The Woodhead Route

[eastwestdivide]

Woodhead side of the tunnel in 2005: they left the platforms there.

 

Compare to your photo at post number 10

http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php/topic/13240-the-woodhead-route/page__p__119066entry119066

 

I'd cycled from Penistone up to Dunford Bridge (mud). then up and over, then down the valley and over to Glossop (better conditions), aiming for Marple for a train back to Yorkshire. Didn't reckon on engineering work, so another few miles on to Stockport before I could catch a train. Not a bad pub at Dunford Bridge.

[Wibble]

and the overall surroundings, the hills, but the long overgrown grass everywhere.

 

seen quite a few layouts based on, but dont think anyones really tried to capture the overgown rundown atmosphere of the line

 

Mike

 

I'm sure if any manufacturer decided to produce a R-T-R class 76 electric loco, then there would be plenty of attempts at re-creating parts of the Woodhead route.

 

I've always had a fascination for the route, and its associated rolling stock (class 76s and class 506 EMUs), and made plenty of visits during its final years, and after it closed. Regular Sunday visits to Reddish, Guide Bridge, Wath & Rotherwood could clear the class in a day!

 

 

Without wanting to steal the OPs thunder, here's a couple of pics taken in 1989 - a few years after closure and the track lifted. There's a few more to post, but I'll wait to see how the thread develops.

 

[Andy Y]

There's a few more to post, but I'll wait to see how the thread develops.

 

I'm certainly interested in seeing more Kier and from anyone else who has angles of Torside during happier times (can't have too much research material). Sadly all my B/W negs have long been lost from those days, not that my Zenith EM was the best tool.

 

In the meantime here's the virtual obliteration of Torside now along with a few other snaps from a year ago.

 

 

Crowden:

 

 

Woodhead:

 

 

 

 

 

[woodenhead]

I've cycled from Hadfield all the way to Penistone in various visits and more recently it is becoming overgrown, if you're going to have a route for horses, walkers and cyclists someone needs to manage the vegetation.

 

On one visit cycling from Woodhead tunnel towards Hadfield I spent most of the time avoiding the dog excrement, unfortunately one of my sons missed one which promptly was lifted up by his wheels straight to his face. Then at Crowden going down the hill (not the nice cobbled one, the ballast style slope facing Hadfield), he came off his bike and used his mouth to gather stones as a brake.

 

Luckily it didnt put him off and we've had plenty of other trips up there since, but as I said on the more recent visits I have noticed it is becoming more overgrown, restricting paths and getting more waterlogged.

 

I know a lot of people would love to see this line re-opened, but it wouldn't be the same as it was the nature of the trains/infrastructure that made this line unique. A reopened Woodhead would just be another 2 track passenger line, the need to move heavy freight on a dedicated line between Yorkshire and Lancashire is well gone and there is capacity to be had on Standedge with 4 tracking if they really wanted/needed it or improvements to the Hope Valley route.

 

All the routes at the Manchester end that could syphon trains away from the Manchester Piccadilly bottleneck are also gone, some built over (Fallowfield) and some bits are earmarked for Metrolink (Chorlton, Didsbury). Freight development in Manchester will also be linked to the Chat Moss route when Peel get to build Port Salford and draw container traffic away from Trafford Park.

[coachmann]

Being born at Newton, Hyde, I lost interest very promptly when the electrics arrived in 1954. The masts had up for years but no wires. A GCR lower-quadrant signal near Hyde Junction used to leave us waiting in anticipation of what would come next. Some loco were green so they would probably have been new B1's and maybe A3's. I rode on the electrics of course but didnt take much notice. Then for old times sake I revisited the line occasionally from 1977 after taking up railway photography.

 

By sheer fluke I was only the second photographer on the spot after the derailment at Dinting in the 80's (an inspector told me the first photographer ran for his life when wagons started to climb the opposite platform)!

 

Larry G.

[The Stationmaster]

Mmm, we seem to have lost the 1970s again there somehow. Not sure that that's an accurate reflection of the timeline, given that freight workings (and hence the requirement for maintaining the EM1s) continued for eleven years after passenger services finished. IIRC at the time, the rationale was indeed that the line would continue to serve as a freight artery (and coal traffic at least was still healthy) - why else would money have been spent on dual braking and MU-fitting a significant part of the EM1 fleet...

 

 

My recollection is that was indeed what was said - that the route would be the main artery for freight traffic (with no doubt the mgr coal in mind as the backbone of that) plus the realisation no doubt that the Hope Valley route simply couldn't handle the total volume of passenger and freight flows at the time the Woodhead route closed for passenger traffic.

 

The official - and to me entirely logical (in their time) - reasons given for ultimately closing Woodhead were the need to renew (even if only to rewire) the ohle and the approaching need to renew or refurbish the loco fleet. Set that against declining traffic levels with the question of coal flows already looking rather fickle due to changes in the colliery industry and the turn towards imports and the writing was very clearly on the wall.

