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The next two, light engine moves, came past in quick succession and rather unusually, these regular lunchtime moves were both down-graded from a class 6 to class 0, both light engines. Both class 6 locomotives, on the left, in DBC red the 6X01, now 0X01, 66009, on the Scunthorpe Trent T.C. to Eastleigh East Yard, 'Rails Train', today, with no rails. On the right following 20 minutes later the second light engine move, this time the other lunchtime south-bound run, a GBRf class 66, 66776, 'Joanne' on the 6M73, now down-graded to 0M73, the Doncaster Up Decoy to Toton North Yard working. Both locos are seen passing the 'pile of red-bricks', which is now all that remains of the Woodhouse Mill railway station; it always amazes me how just bits of the old infrastructure, swept away over the last 50 years or more, are left at the lineside when all the other materials are taken away. Should be grateful I suppose that at least something remains to remind us where things actually used to be though are are pictures around, in this case, of what the scene used to look like here...

As the light and messy scene near the lines at Beighton weren't very welcoming, a move a little further north for the rest of the shots, back to Woodhouse Mill. This first shot, a two-part panorama, featuring a horse and rider over on the right taking a walk along the path which used to be the sidings into one of the B.S.C.'s slag reduction sites with its own engine shed for two local shunters and a travelling crane along with the usual mounds of slag. The area is now a small woodland with Treeton Dyke set amidst it with its escapees; a family of Turtles which came out of the River Rother during one of its flooding periods, not uncommon, where the turtles came from in the River... who knows. Woodhouse Sewage works is on the left and the new Wavereley Housing estate set to consist of around 4000 dwellings, can be seen in the centre background on the northern edge of the old Orgreave Coking plant site. Trundling up from the south, the second of the only two north-bound workings, this time in the form of a class 66 Freightliner, 66507 hauling another 2000 tonne timing load, this time, 6E88 from the Mountsorrel Quarry Sidings, up to Doncaster Down Decoy. The consist is ballast and is once again being carried in 20 or so of N.R.'s blue and grey MRA(A) side tipping, open ballast wagons. The area ahead towards the Treeton down goods loop, has been cleared recently and there is now a good view of proceedings along the line; it looks like the loop's longevity is assured, for the present at any rate. The pile of bricks at lower right, in front of the N.R. access gate, along with the leaning telegraph pole, is now all that's now left of Midland's old Woodhouse Mill Station, set between the running lines where now the weeds grow...

Some additional information provided with thanks to Adrian Booth-
' This site was operated by the Slag Reduction Company. The Hudswell Clarke loco was an 0-4-0 saddle tank fitted with 14in x 20in outside cylinders and 3ft 3in diameter wheels. It was HC 1340, originally new to Vickers Ltd. of River Don Works, Sheffield, as their No.16. The second loco was a Yorkshire Engine Company 2345 of 1934, which was another outside-cylinder 0-4-0 saddle tank....'

Two unusual workings today among 7 passing, mainly south, along the 'Old Road' at Beighton Junction and Woodhouse Mill. Although this is a 'sextet' of moves, the seventh whizzed under the road bridge, 20 minutes early, with the cameras in the wrong place for the pair of us and my 'grab-shot' is hardly worth the effort posting. It was one of Harsco Rail's On-track machine, twin units, RGH-20C a 'Switch/Crossing Rail Grinder', ZWA DR79262 & DR 79272; my shot was directly along the line, and taken of the rear of it passing the entrance to the Treeton down goods loop; this was the 6U02, Nuneaton Civil Engineers to York GR Shed working. So, the first of the 'sextet', is this working, which a few weeks ago, 8th-11th August, was diagrammed along the South Yorkshire Joint but in fact only ran along there on the last 2 days, 10th & 11th August. Since then it has run along the 'Old Road' through Masbrough, I have no idea why, for two days, it went up the SYJR but its now back to its normal path, 6E42, with GBRf class 66, 66773 in charge of the working from the Cliffe Hill Stud Farm to Doncaster Up Decoy. It is seen here passing the 'Advanced Metal Innovation Co. recyclers at Beighton, between the GC line in the background and the 'Old Road' in the foreground. The recycling firm now appear to have taken over almost all the waste ground outside their premises and there are skips of one sort or another everywhere and also a good deal of mess.. 66773 is hauling a timing load of 2000 tonnes from the quarry in N.R. IOA(E), Virtual Quarry Box Wagons, the first half dozen or so appear empty, the rest of the 20-rake set being full and are seen here crossing the peaceful flowing waters of the River Rother.

