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The Woodhead Route


Ramrig
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I'm amazed that they didn't try and wire-up the turn table.

Every other spur, head shunt and siding was electrified in the Woodhead scheme!

The wires even made it up to Ashton Moss North where an EM2 could bring a train and then allow another loco to take over.

 

I sometimes think Wood head scheme electrified too much, where as compared to todays electrification schemes where they just don't wire up enough or make sure ALL traffic flows can use it.

 

 

Kev.

 

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48 minutes ago, SHMD said:

I'm amazed that they didn't try and wire-up the turn table.

Every other spur, head shunt and siding was electrified in the Woodhead scheme!

The wires even made it up to Ashton Moss North where an EM2 could bring a train and then allow another loco to take over.

 

I sometimes think Wood head scheme electrified too much, where as compared to todays electrification schemes where they just don't wire up enough or make sure ALL traffic flows can use it.

 

 

Kev.

 

Was in the area of Brookfold Sidings end of last September (walk off Werneth Low). The whole area of the sidings is now a jungle, but there are still relics in amongst it. The turntable well is still there, with an explanatory sign. Wasn't there an article in either The Reporter or one of the other local media about cleaning it up, in the last week?

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1 hour ago, SHMD said:

I'm amazed that they didn't try and wire-up the turn table.

Every other spur, head shunt and siding was electrified in the Woodhead scheme!

The wires even made it up to Ashton Moss North where an EM2 could bring a train and then allow another loco to take over.

 

I sometimes think Wood head scheme electrified too much, where as compared to todays electrification schemes where they just don't wire up enough or make sure ALL traffic flows can use it.

 

 

Kev.

 

Belt and braces in the 1950s, economy in the 1990s.

 

I think they also expected it to be the beginning not the end of 1500 DC.

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1 hour ago, SHMD said:

I'm amazed that they didn't try and wire-up the turn table.

Every other spur, head shunt and siding was electrified in the Woodhead scheme!

The wires even made it up to Ashton Moss North where an EM2 could bring a train and then allow another loco to take over.

 

I sometimes think Wood head scheme electrified too much, where as compared to todays electrification schemes where they just don't wire up enough or make sure ALL traffic flows can use it.

 

 

Kev.

 

 

In some ways they didn't electrify enough. If the original plan to electrify to Manchester Central and Trafford Park had happened it would have saved a good few loco changes and might perhaps have had an impact on what was later worth retaining.

 

Simon

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49 minutes ago, 62613 said:

Yes, I think it was. If I knew how to get the photos off my phone, I'd put them up. Ever done that part of the TPT?

 

No, but I did drive the family from Charlesworth back to Stalybridge, via the "edge of the world", which has parts of it on the TPT.

 

 

Kev.

(I must admit, I had never heard of the TPT until your post above!)

 

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8 hours ago, 65179 said:

 

In some ways they didn't electrify enough. If the original plan to electrify to Manchester Central and Trafford Park had happened it would have saved a good few loco changes and might perhaps have had an impact on what was later worth retaining.

 

Simon

 

Under "didn't electrify enough" you could also include the ECML!

 

Mike.

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2 hours ago, Enterprisingwestern said:

 

Under "didn't electrify enough" you could also include the ECML!

 

Mike.

I have seen, in a magazine, a diagram which shows electrification round the Fairfield Loop into Manchester Central. The same magazine article mentioned hopes to electrify down the CLC to Liverpool Central. The 1955 Ian Allen Locoshed book has EM2 numbers up to 27026.

 

But of course, 1.5kV d.c. electrification was doomed after the visit of the BR delegation to SNCF in 1956(?) to view their latest developments.

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13 hours ago, SHMD said:

I'm amazed that they didn't try and wire-up the turn table.

Every other spur, head shunt and siding was electrified in the Woodhead scheme!

The wires even made it up to Ashton Moss North where an EM2 could bring a train and then allow another loco to take over.

 

I sometimes think Wood head scheme electrified too much, where as compared to todays electrification schemes where they just don't wire up enough or make sure ALL traffic flows can use it.

 

 

Kev.

 

Why would you wire a turntable? 

Surely it was only legacy steam engines that still needed to be turned, as electrics and even diesels all had a cab at each end.

It would be like wiring the coaling siding.

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1 hour ago, 62613 said:

I have seen, in a magazine, a diagram which shows electrification round the Fairfield Loop into Manchester Central. The same magazine article mentioned hopes to electrify down the CLC to Liverpool Central. The 1955 Ian Allen Locoshed book has EM2 numbers up to 27026.

 

But of course, 1.5kV d.c. electrification was doomed after the visit of the BR delegation to SNCF in 1956(?) to view their latest developments.

It was doomed well before that, all the cutbacks from the initial scheme to completion, no wires past Reddish, less class 77s and awkward traction changes at Guide Bridge.

