Hi Ant. love all your videos but this one is very close to my heart. Back in the 1980s my Father Mr Chris Shaw used to pick me up from my mums and take me to the fomer site of the Killermarsh station. My Father was a member of a small group called the Rother vally Railway. The pile of bricks and the green was in deed the site of the station and the goods yard. The bunker wall made of bicks was once the old signal box. I still remember the goods shed being taken down brick by brick. It was going to be rebuilt in the grounds of the Rother Valley as the station building. The dream was steam trains to run from Rother Valley Country Park to Spinkhill colliery site. At Spinkhill colliery the building there once housed old buses and cars it was going to be a transport museum. The engine at the time was stored in the old engine shed at Spinkshill, it was an old 0-6-0 blue saddle tank with wasp stripes on the buffers ( formerly Smithy wood coke plant in Chapletown Sheffield. Due to 1980s Rotherham, Sheffield, Derbyshire and Chesterfield councils unable to agree on matters, like parking, access, rights of way etc. British Railways desided to remove the track due to the dead line not being made by the councils. Shorty after all the groups split due to being let down. The loco moved to a well known railway for storage where it got robbed for parts. My Father Chris Shaw back in the 1990s ran and owned the Cleethorpe coast Light railway. He was appoached by the owner of the blue saddle tank loco and its sister called 'Nunn', to try and find storage for his locos. The locos since the 1990s have called th Grimsby to Louth Railway their home (lincolshire Wolds Railway). Not sure if their still there. Anyway the bridge at the station site, I stood under that when I was able 5 in the little blue overalls with a red tractor on them. I'm 42 now it was like it was yesterday. Spinkhill shaft was listed as protected, but as the builders moved in on the former site to start to building much needed housing estates. The pit head was 'accidently' knocked down and filled in. Thank for your time, keep up the great work.
Another quality film Ant. Railway enthusiasts who haven’t discovered your channel are missing a treat and need to pull their fingers out. All your efforts should have you on upwards of 25k subscribers by now👍. Keep up the good work.
Thanks for that Ant. I worked at Westhorpe Colliery as a Surveyor for a short time in the mid 70s. When ilved in Chesterfield I used to regularly cycle to Rother Valley Country Park. Once you got out of town it was onto the towpath of the Chesterfield Canal as far as Staveley. Then over the field and on to the old GCR trackbed to Rother Valley. It is over 20 years since I did it last and the Staveley end of the canal has changed dramatically.
I really do hope they get the help they need to finish the canal off, i walked the dry section in March there is a lot to do still. I love this area there is a lot of history. Glad you enjoyed it :)
@@TrekkingExploration The big problem is the Norwood Tunnel. At over 2,500 metres long it's quite a major progect. I think one of the solutions the Canal Trust are considering is to dig out the old tunnel and leaving it as an open cutting for a distance and building the remainder as a new tunnel. The tunnel was closed in 1907 aftrr a section collapesed due to coal mining splitting the canal into 2 sections.
I loved this one. I didn't plan to do it that day as I'd Just walked the abandoned section of the chesterfield Canal that morning. But I thought why not? I had no preparation for it but maybe that helped with the enjoyment 🙂
Signal box in the recess at 11:50 you can see it beyond the road bridge in the old station image, interesting to see the remains of the old chesterfield canal👍🏴
Hi Ant some fantastic bridges on this stretch of disused line, high up too! This area is not too far ftom me, i know Beighton & Killamarsh but didnt know about this walk, very interesting, Thanks for this.❤😊
Another great video thanks Ant. Love the path you took but you made my heart drop when you went to edge and shown the drop from the bridge, and you did it twice, nearly gave me a heart attack can’t stand the heights. Those bridges were so fabulous the stone and brickwork on them is totally fabulous. I so enjoyed that thank you for taking me along. Please stay safe
I loved this one, it had almost a bit of everything. On the day i did it i never planned to do it! I walked the canal that passes below it that morning, and saw the viaducts from the distance and thought, yep i'm doing that! :)
I loved this walk it had a bit of everything. There's a black and white photo on the film just as I'm at the station. You can just make out the signal box in the distance 🙂
Really interesting! Love your videos - so well done and fab music. We're not even particularly into railway history but we still enjoy seeing and hearing about it all. Love the old architecture too. Thanks!
