Thanks for another great set of videos. Being disabled now due to deteriorating eyesight and being 75 and cancer, I cannot do the walk's I used to. You bring back a lot of old memories , as I used to work at a lot of the old collieries in Derbyshire & Nottinghamshire as a communication's engineer. Please keep up the great work. And many thanks
A great walk along a former electrfified route whose closure looks in retrospect, even more shortsighted than it did to many at the time. Even more shortsighted was routing HT electricity cables through the relatively new tunnels, rather than the older two - thus making it almost impossible for any reopening. Some fine masonry arches, magnificent countryside and nostalgic images. Thank you.
I walked those Woodhead tunnels just after closure, back in 1981 and 1982 - walked the line from there to Penistone with the track and the overhead gantries still in place. Magical route.
Really enjoyed this, my only memories of this line are from my train spotting youth. I still recall the lines of the class 76 at graveyards at Reddish and Wath on Dearne. Sad but exciting days.
It's hard to believe after all the planning, financing and construction of the famous Woodhead line it ended up like this .. what a waste.. as usual brilliantly researched and presented.. Great stuff . Many thanks Ant.. look forward to the next part.
Lovely video..thank you..phew it looks like its been closed for longer than 1981 There was a pub at Dunford Bridge called the Stanhope Arms..i can remember enjoying a pint in there in the mid seventies and listening to the coal trains passing through before going down to the station to take photographs with my Minolta SRT 303 camera....thank you.....Bob...Paignton....
Brilliant part one of a much anticipated series of a very interesting route. Excellent old pictures and video, you really go the extra mile to give us these videos. Thank you once again, stay blessed
Credit to the local communities for maintaining, and beautifying the line , with the sculptures and importantly no vulgar graffiti on the brick structures such as the bridges 👍
I travelled that line from Oughtibridge to Penistone as I was at PGS (1952-9), then in to Manchester U (59-62) for a degree in physics. There was a lot of traffic, mainly coal trains. Then Beeching screwed it up for us.
Stopped there at Dunford Bridge one snowy January and took some photos. Always strikes me as a rather lonely spot with just a few dwellings round about. A good setting for a ghost story rather like the Charles Dickens one about a signalman.
Great video Ant. You are correct about the bridges being lifted for electrification. There are similar examples on Worsborough Incline with brackets still attached. 👍🚂
I cannot believe that they built a brand new double track 3 mile tunnel and then shut the line 30 years later! Ridiculous. Lovely video, Ant - I particularly loved the pretty arch bridge and am delighted that nowhere seemed to be covered in horrible graffiti. Do the authorities look after this route, as that seems to suggest? Looking forward to the next one!
Whatever happened to british railways greatest post war achievement, to quote the excellent woodhead video. So Ant but great video. I was lucky enough to go over it as a 12 year old in 1979 on an excursion from Middlesbrough
Beautiful video thanks Ant. Very gorgeous area Those carvings were sensational. Love what happened with the bike. As usual you showed us great bridges. Thanks for taking me along. Please take care
Great work again Ant. A good thing about studying the Woodhead route is there's plenty of old footage and photos to compare what it was to what it is now. Definitely one of my favourite routes.
@@TrekkingExploration Sadly, if you get the wrong gov in power then things like this happen. These railways should have been mothballed or the land protected at the very least, but public were buying cars and investments were being made in road building. Shame the current GCR could not have used those two spans of the Birdcage Bridge for their reunification project. What a sight they would have been.
Great video ant as always walked this today we had a look at those shaft vents turned round and stuck in between branches was a piece of metal that looked like runners for cables to run in
My childhood home bedroom window overlooked wombwell main junction , I would spend hours at the line side or just looking from my window at none stop class 76 electric hauled train action , I could even watch them attach the Banking locomotives for the run up the worsboro bank .
Another cracking vid pal. the tunnels was another one of the reasons why the line closed ....so much work was needed to be done on them. Such a picturesque area though very remote and harsh winters. British transport Films have a documentary about the line thats a good watch . Ill be having a visit later in summer as ive never been. Lloyd
@@TrekkingExploration Sadly so much of the GCR has been completely obliterated from the face of the earth . Enjoyed all your walks around Nottingham area of the GCR .
