Phil's photos with the keyword: Leicester

This single-cylinder, steam-powered static winding engine was originally used on the Leicester and Swannington Railway, near the city of Leicester, UK. The low power of contemporary steam engines meant that where the gradient was steepest, locomotive haulage gave way to other means. As was common in those days, there were two inclines on the line: one at Bagworth, rising at 1 in 29 towards Swannington and worked by gravity; and a much steeper though shorter one at the Swannington end, descending at 1 in 17 and worked by a stationary engine . The latter was built by the Horsely Coal and Iron Company, and was equipped with a very early example of a piston valve. The pits at the Swannington end were worked out by as early as 1875, but the incline found a new lease of life lowering wagons of coal to a new pumping station at the foot that kept the old workings clear of water, so preventing flooding in the newer mines nearby. The incline closed in 1948 when electric pumps were installed in the pumping station, but the winding engine was dismantled and is now at the National Railway Museum at York. The site of the incline now belongs to the Swannington Heritage Trust. (Wikipedia).