Sorry to report but they have felled trees across the approach to the tunnel now, still passable on foot though. Judging by the litter left around, wouldn't be surprised if it is a not so secret hangout for the private school just up the road for a swift can or two! There's also a telegraph pole lying on the edge of the trackbed near the road bridge, which is a fantastic structure in itself, excellent condition. Nice to see the station building in use now too.
I was particularly interested in this one as my foster mum's family hail from Killamarsh, and now she lives there once more. I've just spoken to her to wish her a happy new year (she will be 90 years young at the end of next month) and asked her if she knew of this railway. When she was 5 or 6 years old she lived on Green Farm on Green Lane where the footpath leads to the former Westhorpe Colliery and remembers that the explosives for the colliery was carried in past her house. She also remembers that a relative was regularly asked to convey the boys at Spinkhill college to and from Spinkhill railway station on his horse and milk dray. She also lived for a while on nearby Boiley Lane. Her father worked at Westhorpe colliery until June 1943 when a rock fall broke his back and a leg: he lived on his weekly compensation payments and claimed his free coal for the next 50 odd years! My mum also knew the guy who was blown up in the explosion in the powder room at the colliery, although she had moved to a farm near Ranby by then (couldn't keep away from the Chesterfield canal!). Although starting off in South Yorkshire, the vast majority of the line is in North East Derbyshire: the River Rother is the county boundary. If you decide to do some of the other part of the line, I would be very interested in joining you: the section between Clowne and Creswell, passing through the Markland Grips, was my playground in the 1970s. There used to be a viaduct there that is long gone. Keep up the good work with the videos: I just love the history of these old lines and tunnels.👍👍👍
Being in self Isolation i look forward to your walks,another good one Ant,.🤗 p.s i thought you were going to cross that bridge on the girder,i thought,dont go that way Ant,🤣🤣well you know what im like.🤗 xx
Another great watch Ant for my Sunday morning cuppa, love old railway stuff. Just got to wait and see if Martin comes up with anything this evening and the day will be complete Ha Haa.
Fascinating to see that part of that line, loving the fact that the Great Central Railway is a cycle path at that point, good use of the line. Spinkhill Tunnel looks like they are actively trying to keep people out, it doesn't appear to be a good day out anymore!!
I'm pleased I got into Spinkhill when I did last summer. It's a lovely line to walk. I went into it with no notes or preparation as I didn't plan on doing it that day. I'd walked that part of the Chesterfield Canal an hour or so earlier. A few hours later we we're put into lockdown
@@TrekkingExploration It's been a total pain, the gym I run has been closed since lockdown started, so I'll be pleased to see the back of it. Now that it has eased a bit I'm working my way through all of Lincolnshire's disused lines and their infrastructure, it's been really interesting.
I guess the pile of mud and rubble at the tunnel's entrance is just to stop vehicles from entering. Or maybe it's a work-in-progress fo fully block it up. Those recent tyre marks suggest that it's been done rather recently and maybe they're just not finished yet.
A fantastic video, it's years since I discovered the first part of your walk while out with the dog but did not reach Spinkhill and never went back. I will definitely return for a look!
Love watching your blogs, don't stop making them. Explanatory details and photography are ver good. I have got an idea for you if you are interested. Hope to hear from you soon. Ken.
I wonder if this was one of the 15 videos you were on about that you had when the lockdown started? Brilliant Video, the first Viaduct, would be a good location if the Great Central Line was still open to traffic with trains passing!
Funnily enough I did this one the day that lockdown was announced in the evening so yes it was one of the 15 🤣 I remember on the Sunday word was circling that we'd be put in lockdown Monday night, so I shot out and did two in one day 🤣
@@TrekkingExploration On the Monday when the Lockdown was announced, I was in Wales that day, The reason I went into Wales Sunday into Monday was Travelodge at the time which were not refunding the bookings on saver hotel bookings, so I thought instead of loosing the money, might as well head down there but remember the day that it felt more of a mourning than a enjoying trip.
