The Excavation of Industrial Archaeological Sites

Abstract

When the Liverpool and Manchester Railway opened, the Wapping Tunnel incline between Liverpool docks and Edge Hill was operated by rope haulage. A self-tensioning continuous rope was installed, driven by engines supplied by Robert Stephenson and Co. These were housed in the prestigious houses that flanked the Moorish Arch. Excavation of the northern engine house and the rope haulage machinery system was undertaken during 1976-9. The walls of the engine house were found demolished into the cellar, from where tunnels led under the tracks to the boilers and a large hole which once contained the main drive pulleys. A long trench ran from this hole towards the Tunnel entrance and once contained the rope-tensioning gear. In addition to the excavation, information about the site was collated from contemporary published sources and the minutes of the railway directors. The correlation between all sources was high, and from the evidence it seems possible that in the cutting, George Stephenson devized a rope haulage system whose importance was only. overshadowed by the success of Rocket.