In the almost two hours of the visit, the latter hour being due to the 74 minute late running of the last working, the next 4 workings consisted of a further pair of 66s, albeit in more appealing livery, the other two being a class 70 and a class 56. The first of these, and a bit of a surprise as I hadn't worked out what the traction was to be, and, looking back a the time-table, this appears to be the 1st day it actually ran, yesterday's move being cancelled by the operator in Leeds. So, this is a Colas Rail class 7o, 70809, haul of the 4V49, Leeds Stourton RMC, the Leeds Freightliner terminal in fact, to Briton Ferry Yard working, the latter location being just north-west of Port Talbot, close to Swansea, in south Wales. The 70 is hauling what were Freightliner HHA 100 tonne Bogie Hopper Wagons used on the Freightliner Heavy Haul coal workings in the past and in fact one or two of the last wagons still had 'Freightliner' still visible on the side; all the others having been painted out. The working was listed as a 600 tonne 'building materials' haul but the wagons are here empty; one could almost imagine this was a cola train working returning to the colliery for another fill, unfortunately, there aren't any collieries here anymore! Gavin.B has a picture of this working, taken in early August this year at Swinton, see-
www.flickr.com/photos/49068127@N06/35957203950
RMC could stand for Ready Mixed Concrete as this train is listed as a 'building materials' working; seems a bit unlikely though there is another of these place designations at Peak Forest, so...

And the finale in the 'sextet' of moves, not including the Harsco On-track machine which flashed past between the last picture of the GBRf move to Toton and this one, which unfortunately was running almost 80 minutes late further north and picked up a little time and was 74 minutes down by the time it passed here at 12:22. As far as I know this is the second run of the blue, FEA-B RHTT A Tank Wagons, heading south, the other, see Phil Sangwell's picture from September 15th-
www.flickr.com/photos/onemananhisdog/37265993275/
with a small 'mixed rake' in the consist and in fact on the 6M73 Doncaster to Toton move, the move which was seen in the last pair of pictures heading south, light engine on this day. The tank moves to the south, in the above picture and today, are clearly, in more ways than one, on the way south to prepare for this years impending Rail Head Treatment Train workings to clear the rails of the pesky leaf gunk which forms on the rail head every year, which in the past caused passenger mayhem. Today its the second of the Colas Rail, 'interesting moves' with interesting traction at the front as well, this time class 56, 56096 on the 6Z56, York Thrall Europa to Bescot Up Engineers Sidings; the former is the base for the local RHTT wagon moves around the network here. The destination location was switched from Gloucester to Bescot early on this morning making it look as if the service was cancelled, but it immediately re-appeared back in the time-table, this time for Bescot, one of the locations on the route to Gloucester... odd? The bright blue colours of the 3? sets of FEA-B tanks, along with the Colas orange/yellow livery, certainly adds a welcome splash of contrasting colour along this section of the Midland's 'Old Road' alongside the once mighty Orgreave Coking Works, the Fence Colliery and B.S.C's SLag Reduction works off to the right.

And the finale in the 'sextet' of moves, not including the Harsco On-track machine which flashed past between the last picture of the GBRf move to Toton and this one, which unfortunately was running almost 80 minutes late further north and picked up a little time and was 74 minutes down by the time it passed here at 12:22. As far as I know this is the second run of the blue, FEA-B RHTT A Tank Wagons, heading south, the other, see Phil Sangwell's picture from September 15th-
www.flickr.com/photos/onemananhisdog/37265993275/
with a small 'mixed rake' in the consist and in fact on the 6M73 Doncaster to Toton move, the move which was seen in the last pair of pictures heading south, light engine on this day. The tank moves to the south, in the above picture and today, are clearly, in more ways than one, on the way south to prepare for this years impending Rail Head Treatment Train workings to clear the rails of the pesky leaf gunk which forms on the rail head every year, which in the past caused passenger mayhem. Today its the second of the Colas Rail, 'interesting moves' with interesting traction at the front as well, this time class 56, 56096 on the 6Z56, York Thrall Europa to Bescot Up Engineers Sidings; the former is the base for the local RHTT wagon moves around the network here. The destination location was switched from Gloucester to Bescot early on this morning making it look as if the service was cancelled, but it immediately re-appeared back in the time-table, this time for Bescot, one of the locations on the route to Gloucester... odd? The bright blue colours of the 3? sets of FEA-B tanks, along with the Colas orange/yellow livery, certainly adds a welcome splash of contrasting colour along this section of the Midland's 'Old Road' alongside the once mighty Orgreave Coking Works, the Fence Colliery and B.S.C's SLag Reduction works off to the right.