** This is a 2m 55s video, so can be viewed to the full in the Flickr interface, the limit now being 10 minutes ...
Another 2-day session on the GCR line around Rotherham both south towards Templeborough and Tinsley and north at the old GCR Kilnhurst and Swinton station sites, the latter locations having almost nothing left to identify there ever were stations here. It was a jaunt over 2 days, on the first with Adrian Wynn who was taking additional shots for the 'A day Trip to Swinton' to be published shortly on his blog, and the following day, alone, to get some additional material, i.e., passage of the 'Exol Pride' oil barge which, unfortunately, didn't come by on that day; though its position close to Goole made me think it would and it passed on the following day, Thursday July 4th July. The weather on both days was somewhat challenging in terms of stark light when looking south around the times the walk-by took place, before and after mid-day, so the shots here in this, thankfully, short video, have been filtered to moderate the worst cases... It turned out to be Serendipitous, in a way, that on the second day, 3 freights got 'stuck' on the triple track section at the Kilnhurst Goods Loop, with one freight in the loop and one at either end of the section, awaiting passage to Doncaster in the north and on through Aldwarke Junction, south to Mountsorrel, the one in the loop was also heading north to the Doncaster iPort. In addition to all this, a move on both days along the GCR line through Rotherham Central by Freightliner's working from Dewsbury to the Hope Valley and finally passage of the 'Turbostar' passenger service to and from Bridlington, which comes through Kilnhurst once each way at lunchtime only.
Working south to north on both days, the first location was Bessemer Way over both the River Don and the GCR line, no accommodating the Sheffield Tram/Train system of course and which runs behind the Magna Science Adventure Centre. From there, to the Kilnhurst Station site, right next to the Sheffield & South Yorkshire Navigation and the location of one of the areas now defunct pubs, 'The Ship Inn'. Just a little further north from there, the site of the GCR's old Swinton Station, again close to the banks of the canal and, on the right of the station a short way off, the site of the Mexborough Engine Shed.
On the second day, a similar jaunt but his time taking in the the scene closer to Tinsley at Lock Lane with the Dewsbury again coming along the GCR line rather than the Midland Main and another shot of one of the Sheffield Tram/Train units, heading back into the City. In addition some pictures of the now on-going demolition of part of the buildings of one of the old-time heavy industries here, 'Darwins Fitzwilliam Works Ltd.'; it looks like its just the end section which is being cleared away.. From there back to the area of the Waddington's Boat Yard, south of the Swinton Central station site with yet another passage of the lunchtime 'Turbostar'. And following on from that, and an hour later, which almost didn't happen as it was deemed too long to wait for just one freight... but in the event, two others managed to get into the same area at the same time and made things look much more interesting. A very much delayed 'Turbostar' also came by during this hour's wait, have being halted at Doncaster for some reason for over an hour. Finally, quickly decamping the short distance back to the south and the GCR's Kilnhurst Station site once more, where a working, having been halted at Masbrough north, possibly for the same reason the other 3 seemed to have got 'stuck' at the Kilnhurst Goods loop area for 10-15 minutes, comes slowly along, preparing to stop at the main loop signal, S0718.
The Details.
The G.C.R. Part One.
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* Bessemer Way, Templeborough.
Freightliner class 66, 66615, comes along from Rotherham Central, passing under the 'Old Road' and passing both the Templeborough Biomass Plant and Firth-Rixon on the right on the 6M89, Dewsbury Blue Circle to Hope Earles Sidings, working. The area at either side of the bridge here is now cluttered with the OHL equipment of the Sheffield Tram/Train system and this is really the only aspect which is at least reasonable now, to avoid the impact if the metalwork in the picture. On passing under Bessemer Way, 66615 started slowing for signal W0201, which takes the working off the double-track section and onto the single line through the lower Don Valley. In fact the track diagram indicated that a Tram/Train had just left Tinsley/Meadowhall and was heading towards the camera, the freight had therefore been halted awaiting a clear passage onto the single line section. In the last of the 3 pictures from this location, the signal has changed to green, the Freightliner has moved off around the corner past the Magna Science Adventure Centre and the local Tram/Train service, 2A34, with class 399, 399203 in charge is working the Sheffield Cathedral to Parkgate service through Rotherham Central.
* Kilnhurst Station Site, 1.
Moving north on this first of the two days and just after arrival at the old Kilnhurst Station site, and poking the camera over the wall, Freightliner, class 66 number unknown, can be seen on the curve around to Thrybergh Junction, waiting at the S0721 signal, on the 6X73, Doncaster Up Decoy to Toton T.M.D., 'rails train'. Looking around the area, it quickly became clear that the pub, right next to both the rail formation and the canal, the rails sandwiched between the pub and the canal, was most definitely 'closed'. 'Centurion' the owners are apparently seeking planning permission to convert the pub, i.e. demolish and rebuild I expect, to residential properties and this venue, although called the 'Ship Inn', it must be many a day since it last saw any 'ship' travelling customers. The platform access for the GC's Kilnhurst Station was via the steps, seen next to the passing yellow cement truck, from the road down to the far side of the pub, or so sayeth the local authority in the business next door, behind the camera, from where all this information was gleaned. Some excavation has also taken place recently, with debris left around between the pub side and the road bridge and in addition, the car park was half full of black plastic bags full of rubbish recently, collected from Centurion's other sites in the area; it was eventually removed using skips, thankfully. A local boat cruiser passes the site heading towards the Kilnhurst & Aldwarke locks just ahead around the corner, the signal on the left is S0718, with feather for divergence into the goods loop under the bridge behind the camera.
