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Digging Deep

Gradients as steep as 1 in 40 tackled by small engines produced spectacular sights on the Nidd Valley Light Railway. A freight train, bound for the Scar House Reservoir construction site and probably carrying bagged cement, is pictured in 1934 by H.G.W. Household. It is double headed and double banked. The location appears to be on the section beyond Lofthouse station, possibly the approach to Scar House Tunnel. The gradient has just eased, indicated by the angle of the rearmost engine. Note the bicycle leaning on the fence. Most likely, the photographer used it to reach this isolated location near the head of Nidderdale. The railway, opened in 1907 and owned and operated by Bradford Corporation Waterworks Department, closed to all traffic in 1937. Passenger services ceased on New Year's Eve, 1929.

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Uploaded on December 31, 2013
Taken on December 31, 2013