Middleton Top is the last surviving complete winding engine house built by the Cromford & High Peak Railway Co and still contains its original pair of beam engines, built by the Butterley Company in 1829, together with its boilers and imposing chimney.

The winding engine at Middleton Top was the third one from the beginning of the line at High Peak Wharf on the Cromford Canal. The first two inclines achieved rises of 204 feet and 261 feet and Middleton lifted the line a further 253 feet to nearly 1,000 feet above sea level – and all in the distance of three and a half miles. Two more shallower inclines took the railway to its summit of 1,266 feet (990 feet above Cromford canal) before commencing its descent towards Whaley Bridge. Middleton incline was just over 700 yards long at an angle of 1 in 8¼, similar to the first two.

Middleton Top 2026 Winding Engine open days are as follows:

April 2026
Easter Saturday 4th
Easter Sunday 5th

May 2026
Early Bank Holiday Sunday 3rd
Early Bank Holiday Monday 4th
Late Bank Holiday Sunday 24th
Late Bank Holiday Monday 25th

June 2026
Sunday 14th
Sunday 21st Fathers day
Sunday 28th

July 2026
Sunday 5th
Sunday 12th
Sunday 19th
Sunday 26th

August 2026
Sunday 2nd
Sunday 9th
Sunday 16th
Sunday 23rd
Sunday 30th
Bank Holiday Monday 31st

September 2026
Sunday 13th

October 2026
Sunday 4th
Sunday 25th