** THORNHILL
* The sixth in a series of 'look-back' mosaics using pictures recently made available to me from Adrian Wynn's archive.
Regarding Adrian Wynn's picture collection.
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22/2/23
Note: I am currently seeking the higher resolution material from Adrian's photographic collection, both negative and digital. His partner, Annie, has offered to let me use them as I wish, and I hope she is able to find this material in Adrian's extensive collection.
26/2/23
This has now occured and I have both her permission to use original PSD files and negatives and so I have therefore up-dated the mosaic material here, with the higher resolution originals. Our meeting also resulted in my both getting some of Adrian's collected negatives and his digital camera files, from over the last 40 & 20 years respectively, and agreement to use them with due credit to him, which is what I always do here of course.
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A tricky choice here. Adrian's negative collection included only 1 shot from the past at Thornhill, as far as I have got with the material that is, but there is unlikely to be anything more.. In addition, to put to good use a couple more of the negatives, this time not on the Midland Main LIne, as seen in these images, but now on the 'Old Road' south of Rotherham, in the Beighton area. This 2nd section of part 6 'Windows in the Past', has a better selection of shots available and in fact, another set will be forth-coming in the Beighton area, but just south of there at Holbrook, next to the signalbox and colliery lines. This therefore appeared to be the most consistent way to time the 3 sets of images together, 2 sets here and a second part later dealing more with the colliery aspect.
For now, the quartet starts, at upper left, with a scan of a rather good negative, featuring class 37,m
So, this part 6 offering of the 'Window on the Past' offers, at upper left, a grand shot of the scene in the Thornhill area, north of Rotherham, all 4 views being taken from the long-standing, 'Primrose Bridge', though its not reminiscent of a bunch of primroses any more. The lower shot in the 'past' pictures, isn't one of Adrian's negatives but is included here as it closely matches the scene quite well; both of these are in the, 'photographers unknown' category. The upper and lower right-hand shots are my own which most reflect the scene shown in the past pictures at left, but as it looked in July 2015, upper and in February, 10 years ago, in 2013, in the lower shot. As may be seen from this shot, the railway formation at that time was much more interesting with two double-track sections, goods on the left, passenger on the right, and to the left of the oil train, the goods line which ran up from behind Masbrough Station. Interestingly, this line was built to connect the Earl Fitzwilliam collieries at Greasbrough, once connected by canal barge, with the newly developing North Midland railway system, allowing much faster, and cheaper, transport for the mined coal. A stub of the Greasbrough Canal remains at Parkgate, and this has featured in a 'Then & Now' piece here, a while ago, see-
www.flickr.com/photos/daohaiku/31235445146/
and a video of the rest of the material, here-
www.flickr.com/photos/daohaiku/31163484126/
the mosaic on Stubbin Colliery is here-
www.flickr.com/photos/daohaiku/30377081664/
Presumably, if the train here is following contemporary movements, then this could well be the 'full oils' from the Lindsey Oil Refinery at Immingham, en-route for processing at the Kingsbury Oil Sidings near Tamworth, with around 10 TEA type tank wagons. The present day version hasn't run on this particular, now Sunday diagram, the 6M57 working, with Colas Rail class 60, hauling a rake of contemporary TEA's with a full load of normally, 3200 tonnes, for a while; though a more easterly route is now used in the week, setting out at around 07:02. However, in the past in this area, both the north and south-bound Sunday afternoon moves can be seen here, photographed at Swinton Interchange in February 2016, with 60044, the south-bound on the full-oils at right, whilst passing it, heading north on the empties, 6E68, is 60020-
www.flickr.com/photos/imarch1/49556957842/
You will note that the south-bound move has oil tanks in a similar state to the ones shown here!
Three years later, in March, 2019, and further south at Treeton Junction, just the south-bound move, with 60059, here-
www.flickr.com/photos/daohaiku/33536960428/
and finally, the TEA oil tank map, can be seen on the following map here-
www.revolutiontrains.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/TEA_m...
The surrounding terrain in the earlier picture seen here, from around the 1970s/80s I expect shows the industry which existed, above the loco, I. & I. Walker Ltd, Effingham Mills, manufacturers of foundry requisites, between 1870s-1975. Poking out of the roof of their building at the back on the far left, is the only remaining structure still present on the site and it can, just, be seen in the contemporary picture, from July 2015, at top right, between the large mound of piled up dirt and the roof of Walker's old building, above the front of Freightliner 70006. The double-yellow signal, S0629, for the up line northwards indicates there is an approaching train on the passenger line, the left lines being the goods lines and the right, the passenger lines; the north-bound goods line signal is also showing double-yellow. The I. & I. Walker's building doesn't look as if its going to stand much longer, nor possibly, the building behind it. The area and signalling and track formation have all changed out of all recognition, the goods lines have been lifted, the signalling has changed to two-head, 4-aspect LED type, now designated S0427 on the signalling diagram and a new, stone reprocessing business, now occupies the land behind 37098.
