting, the loaded wagons going downhill pulled the empty wagons back up again by means of a rope connecting the two sets via a large horizontal pulley at the top of the bank.
The other inclines were powered by stationary engines which hauled and lowered wagons along the track.
Between Blackham's Hill to Birkheads the line falls over 450 feet into the Team Valley before climbing 500 feet on fairly steady gradients of between 1:15 to 1:20.
The climb up from Springwell Bankfoot is about 250 feet at a gradient of 1:24
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Va jvgu gur ebpxf
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