Exploring the Chevet Branch Railway Line, Wakefield

[@peterthornton2396]

Missed these style videos mate. I’m tuned in again.

[@ffrancrogowski6263]

The country park with the lake looks an inviting place, Darren. The New Millam three arched viaduct is still in good order - a nice survivor, as well as the overbridges along this track bed. The remains of the house which was never completed is amazing in itself to still be there after all those years, with the old swimming pool, too. A grand video, with many thanks.

[@JemTheWire]

Brilliant. Glad you returned to this genre. IMHO, it's what you do best. Thank you.

[@kevinh96]

This whole area is riddled with old railway lines, from closed passenger lines to old lines once used to transport coal from the mines. Not far from Newmillerdam is a branch line that once left the East Coast mainline and served the villages of Crofton and Ryhill (the path from Crofton is a bit overgrown but hidden in the undergrowth is the remains of the platforms for Ryhill station as well several bridges a couple of which are intact and quite impressive). There's also several bridleways around Crofton and Ryhill that once carried the rail lines from the mines in the area too.

[@scubasmudge]

The bridge at 6mins is access bridge to the Bushcliffe mine. There are concrete structures just in the woods and signs of the old pit shaft. From what i understand this was active until 1928. Another bridge along the route was possibly to Bullcliffe pit at netherton? Another local interesting feature is the deepest railway cutting in the UK on Royston line, just the other side of the Newmiller Dam park.

[@studywithme7677]

Ooh. There's an old bathing pool in Gipton Wood, Leeds, have you ever been? Its all fenced off but i think you can still see it.

[@70mmbobbyj]

Always enjoy these kind of videos.

[@Geoffreytomlinson24]

Always amazed at the amount of man power needed back in the day to build these railways.

[@philsmodelrailway232]

Excellent video Darren Royston born and bred and I walked that route a couple of years ago Nice viaduct along the way

[@markmuller2528]

I like your old railway history good to see what remains of the Branch line around uk .

[@barbarapearce3634]

I wonder what the pool area originally looked like. Thank you for the video.

[@AdventureMe]

Good question!

[@shirleylynch7529]

Great cycle ride with so much information. Well done. So enjoyable. You must have covered some miles. Lovely bridges.thank you.

[@ernestbailey9194]

Excellent video. Brought back lovely memories When I worked on the railway at Carlton North sidings in the late 60s, I remember having to ring the signal man at Royston Junction to let hlm know to put the trains over that Branch, the trains were for Padiham Power Station, and Rose Grove sidings, to miss out going via Healey Mills. Royston Junction signal box was just a little further on, you will climb up to another bridge where there are some Railway Cottages, when you go over the road back on the track, the signal box was on the left hand side. Looking forward to the next one.

[@tracya4087]

hope he finds where the box was

[@ernestbailey9194]

@@tracya4087 There is still a live running line to Redferns glass works, so that may put him off looking for it.

[@tracya4087]

@@ernestbailey9194 yes it is a problem thats thwarted my railway walks , even my late grandads lost signal box

[@jeffdayman8183]

Great one Darren, always like the railway content. Cool swimming pool history too. Cheers!

[@darleytransportandtravel6353]

You were correct in saying there were no intermediate stations on the line, but passenger trains did use it. There was a Derby to Bradford Exchange service via Heckmondwike, and I travelled on this line several times from Mirfield to Rotherham Masborough on a Sunday special running from Blackpool to Derby. A challenging gradient for a black five and 10 mk1 coaches. On the last run in about 1964, it was a DMU.

[@AdventureMe]

Yeah I meant no passenger stations on this line. It may have carried passengers on it for stations on other lines if you know what I mean.

[@tracya4087]

i found a rotherham masborough station sign in a salvage yard

[@darleytransportandtravel6353]

That was a lucky find! I used to love Rotherham Masborough station watching the trolley buses glide silently over the nearby bridge every few minutes

[@tracya4087]

@@darleytransportandtravel6353 guess what mate , it s still for sale , it s big too

[@tracya4087]

i have bought another one instead , if you want any more info , let me know , its a rare gem

[@stevenpotter3812]

Excellent Darren !!