Another great video. Again another reminder the lines should have stayed down and the stations closed to at least ease capacity on other routes around the country
Ten outa ten pal...The number of times ive drove under that bridge at Killamarsh or as plenty of locals call it, "Cassandra Crossing"...Also noticed on yer map there used to be a train line going through rother valley park towards the M1, wonder if theres anything left of it? did it get as far as the M1?
I've been looking at this on maps, Killamarsh Colliery? There was or is still a tunnel under where the M1 is now. I don't think it had a name only a number....
@@TrekkingExploration Ive got some old ordinance survey maps somewhere, Godfrey Editions...see if its on there and how far it goes. I asked a friend why its called Cassandra crossing thinking maybe someone called Cassandra jumped off it years ago...He says its from some film where an old bridge collapses...So thats a bit disapointing...
There was a tunnel from kiveton park colliery heading west going under m1as it is now,before m1 was put through we as kids used to walk through the tunnel without torches for a dare that was nearly 60 years ago ,the line went to west kiveton pit ,old derby line I think and onto that bridge cassandra ,hope it helps ,thanks .chesterfield canal Norwood tunnel is in that area too.
@@royboy4743 I've since read a little more and it seems to involve Norwood Colliery. The western portal was a few yards from the M1. I wonder If it's still there and just well hidden
Trekking & Towpaths you cannot see it at all iit is landscaped over at Norwood side and kiveton end of tunnel is well overgrown and you cannot see any sign of an entrance, there is a small length of embankment left this is well overgrown.This was our playground 60 years ago.My memories of Norwood colliery involve a company called Peppers don’t recall what they did but they had lorries and plant with peppers name on them .That land is now in private ownership I think.Love your videos thanks
We had the most wonderful railways system in the world....we created the railways.....and we destroyed them. Don't kill the railways. Love the railways. Bring them back. Workmanship like Spinkhill Tunnel, built by skilled Victorian artisan craftsmen, deserves to be admired. Not put out of service, and neglected.
Hi Ant. love all your videos but this one is very close to my heart. Back in the 1980s my Father Mr Chris Shaw used to pick me up from my mums and take me to the fomer site of the Killermarsh station.
My Father was a member of a small group called the Rother vally Railway. The pile of bricks and the green was in deed the site of the station and the goods yard. The bunker wall made of bicks was once the old signal box. I still remember the goods shed being taken down brick by brick. It was going to be rebuilt in the grounds of the Rother Valley as the station building.
The dream was steam trains to run from Rother Valley Country Park to Spinkhill colliery site. At Spinkhill colliery the building there once housed old buses and cars it was going to be a transport museum. The engine at the time was stored in the old engine shed at Spinkshill, it was an old 0-6-0 blue saddle tank with wasp stripes on the buffers ( formerly Smithy wood coke plant in Chapletown Sheffield.
Due to 1980s Rotherham, Sheffield, Derbyshire and Chesterfield councils unable to agree on matters, like parking, access, rights of way etc. British Railways desided to remove the track due to the dead line not being made by the councils. Shorty after all the groups split due to being let down.
The loco moved to a well known railway for storage where it got robbed for parts.
My Father Chris Shaw back in the 1990s ran and owned the Cleethorpe coast Light railway.
He was appoached by the owner of the blue saddle tank loco and its sister called 'Nunn', to try and find storage for his locos.
The locos since the 1990s have called th Grimsby to Louth Railway their home (lincolshire Wolds Railway). Not sure if their still there.
Anyway the bridge at the station site, I stood under that when I was able 5 in the little blue overalls with a red tractor on them. I'm 42 now it was like it was yesterday.
Spinkhill shaft was listed as protected, but as the builders moved in on the former site to start to building much needed housing estates. The pit head was 'accidently' knocked down and filled in.
Thank for your time, keep up the great work.
