What I love most about Don Coffey's videos is their utter professionalism. He enthuses us with his detailed commentary as well as historical aspects whenever they apply.
Hi, What a brilliant cab ride that was, thank you so much. The Midland Main Line is my local line, but further south from Leicester to Market Harborough. There is some wonderful architecture along the line, so thank you for pointing out those tunnels along the way. I remember the HST's coming into service and thinking how horrid that they ousted our Class 45's from the line, but they really grew on us spotters. Now they themselves are history too. What did the railway men who drove them think about them over the years? Thanks so much and all the best Dave.
Thanks Dave. Yes, these videos will be a legacy one day and record a snapshot in time. I remember those Class 45 express’s thundering across the viaduct at New Mills where I grew up. I suppose it’s progress.
I almost needed a sun visor on my screen so respect to the drivers having to drive into that low sun for hours. Easy to see why they added bell and klaxon tones to reinforce the signal aspects, it would be so easy to miss one in that glare.
Thank you very much for this film. One slight "nerdy" comment - the Midland line to Normanton diverges sharp left at Leeds West Junction. The line through Wakefield Westgate was part of the Great Northern Railway, and subsequently the London and North Eastern Railway. Not long after leaving Westgate we pass beneath the sad remains of the Midland Railway (captioned "Pontefract to Monk Bretton Line"), engineered by George Stephenson for fast running. Long ago, when I was a boy travelling from Sheffield Midland to Leeds City North, there was a chord in the down direction by this bridge from the Midland line, so that trains could reach Wakefield Westgate, and also Wakefield to Sheffield. This has long since disappeared, and I could see no trace of it on the film. At Moorthorpe we join the Swinton and Knottingley Joint line (Midland and North Eastern Joint Railway). It is only at the former Wath Road Junction that we join the actual Midland Main line. Wath Road Junction was a maze of lines, best deciphered in a Pre-Grouping atlas. The Great Central ran under the Midland at this point. There is a "Cab View" film on RUclips of part of the Midland route. I only wish it were longer. Apolgies for being a "Nerd" !! Your films are wonderful. Thank you.
Thanks John. It’s actually a labyrinth of railways in that area but absolutely nothing compared to what it was in the early days. I’ll be adding an addendum to the description regarding the GNR at Wakefield.
Another beauty Don. And wax lyrical about railway architecture as much as you want - I love those snippets you put in! And about the weight the HST has to pull, I remember a now long gone railwayman friend who used to say - “passengers are 15 bums to a ton”!!😁
I can’t help it Andrew. On the Huddersfield stoppers, we stop alongside an enormous stone retaining wall at Marsden and every time I gaze out at some of the gigantic hand cut stones and think “how the f”..........
Loads of memories! I used to live just north of Wakefield Westgate in the mid-fifties, in one of those semis on the left at 10:33 (Cliff Park Avenue). There were no trees in those days (I suspect the frequent fires on the embankment kept them down) and we had a clear view of the track. All sorts went past, from A4s to scruffy goods engines and shunters, from Pullman cars to goods wagons. We could hear shunting going on (at Wrenthorpe?) at night, a train load of loose coupled wagons coming to a halt made a heck of a racket! My favourite train was the clockwork Hornby O-Gauge in the front room. :)
My older brother had the train set but he wouldn’t let me touch it. Now I’ve got a 1:1 scale set and he’s rather envious of it!!! Your account reminds me a lot of the activity around the four routes in New Mills where I grew up. The clank, clank, clank of buffers through the still night air.
Great video Don. I am a Derby man now living in Victoria. Am a Member at EVR and visit Derby every year staying with my old friend in Mickleover; he is also a Member and Volunteer at EVR. Nowadays I Volunteer six days a week on the famous Puffing Billy Railway outside Melbourne. Both of us worked on BR in Derby in both C&W and Loco in the 1950/60's, I left to migrate to Oz in 1968. I watch many of your videos on RUclips whilst at work. Cheers - Puf'n Pete
Second favorite video going to Holyhead #1. Thanks Don for putting all the info in the video. Like that much. in U.S.A.. You do more than you know Don you take cripples out for a Journey . Thanks Again. May God Bless.
The rumble of that engine is so nice, I hope and pray to see at least one more cab ride in one of these before they dissapear for good. Lovely video thanks Don :)
Our Ancestors who built the railways the Tunnels the Viaducts were Genius, Breathtaking skills and vision to Craft such Architecture, Simply Amazing. Loved this Video.
Great video Don. Sheffield is my birthplace,I live in the Isle of Man now but will be relocating to Thirsk in a few weeks.Most of my spotting days in early 50s were on the ECML at Doncaster,Retford and Peterborough plus Sheffield Midland and Victoria of course.Looking forward to doing a bit of train watching at Thirsk.
Another great video Don. Love the captions with local information. The Chesterfield Spire was originally strait but a virgin was married in the Church and the spire twisted in surprise.
Many thanks for yet another great journey. Due to ill-health, I am pretty much "confined to barracks" here in Scotland. Your super videos and informative narratives allow me to enjoy countryside that I would otherwise never see. Much appreciated.
You know Stewart, these videos take a lot of time and effort to make but comments like this make it all worthwhile. I’m so glad you get some benefit from them my friend.
WOW ! GLAD TO HERE AGAIN , WATCHING THIS BEAUTIFUL VIDEO WITH PRECIOUS INFORMATIONS . NOW I HOPE TO WATCH THIS RIDE AGAIN , NEXT ON SPRING OR SUMMER . THANKS SO MUCH
Mr coffee I'm sitting here in my living room in Connecticut and really enjoying my train journey through the English countryside you make this so enjoyable and informative thankyou so much.
That sun actually added to the video IMO; beautiful tint to the entire landscape with the winter sun. Thank you so much, Don, for showing landscapes I can only dream about seeing right now.
Don - many thanks to all involved. This video clearly shows the complexity of the west side of Leeds station, a sharp contrast to the east side. Copley Hill was a major steam depot in the early 60s. As usual your commentary says what is relevant, and had me smiling: Wakefield "Kurgate"!! Best wishes to all involved.
That was really enjoyable. I followed it on google earth, and it's amazing how many bits of old railway have been lost... whether it's a track that used to go off to a colliery, or a steel terminal.
What I find interesting about what the Victorians building the railways is the amount of labour digging and building those viaducts by hand some are wonderful and stunning pieces of workmanship.
Superb video Don. Thank you. The portals to Clay Cross Tunnel are very similar to the haunted Clayton Tunnel on the London Brighton line as you enter the downs going south towards Brighton. Cheers, Bob
During my enforced lockdown furlough I have gained much enjoyment from re-watching his videos and thinking about the many hours of hard work that goes into producing each one.
Absolutely brilliant - Many thanks Don from NZ - been here 55 years now, Loved the bridges etc into Sheffield. Can we see the speedo now and again.. Cheers.
I want to thank you for all the information you provide on your videos. I have watched hundreds of cab ride videos to pick those for my long cab rides playlist. Yours are among the best that I have found. Again, thanks.
Very well done DON another OSCAR winning video full of news and information and tails of the past railway scene and not forgetting architecture, an all together wonderful video. Shows your colleagues will help you out in being able to produce these great videos. Pleas carry on making more. Best regards Phil
Thanks as always Phil. The helpers generally get to see the comments but I do tell them too! Another video coming soon with lots of help from DB Cargo and driver Lee Yarker.