Some information about 37098-
Was released from English Electric Vulcan Foundry - Works Number EE/VF3227/D752 in 1962 as D6798. First Allocated to Darnall, it was finally scrapped, by H.N.R.C. (Harry Needle Railway Company) in May 2002.
To the upper right is my, almost, contemporary picture, taken in July, 2015 showing the passage north of a light engine working, operated by Freightliner, class 70, 70006, on the Stoke Gifford to Leeds Balm Road, 0xxx, working. As just mentioned, the scene in the background has changed dramatically, with just the tower of the the old I. & I. Walker building standing out to the left of the green corrugated replacement building. Vegetation has become rampant all over, with the old goods lines now a barren wasteland of weeds and various bits of railway detritus. To add a bit of extra interest on this day, 3rd July, 2015 at around 12:19, 'West Coast Railway Company' charter, the 'Northern Belle', heads south with a class 57, 57313, 'Tracy Island' leading on the front and the rear, 57314, 'Firefly' on the 1Z22, 'Saltburn to Weston-Super-Mare' charter working on this fine warm July day... The signalling is now two-head, 4-aspect LED type, S0427, the fast passenger services operated by H.S.T. type traction have maximum line-speeds of 100m.p.h and the freight workings have to fit in with the new order; unlike the older scene, palisade fencing has now become ubiquitous.
At lower left, and not part of the 'stable' of Wynn purchased negatives, the scene in this one looks much the same as the one above it, though clearly now, the traction, _very_ pre-1967; in fact I just noticed the name indicates November, 1961. The I. & I. Walker Ltd, Effingham Mills building looks in a better state, the name poking out of the top behind the tender of one of Stanier's Jubilees, this one 45579, 'Punjab', heading north on a passenger turn?, along the up goods line. The 1st coach looks like it has seen better days and the 1st window is open which must mean its a bit 'brisk' inside for this early November day... Just beyond the small building of I. & I. Walker, is the massive Car House Colliery & GAsworks, extending north and north-east, parallel to the Midland line and marks the start of the huge industrial complex of Park Gate & Aldwarke, with its mines and iron & steel industries. Some information about Jubilee, 45579-
Designer: W. Stanier
Class: 6P
Company: LMS
Rebuild: Class 'Jubilee' from 29/09/1934
Wheels: 4-6-0
Builder: North British Locomotive Company, Glasgow
Order Number: L885
Works Number: 24137
To Service: Sat 29/09/1934
Withdrawal: Sat 15/08/1964
Service Life: 29y, 10m, 17d
Disposal: Scrapped during November 1964 at Cashmore's (Great Bridge)
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Shed Allocation for this loco-
Code Name From Date
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(New) on 29/09/1934
29F Aberdeen Ferryhill 4w/e 02/11/1935
12A Carlisle Kingmoor on 01/01/1948 (Snapshot)
66A Polmadie 3w/e 22/04/1950
14B Kentish Town 4w/e 06/09/1952
14B Kentish Town 4w/e 04/10/1952
21A Saltley w/e 04/03/1961
17B Burton w/e 18/11/1961
17A Derby w/e 22/06/1963
Withdrawn on 15/08/1964
At lower right, my corresponding passenger stock picture, this one taken almost 10 years ago, on 4th February, 2013 and shows a 'Cross Country Trains', class 220, 'Voyager', now heading north on the up main line, on the regular 1E32, Reading to Newcastle service; this now being one of only two lines remaining. This is part of the narrative, accompanying the picture at that time...
'...Part of the sequence of pictures showing what the weather was up to, it appears this odd behaviour is continuing as it was thundering and lightning here last night, then sleet and this morning, heavy, brief flurries of snow, set to continue and possibly get more pronounced by 2pm. Here a Cross Country Voyager is heading north on to the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow which heralded not gold but sleet which arrived shortly after. Cross Country 'Voyager' is here running to time...'
The site at left has been cleared and there is now a stone re-processing plant, as at many other locations in this area these days, the building/shed foot-print conforms to the old I. & I. Walker red-brick building, but the only part of the site which remains, seen in the left two pictures, is the re-brick building behind with its small tower atop the roof, all now surrounded by heavy plant machinery, huge heaps of crushed stone, spoil and other what-not...Beyond this, on the north-east of the line, and on the other side, there is much new industrial re-development and all the old order has been swept away, Park GAte & Aldwarke SteelWorks however survive and are, just about, still thriving...
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Note: The older Flickr sites which I still maintain are here-
Old Image Archive sites are, no.2-
www.flickr.com/photos/imarch2/52965254622/
Older pictures than this are on the other, Image Archive no.1, site, see-
www.flickr.com/photos/imarch1/
The original site, which was 'cleared out' in January, 2020, is here-
www.flickr.com/photos/daohaiku