Another quality film Ant. Railway enthusiasts who haven’t discovered your channel are missing a treat and need to pull their fingers out. All your efforts should have you on upwards of 25k subscribers by now👍. Keep up the good work.
Thanks John that's a lovely thing to say. Hopefully they'll keep getting shared around the community 🙂
Thanks for that Ant. I worked at Westhorpe Colliery as a Surveyor for a short time in the mid 70s. When ilved in Chesterfield I used to regularly cycle to Rother Valley Country Park. Once you got out of town it was onto the towpath of the Chesterfield Canal as far as Staveley. Then over the field and on to the old GCR trackbed to Rother Valley. It is over 20 years since I did it last and the Staveley end of the canal has changed dramatically.
I really do hope they get the help they need to finish the canal off, i walked the dry section in March there is a lot to do still. I love this area there is a lot of history. Glad you enjoyed it :)
@@TrekkingExploration The big problem is the Norwood Tunnel. At over 2,500 metres long it's quite a major progect. I think one of the solutions the Canal Trust are considering is to dig out the old tunnel and leaving it as an open cutting for a distance and building the remainder as a new tunnel. The tunnel was closed in 1907 aftrr a section collapesed due to coal mining splitting the canal into 2 sections.
A little more history saved for future generations and another great video.
Thank you 😀 I thoroughly enjoyed this one to walk, I'd recommend it to anyone 🙂
Great walk some of the bridges looked scary you went over early on 👍
They were a lot higher than I expected them to be, I'm glad they stills had some fencing 🤣
You cant beat a good railway walk Ant....some lovely bridges too good to see the old chesterfield canal section too mate..great video Frank & Lee..
I loved this one. I didn't plan to do it that day as I'd Just walked the abandoned section of the chesterfield Canal that morning. But I thought why not? I had no preparation for it but maybe that helped with the enjoyment 🙂
Signal box in the recess at 11:50 you can see it beyond the road bridge in the old station image, interesting to see the remains of the old chesterfield canal👍🏴
Good spot, that makes total sense. It also confirms the station was the side I thought it was too 😀
Exactly what I was about to say, Martin! Certainly a signal box.
Excellent video, thank you for posting! Fascinating area for railways was Killamarsh, just a pity we have lost so much.
Hi Ant some fantastic bridges on this stretch of disused line, high up too! This area is not too far ftom me, i know Beighton & Killamarsh but didnt know about this walk, very interesting, Thanks for this.❤😊
Another great video thanks Ant. Love the path you took but you made my heart drop when you went to edge and shown the drop from the bridge, and you did it twice, nearly gave me a heart attack can’t stand the heights. Those bridges were so fabulous the stone and brickwork on them is totally fabulous. I so enjoyed that thank you for taking me along. Please stay safe
I loved this one, it had almost a bit of everything. On the day i did it i never planned to do it! I walked the canal that passes below it that morning, and saw the viaducts from the distance and thought, yep i'm doing that! :)
I so glad you did
I think the bit of brickwork at 11.50 was where the signal box was. You may recall it was beyond the bridge in relation to the station.
I loved this walk it had a bit of everything. There's a black and white photo on the film just as I'm at the station. You can just make out the signal box in the distance 🙂
Thanks for the video and chat. Be careful in these tunnels. Appreciate your endeavors with the video. Cheers Ant!
Really interesting! Love your videos - so well done and fab music. We're not even particularly into railway history but we still enjoy seeing and hearing about it all. Love the old architecture too. Thanks!
Sorry to report but they have felled trees across the approach to the tunnel now, still passable on foot though. Judging by the litter left around, wouldn't be surprised if it is a not so secret hangout for the private school just up the road for a swift can or two! There's also a telegraph pole lying on the edge of the trackbed near the road bridge, which is a fantastic structure in itself, excellent condition. Nice to see the station building in use now too.
That's very recent too then. I did this walk the Day that lockdown was announced that same evening, so around 9 or 10 weeks ago?