Thanks from a novice train lover for this video as well all your other ones Don, they are all eye openers for me , I’m an old steam lover from many years ago . Cheers mate 🏴⚒⚒🇨🇦
Hi Don, just caught up with your lasted, watched this on the iPad with headphones on, the roar of those engines is something else, shame in real life will be lost for ever at some stage, brilliant production as ever! 🤓Eddie
Up to Sheffield now. Loved every second of it thusfar! Especially the higher speed parts, the amazing acceleration sounds, your insights and appreciation of all the beautiful bits of architecture and in particular the amazing entree of small viaducts, bridges and tunnels to Sheffield's station! It's almost like a smaller Lime Street entrance, untill the station that is. Thanks again for this amazing footage Don! Looking forward to the rest of this journey; later this evening or first thing tomorrow! 🥳
@@doncoffey5820 It was amazing! I think that last part from Sheffield onward was even better! Thankyou for this amazing experience. Loved that you slowed down(/stopped) at some of the great archictectural railway wonders your beautiful railways still possess (+ the amazing croocked spire at Chesterfield!). Wish we had those amazing stretches of diesel traction only-intercity railways over here. The overhead wiring portals just take some of the charm of it away. (oh and b.t.w.; 59:34 I wish it was, haha. 😁 the only machine even more impressive than this magnificent beast!)
I love watching these journeys, takes to parts I doubt I'll get to see. Thanks again Don & pass on thanks to your supporting team, they do a great job 🚄🚄🚄
God I love this channel. Fantastic picture and sound. Used to work for BR in 80s to late 90s as trackman. Worked out of faversham Kent. Had to retire because of ill health. Watching these videos brings back so many memories good and bad. Thanks for your hard work.
Hello from Vancouver BC Canada! Thanks for the video! Also thanks for the commentary during the video, nice to get background on the areas. It fascinates me the age of the infrastructure.Cheers!
Another wonderful and informative cab ride Don. Many thanks. We'll miss the HSTs when they bow out. I hope some of the sets will be preserved, they have served us well. Thanks again.
Don thank you for sharing this route. Ridden this route and variants many a time usually starting or ending in Sheffield. Although very familiar scenery even I've learned a few new things watching this! Love the HST action as well!
These videos are now such well put together they could actually be dvd releases etc. This is my favourite yet (but then it is a class 43!!) thanks for the work in putting these together, very enjoyable to watch.
Great stuff, Thoroughly enjoyed that run too, great information and thanks for the time to look at the tunnel entrances and other points of interest. It has to be considered that you probably won't see as much detail as a passenger on the train, I love the front facing view. It reminds me of trip on Glasgow Blue train service when I was young and there was a glass partition behind the Driver giving passengers a great forwards view.
@@doncoffey5820 Don, some of those 'Blue Trains' (Class 303 EMU) were transferred on to the Glossop line, so you may well have travelled on them, but that was after their open front view was 'killed'.
I seem to remember a lot more freight but it was a long time ago and a lot has changed. I live near Langley Mill and have noted a decline in traffic here over the years too. Cheers Paul 👍
There definitely was much more freight but it has declined through the loss of power station coal and wagonload freight which did these small trip workings.
Another highly enjoyable video. Some beautiful scenery and so much great architecture. I love all the lovely cut stone facing the cuttings and tunnels and those tunnel entrances are just fab. Cheers.
Hello Don Many thanks for sharing your cab with us, to make a wonderful video, despite the glaring winter sun. At Wakefield, to the right of the station is HMP Wakefield, a Category A prisong which hold many lifers. It is here that the traditional nursery rhyme "Here we go round the mulberry bush" came from. There was a mulberry bush in the middle of the exercise yard. It died recently (it was at least 200 years old), much to the upset of the staff and the prisoners alike. The prisoners' canteen is now called The Mulberry, and has a sign made from the wood. Before the tree died, cuttings were taken to be propagated, so they hope to plant one of these to continue the tradition. I really liked your pausing the the video at the tunnel portals. It is particularly hard to see these on a southbound train, as they are in shadow. I knew that the south portal of Milford Tunnel was elaborate, but always assumed that the north portal was plain. How wrong I was. Whenever I used the Midland line to come north, I always felt that the North started at Derby. I think there is a good atmosphere on the Midland Line. I much prefer it to the Great Western, an institution that was stuck in a rut at the start of the Twentieth Century well into BR days and even into Network Rail. Many thanks James
Thanks James, glad you enjoyed it. I like the Northern railways but we can’t forget Brunel and his railways. Yes they are different but all the different regions have their own character.
Another excellent video. Travelled the Sheffield to Derby part of the route several times as a student in Sheffield who wanted to stay living in Nottingham. Rather than take the more direct route down the Erewash Valley line, I sometimes hopped on the HST and went home via Derby instead [especially when the cross country train to Nottingham was sometimes late]. It was fantastic to finally see in detail the tunnel entrances I had only before seen at speed!
Superb video. I have travelled the route from Sheffield to Derby & onwards to Birmingham frequenly since the mid 1980s. To see it like this with a great commentry is awesome. They just don't make tunnel entrances like they used to anymore do they. Thanks again.
Thank you for another excellent film - who needs a day out when you have your videos. You even answer questions on the strap line before one has the chance to ask them !!!!!
Hi Don ... Thanks for yet another well informed, detailed video of an area I have only so far followed via track plans. You've "brought it to life" for me. As usual have had to watch this twice to appreciate all the finer details within, just goes to show how good these excursions are. What a wonderful sky above Chesterfield! .... quite a long slow drag to Sheffield and then it's all over in a flash until Derby. ...never mind, ..." the going is better than the getting there" ... as an old BR slogan said. ... Well it is if you're in the cab!! ... Ps, thanks to your EMT colleagues for their assistance ... it IS appreciated!! Thanks, AB
Thanks A. He will see your comment. The route is a little drawn out but it does allow travel between Leeds and other stations a traveller couldn’t get to via the ECML.
absolutely brilliant. when you slowed for the tunnels I sat here on my own with my whisky and went WOW. the information is excellent , i hardly dare look away from the screen for fear of missing bsomething.Cheers a lot
Thanks Don. Another very informative video. Travelled this route a fair bit over the years, but never up front apart from some DMUs north of Sheffield in the 1970s and 80s.
As usual 'Loved It' 'Loved It' the history ,the beautiful tunnel ends that we never usually see! One day I would love to do these trips for myself.Thanks Don, thanks driver and thanks to the boss, who lets you film these trip's. Like a good film can't wait until the next one.
Hi Don, another stunner. Thanks as ever for your editing and captions. I would hope that the magnificent masonry in those Sheffield cuttings will get the heritage listing they deserve.
Thanks Don and to your helpers, another great video with excellent captioning. The sound of those VP185 engines is awesome especially under headphones. Please, if there's a chance of more of these with the same HST/VP185 combinations, make some more before we lose them for ever.
I would love to but I can’t promise that Ray because they really are thin on the ground. I was away from home 13 hours getting that footage because I didn’t want to miss the chance. EMR will change to MTU powered HSTs very soon.
Your best video yet ..IMO Hi Don .. I was at Darlington Railway station yesterday .. I was on a class 802 TPE between Durham and Darlington ... I was chatting to a member of the staff on board the TPE train on my journey (Sorry I never caught his name) ... I asked him "Have you ever met Don Coffey" ... He said .... Yes I watch all his video's for route learning which I am doing at the moment ... UNREAL ... I said.. We both commented on how "Class" these video's are.. This is without a doubt the best railway channel on youtube Don... Please keep up the good work... The train was the 05 Feb 13.18pm Durham to Liverpool Lime Street .. Calling at 13. 36 Darlington 14. 05 York 14. 30 Leeds 14. 48 Huddersfield 15. 24 Manchester Victoria 15. 41 Newton-le-Willows 16.00 Liverpool Lime Street
That’s good Arsene. I don’t know who it was but a lot of crew watch them. Glad you liked the 802 ride. I might be signing those later this year but I will definitely be travelling to Newcastle with Aron soon and we’ll get that on RUclips.
Well i have just watched this video and i have really enjoyed it from start to finish. In my view you give us some technical information and appreciate the architecture and surroundings on these routes which as you say we never see. Keep up the good work.
Will do Steve. I’ve tried to make each one slightly different so it expands the knowledge of the viewer in a kind of volume of reference magazines more and more as they watch consecutive videos.