[@PhilWaud]

Great to see you in my neck of the woods, I walk round there quite regularly. I love this style of video too, very watchable.

[@quickclipsbyjmj]

A million per cent thank you, Darren, for coming to my corner of Yorkshire. You've shown sections I've never accessed. That bit of line I never imaged seeing it. Having only accessed Newmillerdam via Haw Park Wood, along the disused canal, or car parking of course. Smawell Lane would have brought you out by Notton or close to Bleakley (the top of Notton and close to Old Royston).

[@marknorris5269]

Another excellent vid my friend. Living so close to here I have visited with my camera many times. I love the park the dam and the wildlife you get to see. The other direction I wait for your vid on that. The exact line wasn't that far off where I live. I have been told that it followed the route of the Barnsley canal for a while. I cant wait for the other half, two viaducts of grade 2 listed. Denby Dale road at Calder Grove- and Huddersfield road at Horbury junction. Or Netherton, depending on your perspective. All that railway stuff there well nearly there. Then there's the canal bank from Broad cut road to the Bingley arms at Horbury bridge junction with Netherton. I once walked all the way from Royston junction to Thornhill, Dewsbury. Took me almost 7 hours. Going using the old track lines and the old iron bridge across the canal.

[@Lee-o8f]

Pool access we need more clean water open water looks a great walk for a dog

[@gflow7]

I'm really interested in the next video as I've travelled this route for over 20 years. Also lived both ends of it too and I have experienced things on that route that no longer exist 🙁 I'm interested to see the detail that you cover. Very fond memories for me. Great video as always 👍

[@OldDavo1950]

Many walks in the 1960s around Newmillerdam. A popular evening in summer spent here. And the odd Ale or two. Was there 5 yrs ago, my word that road is busy now.

[@johnpawson7400]

Very interesting, i will give that cycle route a go.

[@Thebergskristall]

Lovely video! ❤

[@AdventureMe]

Thank you!! 😊

[@macstyle2012]

A viaduct has more than one arch, so 2 would be a viaduct: the term "viaduct" seems to technically denote the fact that the bridge is bearing on the ground in multiple places, typically at fairly regularly spaced intervals

[@barrieshepherd7694]

Great to see return to historical unravelling! BTW only just visited your website (as in the description above) Well done it's fresh and the Map index of videos is really nice, clearly a lot of effort was put into its creation.

[@rachaelhardcastle5158]

Great video Darren - you'll have to come to the Wirral - we also have an old line now known as 'The Wirral Way' which today is a long walking/cycle route and is part of the Wirral Country Park! Along the way is a former station called Hadlow Road Station in Willaston (Wirral) and it's set as the station would have looked back in the day. It's complete with the former ticket office, red phone box on the platform, waiting room and it has a café. It also has a pop-up cafe every few weeks on a Sunday with bacon butties, cuppa and a live singer! The single track line used to go from West Kirby to Hooton and closed to passengers in 1956 then closed to freight in 1962! You would love it Darren! 🚉 🌳 🙂

[@oddsandwindsocks5905]

Hi Darren, love these types when you can, was hoping for some of your amazing fades.

[@AdventureMe]

I would have. But no pics of this section I could do.

[@joecurly3637]

Funnily enough, I have been looking at this old line, but have never quite worked out how to get on this trail. But I have been to Newmillerdam and it's a lovely place, I have also yet to visit Seckar Woods too. Yorkshire Vlogger did videos on these sites separately, but I never realised how close they really were. Thank you for the video, I look forward to seeing more of these videos, and some day will give this route a try on a big day out!👍👏

[@alg6576]

@joecurly3637 You can get on to the start at Wood Lane, or Barnsley Road where Darren is under the bridge, there is parking. You can follow it to Royston Jn..and by canal to Royston itself.

