Woodhead Tunnel - Eastern approach

From Penistone to Dunford Bridge and through the tunnel

[@bwhugul]

I agree. I think it was the most short-sited and damaging railway closure ever in Britain! (maybe except for Great Central - as the Woodhead was part of)

[@trishadoornbosch665]

My dad used to work a signal box where the train went under the A628 just outside of Millhouse Green. That would be late 1950s or early 60s. I remember my Mum used to take me there to visit a couple of times. So thank you for that blast from the past1

[@jimusgrimus]

I can tell you that this p.w. is in better nick than what trains run on today

[@Isochest]

I saw it with my own eyes as a kid. I was impressed. Did you work on the track in the day?

[@MrDavidfball]

how nice would it have been seeing 56's 58's 60's & 86's over this route

[@ron5776]

It is over 50 years since I last drove over that road.i stil think about it and the men I worked with.

[@bwhugul]

It really seems like an important main line (well, it WAS!) Compare this to the unelectrified Hope Valley which just looks like an unimportant rural route, and the current situation at Penistone where the railway is single-track outside the station and rubbish Pacers are used, with only 1 per hour each way!

[@markbutler5730]

It's a pity they can't open that line again because there are power lines in the tunnel

[@Isochest]

@cleckheatoncentral You are so right on both counts. Last year i was on Holiday in the netherlands. We went to Germany (Duisburg) on a day out and it just reminded me of the Sheffield/Rotherham I knew long ago. I want to bring back the manufacturing spirit we will need to earn our keep this next century.

[@sleepyrider]

Fantastic! Only travelled over here once, sadly hauled by a 47. A remarkable line.

[@tracya4087]

oh lucky you

[@Isochest]

It could have been saved by 6.25kv ac conversion using redundant class 81-85s.

[@Lukeashley2323]

thanks for that video really good cheers mr Bennett

[@pburr1973]

Interesting to see here, even at this point in time, some loop lines and freight lines had already been de-electrified. Its quite easy to spot the wire-less masts/portal structures - what huge things they were too on multi-track sections.

[@Ropponmatsu2]

I sincerely hope that this was filmed upon a Sunday, otherwise there is a very good reason why this line was shut that is clear just by watching it. There isn't a single other train upon the whole line.

[@Mandalorian_Goblinslayer]

Is there a video that it shows a recording of the train travelling from Halifax North Bridge Station to Queensbury Station??

[@bluebus270]

At 3.18 a fox nearly gets run over.

[@bwhugul]

Yep, it was not a Beeching closure - it was simply British Rail. The Class 76s and the catenary+subsations had reached the end of their lives. British Rail faced a massive bill to replace the non-standard electrical equipment. It was hard-up, and didn't have the cash to keep Woodhead going. If the current gvt had seen sense, it would have survived. The Hope Valley Line was chosen to survive simply because it served more communities.

[@Isochest]

I think we'd all like to club up & buy it all the way down to the Channel Tunnel . Let's do it call it the Great Central Railway:-))

[@sackvillebag]

Isochest if only it was that easy.

[@Isochest]

Yes I bloody agree. The failure is the authoritarian personality of 60% of humanity. The 36% are the guardians of morality. And the 4% are the Psychopathic or Narcissistic Losers everyone follows:-(

[@angelsone-five7912]

The channel tunnel is one that I WOULD like to see blocked up.

[@Isochest]

I was surprised to read that Michael Portillo's greatest political achievement (in his own words) was saving the S&C. NR have just installed intermediate signals to boost capacity. Combined with redoubling Gretna-Annan on the old G&SW route this route's now a vital Anglo-Scottish link. A long term view is seldom seen in UK politicians.

[@theredraven]

@Malboocock I think I saw a trailer for this DVD on the telerail website which stated that they didn't know what it was but that it was more than likely one of the three car EMUs operating on the line.

[@Isochest]

I would hope so, too. I hope the political climate will ameliorate: Andrew Adonis is probably the best Transport Minister we've had for ages. Let's get Woodhead back on the Rail Map.

[@Isochest]

Glad you noticed. The fox judged the train speeds right. This was a low speed (35mph) freight route at the end of its operation. Nothing wrong with this way of doing things.

[@Isochest]

It was bloody good: Concrete sleepers & Pandrol clips. Like Cuidad México to Quéretaro before that was de-electrified by KCS: But that's another story. Roll on the Oil Crash!!

[@terratec1001]

@3m18s - that's one lucky fox.

