Sheep Pasture incline on the High Peak Trail, Cromford
The Sheep Pasture Incline runs from Junction beyond Cromford to Black Rocks, and has a gradient of 1 in 9. It is hard to imagine trains lumbering up this hill, but they were pulled by means of a cable winch from the engine house at the top.
Down in the bottom was a pit to catch runaways! This was constructed after an incident when a train leapt the railway and canal below!
The Cromford and High Peak railway was classed as part of the canal system, hence its reference to locks and wharfs along its 33 mile length. It linked the Cromford Canal with the Peak Forest Canal in the Derwent Valley and was one of the earliest railway systems, being constructed between 1825-1830.