[@joecurly3637]

@@alg6576 I will bear that in mind and give that a try next time I visit these parts. That will be a fun day and should all go according to plan!

[@mileswilliams1585]

I think there's some brilliant videos to be done around the Wetherby line. Especially around Thorp Arch trading estate (WW2 bunkers and tracks) and near Boston Spa

[@nowt2957]

I think a viaduct is made to cross an area of lower land and a bridge is made to cross a watercourse or track - but your "three arches" makes sense as a definition. The pool reminds me of the one in Calverley Wood - when I was a teen I did look into the history but I seem to remember that a lot was conjecture. Edit: Oh, great video by the way. 😊

[@bobsrailrelics]

Lovely video. Reminds me of the pool and summer house which is now part of Cefn On park in Cardiff. Built for the son of a rail superintendent to help his recovery from TB. I covered it in my Cefn Onn station video if you want a look. This was a really good way to see a line though, need an E bike!

[@SimonM-63]

Fascinating video, Darren 👍 👌

[@UKDroneAdventures]

Good video, I like things like this 👍

[@andrewtrigwell4923]

Nice one.

[@TurboTimsWorld]

Oakhampton in Devon has a similar swimming pool. on the south side of the river about opposite the castle

[@joylunn3445]

Great video, Warner Gothard Jnr along with his brothers and sisters was responsible for creating the montage postcard. He has a blue plaque. The pool and the ruins are all that are left of the proposed development including a house that was going to be built.

[@douglasthompson296]

Hey Darren, i dont know that part of Yorks at all but do remember in the 60's the Yorkshire Evening Post newspaper gave away a new build detached house at Newmillar Dam in a competition. Cheers matey, DougT

[@nigelriley5538]

Also there's the remains of a menagerie in Newmillerdam woods! Also, carry on from the end of the ride to the Barnsley canal and loop back to Wakefield.

[@nataliesmith303]

Fascinating. I wonder what the pool looked like when it was first done 😊

[@AndrewSmotor]

Walked past this a few times 👍😂

[@malcolmrichardson3881]

That looks a very enjoyable cycle route with some impressive railway architecture - and what must have once been an idyllic woodland swimming pool. I wonder if its still deep enough for some 'wild swimming'? Thank you for an interesting video.

[@hyper2high]

Very interesting video Darren👍

[@christopherjordan4812]

A bridge has many pillars, example the Forth road bridge, but the Ribblehead viaduct is called a viaduct confusing ? At least when it carries water it’s an Aquaduct 😊. Good video Darren.

[@neeelix]

Another great video !

[@ThemeParksAndAttractions]

Looks interesting 👌

[@paulharvey9149]

Excellent, Darren! I've been following your progress on the side-by-side georeferenced maps facility on the NLS website - and I have to agree, that certainly would be a bizzare place to build a swimming pool and summerhouse - had the plan not also been to build a house next to them... These plans did indeed belong to Warner Gothard - but it was not the well-known Barnsley Photographer who died in 1909, but his son and heir, also named Warner - who was responsible for developing the photographic montage postcards side of the business along with his sisters and brothers. These became quite famous as they often depicted events and disasters, during the period from 1905 - 1916, when presumably he and his brothers must have been called up for military service. Their sisters, meanwhile, were left to run the main photography business themselves until Warner (and hopefully his brothers) returned at the end of the war. What is perhaps of particular interest to the likes of you and me is that Warner never married. While there could of course have been several reasons for this and even more reason for building a house complete with outdoor swimming pool in the middle of a private wood; if we do allow ourselves to jump to the obvious conclusion, the possibility that he may have enjoyed inviting friends over to do it au naturel, presents itself rather powerfully, to me... This - and possibly only this, might also explain why he had it built before anything else, don't you think? That also doesn't preclude the possibility of shell-shock if he was called up to fight in the war, nor thathe'd become a recluse... There's also the possibility that he had been excused war service - know what I mean? There's a portrait of him at www.warnergothard.com/warner-gothard-history.htm

[@AdventureMe]

Yes I know what you are hinting towards. Quite possible.