Another fine video, Don, and another trip down Memory Lane. I notice that the loops at Moorthorpe have their exit signals well back from the converging points and no trap points, so I would have thought that they qualify as passenger loops. On the other hand, the up loop just south of Ambergate station has catch points, so I wonder why it's called a passenger loop... maybe the exit signal has a full length (183m, 200yd) overlap inside the loop. I've beaten up and down this line many times, for example when I used to get my fifty pound, one-week "all line rover" ticket and go off riding the rails for a solid 24/7 during the school holidays in the first half of the 1970s. A Class 45 "with eight on" took over two hours for this run in those days and a first-generation DMU seemed to take all morning from Sheffield to anywhere else! You mention the heavy coal and steel traffic that used the line south of Chesterfield. In the Trent and Derby resignalling schemes of 1967 - 1969, the line from Tapton Jct via Toton to Trent Jct was 4-track all the way through, plus many loops and small yards, having "fast" and "goods" lines. Apart from the controlled signals protecting the colliery and works sidings, automatic block signals were, as now, worked on the "track circuit block" principle on all four roads. But the special trick was that the "goods" lines additionally had automatic call-on aspects - two small diagonally-arranged white lights just below the main red aspect which itself (by convention and to prevent its obliteration by build up of snow on any signal hood below it - design features that are forgotten with modern LED signals!) was always at the bottom of the multi-aspect signal head. By means of this signalling, when a section was occupied and the signal in rear thus at red, the automatic call-on would light up to allow the following train to enter the section "at reduced speed, being prepared to stop short of any obstruction" and in effect draw up to the rear of the train ahead. The traffic thus crawled along, train after train, and found its way into the huge sorting yard at Toton, a place which lent its name to the position-light hump-shunting signals often mistakenly called "totem" signals. This perhaps conveys an impression of just how dense the traffic was in those days and sadly I note that during this journey of somewhat less than 90 minutes, we haven't seen a single moving freight train. During my formation training at Westinghouse in 1975 - 76, I worked for a while as office gofer (you, lad, gofer this, gofer that) on the Sheffield resignalling scheme, but that big power box seems now to have been replaced by something bigger still. The line from Sheffield station to Dore was 4-track all the way up the hill, plus factory sidings, but much of that land now seems to be occupied by other property. I went out with the gang that staked out the colour-light signals on the line between Methley Jct. and Holbeck, a route that used to be used by Midland Main Line expresses but is less direct than the current one via Wakefield - on the re-signalling plan, the 4-aspect signal spacings and braking distances were shown as being calculated for 115 mph, but I don't believe that the line speed was ever raised to this. I then went on to design the circuits for the TCB signalling and for the interface with the mechanical box at Methley Jct. There was still a colliery siding on the up side just north of Methley Jct included in the plans - Savile Colliery, if my memory serves me right. The line from Derby Jct northwards to Milton was quadrupled by the LMS railway using government unemployment relief. Of course, up until 1967 a lot of freight and passenger traffic to and from Manchester came this way, making for a very busy line. The lines via Derby Jct (as it is now called), Chaddesden and Spondon allowed Manchester freight trains to and from Toton to bypass the Derby station bottleneck and also for terminating passenger trains from St. Pancras to loop around using the south chord at Derby Jct to return to London without having to uncouple and run the loco round. It is interesting to reflect on how much track simplification has been made possible by the eliminination of loco-hauled passenger trains. In the 1970s, with improved signalling and less traffic, British Rail was able to "de-quadrify" (official terminology!) the layout north of Little Eaton Jct and laid their first section of experimental concrete paved track along the former up slow between there and Duffield. They slewed the remaining up line into this at each end and it carried all the up traffic for many years before being taken out of use, but you stil see it in the video, covered in moss. My parents lived for over 40 years in a house occupying the site of Little Eaton station, with the branch line to the open-cast Denby Colliery passing close by their kitchen window. Class 20's working in multiple and later Class 56 hauled two or three trains a day of coal from Denby to the power station at Willington, just on the other side of Derby. I still have a relic, the original 1893 signal box diagram from Little Eaton Station Crossing box, hanging in my home office.
Well! Crikey Nicholas, that probably qualifies for the longest comment I’ve ever received. Thank you so much for taking this potted and evocative memoir. I’m actually a North West originally and now Eastern man so the areas around Derby are a tad too far south for me to speak with any authority although I do currently sign Methley and am familiar with the location of the Midland Junction at Goose Hill. Regarding the protection on loops, it depends on the scheme but most are protected by TPWS these days where previously they had traps (so many refer to them as catch points so it’s refreshing to hear them referred to correctly). I used to grab a mate and go down Stockport or Manchester in the early 70s so we may be similar ages (63) and I can vaguely remember the much more complex arrangements. My only example of seeing the hump shunting signals is At Gascoigne Wood which I also currently sign. I did find an explanation of them somewhere but have since lost it. I also despair at the lack of freight in some of my journeys. I can literally come from Hull to Manchester on many occasions - a distance of 100 miles and not see any yet the motorways are hammered with trucks. The days of trainload freight long gone. I’ve not heard the term de-quadrification but I do experience some significant examples of it. From Marsden to Huddersfield (Manchester Oxford Road to York video is a good example) the line was de-quadrified and by slewing the track to straighten the curves, they managed to get the lines speed up to 85 but it begs the question of what will happen if they ever quadruple it again. It’s been a pleasure reading your account and once again I really appreciate the time you took.
Thanks to you and your friends for another great video. This is the only way to travel for a fellow like me, who hates to travel. I enjoy all the information you add, and all the Victorian engineering one sees in all your videos. And I have to add that every time I see that round building with the slightly offset stories outside of Leeds Station, I cringe -- it is simply wrong!
Compulsive viewing. Jeez, how old am I if I remember seeing the Class 13 (?) 'Hump' shunters at Tinsley Yard? Good lord. Wonderful to see lines I travelled on as one of those teenage 'anoraks' of yesteryear Don. Thank you for these memories.
Great video thanks, Don. Changed a lot since you could see it from the front seats of a DMU! Leeds to Sheffield - 35 miles in 50 minutes on a class one train with only one stop - No better than a 'Peak with load 10' in the seventies. Still waiting the investment that has been promised for decades! 1:18:35 - is that what is left of the 'experimental solid concrete' track bed on the left? Impressed with the new approach to Derby!
I’m not sure about the trackbed although looking at Google it could well be. I can remember those peaks rushing over the viaduct in New Mills where I grew up. We used to watch for “namers”.
Thanks for sharing Don. Another gem! Looks like there is very little left of the old third side of the former triangular junction at Ambergate. Hard also to believe that what is now the Matlock branch, was once a mainline through to Manchester.
I did my heavy goods training alongside the line at Ambergate and can remember the constant flow of big diesels rushing past. I also remember the old line on from Matlock. I live about 100m from it now at Chapel en le Frith. Just freight to the quarries now.
Absolutely brilliant as usual Don, thank you very much for showing us. Sound of brake air I hope is only aural, the thought of foul compressed air near a driver is mind-boggling in many ways, let alone health issues!!!
Hi Don, another great video. It’s interesting your comment about the weight of people on the train. I guess because a train is so heavy in the first place I wouldn’t think it makes that much difference, but of course it does. As much as 75 tons, wow!
I've traveled this route a number of times but never gotten a good look at those stunning tunnel portals. Normally the moment you notice them they are gone! Nice to get a proper look at them from the driver's eye view!
Used the line many times but I've never seen the Clay Cross, Toad Moor Elliptical or Milford tunnel portals front-on. Again, many thanks Don for the detailed information and historical aspects of your footage.
Beautiful journey. Thank you for the interesting and informative facts about railway infrastructure (especially the amazing tunnels) and other sights along the way.
What a great trip Don love those tunnels including Bradway and Milford some time we will go to whiteball another of Brunels great tunnels indeed thanks .