 

It is very easy to forget that period of stringency and the way the industry was shrinking (or in some cases - especially freight - being deliberately shrunk by rather stealthy Govt policy) in comparison with the increasingly allegedly overloaded network of today.

 

Fortunately much of the footprint of the route survives, Sheffield Victoria could be recreated as much of the land remains waste ground or is car park but curving round to Midland might be difficult and the route offers little intermediate business (which might be an advantage). Anyway although I only ever did it in the small hours I reckon it's a much nicer route than the Hope Valley - and I can delve out my 1950s WTT and daydream B)

[DaveF]

I am sure a lot of you know already but there are some Woodhead photos in my fotopic galleries at:

 

http://davesnorthwestrailwayarchive.fotopic.net/

 

and

 

http://davesyorkshirerailwayarchive.fotopic.net/

 

David

[DaveF]

I've just found this in one of Dad's albums and scanned it.

 

 

 

Dunford Bridge Class 77 Manchester to Marylebone JVol1 357 1960

 

 

David

 

[Wibble]

As requested, here are some more pics taken of the route in 1989, including the branch from Pennistone to Wath.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Obviously a lot of ballast recovery going on, in the later pics.

 

 

 

[Peter Kazmierczak]

The Midland Pullman was stabled at Reddish. Anyone got pictures of that there too?

[johnd]

Just a few pics that I took on the Woodhead Route before closure and as the lifting trains were in action

 

Dinting Viaduct

 

Peak on a Sunday St Pancras-Piccadilly diversion at Torside

 

Torside with lifting train in attendance

 

 

[Michael Edge]

One official lie has been repeated in this thread, the Woodhead OHLE did not have to be re-wired, West of Hadfield it's all still there carrying 25kv. Only the insulators had to be changed.

Michael edge

[woodenhead]

One official lie has been repeated in this thread, the Woodhead OHLE did not have to be re-wired, West of Hadfield it's all still there carrying 25kv. Only the insulators had to be changed.

Michael edge

 

I'm sure conversion to 25Kv was more than a simple change in insulators, at the Manchester end it was only a short branch and sensible to convert given availability of suitable stock.

 

For the rest of the route it would have meant not only changing the insulators but also serious work on the cabling to feed the wires, the locations that fed the power not to mention the locomotives themselves. Where would the traction have come from, the route had 50 electric locomotives of 1940's vintage technology, classes 81-84 were hardly candidates and a fleet of APTs wasn't exactly in place to release all the 85-86s for regearing.

[great central]

and the overall surroundings, the hills, but the long overgrown grass everywhere.

 

seen quite a few layouts based on, but dont think anyones really tried to capture the overgown rundown atmosphere of the line

 

Mike

 

Sorry but I have to disagree, this was a main line right to the end, yes it had been rationalised, but the lines in use were maintained right up to the last day.

There were several incidents in the last few weeks, even a power failure on the last full day of operation was repaired and the service ran. looking at 'Main Line across the Pennines' I can't see any evidence of weeds or neglect around the running lines.

Most of the Trans pennine track is CWR on concrete sleepers, many mainlines still don't have that luxury even now 30 years later!

The down line I think was left intact all the way from Hadfield to Deepcar, just being blocked with a padlocked sleeper for 5 years after closure, to appease the trades unions I understand.

When we first went out scouting for locations before settling on Deepcar, the line was still in good order and apart from odd weeds a train could have passed quite easily, this being in 1984, three years after closure.

When we went back, suitably equipped, to walk Woodhead tunnel a few months later it was difficult to believe the line had really been shut for 3 years.

I was told, although I can't verify the facts, that Netherlands railways, who had been impressed with their purchase of the EM2s, enqired whether the EM1s would be available after the line closed. Although many of the locos were in prefectly good order having merely been switched off, it was deemed politically unacceptable to resell them for further use, since the locos being 'life expired' was given as one of the reasons for closure.

Regarding the last locos to work up to Woodhead, the rails were cut up into sections and dragged out by a class 37, possibly the one in the photos, I have a book somewhere with the details in, but can't put my hand on it at the moment.

The same book also shows a class 20 and Brakevan heading to Dunford Bridge from Penistone, apparently carrying staff and scrapmen to assess what was to be recovered and presumably by whom, and for how much.

[great central]

I'm sure conversion to 25Kv was more than a simple change in insulators, at the Manchester end it was only a short branch and sensible to convert given availability of suitable stock.

 

For the rest of the route it would have meant not only changing the insulators but also serious work on the cabling to feed the wires, the locations that fed the power not to mention the locomotives themselves. Where would the traction have come from, the route had 50 electric locomotives of 1940's vintage technology, classes 81-84 were hardly candidates and a fleet of APTs wasn't exactly in place to release all the 85-86s for regearing.