Thanks for a very interesting video
Thankyou for watching :)
I was particularly interested in this one as my foster mum's family hail from Killamarsh, and now she lives there once more. I've just spoken to her to wish her a happy new year (she will be 90 years young at the end of next month) and asked her if she knew of this railway. When she was 5 or 6 years old she lived on Green Farm on Green Lane where the footpath leads to the former Westhorpe Colliery and remembers that the explosives for the colliery was carried in past her house. She also remembers that a relative was regularly asked to convey the boys at Spinkhill college to and from Spinkhill railway station on his horse and milk dray. She also lived for a while on nearby Boiley Lane. Her father worked at Westhorpe colliery until June 1943 when a rock fall broke his back and a leg: he lived on his weekly compensation payments and claimed his free coal for the next 50 odd years! My mum also knew the guy who was blown up in the explosion in the powder room at the colliery, although she had moved to a farm near Ranby by then (couldn't keep away from the Chesterfield canal!).
Although starting off in South Yorkshire, the vast majority of the line is in North East Derbyshire: the River Rother is the county boundary.
If you decide to do some of the other part of the line, I would be very interested in joining you: the section between Clowne and Creswell, passing through the Markland Grips, was my playground in the 1970s. There used to be a viaduct there that is long gone.
Keep up the good work with the videos: I just love the history of these old lines and tunnels.👍👍👍
Excellent as always. Thank you for your work.
Really enjoyed this, been trying to trace the line for a few years now, but never been confident enough to walk down the track bed 👍
Brilliant, thanks for watching. I'd seriously recommend having a walk along it. 👍
Being in self Isolation i look forward to your walks,another good one Ant,.🤗 p.s i thought you were going to cross that bridge on the girder,i thought,dont go that way Ant,🤣🤣well you know what im like.🤗 xx
Oh the one over the canal? No climbing fences for me 🤣 About 4 Hours after I walked this we were put into lockdown
@@TrekkingExploration and i now only see you on videos🤣🤣🤣🤣 x
Good stuff ant, 11.50 looks like a recess for s signal box
Another great watch Ant for my Sunday morning cuppa, love old railway stuff. Just got to wait and see if Martin comes up with anything this evening and the day will be complete Ha Haa.
Thanks Stephen, i particularly enjoyed this one, it has a bit of everything. Martin didn't let us down either! :)
Brilliant as always, Ant!!! At 16.23, looks like the remains of a signalling wire pulley block assembly.
Glad you enjoyed it and thanks for watching 😃 You could be right, there are a number of thimgs i don't have a clue 😂
Fascinating to see that part of that line, loving the fact that the Great Central Railway is a cycle path at that point, good use of the line. Spinkhill Tunnel looks like they are actively trying to keep people out, it doesn't appear to be a good day out anymore!!
I'm pleased I got into Spinkhill when I did last summer. It's a lovely line to walk. I went into it with no notes or preparation as I didn't plan on doing it that day. I'd walked that part of the Chesterfield Canal an hour or so earlier. A few hours later we we're put into lockdown
@@TrekkingExploration It's been a total pain, the gym I run has been closed since lockdown started, so I'll be pleased to see the back of it. Now that it has eased a bit I'm working my way through all of Lincolnshire's disused lines and their infrastructure, it's been really interesting.
I guess the pile of mud and rubble at the tunnel's entrance is just to stop vehicles from entering. Or maybe it's a work-in-progress fo fully block it up. Those recent tyre marks suggest that it's been done rather recently and maybe they're just not finished yet.
we are always going to learn something new every single video you are a railway teacher good sir keep up the good work
Thanks very much, plenty more to come & already filmed :)
A fantastic video, it's years since I discovered the first part of your walk while out with the dog but did not reach Spinkhill and never went back. I will definitely return for a look!
I really do recommend a walk down there 😀
Glad you enjoyed it and thanks for watching 🙂
I walked the Creswell to Clowne route the other day. Bad planning. I didn't realise there was a former tunnel at Clowne.. Maybe next time!!
