Deepcar - Penistone - Woodhead - Hadfield. Woodhead's Lost Railway part Two.

We walk the missing part of the Woodhead Railway starting at the Junction with Deepcar, passing thru Wortley and Thurgoland before exploring the railways around Penistone. We then head towards Hazlehead where we also explore a lost mineral line, before heading towards Dunford bridge; the eastern portal of the Woodhead tunnel.
We travel over the Pennines then explore the western tunnel portal before heading towards Crowden, next stop is Torside before finally descending into Hadfield where the track starts up again.
A very pleasant walk with plenty of clues still in situ.
Directed by Allan Roach.
A brief history....
The line opened in 1845. It was built by the Sheffield, Ashton-under-Lyne and Manchester Railway with Joseph Locke as its engineer. In 1847, the railway merged with the Sheffield and Lincolnshire Junction Railway, the Great Grimsby and Sheffield Junction Railway and the Grimsby Docks Company to form the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway; it changed its name to the Great Central Railway (GCR) in 1897. Ownership passed to the LNER in 1923 and, finally, to British Railways Eastern Region in 1948.
The original eastern terminus of the line was at Sheffield Bridgehouses railway station. By the time of the creation of the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway in 1847 a 0.6-mile (1 km) extension including the Wicker Arches viaduct, engineered by John Fowler, was constructed to the new Sheffield Victoria station, which opened in 1851.
Both goods and passenger traffic were very heavy; therefore, some sections of the line were quadrupled.
Electrification
Electrification was first mooted by the Great Central Railway, owing to the difficulties of operating heavy steam-hauled coal trains on the Penistone-Wath section (the Worsborough branch); a line with steep gradients and several tunnels. Definitive plans were drawn up by the LNER in 1936; many of the gantries for the catenary were erected before the Second World War.
The Second World War prevented progress on electrification, but the plans were restarted immediately after the war; however, this time with plans for a new double-track Woodhead Tunnel. TA second Thurgoland Tunnel was also required, as the existing tunnel had inadequate clearance for twin electrified lines.
The Manchester-Sheffield-Wath electrification project was finally completed in 1955, using 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
New electric locomotives for the line were constructed at Gorton locomotive works, Manchester. These were the EM1/Class 76, for freight trains and some passenger duties, and EM2/Class 77 locomotives for express passenger trains. A new depot at Reddish, situated on the Fallowfield Loop line, was built in 1954 to maintain the new locomotives and EMUs.
Closure
Having seen major investment in the 1950s, the line was controversially closed to passenger traffic on 5 January 1970. By the late 1970s, a large part of the remaining freight traffic consisted of coal trains from Yorkshire to Fiddlers Ferry power station near Widnes, which required a change to diesel haulage for the final part of the journey.
By the early 1980s, the combination of alternative available routes, an absence of passenger traffic since 1970 and a downturn in coal traffic across the Pennines, along with a need to eventually expensively upgrade or replace the non-standard electrical supply systems and Class 76 locomotives, resulted in the line's closure east of Hadfield. The last train operated on 18 July 1981 and the line was mothballed.
The tracks were lifted in the mid-1980s, ending any short-term hopes of reopening. Almost the entire line east of Hadfield has now been lifted, apart from a few short sections shared with other lines, notably at Penistone.

[@johngrant5448]

The driver in that black and white film was Walt Hibberd who I worked with at Rotherwood.

[@rosspenman9955]

I find your videos very interesting because you have a good knowledge of what you're looking at and a pleasant style in describing what you're seeing.The addition of some period pictures makes it interesting too.Keep it up!

[@angelsone-five7912]

Another great video for us retro rail nuts, keep `em coming.

[@sheridanius]

Thanks for the video adventure and insights into the past. I really enjoyed this trip and the Lost Railways of Sheffield one. Thank you and well done!

[@johngrant5448]

I flew through Thurgoland tunnel a few times, I can tell you. Rotherwood was a very happy depot. We moved 1436 tons with ease up the bank, and at its height, it only cost one shilling in electricity to haul a train.

[@MM0IMC]

It should never have been shut!

[@nigelduckworth406]

Great video. I walked the line from Penistone down to Victoria (sore feet on the ballast) in 1989 when I moved back to Sheffield and missed almost all of what you highlighted, particularly in your other video from Victoria. So really interesting. I also travelled on the line from Piccadilly to Victoria in 1965 on a trainspotting expedition to Doncaster and missed most of it as well due to the speed of the train, so your old photos compared with how it looks now, brings it back to life.

[@graemehannam3950]

Great video thanks walked on the woodhead line many times, there is plenty of remains of the infrastructure of the old line, the bridge between Deepcar and Wortley is the bridge for the Stocksbridge bypass, built after the line closed, the concrete structure that remains at Penistone is the old electric control center, the concrete posts with the wooden supports was for the cabling, the steel works originally was called camel laird, the box part with the bits of cable stuck out were where the cables were joined up in there, think they were nicknamed "coffins" because they kept burning out

[@njcelectricalservicessheff9684]

Cracking footage thanks

[@a11csc]

what a line that would be today this country throws everything away

[@dennismiller1120]

Loved the video... an interesting route. But... I am a pedantic old sod so I am going to correct you on something. The 'pantograph' was on the roof of the locomotive, so you will not see any on the track. What you will see are the remains of the 'Catenary'... the supports and cables. But ignore me, like I say I am a know-it-all and cannot help myself!

[@CarlSmith-bs4qx]

Nicely done and a very good review of the current situation. Only due to a major lack of longer term strategy could this happen. Right up to closure it was often used as a diversion route due to engineering works on the Hope Valley line. Sadly there is no prospect of this line opening again as other Pennine routes are close to bursting with capacity issues.

[@Palestina.non.grata86]

I can't believe the old signal gantry at Hadfield is still there! I thought it had been removed in the mid 00's. When I lived in Manchester, I delivered for Asda out of Ashton-under-Lyne. One summer afternoon in 2019, with a very quiet run, I followed the Woodhead line from Guide Bridge down to Hadfield, stopping at almost every station along the way to take in the sights. Had I known the gantry was still there, I would've gone hunting for it. Guess I'll have to really hunt for it when I come back to Manchester. Thanks for this vid!

[@mervynsands3501]

Makes you want to shed a tear when you see what was created for purpose, is now discarded all for what?

[@johngrant5448]

The pantograph was the thing attached to the loco that drew power from the overhead contact wire. The structure holding the overhead was called a gantry.

[@stevelomas4119]

Who else was punching the screen everytime he refered to an overhead line gantry post as a "pantograph". 🤣🤣

[@williamball9314]

Thanks very much - a smashing video.

[@MrRoverone]

Brilliant enjoyed that!

[@wolvesdown]

Found this vid by accident,really interesting cheers

[@craiglogistics2092]

That was a good explore Allan, i've done bits of it myself, well done mate