 

At the Manchester end I'm sure that the actual wire on the masts is the same, remember that 1500vDC needs thicker conductors than 25kvAC, so what may have been below size for 1500v may be good for 25kv for years.

There was also apparently an investigation into converting the class 76s to 25kvAC! The intention was that they were being looked at as possible freight locos for the northern west coast main line when that was electrified. Now there's an excuse for running some of my 76s on Carstairs

[Andy Louch]

Good afternoon all,

 

Just picked up this thread after some weeks without 'RMWebbing'!

 

Had to add comment about how desperate the pictures of the line post closure are! I lived in the Midlands until about 1995 and managed quite a few trips to the Woodhead Line in the early 1980's when the Class 76's were in their final years. It always seemed to rain when we visited Torside so have only a couple of what I would call 'useable' pictures! Have a few more at Guide Bridge and the pictures posted from here really depressed me!!

Even post the 76's era Guide Bridge was a hive of activity and really worth a couple of hours stop. The photo of the station is particularly depressing!! Goodness knows what it's like now.

 

I'll try and dig out a few pics. and scan them in, but it really is so depressing to see what has disappeared!!

This must be an age thing as I move through my fifties as got thoroughly depressed during Easter during a very short visit to Teignmouth - last time I was there was 1985 ...!

 

Andy L

[PaulCheffus]

Good afternoon all,

 

Just picked up this thread after some weeks without 'RMWebbing'!

 

Had to add comment about how desperate the pictures of the line post closure are! I lived in the Midlands until about 1995 and managed quite a few trips to the Woodhead Line in the early 1980's when the Class 76's were in their final years. It always seemed to rain when we visited Torside so have only a couple of what I would call 'useable' pictures! Have a few more at Guide Bridge and the pictures posted from here really depressed me!!

Even post the 76's era Guide Bridge was a hive of activity and really worth a couple of hours stop. The photo of the station is particularly depressing!! Goodness knows what it's like now.

 

I'll try and dig out a few pics. and scan them in, but it really is so depressing to see what has disappeared!!

This must be an age thing as I move through my fifties as got thoroughly depressed during Easter during a very short visit to Teignmouth - last time I was there was 1985 ...!

 

Andy L

 

Hi

 

I would be interested in any pictures anyone may have of Godley Junction and the nearby Brookfold sidings that may help me in my quest to build a representation of this location. Progress so far can be viewed here

Godley Junction in N

 

Cheers

 

Paul

[Michael Delamar]

Sorry but I have to disagree, this was a main line right to the end, yes it had been rationalised, but the lines in use were maintained right up to the last day.

 

 

sorry I was talking more about the surrounding area and landscape, the long overgrown grass etc,

 

just has a certain feel that I cant quite explain.

 

Mike

[jamie92208]

Here are a few pictures that I shot in late 1974 using my first SLR, a Yashica TL Electro, I must also have been driving my first car, a Morris 1100 that cost me £50 and lasted for 8 months till the rear floor dropped out from rust.

The first is at Penistone.

The next two show a double header starting from the sidings at Dunford Bridge.

 

The other two are at Woodhead.

 

I suspect they were taken on a fairly grey day late in the year.

Not very good photos but quite atmospheric.

 

Jamie

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 16, 2022 by jamie92208

[Andy Louch]

Evening all,

 

A few photos taken in 1978 and 1981. These were scanned from prints, so apologies for poor quality. Have a few more on slides but have yet to get a decent slide scanner!

 

Weather always seemed poor when I visited and I never managed to get to Woodhead Tunnel on the rare trips I made to that part of the world. Oh for a time machine!

 

Best wishes,

 

Andy

[eastwestdivide]

These were scanned from prints, so apologies for poor quality...

You can clean up the colour cast a bit with your favourite image editor. Hope you don't mind:

 

Someone with better photoshop skills might make a better job.

 

Edit: they were ugly locos weren't they? Or was it the yellow ends emphasising the "box with holes cut in for windows"

[Peter Kazmierczak]

Is this any better?

[eastwestdivide]

Is this any better?

Better than mine!

How did you get the signalbox name so much clearer? Mind you, how come the yellow front's gone a bit mottled - is that from bringing up the contrast?

[Peter Kazmierczak]

Hopefully less mottled on this one.....

[DaveF]

]Hi Andy,

 

I hope you don't mind playing with one of your images.

I just used levels, and found an area that should be grey and used the dropper to select it.

The I selectively removed areas still with a colour cast, especially pink bits on the loco by using replace colour and just desaturating it.

Then added colour in saturation, and slightly sharpened it.

Just like I do for all mine on fotopic!