The very ornate castle-like tunnel portal that you pointed out reminds me of the entrance to Bramhope tunnel on the Leeds-Harrogate line. In a nearby churchyard there is a miniature version of that tunnel portal, as a memorial to the navvies who were killed during the construction of the line and/or the tunnel. Anthony Burton mentions it in one of the episodes of his 1980 series The Past at Work ruclips.net/video/j-spUJVGedE/видео.html
Shame that the Leeds West Jnct/Holbeck Viaduct line was pulled up. That was always an interesting viewpoint over the south Leeds industrial area (and Holbeck shed if, like me, you were a train spotter/rail enthusiast back in the day). Thanks for yet another great drivers eye view video.
Thanks Don, as brilliant as ever. I didn't have too much problem with the sun - I had my laptop 'hooked up' to a wall mounted TV with the screen tilted forwards and that seemed to help. I liked your comment about the 'visual impact' of electrification. There was uproar in the Thames Valley when some local residents realised what GWR electrification was 'going to do' to a bridge over the Thames. I am not sure how it was resolved.
Don, I take your point about the aesthetic benefits from the absence of electric "furniture ". But without it, and this seems to be the ongoing state of the Midland Main Line, north of Market Harborough, we (I speak as a resident of Nottingham) seem stuck with a service of polluting diesel trains for the foreseeable future. And coming into Sheffield Midland, the station looks to be a relic from the past, with little activity going on, apart from the service you were on and a couple of DMUs, well past their sell by date, loitering without apparent intent. As always with your videos, you gave us lots of interesting and informative commentary, which I enjoyed. But, from this snapshot, it does seem as if the development of the Northern Powerhouse and the Midlands Engine has got an awful long way to go!
Yes, if it wasn't for the health and softy risk and the fact that third-rail can't supply as much power, it would be a much better, less ugly solution than OHLE.
There was uproar about the OLE affecting many GWML structures, including Maidenhead, Gatehampton and Moulsford viaducts. There were some design changes but nothing major. With luck, no other railway in Britain will be 'graced' with the same OTT OLE structures!
I was a little disappointed that you didn't mention Tapton House on the left just before Chesterfield station. It's not actually visible from the railway, but legend has it that George Stephenson, who spent the last year's of his life and died there, would come and look at his North Midland Railway down below from the grounds of the house. The legend also says that his ghost sometimes appears doing the same. I imagine that he would approve of these new-fangled trains and wonder why there's no smoke. Great picture of the magnificent north portal if the Clay Cross tunnel. You can also see it from the bridge over the railway. It used to be a siding into the Clay Cross iron works but is now a footpath. Thanks for the great videos, Don!
Thanks for the feedback George. Unfortunately I can’t add everything otherwise it would be one long continuous caption running although I must admit it is interesting about Tapton House and the ghost!
@@doncoffey5820 You're quite right there! So much to see on that line. The narrow gauge Ashover Light Railway from Clay Cross ran parallel to the Midland railway from south of the Clay Cross tunnel before veering off towards Ashover through what is now Ogston Reservoir. As a teenager in the 50s I would travel from Chesterfield to Dore and Totley station to get a train to the Hope Valley and spend the day on Kinderscout. The train used corridor-less carriages. There was always a mixed group of boys and girls so my girlfriend (later my wife) and I would try to get a compartment to ourselves and take advantage of the Totley tunnel. We both attended school at Tapton House so we were well informed about George Stephenson, his so-called ghost, and the greenhouses where he tried to grow straight cucumbers in glass tubes.
Its a pity the Hayfield line didn’t survive as that would have made a super way of accessing Kinder. I have got a Hope Valley Line video. I don’t know if you’ve seen it. ruclips.net/video/R_fEcLVHsWk/видео.html
What I love most about Don Coffey's videos is their utter professionalism. He enthuses us with his detailed commentary as well as historical aspects whenever they apply.
I try to add something different to each one so the watcher builds up railway knowledge with each one.
Hi, What a brilliant cab ride that was, thank you so much. The Midland Main Line is my local line, but further south from Leicester to Market Harborough. There is some wonderful architecture along the line, so thank you for pointing out those tunnels along the way.
I remember the HST's coming into service and thinking how horrid that they ousted our Class 45's from the line, but they really grew on us spotters. Now they themselves are history too. What did the railway men who drove them think about them over the years? Thanks so much and all the best Dave.
Thanks Dave. Yes, these videos will be a legacy one day and record a snapshot in time. I remember those Class 45 express’s thundering across the viaduct at New Mills where I grew up. I suppose it’s progress.
I almost needed a sun visor on my screen so respect to the drivers having to drive into that low sun for hours. Easy to see why they added bell and klaxon tones to reinforce the signal aspects, it would be so easy to miss one in that glare.
Yes, sunlight can be a real problem Colin. There is a reporting form that drivers can use to report such problems if they believe it presents a risk.
Thank you very much for this film. One slight "nerdy" comment - the Midland line to Normanton diverges sharp left at Leeds West Junction. The line through Wakefield Westgate was part of the Great Northern Railway, and subsequently the London and North Eastern Railway. Not long after leaving Westgate we pass beneath the sad remains of the Midland Railway (captioned "Pontefract to Monk Bretton Line"), engineered by George Stephenson for fast running. Long ago, when I was a boy travelling from Sheffield Midland to Leeds City North, there was a chord in the down direction by this bridge from the Midland line, so that trains could reach Wakefield Westgate, and also Wakefield to Sheffield. This has long since disappeared, and I could see no trace of it on the film. At Moorthorpe we join the Swinton and Knottingley Joint line (Midland and North Eastern Joint Railway). It is only at the former Wath Road Junction that we join the actual Midland Main line. Wath Road Junction was a maze of lines, best deciphered in a Pre-Grouping atlas. The Great Central ran under the Midland at this point. There is a "Cab View" film on RUclips of part of the Midland route. I only wish it were longer. Apolgies for being a "Nerd" !! Your films are wonderful. Thank you.
Thanks John. It’s actually a labyrinth of railways in that area but absolutely nothing compared to what it was in the early days. I’ll be adding an addendum to the description regarding the GNR at Wakefield.
Another beauty Don. And wax lyrical about railway architecture as much as you want - I love those snippets you put in! And about the weight the HST has to pull, I remember a now long gone railwayman friend who used to say - “passengers are 15 bums to a ton”!!😁
I can’t help it Andrew. On the Huddersfield stoppers, we stop alongside an enormous stone retaining wall at Marsden and every time I gaze out at some of the gigantic hand cut stones and think “how the f”..........
Loads of memories! I used to live just north of Wakefield Westgate in the mid-fifties, in one of those semis on the left at 10:33 (Cliff Park Avenue). There were no trees in those days (I suspect the frequent fires on the embankment kept them down) and we had a clear view of the track. All sorts went past, from A4s to scruffy goods engines and shunters, from Pullman cars to goods wagons. We could hear shunting going on (at Wrenthorpe?) at night, a train load of loose coupled wagons coming to a halt made a heck of a racket! My favourite train was the clockwork Hornby O-Gauge in the front room. :)
My older brother had the train set but he wouldn’t let me touch it. Now I’ve got a 1:1 scale set and he’s rather envious of it!!! Your account reminds me a lot of the activity around the four routes in New Mills where I grew up. The clank, clank, clank of buffers through the still night air.
Great video Don. I am a Derby man now living in Victoria. Am a Member at EVR and visit Derby every year staying with my old friend in Mickleover; he is also a Member and Volunteer at EVR. Nowadays I Volunteer six days a week on the famous Puffing Billy Railway outside Melbourne. Both of us worked on BR in Derby in both C&W and Loco in the 1950/60's, I left to migrate to Oz in 1968. I watch many of your videos on RUclips whilst at work. Cheers - Puf'n Pete
Cheers Pete. Neil Ferguson Lee is a good friend and of course part of the reason many of these videos exist. Glad you like them.
