The Flickr Leedsbalmroadtoleicesterlip Image Generatr

Another run from the south to collect a 'vehicle', class 37, 37884 from the Loco depot at Leeds Balm Road and take it back to the Loco Inspection Point at Leicester. The 37 was brought up last Tuesday, a week ago later on in the afternoon, setting off over an hour late and not knowing exactly what was on it, I failed to grab some shots of the two moves, one up with the 37 and one back south a few hours later with just the two classic traction units on it, 73951 and 31233. Today I was unfortunately distracted elsewhere for the trio's return and so only got the pair of units coming up from the south, the class 73 diesel-electric loco seen here leading, as it was last week I understand, and behind that the class 31, 31233. The 37, 37884 had been brought up to Balm Road for 'wheel turning' by all accounts form the local 'expertise', and having accomplished that work, this is the 'pick-up duo' coming to get the 37; the 73 being accompanied by the 31 due to some misgivings about the reliability of the 73. With bright overhead sun now veering round to the south directly behind the pair, this shot was taken facing as much north as practicable and the set were around 20 minutes late and appeared now not to be wasting any time. The north-end signal, S0425, at Masbrough was showing green, meaning the pair wouldn't slow for a stop and with a busy road right behind it meant the shot on the right was the best that could be done with the pair rattling off at what must have been 50mph or so! 73951 is a named diesel-electric, 'Malcolm Brinded' and if my information is correct, this is him, details c/o of Wikipedia-
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malcolm_Brinded
he doesn't appear to have any connection with the railways though, but could be mistaken. Some, fairly scant, information about the 73-

Number: 73951
Class: 73/9
Depot: BH - Barrow Hill Roundhouse Museum
Pool: RVLO - Railway Vehicle Engineering - Operational
Livery: NZ - Network Rail Locomotives/Departmentals - Yellow with Grey/Black roof and NR Logos
Builder: English Electric Vulcan Foundry
Built: 21/10/1965
Works Number: E3572/E342
73951 Renumbered
From 73104 on 31/07/2014
73104 Renumbered
From E6010 on 31/12/1973

So, this is the return 'pick-up' goods, 0E37, coming up from Derby to Leeds Balm Road, arriving at 13:46, the trip taking two hours after which the trio set off back just 45 minutes late, the return, working 0M37, taking two and a half hours. In the left picture, on the far right, the 'Black Bull' public house still has the shutters down, but not quite sure whether this means it has closed for good or is just daytime security, for when the place isn't open. Note the central triangular area between the Midland Main lines over on the right and the 'Old Road' on the left is now filling up nicely with tree-growth once more, after such a short interval after removal of it all!

Attempting once more to gain more out of the scene in front of the camera, this time, the sites of the continued growth in industrial businesses here, making the Holmes Level crossing a place where the Automatic barriers are wafting up and down almost every 5 minutes and causing long tail-backs of mucky traffic, in the instance where the DRS was getting ready to pass, this traffic was lined up all the way along Psalters Lane to the main, Meadowbank, Road. Another angle also for a view of the new Biomass facility on Sheffield Road, built on the site of the demolished part of the Firth-Rixon site, both next to the River Don and right next to both the GCRs Woodburn Junction to Mexborough line and the 'Old Road', crossing the former in the corner of the Biomass site.Much of the business in the Holmes area appears to be related to stone crushing and recycling ventures of one sort or another; the former presumably in healthy state due to the the vast amounts of material being recovered and reprocessed as part of the Sheffield Road Refurbishment program. Immediately next to the passing DRS class 66, is a stone yard, which sells the material after being 'refurbished' along with new and old railway sleepers etc; this site was once home to Habershons, information-
'...In 1782 Matthew Habershon was employed by the Walkers of Holmes. In 1829 he bought the Holmes Tin Plate works and shortly afterwards, with his sons Henry and John Jonas, he converted them into steel rolling mills. In 1920 the company of J.J. Habershon and Sons Ltd was formed. It made steel strips, sheets and sections for pen nibs, cycle wheel rims and the motorcycle and car industries. The firm rolled the material for the stainless steel girdle strengthening the dome of St. Paul's Cathedral, and during the Second World War it made an extensive contribution to the aircraft industry. W.T. Beesley & Co Ltd was set up in 1888 to purchase the Universal Steel Works, Rolling and Wire Mills in Attercliffe Road and Effingham Street, Sheffield from William Thomas Beesley. It was taken over in 1954 by J.J. Habershon and Sons Ltd, which was closed down in 1981..'
DRS, class 66, 66301, is on the 0Z01, York Parcels Sidings via Sheffield & Worksop to Barnetby, driver route learning working but within about a half an hour this will be curtailed at Sheffield.

Moving swiftly on, as they say, though not really in this case. Was kind of hoping the working would not idle in the Moorthorpe Goods Loop, further north, for an hour, but in the event it did; don't know whether this had anything to do with the later event, where it failed en-route into Sheffield but it ran 'right-time', past the camera here at Holmes Junction, albeit coming quite slowly through from Rotherham Central. This 1st shot shows the light engine DRS class 66 having literally ambled along the Holmes Chord, paused briefly at the up line signal, to the right of the one that can be seen with a a single yellow aspect for down-line moves, but looking at the time-table this slowness appeared to be due to traffic density to and from Sheffield at this time; 14:00. Here it is seen passing the junction of the old Westgate Branch, now a stub of a line just into the Booths Scrapyard area, but did one continue, 1st passing under the Midland's 'Old Road line, around the corner in the trees, the formation now invisible due to tree growth in the foreground. It was then carried on a high bank across the ground here crossing the River Don on a wooden bridge and finally terminating in Rotherham's most central station at Westgate on Main St.; now, the the only bit which is left is just a scrap line, and it doesn't look as if that has been used for a while, it almost seeming to have been cut off just in front of the warning board on the left. The background is cluttered with the jibs of cranes in the scrapyard, the lamp standards at the old RUFC football ground at Millmoor on the left and the corresponding 'new-build' at the New York Stadium on the right. The driver route knowledge working is the 0Z01, York Parcels Sidings via Sheffield & Worksop to Barnetby, and the loco DRS Direct Rail Services class 66, 66301; in very fine condition as well.

