Railway line and tunnel

[Falls]

The Problem in Sheffield was the expense and difficulty of constructing train lines through the hilly terrain. Chesterfield has hills but they are less steep.

 

I have a book which describes all the efforts to get a decent station and train line into Sheffield in the Victorian Era and there were several attempts by different groups of private investors. There were many options but they were all difficult. Several failed attempts were made.

Eventually they built the midland line which required the demolition of 250 new houses in the sheaf valley. Moving the River and main road at Heeley Bottom. The sheer scale of the work involved, constructing that gradual slope from Totley to Midland station on a massive viaduct is quite astounding.

All this work meant that Sheffield was quite late compared to many similar Cities to get a proper mainline station.

 

Any chance the book you refer to is "The Midland Railway: Its rise and Progress", by Fredrick S. Williams (1874)?. My battered copy is a fourth edition.

 

The whole diversion from Tapton Junction to Brightside, moving the river as you mention, the deep cut around the bottom of Park Hill and all those bridges, must have cost a fortune. All Midland got for their trouble was a lot of moaning about the new station being "Too far away from the centre of town" Some people are never satisfied.

 

Regards

[muddycoffee]

It wasn't that book but it could have been "Railroaded! The battle for Woodhead Pass"

A wonderful, detailed and well researched book, although written from an extremely one sided point of view.

[geotom]

Hi darylslinn - it's certainly changed a bit! I well remember trainspotting at Bernard Road, sitting on the wall overlooking the views that you linked. You could see trains going to and from both Midland and Victoria stations. Here is a modern Google Earth view. The Supertram bridge is more-or-less where the upper bridge in your second link was (it then carried Navigation Hill). The lower bridge carried rail traffic into the old City (goods) station - here is a map. How times change!

 

Many years ago (late 60's early 70's) along with a work mate, we walked through the tunnel, I believe from Nunnery Carriage Sidings, near the old drivers, hostel onto the bridge. That was just before they started constructing the Parkway

[hillsbro]

Hi geotom - you would have walked through the tunnel leading to the old City goods station via the lower-level bridge, or the one that led under Bernard Road to the smaller bridge serving the coal & coke depot. In either case I would love to have done the same! Where we youngsters sat on the wall is now somewhere in mid-air over the Parkway. Here is a late 1960s photo taken from the wall, showing the "Nunnery Main Line Junction" signal box.

[stpetre]

Many years ago (late 60's early 70's) along with a work mate, we walked through the tunnel, I believe from Nunnery Carriage Sidings, near the old drivers, hostel onto the bridge. That was just before they started constructing the Parkway

 

Where was the 'driver's hostel'? as that area seems to be the middle of nowhere. Where would they go for 'a pint'?

[darylslinn]

Hi geotom - you would have walked through the tunnel leading to the old City goods station via the lower-level bridge, or the one that led under Bernard Road to the smaller bridge serving the coal & coke depot. In either case I would love to have done the same! Where we youngsters sat on the wall is now somewhere in mid-air over the Parkway. Here is a late 1960s photo taken from the wall, showing the "Nunnery Main Line Junction" signal box.

 

The top bridge on the left would be Navigation Hill ?

And the bottom bridge on the left would be a line to the old City Goods ?

[hillsbro]

The top bridge on the left would be Navigation Hill ? And the bottom bridge on the left would be a line to the old City Goods ?

Yes that's right. In my earlier post #39 I linked a modern Google Earth view showing the Supertram bridge which is in almost the same location as Navigation Hill, and also a 1950s map. I can just remember seeing steam-hauled goods trains going in and out of the City station, with smoke coming out of the air-holes visible in the upper left corner of this photo. The City Goods station with its hydraulic lifts closed in 1965.

[Kidorry]

I always thought the City station was an L.N.E.R. line and not a L.N.W.R. line,or,did that come later,or never?

[hillsbro]

I always thought the City station was an L.N.E.R. line and not a L.N.W.R. line,or,did that come later, or never?

The L.N.E.R. was one of the "big four" companies formed as a result of the 1923 grouping. On this map of 1904 the old companies are colour-coded. A post-grouping map of 1928 shows the Nunnery and City Goods branches as belonging to the L.M.S., even though they had a more direct link with the L.N.E.R. near Woodburn Junction.

[Kidorry]

Interesting that.Cheers.