I lived in Shropshire for 15 years. Your excellent posts remind me of so many beautiful walks we did in this gorgeous county. I love your attention to detail.
By all means point out factual errors but I wish more people would realise that this guy makes videos to share his love of these old railways and does so very effectively. He isn't trying to be slick and is all the better for it.
I live in Ludlow and always wondered where the clee hill to Ludlow route was - thanks for this! just wish I could travel back in time and see the line in full operation!!
Great Video. A walk I have done many times. My grandfather, Joe Brown, was a set maker at the quarry. All through the late fifties and early sixties, I would spend the whole of the summer holidays with him and grandmother Gladys. They lived in Prospect Cottage, an isolated smallholding on the line. Grandad knew the train driver that went from the top of the incline to and from the quarry. At the start of the day I would be put on the footplate and dropped off at teatime. What an experience for a train mad 10 year old. The whole area was a very close knit community of hardworking hard men. As I get older I am drawn back to the area, its in your blood. Thanks again. Les Brown
Fascinating. Took an interest in 'Clee Hill in Shropshire' aged 12 when I read about an airmiss between two Boeing 747s overflying the VOR on top of it which features in 'The Unsafe Sky' by William Norris. Never been there so I was glued to this seeing Clee Hill in the title. Still got the book too all these years later (I am now 45!)
I love these videos. I could easily spend a weekend (perhaps even longer🤫) walking these old disused railway routes. Perhaps i need help, but who cares😃
There are only three rails going up the hill on the winding section at 5' 50", how did that work? Wagons could't pass each other so why not just have one normal track? Oh yeah can I also moan about bridges not being viaducts? :) Interesting vid though, as they all are, fascinating stuff!
Interesting video. I remember going on a coach trip to Wales back in the 1950's, and the coach went past the quarry on top of Clee Hill. As a former trainspotter I was overjoyed to see No 1142 shunting wagons. Never thought I would see a loco up on Clee Hill least of all No 1142. I enjoy tracking old railway lines on Google satellite pictures. It's easy to see where the line ran by the abundance of trees that follow the stretch of line. Tracking the Wooferton to Bewdley line, a line I was very fond of in my youth, I noticed that a branch veers off to the right about a mile out of Wooferton. It only goes for a short distance to the River Teme, but there is no trace of it after that. Any idea what this branch was for, did it supply a factory/works, or was it an abandoned section destined for the Clee Hill.
A great video. Interesting views. I live close-by and know the lines at the top well but have never traced the route down to Ludlow. Just a point - there's a difference between 'mining' and 'quarrying'. There are no mine-shafts on the Clee hills merely quarries though I believe evidence of 'bell-pits' may be found where coal lies close to the surface.
I used to swim in the quarry pool, when you dived in there were four different colours the deeper you went, that’s how dirty the water was you kept your mouth shut at all times that was 56 years ago, I am an old hillbilly now with a lot of good times I had on the tump.....
The Bitterley to Clee-hill incline was in fact self acting I believe, so basically the loaded wagons going down pulled the empties up and the winding gear balanced the runs. The section from Bitterley to Clee-hill closed in 1960 after many derailments, and the section from Ludlow to Bitterley closed in 1962. I enjoyed a very nice brakevan ride up to Bitterley in 1962.
Yes, my auntie lived in the houses to the right of your pic.From her back garden you had a good view between the winding house an the top of the incline. If you go into Clee-Hill village today everyone still refers to the walk from the village to the dhustone houses as going across the line even tho most of them could never remember it working. The track from titterstone was narrow gauge and that was pulled up before WW11.
locos went no further than bitterley, sidings,it was inclines up the hills rope/wire hauled ,and locos took over again at the top,,the railway closed late 50s early 60s at the top where also marrow gauge lines ,rock, coal and lime was mined in the hills ,now around the other side of clee hill you had the ropeway to detton,and you had the cleobury and ditton priors railway which ran to bewdley
Hi Holden! I've recently found a great resource for old OS maps from before the 1960's, have a look at the National Library of Scotland's website, click on digital resources then on map images! brilliant tool for looking at lost railways! i stumbled across it when looking at inner town developments from 1850's to present day. Bart
Wow the old maps of Oakengates and Snedshill are impressive what with the Shrewsbury to Birmingham, the Coalport Branch and the sprawling mineral railway serving all the Ironworks, Brickworks, Furnaces and various Collieries etc. No wonder that Coalport Branch was busy for freight traffic I had no idea that all those sprawling lines connected to it even existed.
Don't think that signal was from the original line as you stated. I visited that property many times when Mrs Harris lived there and can't recall seeing it. In the video you can see a `beware of the trains' board in the garden also - obviously a rail memorabilia collector.
A lovely look at a lost past once again. Thought the quarry shots were very dramatic, though wouldnt want to have a swim lol. Some gradients there though...my my
you missed the glory hole at dhu stone at the top of a incline ,loading platform was still there in the 1980s ,good book on it called titterstone clee hills ISBN 0 9509274 0 6. the railway never actually went around clee hill village went between village and clee hill
Another interesting look at what is left of the disused lines in and around Shropshire. Just one minor 'gripe' Holden, but why do you refer to bridges as viaducts? A viaduct is defined as "a long 'bridge-like' structure, typically a series of arches, carrying a road or a railway across a valley or other low ground" You use this expression in all your videos.
I wondered about that too. Don't like to carp but one other thing; at 6:10 the narration refers to 172yds, while the text below the picture, briefly visible, clearly has 1720yds. Some might be misled. Very interesting video though, am following the walk on google earth.
HELLO, NICE to see when public transport was for all,oops no no no lets have british leyland for transport for all, oh and then tax all the cars and fuel and on and on,...
