Built to transport ironstone from the remote Rosedale East kilns to the blast furnaces of northern England, this 12-mile railway crosses beautifully high moorlands and drops into an incredible 1 in 5 gradient at Ingleby Incline.
The purpose-built branch line railway, completed by 1865, worked non-stop to transfer the ironstone from the mines and calcining kilns of Rosedale to the blast furnaces of Teesside. Inbound wagons brought coal and supplies to feed the kilns. But by 1929 the mines and calcining kilns had closed, crippled by overseas competition, economic difficulties and a reduction in the quality of ironstone at hand. The railway was taken up for salvage and the valley fell silent again. Today you can walk the railway route and take in the momentous view across the Rosedale valley, or if you are feeling adventurous hike up the steep Ingleby Incline to admire Teesside from the high moorland plateau.
