Whiston Incline 1979

Resource Type: Image | Posted on 28th October 2011 by Liam Physick

One of the images donated to Metal by Eric Shenton. Here we get a 1979 view of the steep Whiston Incline. Indeed, so steep was the Incline that it was initially assumed that locomotives would not be able to climb it without the assistance of fixed winding engines: work began on constructing an engine. However, at the Rainhill Trials, the Rocket proved itself capable of managing the Incline alone, and the winding engine was never completed, though the remains of its chimney base have survived. The cutting was widened so there could be sidings where an ascending locomotive could be detached from its train, and added to a train descending the Incline, to help the descending locomotive get down safely

Tagged under: liverpool and manchester railway, eric shenton, rocket, rainhill trials, fixed engines, whiston incline

Categorised under: Landmarks, Landscapes & Locomotives