@@doncoffey5820 Just in case you are interested, Railfan aunz has just published a whole line ride video. What an interesting (even wacky) railway.
loved that video Don. the architecture of the tunnels is amazing. i bet that the largest variety of tunnel architecture in the country on one line
Absolutely Andrew, astonishing aren’t they 👍
Second favorite video going to Holyhead #1. Thanks Don for putting all the info in the video. Like that much. in U.S.A.. You do more than you know Don you take cripples out for a Journey . Thanks Again. May God Bless.
The rumble of that engine is so nice, I hope and pray to see at least one more cab ride in one of these before they dissapear for good. Lovely video thanks Don :)
You’ll have to be quick Adam. EMR are making the transition right now. You will always have the video.
Our Ancestors who built the railways the Tunnels the Viaducts were Genius, Breathtaking skills and vision to Craft such Architecture, Simply Amazing. Loved this Video.
Yes, they were amazing. I’m glad you enjoyed it.
Great video Don. Sheffield is my birthplace,I live in the Isle of Man now but will be relocating to Thirsk in a few weeks.Most of my spotting days in early 50s were on the ECML at Doncaster,Retford and Peterborough plus Sheffield Midland and Victoria of course.Looking forward to doing a bit of train watching at Thirsk.
You might see Aron and myself going by in one of our 802s. We will be filming the run up to Newcastle later this month or in March.
Another great video Don. Love the captions with local information. The Chesterfield Spire was originally strait but a virgin was married in the Church and the spire twisted in surprise.
Yes, that was one theory but apparently they are now convinced it’s down to boring old lead used in its construction.
@@doncoffey5820 The other theory is that they used unseasoned timber, which warped as it dried out, though I like Richard's explanation.
The engineering on the approach to Sheffield is amazing!
Many thanks for yet another great journey. Due to ill-health, I am pretty much "confined to barracks" here in Scotland. Your super videos and informative narratives allow me to enjoy countryside that I would otherwise never see. Much appreciated.
You know Stewart, these videos take a lot of time and effort to make but comments like this make it all worthwhile. I’m so glad you get some benefit from them my friend.
WOW ! GLAD TO HERE AGAIN , WATCHING THIS BEAUTIFUL VIDEO WITH PRECIOUS INFORMATIONS . NOW I HOPE TO WATCH THIS RIDE AGAIN , NEXT ON SPRING OR SUMMER . THANKS SO MUCH
Glad you enjoyed it Luzia.
You know it's going to be good day when you wake up to a new Don video. Absolutely amazing as always. Cheers Don we really appreciate your efforts.
Thanks Steve, much appreciated.
Mr coffee I'm sitting here in my living room in Connecticut and really enjoying my train journey through the English countryside you make this so enjoyable and informative thankyou so much.
Sounds great! Glad you enjoyed it Allan.
That sun actually added to the video IMO; beautiful tint to the entire landscape with the winter sun. Thank you so much, Don, for showing landscapes I can only dream about seeing right now.
Thanks Corey, much appreciated.
Don - many thanks to all involved. This video clearly shows the complexity of the west side of Leeds station, a sharp contrast to the east side. Copley Hill was a major steam depot in the early 60s. As usual your commentary says what is relevant, and had me smiling: Wakefield "Kurgate"!! Best wishes to all involved.
I come from New Mills so I’m not in a position to question dialect!!!
That was really enjoyable.
I followed it on google earth, and it's amazing how many bits of old railway have been lost... whether it's a track that used to go off to a colliery, or a steel terminal.
Absolutely. There are hundreds of little branches and sidings gone.
What I find interesting about what the Victorians building the railways is the amount of labour digging and building those viaducts by hand some are wonderful and stunning pieces of workmanship.
I know. I’ve dug ponds and driveways etc in my time and I’m very aware of just how much work went into them. It is astonishing.
Superb video Don. Thank you. The portals to Clay Cross Tunnel are very similar to the haunted Clayton Tunnel on the London Brighton line as you enter the downs going south towards Brighton. Cheers, Bob
Several people have made this comment. I will look that tunnel up right now! Thanks as always Bob.
Yes spectacular. By the way I don’t believe in ghosts! I’ll sleep in it any night on my own if it can be arranged ;-)
During my enforced lockdown furlough I have gained much enjoyment from re-watching his videos and thinking about the many hours of hard work that goes into producing each one.
Great to hear!
Srdečne pozdravujem zo Slovenska 😃😃😃😃.
Veľmi prekrásne natočené video 😃😃😃😃.
Perfektné super 😃😃😃😃😃.
To je veľmi milé. Som rád, že sa vám to páčilo.
To je veľmi milé. Som rád, že sa vám to páčilo.
Absolutely brilliant - Many thanks Don from NZ - been here 55 years now, Loved the bridges etc into Sheffield. Can we see the speedo now and again.. Cheers.
Hi Tony, we do in some videos but the software doesn’t allow it permanently 👍. Have a look at some of the others.
Loved it. Fantastic. Thanks so much for the videos.
Many thanks.
It’s great seeing the routes I travel every week from this unique viewpoint. Thank you.
My pleasure Michael. More soon.
I want to thank you for all the information you provide on your videos. I have watched hundreds of cab ride videos to pick those for my long cab rides playlist. Yours are among the best that I have found. Again, thanks.
Much appreciated Jim. We go to freight next.
Thanks Don. Always great to watch your rail journeys as I can go around the country without leaving my flat. Please keep up the great work.
Thanks Mick, will do!
Very well done DON another OSCAR winning video full of news and information and tails of the past railway scene and not forgetting architecture, an all together wonderful video. Shows your colleagues will help you out in being able to produce these great videos. Pleas carry on making more. Best regards Phil
Thanks as always Phil. The helpers generally get to see the comments but I do tell them too! Another video coming soon with lots of help from DB Cargo and driver Lee Yarker.
@@doncoffey5820 Thanks to the drivers as they also know a hole lot of knowledge of their local areas.
Another enjoyable and informative journey. Many thanks.
Thanks from a novice train lover for this video as well all your other ones Don, they are all eye openers for me , I’m an old steam lover from many years ago . Cheers mate 🏴⚒⚒🇨🇦
Glad you enjoyed it Ron.
Hi Don, just caught up with your lasted, watched this on the iPad with headphones on, the roar of those engines is something else, shame in real life will be lost for ever at some stage, brilliant production as ever! 🤓Eddie
Fantastic aren’t they Eddie.
Nice one don.Those tunnel entrances are stunning.
100% agreed.
Up to Sheffield now. Loved every second of it thusfar! Especially the higher speed parts, the amazing acceleration sounds, your insights and appreciation of all the beautiful bits of architecture and in particular the amazing entree of small viaducts, bridges and tunnels to Sheffield's station! It's almost like a smaller Lime Street entrance, untill the station that is.
Thanks again for this amazing footage Don! Looking forward to the rest of this journey; later this evening or first thing tomorrow! 🥳
Cheers Michel.
@@doncoffey5820 It was amazing! I think that last part from Sheffield onward was even better! Thankyou for this amazing experience. Loved that you slowed down(/stopped) at some of the great archictectural railway wonders your beautiful railways still possess (+ the amazing croocked spire at Chesterfield!). Wish we had those amazing stretches of diesel traction only-intercity railways over here. The overhead wiring portals just take some of the charm of it away.
(oh and b.t.w.; 59:34 I wish it was, haha. 😁 the only machine even more impressive than this magnificent beast!)
I love watching these journeys, takes to parts I doubt I'll get to see. Thanks again Don & pass on thanks to your supporting team, they do a great job 🚄🚄🚄
Thanks Peter, they will see your comment.
What a beautiful autumn view with that low sun and that green and brownish landscape. 😊
Danke. Glad you enjoyed it.
Thanks again Don for another excellent video .Very informative as allways .Can't wait for your next instalment 🚊🚉🚊🚉🚊🚉🚊
Coming soon!
God I love this channel. Fantastic picture and sound. Used to work for BR in 80s to late 90s as trackman. Worked out of faversham Kent. Had to retire because of ill health. Watching these videos brings back so many memories good and bad. Thanks for your hard work.