[@Isochest]

Pacers are the mode of transport fit for a POLITICIAN:-))

[@Isochest]

Spot on: Frequency of trains on the Penistone Line is better than it was in 1983 but still rubbish, when I lived in Huddersfield. My old route: Hope Valley: This needs electrifying but there are heaps of other routes that take precedence. We're suffering from politicians who both do not understand technology and are incapable of leadership: We could become another Moldova in our worst nightmare :-(((((

[@jonathanpoole3767]

This looks like a trip before closure . Chartered trains were not allowed normaly . Br said it wasntbsafe for passengers due to subsidence in places . This might be a rare charter ?

[@stuartthegrant]

I only just noticed the fox tonight, Still so shortsited closing this all down.

[@theredraven]

@Isochest I thought Holland didn't show any interest in the EM1s?

[@Isochest]

@ssnakula So Adelaide have electrified their local lines? Interesting.

[@sackvillebag]

Such a shame it was dismantled it would have been great if it beat the cuts. My dad remembers the line and I've read about it done all the routes possible on train simulator in the correct loco. I remember seeing it at woodhead in the 80S as the line and electrifications hadn't been removed.

[@Isochest]

Even then, cash could be found: The route was a heavy haul coal route after all even if that was in decline. It was not near London, so we could all get knotted!

[@Isochest]

Are we at last going to get the purge at the top we need?

[@Isochest]

Actually 3:18 and it looks as if the fox isn't too bothered about being close to the train.

[@onlinefriend3889]

What unit is this driving?

[@techtinkerin]

Closing this was like cooking a great big meal and then eating a few bites before binning the lot.. senseless 😐

[@HORNEBEEDUBLO]

Pacers are a lot better than the filthy decrebid class 104 (and other 1st generation) DMUs we had before. See the 'Manchester Victoria 1989' video on here. Even if the Woodhead route was reopened and used Pacers, it would be a lot better than nothing.

[@theredraven]

@1967nj Not at all, I just happen to do my research.

[@thatonegreenfox1058]

3:16 something crossing the tracks.

[@Isochest]

A Fox

[@theredraven]

@1967nj British Railways wasn't really privatised. Have you noticed the government still hands billions of pounds over to NR and the TOC's? If it was privatised, they wouldn't. In effect you have a Zombie version of British Railways.

[@Isochest]

@ssnakula Interesting: 1500v dc and other systems like 6.7kv ac were never allowed to prove themselves in the UK due to political reasons. We may have had something with dc like the Russians did.

[@Isochest]

Anyone notice the fox at 3 minutes?

[@Cazkumali]

when was this taken

[@Isochest]

Before July 1981 when trains stopped running over this line.

[@angelsone-five7912]

3 tunnels side by side and all now closed, daft.

[@Isochest]

@Radomboy1234 There was another path. 6.25kv was a possibility using class 81-85s which could work on 25kv too. Another own goal by BR was not selling on the class76s to the Dutch. Not doing so buggered up the viability of a 26 mile electrification scheme proposed in the early '80s in Holland. The reason was bloody mindedness on the part of BR management who hated the mods done on the EM2s by NS.

[@Isochest]

NO! The Future! :-)))

[@alhumphrey81]

its a shame it shut, but their were many floors with the line, decline in coal and steel at the Yorkshire end and sheffield victoria facing the wrong direction meaning passenger flow and interchabe would be crap.

[@theredraven]

@abbymick It was actually British Railways themselves who closed the line but hey, let's not allow the truth to get in the way of bashing other people right?

[@theredraven]

@cleckheatoncentral No, the Tories did not shut it, British Railways shut it.

[@robtyman4281]

....that means it was the Tories who shut the line, as BR was not privatised back then but was state owned...... meaning that the Tories were responsible for its upkeep. They held the purse strings and determined how much money BR got. So yes, it was the Tories who closed the line. Even though BR carried this out, they were effectively 'instructed' to by the then Tory government. The government of the day weren't prepared to find out the money needed to upgrade the Woodhead line, so it withered and died. As I've said before on other threads, the Tories were and still are actively against rail travel (except HS2 because some Tories stand to benefit financially from it). Thatcher was aggressively anti rail, and made no attempt to hide her contempt for the railways. Look how she and her government treated the APT project. That tells you all you need to know. The Tories will ALWAYS favour roads and the car, over the railways. It's just in their nature and DNA.

[@theredraven]

@@robtyman4281 Oh well if that's the worst thing that happens to you today you've done alright haven't you?

[@robtyman4281]

@@theredraven Re-read my comment again as you clearly didn't understand what I was saying! BR were state owned and run - therefore the government chose which rail routes to close and which to keep open. British Rail staff didn't have any choice in the matter - they had to implement what the government had planned and told them to do. I'm not going to explain any further - do some research and find out about BR for yourself.