Blake Dean (above) was once spanned by an impressive viaduct.
The Walshaw Dean Reservoirs were built between 1900 and 1907 by Enoch Tempest who commisioned the Hardcastle Crags Railway to assist in their construction. Running up the west side of Hardcastle Crags, this three foot (90cm) guage steam railway crossed Blake Dean on an impressive 700 (210m) foot long trestle bridge some 105 feet (32m) above the stream. The bridge was dismantled in 1912 after it became unsafe but the stone supports can still be seen. Because of the large number of Irish workers employed on the railway and in the construction of the reservoirs the small steam locomotives were called Paddy Mails and the coaches were converted horse-tramcars from Liverpool.
Several photographs of the Hardcastle Crags Railway survive in the Packhorse Inn along with an architect's drawing of the Blake Dean Viaduct.
