Waterworks railway

In 1937 the Staffordshire Potteries Water Board gained authority for the erection of pumping stations at Peckforton and Tower Wood in Cheshire, with a reservoir on Bulkeley Hill, whence the water would gravitate to a large storage reservoir at Cooper’s Green near Audley, for distribution to
Tunstall and the Potteries.

Most of these enterprises were held up by the Second World War and it wasn't until 1953 that the Peckforton scheme and its linking aqueduct to Audley had been completed. There are two boreholes where water is pumped from the Sherwood Sandstone aquifer which is near to the surface: Close to the Coppermine Inn (three pumping stations) and at Peckforton Gap. There is a holding reservoir at the Gap, from where water is pumped up 110 metres to a covered reservoir on Bulkeley Hill at 210 metres above sea level. From there a 27 inch steel pipe feeds the water under gravity to the reservoir at Cooper’s Green, Audley, 140 metres asl.

The Bulkeley Hill railway was the hauled tramway used in the construction of the Bulkeley Hill reservoir and water main, including a massive anti-surge valve at the top of the tramway. There are foundations for a haulage angine at the top of the line. The climb up the track is approximately 105 metres of ascent. The tramway is on the route of the main supplying the water to the Potteries. This view is looking downhill from the top of the line.