Great video again ant, the tunnel to Hepworth collieries etc was I believe built by cut and cover , there was 2 locomotives called Hepworth and ebor both locomotives nameplates are now in Tolson museum in Huddersfield
One Sunday evening, circa 1980/81, I was getting the train home to Liverpool from Sheffield. The train got diverted via the Woodhead Tunnel. If felt like an age to go through the tunnel, in the dark, with no lights in the carriage. It took ages to get to Manchester Piccadilly Station. The train terminated at, I think, the then platform one. The Liverpool train left from either platform 12, or 14, on the other side of the station. If you were not quick enough, you would miss your connection. That particular Sunday, the journey home at least twice as long as normal.
Great video, those bridges were definitely raised for electrification hence the very 1950's concrete. The route with those high embankments must have been really picturesque, such a shame that an electrified railway was disposed of (and wasn't due to Beeching).
Another great video Ant. Feels like there’s a rather mish mash of materials used for those bridges - red brick and concrete rather than the bye brick I’m used to seeing. Interesting sculptures towards the end of the video as well. Kids would love that. Someone is looking after that last arched bridge I’d say - looks far too clean! Looking forward to the next instalments… especially the tracked section
@@TrekkingExploration Not that we could find. There are a few mentions online - RailwayCodes lists it as 455 yds, my own listing has it at 453yds, though I don't recall where I got that information.
@@TrekkingExploration Yea. You've got me curious about this one again now! Been looking on Google Maps and Side-by-Side. The landscape around there is rather flat, and I can't see why they needed a tunnel really. You can look on Google maps and drop onto Bents Road just west of the A616 and see what appears to be the possible remains of an overbridge, with the remains of a shallow cutting to the south. North of there, the land is level and it appears that the cutting and all traces of the tunnel have been infilled good and proper!
Thank you. Some of the class 76 locos were sold to Bulgarian Railways, I noticed in a programme about the country several years ago. I wonder if they are still going.
@@TrekkingExplorationall the Class 76 locos were scrapped bar the example at the National Railway Museum and a cab survives too. The Class 77 locos were sold to the Dutch Railways.
Great Video Ant. Regarding the overbridges, I think the bridge deck was either lifted for the electrification or the walls may have been lifted to provide a safe height to prevent anyone reaching over and coming into contact with the wires.
Only way of reopening woodhead is fill single bores with concrete & Rebore them again which would make it useable route again, yes be very expensive do this plus side mean higher speeds through the tunnels Rebored. Original double track tunnel now used for electric cables track speeds in tunnel limit 70mph I believe I have woodhead route on Train Simulator from Steam games.
Appalling that this line was closed. Think how many fewer HGVs would be on the roads.... Maybe it will reopen one day when our politicians and bureaucrats become intelligent? 🙂
@@TrekkingExploration Someday I'll make it to the UK for a vacation/holiday. When or if I do, I'll buy you a coffee and maybe lunch.... lol We live in Redondo Beach CA
What a shame - all that time & effort - Even for electric over-head wires - you would think that with that - it would be kept open!!! @ 21:52 - E R Morton also took many photos of the Midland Railway (Now called the Monsal Trail) before it closed!!! 😉🚂🚂🚂
I walked the line that has recently just closed from Deepcar to Neepsend in Sheffield. Was actually interesting with the old station near Hillsborough among a few other interesting points. Probably illegal but state of corruption in Britain think I'll sleep easy 😉🤣🤣🤣
Great video on the history the only 1 thing missing is the 76,s in there glory now not running. I’d like to no which idiot decided to close this line back in the 80,s
Thanks for another great set of videos. Being disabled now due to deteriorating eyesight and being 75 and cancer, I cannot do the walk's I used to. You bring back a lot of old memories , as I used to work at a lot of the old collieries in Derbyshire & Nottinghamshire as a communication's engineer. Please keep up the great work. And many thanks
excellent video. appreciate all the effort you put into the research and integrating the old footage,
Very kind Nigel and thank you for watching
A great walk along a former electrfified route whose closure looks in retrospect, even more shortsighted than it did to many at the time. Even more shortsighted was routing HT electricity cables through the relatively new tunnels, rather than the older two - thus making it almost impossible for any reopening. Some fine masonry arches, magnificent countryside and nostalgic images. Thank you.
