SecretLeeds - History, culture and architecture in Leeds

First time today riding down the old poole bank road.Steep descent to an old railway bridge showing where the otley branch line ran. On the right a small estate below a quarry face - Poole station as was.A tramway from the station yard hugged the quarry edge and steeply ran up to cross the Leeds road at the toll bar house- bridge abutments are there and been mentioned before.But my that Tramway is steep - how was it run with such a long steep gradient?

I've never been down Old Pool Bank, but I've walked from Otley Road to Far Row Cottages on Cabin Road, where the tramway passed by.I have a book called "The Otley and Ilkley Joint Railway" by F W Smith and Martin Bairstow (1992) and I think this excerpt will answer your question:By an agreement dated 26 March 1879, the North Eastern Railway undertook to provide a loading stage and crane in the down sidings at Pool Station for the benefit of Whittaker & Co, owners of Pool Quarry, just under a mile away.The Quarry was some 300 feet above the level of the NER. The narrow gauge Quarry Railway, which opened in 1880, utilised an incline, some 650 yards in length, in order to overcome the height difference.The incline was worked by gravity with a passing loop at the half way point. Loaded wagons coming down would more than counter balance the empties going back up. The cable brake drum was situated near Far Row Cottages. The remaining half mile from Far Row to the Quarry was comparatively level and worked by horses.In 1880, the upper part of the incline was realigned to a new summit at the south end of Far Row Cottages. There was a short rock cutting some 100 yards below the incline top. The rest of the railway was relaid on a completely new alignment slightly higher up the hillside but approximately parallel with the old track. A new wrought iron girder bridge was provided over the Otley Road. Weighing 20 tons, it was supported by substantial stone abutments and a central pier.By about 1895, a small 0-4-0 tank engine was working on the upper part of the line. Painted green and black, it is thought to have been purchased new from the Leeds firm of Hudswell Clarke. It was replaced in 1910 by an 0-4-0 saddle tank called "Lead". This appeared in maroon livery fully lined out in black. It is believed to have come second hand from Lancashire. It arrived at Pool Station on a low wagon. After unloading it was attached to the cable and hauled up the incline as a number of loaded wagons came down. Men with pinch bars were needed to assist the slow progress up the 1 in 6.Activity at the Quarry was at its peak in the early years of this century when over 100 men were employed. The outbreak of the First World War brought about a major cancellation of orders and the Quarry closed during 1915. All the machinery, railway and the engine "Lead" went for scrap during 1917. The bridge over the Otley Road somehow survived in situ until it was clamed for scrap during the Second World War. It was dismantled by GW Butler Ltd on Sunday 25 May 1941 when the road was closed during the four hour operation.            

Tasa wrote: I have a book called "The Otley and Ilkley Joint Railway" by F W Smith and Martin Bairstow (1992) and I think this excerpt will answer your question: brilliant thank you ever so much.....