Catch Pit, Cromford and High Peak Railway
On the first incline just above Cromford Bottom was this pit ready to catch runaway wagons on the 1 in 8 gradient. There was a wrecked wagon in it in the 1960s (it's actually still there today). You can see the track end in the foreground which, when a point was set by a man in an adjacent cabin, diverted "runaways" into the pit. Failure to do so would result in their being smashed up at Cromford or, worse, fly across the canal and on to the main line. The bridge over the A6 is still there but has been reinforced with a much smaller arch. The pit was lined with old sleepers. It was built after two wagons broke away in 1888, sped down the incline and completely cleared the Cromford Canal and the Midland main line at the bottom (Rimmer, 1962, p12). The points were normally left heading for the pit, but were changed by the pointsman when wagons were descending. A bell system warned him of "runaways." April 13 1967. (Thanks to Chris Nicholson for cleaning this old slide).
Catch Pit, Cromford and High Peak Railway
On the first incline just above Cromford Bottom was this pit ready to catch runaway wagons on the 1 in 8 gradient. There was a wrecked wagon in it in the 1960s (it's actually still there today). You can see the track end in the foreground which, when a point was set by a man in an adjacent cabin, diverted "runaways" into the pit. Failure to do so would result in their being smashed up at Cromford or, worse, fly across the canal and on to the main line. The bridge over the A6 is still there but has been reinforced with a much smaller arch. The pit was lined with old sleepers. It was built after two wagons broke away in 1888, sped down the incline and completely cleared the Cromford Canal and the Midland main line at the bottom (Rimmer, 1962, p12). The points were normally left heading for the pit, but were changed by the pointsman when wagons were descending. A bell system warned him of "runaways." April 13 1967. (Thanks to Chris Nicholson for cleaning this old slide).