* Swinton Station Site, 1.
The GCR's station was also sandwiched between the canal on the far left and their rail formation next to it and to the right of the station site, just about where the rear of the receding 'Turbostar' is passing, now marked by new, grey industrial units, was the site of the Mexborough Engine Shed, built and operated by the LNER its shed code was 36B then, from 1958, 41F. Northern Rail, class 170, 170472, passes north towards Mexborough on the 1W45, Sheffield to Bridlington service. In the distance, to the left of the unit, the canal passes under both the GCR's old, disused bridge, once connecting the line to Wath Yard and a few yards beyond that, the second bridge, carrying Midland Metals from the Swinton Interchange direction, and to which the GC line will join, outside Mexborough Station, just ahead, around the corner. Looking to the south from the road access into the now busy industrial estate, the GCR's main lines, down on the left and up on the right are on the left of the picture, the up goods loop joining the main line just around the bend in the distance, and on the right, 3 barges, 'Resilience', 'Gamma' & 'George Dyson', belonging to Waddingtons Boatyard at Swinton, can be seen anchored up in the canal. In the right foreground, what looks like a pair of dredging barges belonging to the Water Authority, can be seen tied up on the bank side.
The G.C.R. Part Two.
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* Lock Lane, Tinsley.
On the second outing, alone this time, the action starts back on the southern section of the GCR's line, this time in the at Lock Lane area at Tinsley with the 1st view showing the work going on to remove one of the sections of the Darwins building. Once more again on this day, the Cement Train is taking the 'back road' rather than the Midland Main line into and through Sheffield, with an aptly named loco on the working today, 'The Hope Valley', 66601 on yet again, 6M89, with another empty rake of PCA tanks, heading for the Earles Sidings at Castleton, from the Dewsbury Blue Circle Cement Works; FYI, 'PCA' stands for, P=Privately owned, C=material, cement? and A=indicates an Air braked wagon. On the left, western side, of the picture, the large, & colourful, Tinsley Biomass plant can be seen, right next to the relatively new, Blackburn Meadows Way under which, the quietly flowing River Don heads towards its namesake, Doncaster and on to the Humber Estuary. The diminutive Lock Lane bridge is in the right corner, once carrying a line into the Cohens Scrapyard to the far left. At the other side of the bridge, a few minutes after the Freightliner had cleared the section, the now regular services of the Sheffield Tram/Train service, this one 399201 heads back to the centre of Sheffield via the Tinsley/Meadowhall tram stop, on the 2A35 service from Parkgate. A 'Big & Massive' HGV heads south on the top deck, the M1, of the Tinsley viaduct, the outlet's name saying it all about the bridge crossing the Tinsley valley; though the double deck road wasn't a 'Bargain'. More demolition of the local industrial heritage is underway, this time it looks like the older part of the Darwins Fitzwilliam Works Ltd. building, is being taken down at the eastern end of the works site. Although, looking at the pictures gain, it may just be possible that only the inside is being removed with the outside shell maybe undergoing a 'make-over'; time will tell.
* Swinton Station Site, 2.