I walked those Woodhead tunnels just after closure, back in 1981 and 1982 - walked the line from there to Penistone with the track and the overhead gantries still in place. Magical route.
Lovely explore. Beautiful scenery. Loved the old trains footage. Times go bye. Quite nostalgic . Thank you Ant. Excellent video.
Really enjoyed this, my only memories of this line are from my train spotting youth. I still recall the lines of the class 76 at graveyards at Reddish and Wath on Dearne. Sad but exciting days.
Thanks very much for watching. I'm going to cover as much of this railway and the adjoining lines as possible :)
It's hard to believe after all the planning, financing and construction of the famous Woodhead line it ended up like this .. what a waste.. as usual brilliantly researched and presented.. Great stuff . Many thanks Ant.. look forward to the next part.
Many thanks for watching and i totally agree
Absolutely love your videos mate. Well done and I will always look forward to the next one
Glad you like them, very kind thank you
What a beautiful documentary again, Ant ❤
Thank you so much 😊
Excellent informative video, shall look forward to the next part.👍
Very kind thank you ☺️
Thanks for yet another interesting video.
Thanks for watching Roy 😊
Excellent Video Ant as always, superb footage love the Standard Vangaurd Car passing under the bridge, with the Class 76 passing over..
Nice to see the sculptures dotted around. If it wasn't such a trek for me I'd like to visit.
Thanks very much for watching. Those sculptures are an added treat
Rode the line from Sheffield to Deepcar on a Railtoor many moons ago.
Lovely video..thank you..phew it looks like its been closed for longer than 1981
There was a pub at Dunford Bridge called the Stanhope Arms..i can remember enjoying a pint in there in the mid seventies and listening to the coal trains passing through before going down to the station to take photographs with my Minolta SRT 303 camera....thank you.....Bob...Paignton....
lovely route lost forever
It really is. Thank you for watching
Another interesting video .....nice to see the pics of the old trains too.
Very kind thank you for watching 🙂
Brilliant part one of a much anticipated series of a very interesting route. Excellent old pictures and video, you really go the extra mile to give us these videos. Thank you once again, stay blessed
Very kind thankyou. Its rather nice when i can match up the photos for comparison :)
Credit to the local communities for maintaining, and beautifying the line , with the sculptures and importantly no vulgar graffiti on the brick structures such as the bridges 👍
Absolutley, all those little things add up :)
Thanks
So very kind thank you
Love your work.
Superb video Ant!
Great archive footage. 🙂👍
Glad you enjoyed it thank you 😊
I remember Martin Zero doing this around a year ago at the beginning of your video but i still like watching you're version of it
Thanks very much 😊😊
Very nice video Ant
Thanks very much for watching Trevor
I travelled that line from Oughtibridge to Penistone as I was at PGS (1952-9), then in to Manchester U (59-62) for a degree in physics. There was a lot of traffic, mainly coal trains. Then Beeching screwed it up for us.
That was really interesting, Ant, at least the railway isn't built upon. And a useful walk cycle ride route. I love those EM 1 and 2 locos!
Glad you enjoyed it i wish i could have seen it :)
Nicely put together and narrated.Well done.
Very kind of you thank you 😊
Stopped there at Dunford Bridge one snowy January and took some photos.
Always strikes me as a rather lonely spot with just a few dwellings round about.
A good setting for a ghost story rather like the Charles Dickens one about a signalman.
Great video Ant. You are correct about the bridges being lifted for electrification. There are similar examples on Worsborough Incline with brackets still attached. 👍🚂
Thanks for the info I'm glad I guessed correctly 😄
Worsborough may be worth a visit soon
I cannot believe that they built a brand new double track 3 mile tunnel and then shut the line 30 years later! Ridiculous. Lovely video, Ant - I particularly loved the pretty arch bridge and am delighted that nowhere seemed to be covered in horrible graffiti. Do the authorities look after this route, as that seems to suggest?
Looking forward to the next one!
Ah magic, the start of another great 4 parter, looking good Ant👍👍👍👍👍
Glad you enjoyed it Bob thank you
Quality as always top man can’t wait for part 2 I’ve walked and cycled this line many times still fantastic 👍👍👍
Glad you enjoyed it Andrew thanks very much 😀
Some fantastic footage off how it used be but it’s a great trail 👍
Glad you enjoyed it Andrew thank you
Excellent video as always Ant 👍👍
Glad you enjoyed it John
Great segway from the walking trail to the train traveling on the rails. Another beautiful trail with a lot of leftover. stuff!
