Ingleby Incline
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Having recently passed the highest point on the North York Moors, Round Hill on Urra Moor at a height of 454 metres (1490ft) above sea level, walkers would hardy expect to be walking along the trackbed of an old railway line! But such is the case, and a short detour from the Cleveland Way offers a dramatic view down Ingleby Incline by which the railway gained access to the high tops. Opened to railway traffic in March 1861 the incline was an essential part of the Rosedale railway by which ironstone from the Rosedale mines was transported to the banks of the River Tees for processing.
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The tranquil valley of Rosedale lies almost at the centre of the North York Moors. Visiting today it is difficult to appreciate what a hive of industry this area was over 100 years ago. Mines along the valley slopes were producing large quantities of ore which was calcined (burnt) in kilns the remains of which can still be seen high up the sides of the valley. Also at this level are trackbeds of the railway systems of which the Ingleby Incline was a part.
Although ironstone had previously been worked in the area by mediaeval monks, it was not until the early 1850s that commercial exploitation began. Initially, small quantities of ore were transported down the valley by horse and cart. In 1861 a railway connecting the mines and calcining kilns at Bank Top on the west side of Rosedale had been constructed running for 11 miles along the moor top around the head of Farndale before descending the incline to Battersby. From here the calcined ore was transported to blast furnaces at Grosmont or Middlesbrough.
Ingleby Incline is nearly a mile in length with a gradient of 1 in 11 to 1 in 5. Three loaded ore wagons were lowered down the incline with the aid of wire ropes passing round huge drums. The loaded descending wagons pulled up a set of empty ones at a speed of 20 mph, the journey taking about three minutes.
In spite of catch-points being installed at the top and bottom of the incline there were numerous accidents during the course of its lifetime. Runaway wagons gained a considerable speed as they descended, often smashing into the buildings at the bottom.
The First World War brought about a reduction in iron mining in North East Yorkshire and this, coupled with the import of high quality foreign ores led to the closure of the Rosedale mines in 1926. The last train was lowered down Ingleby Incline on 8 th June 1929; the railway was officially closed five days later.
As you walk this short stretch of trackway, perhaps in poor weather, spare a thought for those early workers who toiled here in all conditions throughout the year to bring industry to Teesside and prosperity to a remote moorland valley.