And finally, as road 'traction' backs up along Psalters Lane, having had to wait the passage of 4 DMUs, one Cross Country Service and now the driver route learner, the latter ambles by onto the main line into Sheffield and although there was traffic immediately in front in the next section but one, it appeared to be going more slowly than required.. Some of the traffic to the south of the crossing can be seen poking into the picture to the left of the loco in the right picture, but on the other side, upto the main road, a whole line of HGVs, vans and cars must have been wondering what the hell was going on; the barriers not rising after the DRS loco went through as yet another local DMU was sat along the line to the right waiting its crossover operation onto the up line the 66 is on, to take the Holmes Chord into Rotherham Central. The HGV traffic is very dusty and very heavy and it looks to be wreaking havoc with the road and the state of the crossing; maybe its time to press the old bridge into action, just visible in the background of the right picture, and make it one way, over to Holmes, the bridge deck nor being wide enough for 2 vehicles; then using the crossing as a one way route back this way... It would help as the queues tend to be worse on the inbound route, on the right, to the industrial sites over the crossing. DRS class 66, 66301 didn't get any further than Sheffield on its 4 hour jaunt from here, via Sheffield for reversal and then along the Lincoln line to Worksop, Gainsborough and then onto Barnetby; arriving at Sheffield at 14:21, just eight minuter slate, it was declared a failure at 14:29, this message appearing in the time-table-
12/09/2016 14:46
Cancelled at SHEFFIELD (14:29) due to DIESL TRAC
(Diesel loco failure/defect/attention: traction)
Network Rail then inserted a VSTP, Very Short-Term Path, 0Z02, schedule into the time-table and the DRS loco went back along the main line once more, ending up at Doncaster, Roberts Road Shed, at 15:25, apparently, 60 minutes early... not sure earlier than what though.. and coming back through here, about an hour after it went towards Sheffield! DRS, class 66, 66301 is working the 0Z01,York Parcels Sidings via Sheffield & Worksop to Barnetby but cancelled at Sheffield when it was routed on the 0Z02, Sheffield to Doncaster Roberts Road Shed, for remedial action presumably; the working which was supposed to run the day after, today, Tuesday the 13th, hasn't run.

Another run from the south to collect a 'vehicle', class 37, 37884 from the Loco depot at Leeds Balm Road and take it back to the Loco Inspection Point at Leicester. The 37 was brought up last Tuesday, a week ago later on in the afternoon, setting off over an hour late and not knowing exactly what was on it, I failed to grab some shots of the two moves, one up with the 37 and one back south a few hours later with just the two classic traction units on it, 73951 and 31233. Today I was unfortunately distracted elsewhere for the trio's return and so only got the pair of units coming up from the south, the class 73 diesel-electric loco seen here leading, as it was last week I understand, and behind that the class 31, 31233. The 37, 37884 had been brought up to Balm Road for 'wheel turning' by all accounts form the local 'expertise', and having accomplished that work, this is the 'pick-up duo' coming to get the 37; the 73 being accompanied by the 31 due to some misgivings about the reliability of the 73. With bright overhead sun now veering round to the south directly behind the pair, this shot was taken facing as much north as practicable and the set were around 20 minutes late and appeared now not to be wasting any time. The north-end signal, S0425, at Masbrough was showing green, meaning the pair wouldn't slow for a stop and with a busy road right behind it meant the shot on the right was the best that could be done with the pair rattling off at what must have been 50mph or so! 73951 is a named diesel-electric, 'Malcolm Brinded' and if my information is correct, this is him, details c/o of Wikipedia-
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malcolm_Brinded
he doesn't appear to have any connection with the railways though, but could be mistaken. Some, fairly scant, information about the 73-

Number: 73951
Class: 73/9
Depot: BH - Barrow Hill Roundhouse Museum
Pool: RVLO - Railway Vehicle Engineering - Operational
Livery: NZ - Network Rail Locomotives/Departmentals - Yellow with Grey/Black roof and NR Logos
Builder: English Electric Vulcan Foundry
Built: 21/10/1965
Works Number: E3572/E342
73951 Renumbered
From 73104 on 31/07/2014
73104 Renumbered
From E6010 on 31/12/1973

So, this is the return 'pick-up' goods, 0E37, coming up from Derby to Leeds Balm Road, arriving at 13:46, the trip taking two hours after which the trio set off back just 45 minutes late, the return, working 0M37, taking two and a half hours. In the left picture, on the far right, the 'Black Bull' public house still has the shutters down, but not quite sure whether this means it has closed for good or is just daytime security, for when the place isn't open. Note the central triangular area between the Midland Main lines over on the right and the 'Old Road' on the left is now filling up nicely with tree-growth once more, after such a short interval after removal of it all!