* Bamford
By great good fortune, I decided to travel back home not via Sheffield and Millhouses, but to take the slightly longer, and more scenic, route back via Owler Bar, Totley Moss and HAthersage, to come back through Bamford. It was a good job I did as, glancing down onto the Hope VAlley line as it passes under BAmford Station bridge, I notice as 'clutch' of 'orange-jackets' working on the line at the end of the platform. Hastening down, as it looked like they were clearing up, the first thing to notice was at last there was some traction about the place, albeit parked up with its engine off. At this end is D.B.C. class 66 in old E.W.S. maroon and yellow livery, 66139 whilst further along, just to be seen in this upper left shot, was red liveried DBC 66149. As can be seen from this shot and the one to the lower right, the civil engineering train, consisting of a long rake of old, JNA-type box wagons, was strung out along the line, passing over the River Derwent Bridge in the background and continuing on to what was a failed loco, 66169, at the back.. A rescue had been organised as the working would be leaving later, heading back to the west, heading wrong line back to Earles SIdings then right-line to Crewe. At upper right, the work area at the end of platform 2 with what appears to be a lot of tidying up in place, this outfit had been dealing with the lineside drainage culverts and today's effort was over, so I was informed. At lower left, the 'STOP' boards are in place all along the lines towards Grindleford Station in the distance under the bridge and the work on the loop line also appears to have now taken off. This loop line is to allow slower moving freight traffic from Castleton or Peak Forest further west, to be sidelined, allowing faster passenger service to push ahead. This is all part of the work which is now on-going at Dore Station to proved better passenger access onto what will be a double-track layout from the east of Totley Box, right into the remodelled station. Finally, at lower right, with Grindleford's MAS signal, GD12, shining with a red aspect prohibiting moves to the west, three interested on-lookers peer over the bridge wall, probably wondering what I and the 'rest of the crew' are doing; I am trying to keep out of the way but making sure I don't stymie the on-going chat with the guy in charge and who was most informative and accommodating. The train got rescued later that afternoon...