I tried to do that a couple of weeks ago but it was too busy to film sadly. I'll be back to do the Oxcroft though in the coming weeks
Another interesting video on our railway history
Thanks Chris, much appreciated. Glad you enjoyed it 😀
Moon bikes have wide tire teads
Could well have been :)
Love watching your blogs, don't stop making them. Explanatory details and photography are ver good. I have got an idea for you if you are interested. Hope to hear from you soon. Ken.
Hi Ken, I have noted the email if you wanted to edit it out of the comment. Glad you enjoyed it and thanks for the kind words
I wonder if this was one of the 15 videos you were on about that you had when the lockdown started? Brilliant Video, the first Viaduct, would be a good location if the Great Central Line was still open to traffic with trains passing!
Funnily enough I did this one the day that lockdown was announced in the evening so yes it was one of the 15 🤣 I remember on the Sunday word was circling that we'd be put in lockdown Monday night, so I shot out and did two in one day 🤣
@@TrekkingExploration On the Monday when the Lockdown was announced, I was in Wales that day, The reason I went into Wales Sunday into Monday was Travelodge at the time which were not refunding the bookings on saver hotel bookings, so I thought instead of loosing the money, might as well head down there but remember the day that it felt more of a mourning than a enjoying trip.
Another great video. Again another reminder the lines should have stayed down and the stations closed to at least ease capacity on other routes around the country
I enjoyed walking this one. It was into the unknown as I'd not really looked into it. The Viaducts were a real treat. Thanks for watching 🙂
@@TrekkingExploration the whole production on every video is great too :)
Lovely scenic walk. thanks very much for sharing.
Would the embankment in the tunnel be built to stop motor vehicles etc.
Thanks I enjoyed this one a lot. Plenty to see 🙂
Possibly to form a damn of water? That would stop me going in,🤣
Ten outa ten pal...The number of times ive drove under that bridge at Killamarsh or as plenty of locals call it, "Cassandra Crossing"...Also noticed on yer map there used to be a train line going through rother valley park towards the M1, wonder if theres anything left of it? did it get as far as the M1?
I've been looking at this on maps, Killamarsh Colliery? There was or is still a tunnel under where the M1 is now. I don't think it had a name only a number....
@@TrekkingExploration Ive got some old ordinance survey maps somewhere, Godfrey Editions...see if its on there and how far it goes. I asked a friend why its called Cassandra crossing thinking maybe someone called Cassandra jumped off it years ago...He says its from some film where an old bridge collapses...So thats a bit disapointing...
There was a tunnel from kiveton park colliery heading west going under m1as it is now,before m1 was put through we as kids used to walk through the tunnel without torches for a dare that was nearly 60 years ago ,the line went to west kiveton pit ,old derby line I think and onto that bridge cassandra ,hope it helps ,thanks .chesterfield canal Norwood tunnel is in that area too.
@@royboy4743 I've since read a little more and it seems to involve Norwood Colliery. The western portal was a few yards from the M1. I wonder If it's still there and just well hidden
Trekking & Towpaths you cannot see it at all iit is landscaped over at Norwood side and kiveton end of tunnel is well overgrown and you cannot see any sign of an entrance, there is a small length of embankment left this is well overgrown.This was our playground 60 years ago.My memories of Norwood colliery involve a company called Peppers don’t recall what they did but they had lorries and plant with peppers name on them .That land is now in private ownership I think.Love your videos thanks
We had the most wonderful railways system in the world....we created the railways.....and we destroyed them. Don't kill the railways. Love the railways. Bring them back. Workmanship like Spinkhill Tunnel, built by skilled Victorian artisan craftsmen, deserves to be admired. Not put out of service, and neglected.
very interesting video👍 sad to see what was a working railway gone forever and to think there are many more like this 🤔
Thank you for watching and commenting 🙂
It's a vast area with virtually nothing remaining 😟
Hello.
Enjoyable watch. Very interesting. Can I ask, What camera do you use, go pro? What editing software and do you use a gimble. Thank you.
Morning, thanks for watching. I'm sure this one I used the GoPro Hero 8 only 👍