Lost Woodhead - From Coal Super-Highway to Cycle Trail
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- Опубліковано 9 лют 2025
- Welcome to the final part of this Lost Woodhead series. The former major arterial route between the east and west. Responsible for moving countless volumes of freight (mainly coal) between the coalfields in the east and the hungry power stations in the west.
We've been following the disused railway from the outskirts of Sheffield at Deepcar, across the Pennines and we land on the west side of the famous Woodhead Tunnels. This railway carried hundreds of services every day and we're walking the final part through the Longdendale Valley towards Hadfield, where the abandoned railway suddenly returns to an active railway line for the last few miles into Manchester.
This section is called the Longdendale Trail, named after the chain of reservoirs that it follows downstream. A popular and well documented trail path.
We leave the former Woodhead station before passing through the collection of sidings on the western approach to Woodhead. We've covered the station and tunnels on previous episodes. After a short while, we see wide panoramic views of the Woodhead reservoir on the approach to Crowden station.
The trail passes Torside crossing before eventually arriving at Hadfield.
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The line opened in 1845, built by the Sheffield, Ashton-under-Lyne and Manchester Railway. It became part of the Manchester, Sheffield & Lincolnshire Railway in 1847. In 1897 it became part of the Great Central Railway (GCR) and it’s mainline between Manchester and London (via Sheffield, Nottingham, Leicester). In 1923, it was grouped under LNER (London North Eastern Railway). Before upon nationalisation moving under British Railways in 1948.
Before the outset of WW2, plans were drawn up to electrify the section of the GCR between Manchester and Wath and Sheffield. Steam hauled heavy freight trains were struggling over the steep gradients on the line at the time. The project was delayed by the war, but was completed in 1955. The overhead wires energised at 1,500 volts DC. Whilst this was tried and tested technology (and is still standard in the Netherlands), the comparatively low voltage meant that a large number of electricity substations and heavy cabling would be required. It also made regenerative braking by transfer of power from descending to ascending trains in the same section of line comparatively straightforward.
Having seen major investment in the 1950s, the line was controversially closed to passenger traffic on 5 January 1970. Freight continued until 1981 when the line was mothballed. The tracks were ripped up in the following years.
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Woodhead: Mission accomplished! Have your first hot chocolate on the next route on me. I walked that final section but didn't have all the old photos and video clips to hand, so this was a great reminder as well as filling in those gaps. Thanks!
Thanks very much Vernon. I'm glad you enjoyed the series. It's been a pleasure to document.
Enjoyed this series gentlemen, well done and well documented 👍🚂
Cheers John
Great one wish this was still open.That crossing is nostalgic.Thanx for sharing Paul look forward to your next adventure,A good bacon sarnie to.Great series really enjoyed it.
Cheers Chris. I'm sad this adventure and series ended.
Brilliant video many thanks 👍🏻
Cheers Ste
superb paul jon good series keep the videos going
Thanks very much Steve 👍
Have you started doing merch Paul? like your sweatshirt 😊. Ive said it once I'll say it again, Woodhead should never have closed. It was a fast direct way over the pennines no traffic jams near Manchester airport to stress you out, no snow & ice on the woodhead pass or the road closing in winter to deal with. It would take most of the huge hgv off the winding country road the Woodhead pass is. Huge mistake closing the rail link. It is a lovely interesting scenic trail you are both walking on though. The old video & photos are great true nostalgia.Cheers Paul. ❤😊👍
Thanks Carol. And thanks for the support throughout the series. No merch at the moment. I had a few shirts to wear in videos and a jumper 😄.
A great series really enjoyed it, the highlight for me has to be the Woodhead tunnels and Pennistone Station and the Turntable there is just so much of interest in that area, including the Tank history.
Cheers Mary. Great shout about Penistone. Some fascinating stuff left around there. I keep meaning to go back and have a look at the turntable again in the dry.
That iconic Torside crossing photo always feels an odd contrast to me with the ‘old’ train and railway in the same shot as the Austin Metro which feels much more modern.
Thanks for the great series, guys.
Cheers Emma. It's a strange contrast isnt it 😄
Great video, Cheers.
Thank you! Cheers!
Just beyond the bufferstop at Hadfield, hidden by the trees, is an underslung signal gantry. It still contains the remains of a 4-aspect signal head. It's only really visible during winter when the leaves have gone. Not sure what its signal number was but it was on the Down Main approaching Hadfield from Valehouse, and it was underslung because the gantry had to reach over the Down Slow which converged with the Down Main just east of Hadfield station.
Cheers Greg. Very interesting. Would be great to see that. Fascinating where the line just stops and they left a lot of the old infrastructure.
Fantastic Series Guys Thanks
Yes the yellow marker spray will be to identify the structure numbers and Milage. These will and still be inspected and maintained by the DFT.
The engineers line reference (ELR) for this line was, and still is in the sections that remain is MAC ( Manchester London road to Cleethorps) with the milage starting from now Piccadilly.
Cheers Gary.
Ahhh I wondered what MAC was. I'd have never guessed cleethorpes in a million years 😄
@@WobblyRunner Bizarre ?INO I always thought of this as an extension to the Great Central line .
But it did head East bound South of Victoria at Wooddburn Jct on what is now MAC3.
Great video mate, this is a section I’d like to cycle along, the scenery is lovely along there, I’ve walked a short section of the trail from Crowden and taken pics of the former station site there.
I think back in the time of the navvies work would have been easy to get, I’m not sure if they were paid in money or in beer and food of some sort, as far as safety was concerned I think you were responsible for your own safety and protection, employers then weren’t expected to provide that for their employees, poor people weren’t regarded in those days, it must have been a case of “Well if you want the work you accept the risks with it”, so many positive changes have happened since then thankfully.
Yeah you're right. Thank goodness things have changed. Sometimes a little too far it seems at times, but lives are the most important things.
I was a little disappointed how enclosed that trail had become with the trees, given the views they were hiding 🙂
Still, nice to be out in a beautiful place.
Sorry to hear about Phil. I didn't know him but seen his photographs
That was an excellent series Paul, well done
I think the goods lines between woodhead and torside were taken out of use after the passenger service ended in 1970
I've enjoyed the whole series. Shame that so much vegetation has grown up to spoil classic views
Cheers Russ. I reckon that line will look even more overgrown in 20 years. Loads of new trees being planted.
Ach the Woodhead and wider GCML would have been such an asset if anyone had been looking further than the next election. Yes it's a lovely trail, but it could still have been moving goods and passengers, and have a valuable nature walk alongside. It doesn't have to be either or does it! Excellent explore over the series!
Glad you enjoyed it. It's a shame they ripped it all up so hastily.
Woodhead reservoirs had a 3foot gauge maintenance railway up until the early 1970s. You can trace it on the old ordinance survey maps. The old waterworks yard has track in place but its concreted over.
👍Great stuff I'd been looking into that recently too for future projects
What a poignant and fitting end to the series that was. Great stuff!
P.S. I have just about recovered from the midgey bites
Welcome to Royston Vasey you will never leave !
😄
It’s a great trail in places to many trees now
Yeah, I noticed a lot of young trees recently planted to along the line. Going to look different again in 20 years
Honest opinion - of all the lines unnecessarily closed is this the most egregious? I'm glad you used the word criminal because that's how it feels all these years later.
Fully agreed 😊
Hadfield? It's a local town for local people!
😊