The Flickr Yorkthralleuropaviapenistonecodnorparktosheffield Image Generatr

A much better view now, think the station site is not clear enough to warrant another visit, whereas this view towards the Midland Main line at Wincobank Junction has much to commend it. Both locos are named and just this week possibly, they will remain readable, after which the whole lot will be so grimy it will be hard to even recognise the livery, the only shot I took in this area last year was right at the end of the season on December 6th, see-
www.flickr.com/photos/vinc2020/52559365549/
and
www.flickr.com/photos/vinc2020/52559069671/
showing Colas 56105 leading a very mucky set into Sheffield, with the one leading here today, 66847, 'Terry Baker' at the back. The tanks are again the usual set of FEA-B RHTT A Tank Wagons, full of water which is heated and at one time Sandite sprayed onto the railhead though these days its just hot water, see the information gleaned from the driver of last year's R.H.T.T. at Hunmanby Station on the East coast of Yorkshire-
www.flickr.com/photos/vinc2020/52427370028/
In front of the leading 66, 66847, across the main line tracks, the old space can be seen of the location of Wincobank Signalbox just to the left of the graffiti'd relay cabin. The box, and much else, were swept away in the early 1990s when this whole area was redeveloped for the Meadowhall Shopping area and its Passenger Interchange and the new station for the Blackburn Valley was located here, away from the much less convenient Brightside Station; its site now having been finally cleared of all remaining remnants, in the last few months. Bringing up the rear a much cleaner looking Colas 66, 66849, 'Wylam Dilly', see Wikipedia for more information about this name-
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wylam_Dilly
The front loco, named 'Terry Baker', was once a Colas driver, see-
www.mainlinediesels.net/index.php?nav=1000796&lang=en...
This is the R.H.T.T., 'Rail Head Treatment Train' running on the 3rd leg of today's 1st lot of the season's workings, 3S14 from Grimsby Town via Healey Mills & Sheffield for reversal and back to York Thrall Europa arriving a few minutes early this evening at 19:22, a long day considering this lot was supposed to set out at 01:49, but was late leaving at 03:30, even so, the crew would have been at York from the very early hours..

October 2nd, and Network Rail have initiated the country's R.H.T.T. services to clear the gunk off the rails amongst which are the East coast working through Bridlington, our own services in South Yorkshire, the Lincolnshire working which runs through Worksop, the North-eastern one based around Leeds and the Manchester one based at Wigan L.I.P. Today's initial South Yorkshire working, 3S11, from York Thrall, didn't get off to a very good start being around 100 mins late departing York, at 03:30 instead of 01:49. This increased to over 2 hours by the time it reached the first run through Barnsley at 05:17 but picked up an hour at Penistone where it was supposed to wait for that time.. arriving back into Barnsley only 44mins late. This increased again as it came towards Sheffield, passing 54mins late at 06:34 but then proceeded south to Chesterfield and was supposed to continue on to a reversal a Codnor Park Junction, this section was missed out and so the set arrived back in Sheffield only 20 minutes late at 07:15, ready for the next diagram, 3S12, leaving at 07:43.
So, the set is seen here on its way back from the eastern section of the run taking it as far as Grimsby Town on the mouth of the River Humber and just a short distance, around 10km on the single track, to the east coast resort of Cleethorpes; not sure why it doesn't complete this last bit of line..Its now late afternoon and the set is running to time on the 3S14, Grimsby Town via Healey Mills & Sheffield to York Thrall Europa section and it looked like it would be 10 minutes early here and so stop on platform 3, the south-bound platform at Meadowhall Interchange. I have to say I was disappointed with the state of the place, the long, wet grass on the embankment where these shots were taken, hadn't been cut for ages, the 30-year old footbridge was extremely rusty at the base and the lamp standards have been changed to something quite nasty... Compare yesterday's shot with the one rooted out of the archives, taken at a similar time, 5 years ago. The last time I was here for the R.H.T.T. was however, 2 years ago, when D.R.S. were operating the working, also with class 66s, 66426 and 66434 at that time and that was just 2 years ago, 32nd October, 2021, see-
www.flickr.com/photos/vinc2020/51546298118/
where the set can be seen heading back north along the Midland Main line through platform 2 at Meadowhall. The lower picture, taken about 2 weeks after the season started in 2018, shows the set operated by D.R.S. again, they ran this contract until 2021, as shown in the picture at the link above, the lower picture showing a pair of class 20s, 20205 at the front and 20007 at the back. The station looks far better and the lamp standards don't seem so bad though, as close inspection shows, the one at the side of 20205 has been 'cloned out', its head remaining suspended in mid-air!. That operation was much easier, as I recall, than the one performed today in the picture at right which shows a 'young man' trying to 'cab' Colas 66847, 'Terry Baker', looking at it later I realised he was just taking a photograph and it all looks a bit 'arms-length', maybe he was a bit nervous. The same lamp standard as the one which was 'cloned out' in the picture below is the one which has also been removed here and, it was extremely difficult as there is some much 'going on' in the picture. The upper left shot shows the position of the lamp and a view of the rusty base to the footbridge which I thought looked worse close to where the two diagonal supports from the ground are located. Whilst waiting for the 'right-away' from Signal S0198, in front of the loco at the other side of the bush, a local DMU working, 2L22 from Sheffield, pulled into the north-bound platform, 4, and picked up the crowd of passengers who were waiting to get away to Leeds. Just a minute or two later, the 66 revved up and pulled out of the station and onto the main line towards a pause in the Brightside Sidings and then onto Sheffield for a reversal.
The other workings which have started today are-
3S11: York Thrall Europa via Penistone & Codnor Park to Sheffield
3S12: Sheffield to Wrenthorpe Reception Sidings
3S13: Wrenthorpe Reception Sidings to Grimsby Town, and this one
3S14: Grimsby Town via Healey Mills & Sheffield to York Thrall Europa