The Brampton Branch Line, Chesterfield Lost Goods Railway
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- Опубліковано 1 гру 2024
- The Brampton Branch Line Chesterfield Lost Goods Railway
In part 3 of this series we look at a freight branch that was originally part of the Midland Railway. Exiting the main Midland Railway through Chesterfield, just to the south of todays railway station. This is where we begin todays explore where evidence of old track still in the trees well visible from the footpath where the former tracked has been turned into a cycle path.
The Brampton Branch then curves away towards the west, crossing a series of three bridges in quick succession. A new bridge installed in the 1980s over the new Chesterfield relief road. Then a smaller bridge over a now minor road - Lordsmill Street. And finally another new bridge from the 80s crossing the A617 into the town.
We can continue to follow the route of the old line past the site of the old Hipper Corn Mill and underneath where the Lancashire, Derbyshire & East Coast Railway swept across on the Boythorpe Viaduct. Here there was another (now well and truly) lost branch line to Boythorpe Colliery up the Boythorpe Incline. Also this saw lines and siding off to one of many sites of industry.
The line from was closed in the 1960s as the pass over Park Road and skirt the northside of Queens Park. Still able to follow the exact route of the lond abandoned Brampton Branch. The line then splits with a short spur off to the former Chesterfield Corporation Gas Works and the old Bramton Brewery. Again, nothing left, but there is the old entrance where the line crossed the road and an archway feature has been made on the entrance to the Holme Brook Trail showing the history of the works and the method in which traffic was stopped with the chains fed through the holes in the wall.
Back on the main Brampton Branch, we follow the course as close as possible. The trackbed is now long lost, with the industry of out of bound desolation preventing us walking the actual route for long stretches. Past the old Robinson factory and Griffin Works, Old potties, collieries, chemical works and the site of the old Bramptom Wharf come thick and fast. We can walk down Dock Walk and see remains of the railway bridge that spanned the River Hipper. The location of an old photograph with a DMU that made it's way down the branch line on a railtour in 1961. Along Goytside Road, we can make out the location where the line crossed the road on the level before entering what is shown on old National Library of Scotland maps as Brampton Colliery and London Pottery.
The end of the line is now where the Morrisons supermarket is located off Chatsworth Road/Walton Road. Maps has this listed as the site of the Oldfield Pottery and branch off the the Brampton Colliery again.
A fast fading branch line that leads to a scene of desolation, that is bound to be redeveloped at some stage in the future. At that time, what ever traces of the history is remaining will surely be erased forever.
**Previous videos in this series
Part 1 - The Great Central Railway - • Chesterfield and the L...
Part 2 - The Dukeries Line (LD&ECR) - • Chesterfield Lost Rail...
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My fav vid of the year . Since you did this vid got hit hard by floods😢
Aye it did. Shocking to see 😕
Very enjoyable video once again Paul and well researched ! Used to live in the area 40 years ago - remember a small rake of tube wagons being parked on top of the A 617 over bridge up until 1993/4 approx. The tube works closed around that era and that was the end of the branch. Don't recall the rest of the branch being active but for many years at one side of Boythorpe Road there was a pair of level crossing gates still with red warning circle attached part hidden in the undergrowth ! Long gone now .... Thanks again for your efforts - look forward to the next one !
Thank you very much.
Sometimes wish I could pop back to the 90s and have a good rummage around
I have watched all 3 of your videos and I must say I've found all of them most very interesting so much old railway history fascinating.
Thanks Simon. I loved putting together these Chesterfield videos. Really interesting scrathing beneath the surface. Glad you enjoyed them all.
Thanks Paul. Loving this series!!! Cheers cobber.
My pleasure!
I thought it was brilliant how you made the very little remaining evidence into a really interesting video. I guess I’ve got another walk to do in Chesterfield now. I love these urban railway explores😊
😄👌
Me too. Sometimes the ones requiring a bit more imagination are very enjoyable.
Excellent series around my home town
Keep up the good work
Cheers Chris. Glad you enjoyed them
Great video again Paul very interesting as i use to visit Chesterfield alot at one time of the day.Thanx for sharing again.
Cheers Chris.
Glad you enjoyed 👍
Great video Paul. Amazing how much railway and industry there was in Chesterfield.
Didn't know about the miniature railway that looks interesting
You're dead right. All those factories all with their own branch lines. Unbelievable today.
I remember going on the little train in the park when I was very young.