Day 2, location 2, and back at the Swinton Station site, the first shot sees another of the recently introduced Northern Rail services, this one 1W45 again, one of the only two runs which pass along the GCR line during the day. Today its 170474 and heading north to Doncaster running on the service from Sheffield with stops at Meadowhall, Doncaster, Goole, Brough, Hull, Cottingham, Beverley, Arram, Hutton Cranswick, Driffield, Nafferton, but not Carnaby and finally Bridlington; taking two hours and twenty minutes. On the right, the Swinton Lock Activity Centre boat glides by heading towards its base just beyond the Waddingtons' barges, 'Resilience', 'Gamma' & 'George Dyson'. 140474 is seen in the second picture, heading on to the single track section towards and straight through Mexborough Station. A view over the canal towards Swinton and the new-build industrial structures which have arisen in recent years behind the site, along the canal bank, of the 'Don Pottery 1801-1893' as it states on a plaque on the road bridge where these shots were taken. The pottery extended from the asbestos-roofed building in the left corner and all along the land at the side of the canal to the GC's rail bridge, now disused, in the distance just visible at this time of year, between the two lines of trees. Its possible that the stone buildings on the bank-side are remnants of the pottery buildings and look in good condition, the grey asbestos roofs are another matter The next passenger working to come along here, and expected well before this time, 13:31 during the period of waiting for the expected trio of freights which were due around 2pm, the 170 is seen now passing, having 'paused' at Doncaster for over an hour. This is the 62 minute delayed, for an unspecified reason, 1J45, Bridlington to Sheffield service with Northern Rail class 170, 170458 in charge. The train sat alongside platform 3a/3b at Doncaster and there was no subsequent indication of the problem and fortunately for me, it filled in the hour waiting for the expected freights, coming through the area at around 2pm, which the next shots now show. Two workings both GBRf hauled, came into the area at about the same time, one from the south, 4E34, from the Southampton Western Docks and heading to Doncaster and the other from Doncaster, 6M23, and heading to the Mountsorrel sidings near Leicester. The one shown in the first of the series is the 6M23, with 66741, 'Swanage Railway', hauling a rake of 18 empty, Network Rail yellow MBA, Monster Box Wagons. The 'Swinton Lock Activity Centre' fortuitously passes by at approximately the same time and was useful in determining where the 'Exol Pride' oil barge may be located; unfortunately it was due through the following day! Watching the RailCam track diagram it showed the south-bound GBRf went through on the down line and was halted half-way along at signal S0717, waiting for the Southampton move, 4E34 to come through. It came along the up line, having also been halted briefly, from signal S0718, with feather illuminated for the loop, and went along the up line a to cross into the goods loop and then stop at Signal S0712 with the up line between the pair of them. Further south, at MAsbrough north, the track diagram showed that yet another GBRf freight was waiting to come through here and now, all three of them sat waiting, for around 10 minutes or so, and it was intriguing to see what would happen first.. The next in the series of shots shows the Southampton slowly approaching the road over-bridge, having been released from the Kilnhurst Goods loop by signal S0712, the loop signal and S0706, the loop exit signal. 6M23 had got under way also and it was heading south towards Thrybergh and Aldwarke to then head along the 'Old Road, south to Mountsorrel. Here, GBRf class 66, 66720, in what turned out to be what I describe as 'LGBT colours/livery' or 'extended-Rainbow Livery' is on the 4E34, Southampton Western Docks to the Doncaster iPort Terminal running along side the Sheffield & South Yorkshire Navigation, just south of the Waddingtons boat yard at Swinton. The three final shots at the old GCR Swinton Station site, show the extent of the striking coloured livery on the 'Shed' with its long rake, 29 or so, of container traffic, led by 'Yang Ming' and followed, towards the back, in matching colour scheme, a pink liveried 'ONE', 'Ocean Network Express' container amongst the more drab looking brown variety.
* Kilnhurst Station Site, 2.
With the final of the trio of freights passing through this small area within about 30 minutes and this last one having been delayed at Masbrough north waiting for its path to Aldwarke Junction and then onto old GCR metals, enough time was available for the quick move back south, around 2kms, to the Kilnhurst Station site next to the 'Ship Inn'. The working was released onto the main line from Masbrough north, 13 minutes late, fortunately, at 14:26 and by that time the camera was well placed to see the action, though the stark light spoiled matters somewhat. The final three shots show the view with the now defunct, Thwaites 'Ship Inn' dominating the scene, as it does when this close to both the canal and railway formation. Another GBRf 'Shed', 66705, 'Golden Jubilee', enters the area, slowly approaching the S0718 signal with loop feather, un-illuminated, on the 7X20, Toton North Yard to Doncaster Up Decoy working. as can be seen, a very short train, with just a single RailCare-Sweden, RAUK-1 RailVac, On-Track BVES Finishing Machine, BVES being, Ballast Vacuum Extraction System, all in yellow. The previous day we were assured that there was a platform here, alongside the pub, with the steps leading down to it, from the road bridge and still in place, the platform and main station site having long gone of course. The space must have been tight to fit a platform in here but very handy for customers of the 'Ship' and with the canal just over the wall, maybe drinkers from the boats there as well; must have been quiet a heyday when the place was busy with water and rail-borne traffic. The handrail for the steps down to the platform from the road bridge is visible in the corner of the second shot but the access has long been blocked off on this and the the other side of the road, giving access to the other platform on the north side. The final shot shows the over-grown nature of the space between the station site and the canal, with possibly a vestige of an old signal-box telegraph post still extant; the box was located right next to the canal, at that location. The cross-over from one line to the other can be seen, for workings heading south but having used the goods loop, which occasionally happens, and on the far left, the goods loop itself. Here a half hour or so ago, the Southampton to Doncaster iPort working sat, at signal S0712, visible here with a yellow aspect showing on the left and, on the right, on the down line the Mountsorrel working was halted at S0717, the back of which is visible on the right, also awaiting time for the off to the south. These days, this sort of thing in this area is one of the aspects of the local rail system worth photographing, especially when several freight s are on-track and passing through at the same time; elsewhere, formations like this have been removed and it lends to far less interesting 'traction action'... 66705 headed straight through on the up main with its single RailVac, with a class 7 headcode, indicating an out-of-gauge working which from the last shot, looks to be partially correct.
