On the trail of Samson...

On the trail of Samson…

On the trail of Samson… The tramway from Whitfield Brow to Cornish Hush mine.
I have mentioned the London Lead Company’s little Stephen Lewin locomotive ‘Samson’, built in 1874 and thought to have been removed for scrap in circa 1904, in this blog previously as a project that lends itself admirably to building a replica of this two-ton steam locomotive. As previously described, it operated over the one mile tramway from Whitfield Brow to Cornish Hush mine.  The route today is still largely visible and a recent outing to retrace Samson’s steps (or rather his tracks) proved to be very interesting and shows just how well a railway trackbed can survive when almost all of the surrounding industrial archaeology is obscured or removed.
Below: Firstly, a reminder of what Samson looks like, seen here facing, I believe, south, therefore pointing up the valley towards the mine at Cornish Hush.  Why do I think this?  Two reasons –  firstly the lay of the land behind, with an escarpment in the background of the photograph.  Secondly, it would be sensible to point the engine uphill for reasons of keeping the firebox crown covered with water when the nose of the engine is high.  This would therefore suggest the engine is waiting to return a train of empty waggons to the mine.  The location, however, remains something of a mystery, likewise the difference in height between the railway and the crushing plant at Whitfield Brow.
Below: So, starting the walk southwards along the well made track.  This road is a later addition (possibly connected with later mineral extraction of flourspar in the area carried out in 1971 – 72?).  In the distance is a spoil embankment, on top of which Samson’s tramway (to use the commonly used term, both locally and by Stephen Lewin in his publicity material relating to the locomotive).  This shows the relatively short run made by the locomotive, of about one mile.

Below: Looking left (or east) from the previous scene, the trackbed of the tramway is visible.  It follows the line where the change in vegetation appears.

Below: Though the tramway was contour hugging, there were a number of locations where it required widening and embankments creating, such as this example made of stone waste laid at angles.

Below: A view from the mouth of Cornish Hush mine.  To the right is a spoil heap that has eroded and slipped.  The Howden Burn (stream) runs to the bottom of this and down towards (and under) the road, which can be seen curving then running into the distance.  The route of the tramway can be followed from the top of the waste, along the hilldise and then defined by the previously seen change in vegetation.

Below: This is the tramway’s equivalent of the Ffestiniog Railway’s Cei-Mawr embankment!  A substantial and now quite precarious tipped embankment straddling a tributury, the Hawkwood Burn, and associated side valley.  A culvert runs through the base, but the recent rains have caused this land slip which has also covered the access road.  The burn can be seen running through the base of the embankment – surely now only a matter of time before it has a major failure?

Below: The stormwaters brought about a rather nice discovery.  This ‘T’ section of rail had been left projecting from a slipped waste tip at the point the tramway arrives at the mine entrance.  Some other rails were evident but were of ‘I’ section and in once case were of the Hudson Jubilee type of track – much later in date than the tramway (which is presumed to have closed around 1900).  This rail is wrought iron, as the laminations in the structure reveal.  It is therefore almost certainly contemporary with the original tramway.

Below: Even better – the rail still had a chair attached, which after cleaning up looked like this…  Another, wider, chair was encrusted to one end of the rail and showed the method of joining rails by placing the corresponding ends into a common chair. Given the location on the route of the tramway it seems highly likely that Samson itself ran over this rail…

Below: Walking back along the tramway, the route is clear to see.  It is of simple and cheap construction, with scattered waste being used to form embankments where needed – this one being the one shown earlier, but seen here from the tramway’s aspect, looking south.

Below: This is the sort of view that makes the observer want to relay the tramway and run a replica of Samson along it!  Typical of much of the route, it has been softened by over a century of weathering, but is still clear to see.

Below: Back at the bottom where the crushing plant and flats were located, with waste tips in the background and a parking area to the left.  The tramway came in on the contour above the tips – so presumbably the rocks were tipped and worked their way through the processes by gravity?  The road passes through this spot, enabling onward distribution of the lead.  A building, apparently the remains of a blacksmiths, remains above this view, to the right, along with a row of stone cottages.

The tramway makes for a fascinating few hours explanation and further study of the area seen in the above photograph would help to explain the processes and the manner in which the system operated – but that is something for another (and sunnier!) day…
For those interested in exploring the tramway, the car park shown is at NZ 007 350 with the private road running south from this location – the 1:25 000 OS Map OL31 North Pennines Teesdale & Weardale shows the private road clearly, the tramway being to the east some 30 yards up the hillside.