Glad you enjoyed it thankyou
Whatever happened to british railways greatest post war achievement, to quote the excellent woodhead video. So Ant but great video. I was lucky enough to go over it as a 12 year old in 1979 on an excursion from Middlesbrough
Excellent video ❤ you're fast becoming my favourite channel to watch 😅
Awww very kind thank you 🙂
Nice to see you doing an in depth series on this iconic route
Hope you enjoyed it Mike thank you 😊
Beautiful video thanks Ant. Very gorgeous area Those carvings were sensational. Love what happened with the bike. As usual you showed us great bridges. Thanks for taking me along. Please take care
Glad you enjoyed it Linda thanks so much :)
@ 💜
Thanks Ant 👍🏻Another superb series on the go. 😄
Very kind Richard thank you
THis is a great set of videos Ant, as we have said before what a waste / short -sightedness on closing this line...
Did a lot of this walk last year, absolutely fantastic, inspired by that Rob Bell series. He could learn a thing or two from you I reckon...!
Very kind thankyou. Its taken me long enough to do this too
Great work again Ant. A good thing about studying the Woodhead route is there's plenty of old footage and photos to compare what it was to what it is now. Definitely one of my favourite routes.
Thankyou. Yes the amount of images make it great to compare how it was :)
Great video and archive of this lovely line. What a waste, it should never have closed.
I agree with you it's such a strange situation closing it especially when around half of it is still there
@@TrekkingExploration Sadly, if you get the wrong gov in power then things like this happen. These railways should have been mothballed or the land protected at the very least, but public were buying cars and investments were being made in road building. Shame the current GCR could not have used those two spans of the Birdcage Bridge for their reunification project. What a sight they would have been.
Great video ant as always walked this today we had a look at those shaft vents turned round and stuck in between branches was a piece of metal that looked like runners for cables to run in
Ahhh thank you for watching. Yes I just replied to you're message 🙂
My childhood home bedroom window overlooked wombwell main junction , I would spend hours at the line side or just looking from my window at none stop class 76 electric hauled train action , I could even watch them attach the Banking locomotives for the run up the worsboro bank .
Great video.Thanks Ant.
Glad you enjoyed it 😊
Another cracking vid pal. the tunnels was another one of the reasons why the line closed ....so much work was needed to be done on them. Such a picturesque area though very remote and harsh winters. British transport Films have a documentary about the line thats a good watch . Ill be having a visit later in summer as ive never been.
Lloyd
Excellent vid Ant , as ever !
Fascinated by the Woodhead route just as much as the GCR .
Just too young to have been able to travel on either .
Thankyou. Yes me too, i might do more GCR later this year. Doing the full route would be quite something
@@TrekkingExploration Sadly so much of the GCR has been completely obliterated from the face of the earth . Enjoyed all your walks around Nottingham area of the GCR .
nice walk, Ant!
Thanks very much for watching 🙂
Great video again ant, the tunnel to Hepworth collieries etc was I believe built by cut and cover , there was 2 locomotives called Hepworth and ebor both locomotives nameplates are now in Tolson museum in Huddersfield
Thankyou. That'll explain why it appears to be gone then :)
One Sunday evening, circa 1980/81, I was getting the train home to Liverpool from Sheffield.
The train got diverted via the Woodhead Tunnel.
If felt like an age to go through the tunnel, in the dark, with no lights in the carriage.
It took ages to get to Manchester Piccadilly Station.
The train terminated at, I think, the then platform one.
The Liverpool train left from either platform 12, or 14, on the other side of the station.
If you were not quick enough, you would miss your connection.
That particular Sunday, the journey home at least twice as long as normal.
Great video :) Lots of photos and clips ive not seen before. You would think that this line would be at the top of priority to get re opened.
Thankyou. It should be.... especially as more than half of it still exists at either end combined.
Great video, those bridges were definitely raised for electrification hence the very 1950's concrete. The route with those high embankments must have been really picturesque, such a shame that an electrified railway was disposed of (and wasn't due to Beeching).