I’m glad it brings it all back for you.
Hello from Vancouver BC Canada! Thanks for the video! Also thanks for the commentary during the video, nice to get background on the areas. It fascinates me the age of the infrastructure.Cheers!
Thanks Marek.
Another wonderful and informative cab ride Don. Many thanks. We'll miss the HSTs when they bow out. I hope some of the sets will be preserved, they have served us well. Thanks again.
Thanks Mike. Yes, surely some must be preserved.
excellent as we have come to expect TV companies would be proud of the quality and content thanks and well done Don
Thanks Brian.
Another wonderful video Don, as usual full of interest. TY
Thank you too Richard.
Really nice bit of train-handling at Meadowhall. Experience shows!
He knows his stuff (but don’t tell him I said it)!
@@doncoffey5820 Mum's the word, then! :-)
Really enjoyed this one . Thanks Don !
A brilliant drivers view and with plenty of information. My Grandad would've loved this video, God rest his soul. Keep up the good work.
Sorry he can’t see it.
Don thank you for sharing this route. Ridden this route and variants many a time usually starting or ending in Sheffield. Although very familiar scenery even I've learned a few new things watching this! Love the HST action as well!
Glad you enjoyed it.
Another excellent travelogue, infused throughout with detail, history and information. Thanks for posting.
Plenty more in the series Mike. Glad you liked it.
These videos are now such well put together they could actually be dvd releases etc. This is my favourite yet (but then it is a class 43!!) thanks for the work in putting these together, very enjoyable to watch.
You can send me £19.99 if you want Ash 😀. Just kidding, I’m glad you like them. They have evolved since the early ones.
44c here in the west of Sydney, watching cool countryside go by on this great vid great work Don on all of those you have done keep em coming.
Will do Mike. There was actually frost in some of the cuttings. Not something you see a lot these days I reckon!
This is just a wonderful video. Glorious English countryside and one of the nicest and most interesting lines in the Midlands.
We agonised about the weather but it was the last service with a VP185 engined 43 so it had to be done.
Again, many thanks Don. I appreciate all you and your helpful colleagues do; but most of all, I just enjoy the ride. Looking forward to the next one!
Coming soon!
Hello from Cornwall Pennsylvania. Thank you, Don, for your usual fine video work. Best wishes for a great year! CAS
Hi Charles. Glad you enjoyed it.
Great stuff, Thoroughly enjoyed that run too, great information and thanks for the time to look at the tunnel entrances and other points of interest.
It has to be considered that you probably won't see as much detail as a passenger on the train, I love the front facing view.
It reminds me of trip on Glasgow Blue train service when I was young and there was a glass partition behind the Driver giving passengers a great forwards view.
The old DMUs, yes, they were fun. I sometimes have to travel “on the cushions” and looking out see things I’ve never seen before.
@@doncoffey5820 Don, some of those 'Blue Trains' (Class 303 EMU) were transferred on to the Glossop line, so you may well have travelled on them, but that was after their open front view was 'killed'.
Great video. Leeds is my hometown. Moved to Dronfield and travelled this line everyday to get to work in Sheffield.
Right on your patch Scott 👍
Hi
Thanks for sharing that was superb. I grew up along side the Ambergate to Belper section, brings back some memories. :-)
Cheers Paul
I can remember doing my heavy goods training right by the line at Ambergate and the continuous sound of heavy diesels was a big distraction!
There used to be a lot of freight going north as I remember. Last time I visited Belper near the old Mill and the fishing pond hardly saw a train...?
I’m not really an expert on the area. I live in north Derbyshire - Chapel en le Frith.
I seem to remember a lot more freight but it was a long time ago and a lot has changed.
I live near Langley Mill and have noted a decline in traffic here over the years too.
Cheers Paul 👍
There definitely was much more freight but it has declined through the loss of power station coal and wagonload freight which did these small trip workings.
Another highly enjoyable video. Some beautiful scenery and so much great architecture. I love all the lovely cut stone facing the cuttings and tunnels and those tunnel entrances are just fab. Cheers.
Fantastic aren’t they Pauline. I’m glad you enjoyed it.
Hello Don
Many thanks for sharing your cab with us, to make a wonderful video, despite the glaring winter sun.
At Wakefield, to the right of the station is HMP Wakefield, a Category A prisong which hold many lifers. It is here that the traditional nursery rhyme "Here we go round the mulberry bush" came from. There was a mulberry bush in the middle of the exercise yard. It died recently (it was at least 200 years old), much to the upset of the staff and the prisoners alike. The prisoners' canteen is now called The Mulberry, and has a sign made from the wood. Before the tree died, cuttings were taken to be propagated, so they hope to plant one of these to continue the tradition.
I really liked your pausing the the video at the tunnel portals. It is particularly hard to see these on a southbound train, as they are in shadow. I knew that the south portal of Milford Tunnel was elaborate, but always assumed that the north portal was plain. How wrong I was.
Whenever I used the Midland line to come north, I always felt that the North started at Derby.
I think there is a good atmosphere on the Midland Line. I much prefer it to the Great Western, an institution that was stuck in a rut at the start of the Twentieth Century well into BR days and even into Network Rail.
Many thanks
James
Thanks James, glad you enjoyed it. I like the Northern railways but we can’t forget Brunel and his railways. Yes they are different but all the different regions have their own character.
Another excellent video. Travelled the Sheffield to Derby part of the route several times as a student in Sheffield who wanted to stay living in Nottingham. Rather than take the more direct route down the Erewash Valley line, I sometimes hopped on the HST and went home via Derby instead [especially when the cross country train to Nottingham was sometimes late]. It was fantastic to finally see in detail the tunnel entrances I had only before seen at speed!
I’m glad it brought back memories. Pity the sun defused the image so much.
Superb video. I have travelled the route from Sheffield to Derby & onwards to Birmingham frequenly since the mid 1980s. To see it like this with a great commentry is awesome. They just don't make tunnel entrances like they used to anymore do they. Thanks again.
Thanks Rob. I get blown away with that early architecture.
Thank you for another excellent film - who needs a day out when you have your videos. You even answer questions on the strap line before one has the chance to ask them !!!!!
There you are and it makes money for charity - a win win situation!
Another great video Don, and a great big thank you to all of the team. The information was brilliant along with the HST. The locomotive is brilliant.
Much appreciated David. Your comment will be seen 😉
Hi Don ...
Thanks for yet another well informed, detailed video of an area I have only so far followed via track plans. You've "brought it to life" for me. As usual have had to watch this twice to appreciate all the finer details within, just goes to show how good these excursions are.
What a wonderful sky above Chesterfield! .... quite a long slow drag to Sheffield and then it's all over in a flash until Derby. ...never mind, ..." the going is better than the getting there" ... as an old BR slogan said. ... Well it is if you're in the cab!! ...
Ps, thanks to your EMT colleagues for their assistance ... it IS appreciated!!
Thanks,
AB
Thanks A. He will see your comment. The route is a little drawn out but it does allow travel between Leeds and other stations a traveller couldn’t get to via the ECML.
Another wonderful production Don. Thanks for your time and effort once again. Cheers, Norm.
You’re welcome Norm.
absolutely brilliant. when you slowed for the tunnels I sat here on my own with my whisky and went WOW. the information is excellent , i hardly dare look away from the screen for fear of missing bsomething.Cheers a lot
Haha, glad you enjoyed it.
Thanks Don. Another very informative video. Travelled this route a fair bit over the years, but never up front apart from some DMUs north of Sheffield in the 1970s and 80s.
I used to love the front seat in the DMUs too.
As usual 'Loved It' 'Loved It' the history ,the beautiful tunnel ends that we never usually see! One day I would love to do these trips for myself.Thanks Don, thanks driver and thanks to the boss, who lets you film these trip's. Like a good film can't wait until the next one.
