Totley Tunnel East and Grindleford boxes swansong, part 1, 13th March 2024

I made a special effort to gain some footage in the last week of Absolute Block Signalling between Totley Tunnel East, Grindleford and Earles Sidings Signal boxes for posterity. With permission and written authority, I took the footage from the back cab of a Class 195 DMU working a stopping service to Manchester Piccadilly on 13th March 2024. From my own collection during a long railway service at the end of the video, we see an unidentified class 47 in 1984 travelling towards Sheffield, through Dore (just 'Dore' then, 40 years ago) before the complete lack of vision and the singling of this line, only to be redoubled. It is worth noting only 3 years previous to this picture, the Woodhead route was closed, cramming every train to/from Manchester through a single line onto a non electrified AB railway... In my opinion a massive own goal for the service between the two cities of Sheffield and Manchester. The next picture was taken in the summer of 1999, of then Central Trains 170501 just about to pass Grindleford Signal box heading west, again this would have been an authorised visit to the box. Next is an unidentified class 31 passing through Bamford station, also westbound, in 1986, with the long dismantled and moved to Peak Rail (running between Matlock and Darley Dale), Bamford Signal box, in the background. Lastly Totley Tunnel East box still in operation, with only a little time left before decommissioning. A little bit of history for the archive...

[@johnoconnor4572]

Bit of a crazy B going backwards, but excellent nonetheless. I know that I am Completely lost to virtual travel when I recognised some of the curved buildings on the left from freight trips I have been on😂

[@borderlands6606]

Looking at the track bed shows how thinned out or "rationalised" the running roads are, compared to when they were built. Track radius may have improved timings slightly, but it's obvious how much more rail the area once accommodated. Slow lines and loops have been eliminated, as well as track to private sidings and railway sheds. Trees would never have encroached in steam days as they do today. It was much easier to put a stopping train out the way of an express. Now everything goes at the speed of the slowest occupant. Is it naïve to ask if network rail should put in more metals before going for faster trains?