Thanks for watching. I'm pleased i assumed correctly about those bridges :)
Great video as always...... very enjoyable...... the route should have been moth balled rather than destroyed
Glad you enjoyed it. I absolutely agree
Another great video Ant. Feels like there’s a rather mish mash of materials used for those bridges - red brick and concrete rather than the bye brick I’m used to seeing. Interesting sculptures towards the end of the video as well. Kids would love that. Someone is looking after that last arched bridge I’d say - looks far too clean!
Looking forward to the next instalments… especially the tracked section
Get yourself and the kids down for a break and come see it ;)
@ I will have to!
@BecsterDotCom 🙂🙂🙂
There was a tunnel on the Hazlehead branch, too... filled in by the time we visited I think
There does seem to be no trace of it does there?
@@TrekkingExploration Not that we could find. There are a few mentions online - RailwayCodes lists it as 455 yds, my own listing has it at 453yds, though I don't recall where I got that information.
@billyruss quite a long one then
@@TrekkingExploration Yea. You've got me curious about this one again now! Been looking on Google Maps and Side-by-Side. The landscape around there is rather flat, and I can't see why they needed a tunnel really. You can look on Google maps and drop onto Bents Road just west of the A616 and see what appears to be the possible remains of an overbridge, with the remains of a shallow cutting to the south. North of there, the land is level and it appears that the cutting and all traces of the tunnel have been infilled good and proper!
Thank you. Some of the class 76 locos were sold to Bulgarian Railways, I noticed in a programme about the country several years ago. I wonder if they are still going.
I wondered that too.... its possible i guess
@@TrekkingExplorationall the Class 76 locos were scrapped bar the example at the National Railway Museum and a cab survives too. The Class 77 locos were sold to the Dutch Railways.
Great Video Ant.
Regarding the overbridges, I think the bridge deck was either lifted for the electrification or the walls may have been lifted to provide a safe height to prevent anyone reaching over and coming into contact with the wires.
Thankyou Simon. I'm pleased i guessed correctly about those bridges :)
Only way of reopening woodhead is fill single bores with concrete & Rebore them again which would make it useable route again, yes be very expensive do this plus side mean higher speeds through the tunnels Rebored. Original double track tunnel now used for electric cables track speeds in tunnel limit 70mph I believe I have woodhead route on Train Simulator from Steam games.
Appalling that this line was closed. Think how many fewer HGVs would be on the roads.... Maybe it will reopen one day when our politicians and bureaucrats become intelligent? 🙂
I agree. Especially as a lot of it is still there at both ends
More chance of finding intelligent life on Mars! 😂😂😂
Ant, it's so enjoyable to learn about your Local and Regional history but it's lame that I live a little over 5,000 to your west.
Gosh that is a very long way 😮
@@TrekkingExploration Someday I'll make it to the UK for a vacation/holiday. When or if I do, I'll buy you a coffee and maybe lunch....
lol We live in Redondo Beach CA
@jetsons101 yes I'm sure we could have a get together
What a shame - all that time & effort - Even for electric over-head wires - you would think that with that - it would be kept open!!! @ 21:52 - E R Morton also took many photos of the Midland Railway (Now called the Monsal Trail) before it closed!!! 😉🚂🚂🚂
Yes he did take some great and important photos :)
do we not all think that what was done with the tunnels rivals the ridiculousness of the beeching cuts
Yes, it could be even more stupid really
I walked the line that has recently just closed from Deepcar to Neepsend in Sheffield. Was actually interesting with the old station near Hillsborough among a few other interesting points. Probably illegal but state of corruption in Britain think I'll sleep easy 😉🤣🤣🤣
I had a wander around the Deepcar Junction area but i was starting to lose light but i'm sure i'll be back:)
Great video on the history the only 1 thing missing is the 76,s in there glory now not running. I’d like to no which idiot decided to close this line back in the 80,s
Thanks very much indeed. Yes it has to be one of the worst decisions ever
Why wasn't this used for HS2, such a loss.
I agree. Thanks for watching
☺️☺️☺️
Fab video Ant, i noticed no litter, no fly tipping, no graffitti......wish the disused line near me was as well looked after as this one.
Thanks very much Sarah ❤️❤️
Yes it is rather nice along there. Which old line are you near?