We change over to freight next Val. I can’t get Daniel Craig involved though 😉
Hi Don, another stunner. Thanks as ever for your editing and captions. I would hope that the magnificent masonry in those Sheffield cuttings will get the heritage listing they deserve.
Luckily, Network Rail are very protective over valued structures these days so should be all good.
Thanks Don and to your helpers, another great video with excellent captioning. The sound of those VP185 engines is awesome especially under headphones. Please, if there's a chance of more of these with the same HST/VP185 combinations, make some more before we lose them for ever.
I would love to but I can’t promise that Ray because they really are thin on the ground. I was away from home 13 hours getting that footage because I didn’t want to miss the chance. EMR will change to MTU powered HSTs very soon.
@@doncoffey5820 Oh well - but at least you have done this one and preserved that wonderful sound.
Your best video yet ..IMO
Hi Don ..
I was at Darlington Railway station yesterday .. I was on a class 802 TPE between Durham and Darlington ... I was chatting to a member of the staff on board the TPE train on my journey (Sorry I never caught his name) ... I asked him "Have you ever met Don Coffey" ... He said .... Yes I watch all his video's for route learning which I am doing at the moment ... UNREAL ... I said.. We both commented on how "Class" these video's are..
This is without a doubt the best railway channel on youtube Don... Please keep up the good work...
The train was the 05 Feb 13.18pm Durham to Liverpool Lime Street .. Calling at
13. 36 Darlington
14. 05 York
14. 30 Leeds
14. 48 Huddersfield
15. 24 Manchester Victoria
15. 41 Newton-le-Willows
16.00
Liverpool Lime Street
That’s good Arsene. I don’t know who it was but a lot of crew watch them. Glad you liked the 802 ride. I might be signing those later this year but I will definitely be travelling to Newcastle with Aron soon and we’ll get that on RUclips.
Well done Dan. Great photography and excellent commentary
Thanks Martin.
Excellent video and as always extremely informative. Thanks, Don!
Thanks Mark.
Well i have just watched this video and i have really enjoyed it from start to finish. In my view you give us some technical information and appreciate the architecture and surroundings on these routes which as you say we never see. Keep up the good work.
Will do Steve. I’ve tried to make each one slightly different so it expands the knowledge of the viewer in a kind of volume of reference magazines more and more as they watch consecutive videos.
The entrance to Clay Cross Tunnel. Incredible. Thank you Don for another amazing journey.
Glad you enjoyed it Paul.
Another fine video, Don, and another trip down Memory Lane. I notice that the loops at Moorthorpe have their exit signals well back from the converging points and no trap points, so I would have thought that they qualify as passenger loops. On the other hand, the up loop just south of Ambergate station has catch points, so I wonder why it's called a passenger loop... maybe the exit signal has a full length (183m, 200yd) overlap inside the loop. I've beaten up and down this line many times, for example when I used to get my fifty pound, one-week "all line rover" ticket and go off riding the rails for a solid 24/7 during the school holidays in the first half of the 1970s. A Class 45 "with eight on" took over two hours for this run in those days and a first-generation DMU seemed to take all morning from Sheffield to anywhere else!
You mention the heavy coal and steel traffic that used the line south of Chesterfield. In the Trent and Derby resignalling schemes of 1967 - 1969, the line from Tapton Jct via Toton to Trent Jct was 4-track all the way through, plus many loops and small yards, having "fast" and "goods" lines. Apart from the controlled signals protecting the colliery and works sidings, automatic block signals were, as now, worked on the "track circuit block" principle on all four roads. But the special trick was that the "goods" lines additionally had automatic call-on aspects - two small diagonally-arranged white lights just below the main red aspect which itself (by convention and to prevent its obliteration by build up of snow on any signal hood below it - design features that are forgotten with modern LED signals!) was always at the bottom of the multi-aspect signal head. By means of this signalling, when a section was occupied and the signal in rear thus at red, the automatic call-on would light up to allow the following train to enter the section "at reduced speed, being prepared to stop short of any obstruction" and in effect draw up to the rear of the train ahead. The traffic thus crawled along, train after train, and found its way into the huge sorting yard at Toton, a place which lent its name to the position-light hump-shunting signals often mistakenly called "totem" signals. This perhaps conveys an impression of just how dense the traffic was in those days and sadly I note that during this journey of somewhat less than 90 minutes, we haven't seen a single moving freight train.
During my formation training at Westinghouse in 1975 - 76, I worked for a while as office gofer (you, lad, gofer this, gofer that) on the Sheffield resignalling scheme, but that big power box seems now to have been replaced by something bigger still. The line from Sheffield station to Dore was 4-track all the way up the hill, plus factory sidings, but much of that land now seems to be occupied by other property. I went out with the gang that staked out the colour-light signals on the line between Methley Jct. and Holbeck, a route that used to be used by Midland Main Line expresses but is less direct than the current one via Wakefield - on the re-signalling plan, the 4-aspect signal spacings and braking distances were shown as being calculated for 115 mph, but I don't believe that the line speed was ever raised to this. I then went on to design the circuits for the TCB signalling and for the interface with the mechanical box at Methley Jct. There was still a colliery siding on the up side just north of Methley Jct included in the plans - Savile Colliery, if my memory serves me right.
The line from Derby Jct northwards to Milton was quadrupled by the LMS railway using government unemployment relief. Of course, up until 1967 a lot of freight and passenger traffic to and from Manchester came this way, making for a very busy line. The lines via Derby Jct (as it is now called), Chaddesden and Spondon allowed Manchester freight trains to and from Toton to bypass the Derby station bottleneck and also for terminating passenger trains from St. Pancras to loop around using the south chord at Derby Jct to return to London without having to uncouple and run the loco round. It is interesting to reflect on how much track simplification has been made possible by the eliminination of loco-hauled passenger trains. In the 1970s, with improved signalling and less traffic, British Rail was able to "de-quadrify" (official terminology!) the layout north of Little Eaton Jct and laid their first section of experimental concrete paved track along the former up slow between there and Duffield. They slewed the remaining up line into this at each end and it carried all the up traffic for many years before being taken out of use, but you stil see it in the video, covered in moss. My parents lived for over 40 years in a house occupying the site of Little Eaton station, with the branch line to the open-cast Denby Colliery passing close by their kitchen window. Class 20's working in multiple and later Class 56 hauled two or three trains a day of coal from Denby to the power station at Willington, just on the other side of Derby. I still have a relic, the original 1893 signal box diagram from Little Eaton Station Crossing box, hanging in my home office.
Well! Crikey Nicholas, that probably qualifies for the longest comment I’ve ever received. Thank you so much for taking this potted and evocative memoir. I’m actually a North West originally and now Eastern man so the areas around Derby are a tad too far south for me to speak with any authority although I do currently sign Methley and am familiar with the location of the Midland Junction at Goose Hill. Regarding the protection on loops, it depends on the scheme but most are protected by TPWS these days where previously they had traps (so many refer to them as catch points so it’s refreshing to hear them referred to correctly). I used to grab a mate and go down Stockport or Manchester in the early 70s so we may be similar ages (63) and I can vaguely remember the much more complex arrangements. My only example of seeing the hump shunting signals is At Gascoigne Wood which I also currently sign. I did find an explanation of them somewhere but have since lost it. I also despair at the lack of freight in some of my journeys. I can literally come from Hull to Manchester on many occasions - a distance of 100 miles and not see any yet the motorways are hammered with trucks. The days of trainload freight long gone. I’ve not heard the term de-quadrification but I do experience some significant examples of it. From Marsden to Huddersfield (Manchester Oxford Road to York video is a good example) the line was de-quadrified and by slewing the track to straighten the curves, they managed to get the lines speed up to 85 but it begs the question of what will happen if they ever quadruple it again. It’s been a pleasure reading your account and once again I really appreciate the time you took.