[@unknownfuture.]

Intresting, i have thought the pool wasnt finished due to war?

[@AdventureMe]

It was the holiday home that wasn't

[@jasinere35]

you didnt spot the old pit shaft in the woods directly opposite the first brick arch overbridge & where the bed is raised at chevet lane behind the hedge to the left was the old pit baths & lastly where you ended the vid the barnsley canal joins the old line there are a number of old trackbeds around barnsley most noted one of them thats known to everyone is the woodhead line the uk's very first electrified line

[@tjweston1]

Love it ❤️

[@nickidle9298]

Great video. Although familiar with this area, can you tell me how you actually accessed the pool area (i.e. after crossing the bridge at 7mins 15 secs). Thanks

[@AdventureMe]

Just heading in a straight line from the bridge. Cross the A61. Continue up the side road and it's on your right in the woods. Easy to Google. Seckar woods.

[@nickidle9298]

@@AdventureMe Thanks. Looked in the wrong area! keep up the great work.

[@kevincross9206]

Interesting video Darren 👍🏻 By the way, you need to put the saddle up on your bike 😉

[@AdventureMe]

I'm a short arse. I can't reach the floor then lol

[@kevincross9206]

@@AdventureMe 🤣🤣, at 6’2” I’ve not had that problem!

[@gp8126]

Your bikes brakes sounded like a train whistle, I was expecting a fade to the old track when I heard it...

[@momellieava5659]

Brilliant video and very intresting!any chance of the doin the barnsley canal one day please not many people even know we had a canal

[@AdventureMe]

Yes. It's on my list. I almost saw it on this video.

[@darrenuk]

Naughty naughty as your not wearing a cycling helmet lol

[@AdventureMe]

Don't need to on a cycle path

[@jetsons101]

"Darren" please don't break your neck........... That pool is huge, ours is only 19x38 feet, it takes up most of the back yard/garden.

[@jonathanearnshaw5432]

Excellent video, thanks Darren. Interested to see if your travels venture into the Horbury area?

[@AdventureMe]

Absolutely

[@jonathanearnshaw5432]

Excellent 😊

[@sampoole9549]

Did you not fancy a dip in that pool Daz? 😂

[@AdventureMe]

Certainly not haha

[@fhwolthuis]

Great video! Is that your dog? 🤩

[@AdventureMe]

No. Not my dog.

[@ste.h9825]

Great video,plenty of hidden history.Cheers Darren.

[@BobbyDazzler-i5d]

And you didn't take a dip? Tsk! ;-)

[@alg6576]

When's the other way to see those superb viaducts...oh and Middlestown Jn.

[@AdventureMe]

Not filmed it yet. So not sure

[@christelbraune4530]

Es war ein interessantes Video. Aber mit dem Teich hab ich nicht alles gut verstanden. Na klar, wenn man nicht genug englische Sprache beherrscht 😅. Thank you Darren 👋🏻👋🏻❣️ Hast du einen neuen Begleiter auf vier Pfoten?????????❤

[@AdventureMe]

No. Not my dog.

[@a11csc]

looking forward to rest of this Darren

[@thomasmann9216]

If it crosses a road, it's a viaduct. If it crosses water, it's a bridge. My rule. 😂

[@hollimurray8856]

Brilliant video!

[@AdventureMe]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@oliverwortley3822]

daddy

[@AdventureMe]

Son....

[@george_miller_1089]

Have you ever seen Dalton Mills textile mill in Keighley? I had a little look around it recently and it's like the scenery from a dystopian sci-fi. There's one little way to sneak in right now and the building is so massive with four stories on one of them. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dalton_Mills