Great vid, brought back memories when I lived at Brampton in my teens, from what I remember the line ran into Robinsons/JJ blows where Morrisons now stands but before it was Safeway's. Before they built Safeway's there was old warehousing and still the remains of JJ blows. The line ran through what's now Morrison loading bay on bobbin mill lane, the track was still there, not sure if it was taken up when Safeway's was built. hope this was any help to you
Cheers 👍. Great info. It's hard to imagine given the mess and ruin around the back of Morrisons and Chatsworth Road.
Quality as always top man
Cheers Andrew 👍
Great video of my local town. Glad you got Cannon Mill in. Grade 2 building and one of the oldest industrial buildings in Chesterfield. Plaque says it was restored in 1957 but currently the roof has a tarpaulin over it. Owned by Robinsons who also own all the derelict land at the end of video.
Cheers Brucie.
It's a shame about the Cannon Mill. Hope someone can bring it back to a better state in the future.
Hi Paul, BGH stands for Brampton and Gashouse Branch. Also if you’d carried on walking another 500 yards or so past where the chains cross the road you’d come to quite a nice model railway shop.
It sounds so simple when it's spelt out 😄.
Is that WD models?
That’s the one. 👍👍 😀 If you into model making they sell a really good range of paints and bits and bobs but they are mostly model railways.
I've driven past it many times. Keep saying I'm going to pop in for a look around 👍
Thank for the video.trying to catch up! 😊
Hope you're well Martin.
Interesting video. Used to go to queens park regularly in the early to mid 80s, can't remember anything of that old line but I was probably too young to remember well enough.
I wonder how long it'll be before all that old industry gets repurposed and spruced up.
Most of the track from the A617 Bridge to the Tube Works was purchased by Barrow Hill from the Tube Works Administrators and was used for the commerical area (Rampart & HNRC) at Barrow Hill; I spent many hours down there dismantling the track panels in the early noughties for them to be loaded onto hiab lorries to get the track material back to BH.
Cheers Martyn. I didn't realise that. Great info 👍
Bit difficult to tell from the angle you chose but the old mill building you named as Oldfield Pottery, assuming it's the one fairly adjacent to Morrisons, used to be a cotton manufactory and produced dressings for use in the Crimean War.
I had a poke about in there years ago and managed to gash my finger on some broken glass and needed a dressing myself!
The 'sun room' you can see from Chatsworth Road was worth the pain.
Good stuff. 👍
Great stuff. Cheers Ian. Its was only when I was editing and pulling up more maps I realised that building was something else. Cheers for the info as I had no idea what it actually was 👍.
@@WobblyRunner It's really odd that a Grade2 listed building has such a dearth of online information, it's an unremarkable building inside and out, but, historically really interesting.
Honestly surprised it hasn't gone the way of 'mysterious fire' after sitting empty for so long.
What I remember is that medical dressings was part of Robinson's business.
At the beginning of the film, just under the buffer stop are 2 extended timbers, these would have carried a manual point lever which could well be the access to the Brampton branch from the end of the goods yard.
Cheers Mike. Great spot 👍. I'll have to look closer next time I pass
A very interesting film for me for two reasons.
Firstly I did a lot of train spotting at Chesterfield Midland from 1969 to 1972 and remember the afternoon trip shunter trundling down from Barrow Hill servicing the goods yard and the Brampton branch after having shunted the Armytage and Chesterfield Wagon Repair co's sidings to the North at Whittington Moor.
Secondly, I worked for the gas board on the natural gas conversion of Chesterfield, although I didn't think we worked out of the gas yard you were around, ISTR it was in town, West Bars area maybe?, and remember seeing the level crossings that were still there at the time, occasionally having to wait for the passage of a train.
Great info cheers Mike. Interesting about the shunter coming up from Barrow Hill.
Great memories and stories there. 👍
With regard to the building to the left hand side of the Mecca Car Park, that is Chester House and is Housing Association flats. I lived in the 3rd floor flat at the far end. You can just see the top of the windows of the flat. I lived there from March 2003 till August 2006. I also had a great view of the Gasometers that were beyond the back wall of the car park
Thanks Emma. It love the look of that building.
I don't recall those chains at the Gas Works crossing; when I was a youngster in thee 1950s the road traffic was controlled by a man with a red flag!
First
Surely can't be long. Unless someone owns all the land isn't wanting to sell.
I think the queen's Park bit was ripped up in the 60s, but I could be wrong