Thanks to you and your friends for another great video. This is the only way to travel for a fellow like me, who hates to travel. I enjoy all the information you add, and all the Victorian engineering one sees in all your videos. And I have to add that every time I see that round building with the slightly offset stories outside of Leeds Station, I cringe -- it is simply wrong!
I love the eclectic mix of buildings although some new ones are plain hideous. Glad you enjoy your ride out with us.
Great video Don, Appreciate all your work on these.
Much appreciated.
Enjoyed the Premiere last night, another very good video Don!!
Good talking with you Theo.
@@doncoffey5820 thank You
Another excellent video Don. Thank you for uploading it. Looking forward to your next one.
Class 66 next Tom.
Compulsive viewing. Jeez, how old am I if I remember seeing the Class 13 (?) 'Hump' shunters at Tinsley Yard? Good lord. Wonderful to see lines I travelled on as one of those teenage 'anoraks' of yesteryear Don. Thank you for these memories.
Don’t go there Andy. I remember some rather old stuff too.
@@doncoffey5820 that reminds me.. are there still Ian Allan books being published, or are they now just collectables?
Great video thanks, Don. Changed a lot since you could see it from the front seats of a DMU!
Leeds to Sheffield - 35 miles in 50 minutes on a class one train with only one stop - No better than a 'Peak with load 10' in the seventies. Still waiting the investment that has been promised for decades!
1:18:35 - is that what is left of the 'experimental solid concrete' track bed on the left? Impressed with the new approach to Derby!
I’m not sure about the trackbed although looking at Google it could well be. I can remember those peaks rushing over the viaduct in New Mills where I grew up. We used to watch for “namers”.
Excellent as usual 👍
Thanks Ian.
Your videos are very entertaining and educational
Thanks for sharing Don. Another gem! Looks like there is very little left of the old third side of the former triangular junction at Ambergate. Hard also to believe that what is now the Matlock branch, was once a mainline through to Manchester.
I did my heavy goods training alongside the line at Ambergate and can remember the constant flow of big diesels rushing past. I also remember the old line on from Matlock. I live about 100m from it now at Chapel en le Frith. Just freight to the quarries now.
Absolutely brilliant as usual Don, thank you very much for showing us. Sound of brake air I hope is only aural, the thought of foul compressed air near a driver is mind-boggling in many ways, let alone health issues!!!
It’s just the sound through the valve, you’ll be glad to know it’s completely isolated from the driver.
Hi Don, another great video. It’s interesting your comment about the weight of people on the train. I guess because a train is so heavy in the first place I wouldn’t think it makes that much difference, but of course it does. As much as 75 tons, wow!
Yes and I’ve only calculated for seated people. A real full and standing one would be more than double the 75 tons.
I've traveled this route a number of times but never gotten a good look at those stunning tunnel portals. Normally the moment you notice them they are gone! Nice to get a proper look at them from the driver's eye view!
Spectacular aren’t they. Glad you enjoyed it.
Thanks again Don. Another masterpiece. Clay Cross portal brings to mind Box Tunnel; which to mind is a simply stunning.
Yes they are superb. By the way I will be filming Box Tunnel later this year.
Used the line many times but I've never seen the Clay Cross, Toad Moor Elliptical or Milford tunnel portals front-on. Again, many thanks Don for the detailed information and historical aspects of your footage.
Thanks Frank. Works of art aren’t they?
Beautiful journey. Thank you for the interesting and informative facts about railway infrastructure (especially the amazing tunnels) and other sights along the way.
Thanks Thomas. Amazing considering their age aren’t they?
What a great trip Don love those tunnels including Bradway and Milford some time we will go to whiteball another of Brunels great tunnels indeed thanks .
Amazing aren’t they Lesley when you consider they were made by hand all those years ago.
The very ornate castle-like tunnel portal that you pointed out reminds me of the entrance to Bramhope tunnel on the Leeds-Harrogate line. In a nearby churchyard there is a miniature version of that tunnel portal, as a memorial to the navvies who were killed during the construction of the line and/or the tunnel. Anthony Burton mentions it in one of the episodes of his 1980 series The Past at Work ruclips.net/video/j-spUJVGedE/видео.html
Don, another interesting and informative video. to be honest had to watch in three sittings.
Nodding off eh! ;-) It gets me like that sometimes too!
Once again a great video , thanks for sharing
Much appreciated Steve 👍
Another great ride, Thanks again!
Terrific video, loved your comments, makes it so very interesting. Thank you
Much appreciated Pete.
Shame that the Leeds West Jnct/Holbeck Viaduct line was pulled up. That was always an interesting viewpoint over the south Leeds industrial area (and Holbeck shed if, like me, you were a train spotter/rail enthusiast back in the day). Thanks for yet another great drivers eye view video.
The daft thing is, there’s enough traffic to justify opening it again now. It all needs money I suppose but that delightful viaduct is stil there.
Great Video again Don. I love trains. It's hard to believe that this route is not electrified and we are here in 2020.
I know. Maybe pressure from climate emergency will force it.
Thanks Don, as brilliant as ever. I didn't have too much problem with the sun - I had my laptop 'hooked up' to a wall mounted TV with the screen tilted forwards and that seemed to help.
I liked your comment about the 'visual impact' of electrification. There was uproar in the Thames Valley when some local residents realised what GWR electrification was 'going to do' to a bridge over the Thames. I am not sure how it was resolved.
Its just me, I like it perfect! I couldn’t miss this VP185 though, they are going soon.
Don, I take your point about the aesthetic benefits from the absence of electric "furniture ". But without it, and this seems to be the ongoing state of the Midland Main Line, north of Market Harborough, we (I speak as a resident of Nottingham) seem stuck with a service of polluting diesel trains for the foreseeable future. And coming into Sheffield Midland, the station looks to be a relic from the past, with little activity going on, apart from the service you were on and a couple of DMUs, well past their sell by date, loitering without apparent intent. As always with your videos, you gave us lots of interesting and informative commentary, which I enjoyed. But, from this snapshot, it does seem as if the development of the Northern Powerhouse and the Midlands Engine has got an awful long way to go!
Yes, if it wasn't for the health and softy risk and the fact that third-rail can't supply as much power, it would be a much better, less ugly solution than OHLE.
There was uproar about the OLE affecting many GWML structures, including Maidenhead, Gatehampton and Moulsford viaducts. There were some design changes but nothing major. With luck, no other railway in Britain will be 'graced' with the same OTT OLE structures!
I was a little disappointed that you didn't mention Tapton House on the left just before Chesterfield station. It's not actually visible from the railway, but legend has it that George Stephenson, who spent the last year's of his life and died there, would come and look at his North Midland Railway down below from the grounds of the house. The legend also says that his ghost sometimes appears doing the same. I imagine that he would approve of these new-fangled trains and wonder why there's no smoke.
Great picture of the magnificent north portal if the Clay Cross tunnel. You can also see it from the bridge over the railway. It used to be a siding into the Clay Cross iron works but is now a footpath.
Thanks for the great videos, Don!
Thanks for the feedback George. Unfortunately I can’t add everything otherwise it would be one long continuous caption running although I must admit it is interesting about Tapton House and the ghost!
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You're quite right there! So much to see on that line. The narrow gauge Ashover Light Railway from Clay Cross ran parallel to the Midland railway from south of the Clay Cross tunnel before veering off towards Ashover through what is now Ogston Reservoir.
As a teenager in the 50s I would travel from Chesterfield to Dore and Totley station to get a train to the Hope Valley and spend the day on Kinderscout. The train used corridor-less carriages. There was always a mixed group of boys and girls so my girlfriend (later my wife) and I would try to get a compartment to ourselves and take advantage of the Totley tunnel.
We both attended school at Tapton House so we were well informed about George Stephenson, his so-called ghost, and the greenhouses where he tried to grow straight cucumbers in glass tubes.
Its a pity the Hayfield line didn’t survive as that would have made a super way of accessing Kinder. I have got a Hope Valley Line video. I don’t know if you’ve seen it. ruclips.net/video/R_fEcLVHsWk/видео.html