 

BR completed it because it was oven ready - it was the LNER scheme, even the locos, but with a new tunnel at Woodhead less Manchester Central - it was all about the freight, the passenger locos remained because the new Woodhead Tunnel could not take steam and it wasn't really diesel ready either.  The line could have later been upgraded to AC had there continued to be a case, but that case never materialised and once the GC went it never would.

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On 28/06/2021 at 10:25, woodenhead said:

It was doomed well before that, all the cutbacks from the initial scheme to completion, no wires past Reddish, less class 77s and awkward traction changes at Guide Bridge.

 

BR completed it because it was oven ready - it was the LNER scheme, even the locos, but with a new tunnel at Woodhead less Manchester Central - it was all about the freight, the passenger locos remained because the new Woodhead Tunnel could not take steam and it wasn't really diesel ready either.  The line could have later been upgraded to AC had there continued to be a case, but that case never materialised and once the GC went it never would.

When I mentioned 1.5kV d.c., I meant in general; there was the Shenfield scheme as well, both built to the standard of the time. Of course, the class 506s ran until the rump lines were converted to 25kV a.c. in 1983. After Reddish closed, they were based at Longsight and had to be towed to Piccadilly at the start of the day's work

 

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Woodhead related. 35 years ago today 1502 E27000 Electra)  arrived at Toton Depot behind a class 45 45007 as part of freight working from Whitemoor yard(?) after it’s journey from Tilburg in The Netherlands. The next day it would be trip worked up to the Midland Railway Centre behind a class 37 to begin its new life in preservation. Link to Flicker 

16/07/1986 - Peterborough.

 

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1 minute ago, Ramrig said:

Woodhead related. 35 years ago today 1502 E27000 Electra)  arrived at Toton Depot behind a class 45 45007 as part of freight working from Whitemoor yard(?) after it’s journey from Tilburg in The Netherlands. The next day it would be trip worked up to the Midland Railway Centre behind a class 37 to begin its new life in preservation. 

16/07/1986 - Peterborough.

 

 

Both the 1500's had arrived at Harwich the previous day....

 

86-210

 

86-211

 

86-213

 

86-214

 

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11 minutes ago, Ramrig said:

Woodhead related. 35 years ago today 1502 E27000 Electra)  arrived at Toton Depot behind a class 45 45007 as part of freight working from Whitemoor yard(?) after it’s journey from Tilburg in The Netherlands. The next day it would be trip worked up to the Midland Railway Centre behind a class 37 to begin its new life in preservation. Link to Flicker 

16/07/1986 - Peterborough.

 

The image though is Peterborough

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2 minutes ago, woodenhead said:

The image though is Peterborough

The shot is on route. (Only one I could find at the time on line) I cannot scan any of mine at present due to my laptop being in for repair, having a software issue being sorted. I have images of it arriving at Toton and also next day arriving at Butterley. I will try and post them in the future once I have my laptop back.

 

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Sadly Inever got to travel the full Woodhead route.   In 2002 I set off one warm sumer day from Manchester in a still Strathclyde liveried 101 as far as Guide Bridge, then a more modern electric train to Hadfield.  From there I hiked the route towards Woodhead Tunnel.    The gates just short of the tunnel were open and there was a van parked at the portal.   I continued through, trespassing right up to the portal.  The van was a water authority vehicle, and I about turned and said to the driver "Sorry, I thought you were an ice cream van, I could do with something to cool off".

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I'm amazed that they didn't try and wire-up the turn table.

Every other spur, head shunt and siding was electrified in the Woodhead scheme!

The wires even made it up to Ashton Moss North where an EM2 could bring a train and then allow another loco to take over.

 

I sometimes think Wood head scheme electrified too much, where as compared to todays electrification schemes where they just don't wire up enough or make sure ALL traffic flows can use it.

 

 

Kev.

 

I can remember seeing the EM2 parked up at Ashton Moss when travelling through and from Manchester usually on class 124 Trans Pennine service in mid / late 60,s as a child. Often parked on the east side up against a factory wall as I re call and once adjacent my train with a Class 25 taking over from it and once a steam loco maybe a Black 5. I always used to look carefully as where I lived we had no overhead electric services and Woodhead was too far for me aged 6 on my bike mores the pity. Just further on towards Manchester there were some new concrete cattle docks that looked recently built but never appeared to have been used. Probably built early 60,s before demise of cattle on the rails. Funny what you remember and how humdrum but now so interesting. That junction would make an interesting model given space with the variety of traction in the 60,s.

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Lovely memories. Thanks for sharing.

 

That factory would have been the National Gas Engine company. (My dads first place of work!)

Those "newly built" cattle docks are still there and only just this week, or so, all the vegetation hiding them from the main line has just been cleared.

 

image.png.8f53a68a66d44e8408068d3ac7873485.png

 

 

Kev.

 

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Wow those cattle docks are still there, that has really surprised me. Thank you for the info re factory and that triangular junction. Not strictly 1500 dc stuff but those cl124 when starting up the bank from Huddersfield sounded like a wet farts from their exhaust a real rasp .

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