Goods lines South Yorkshire and Notts

[The Crab]

Afternoon All,

I used to see these lines very frequently until a few years ago:

Hexthorpe Jct - Bentley Jct

Kirk Sandall Jct - St Catherine's Jct -Brancliffe East Jct

Kirkby Lne End Jct - Pye Bridge Jct.

I have not been to this area for years, can anyone tell me whether these lines are:

1. In use,
2. Disused/closed, or,
3. Lifted.


Thanks

 

[Peterthegreat]

All still in use.

 

[The Crab]

All still in use.

Thank you. Any idea of volume and type of traffic?

 

[Spartacus]

Thank you. Any idea of volume and type of traffic?

The latter, the line via Pinxton (use that as the location on RTT) only usually sees two trains a day unless there's a stock move going to or from Worksop, but both are EMR and one's a passenger train, the 2359 off Mansfield Woodhouse, though I see until Friday night it's diverted via the more normal route via Newstead.

 

[The Crab]

The latter, the line via Pinxton (use that as the location on RTT) only usually sees two trains a day unless there's a stock move going to or from Worksop, but both are EMR and one's a passenger train, the 2359 off Mansfield Woodhouse, though I see until Friday night it's diverted via the more normal route via Newstead.

Thank you - very interesting.

 

[Adrian Barr]

This is my local area, so it's interesting to have a look at the current use of these lines.

I did a series of posts on Doncaster freight lines in this thread back in 2021, but things have changed over the past few years: East-West Doncaster avoiding lines (current usage)

Hexthorpe Jn to Bentley Jn still sees regular use as a freight "avoider" for Doncaster. There's quite a variety of freight that uses it, although they tend to be trains which don't run every day, meaning only a handful of trains will use it on any particular day.

Some freight workings over the route in the past couple of weeks:

Up workings:
6D03 Tinsley - Immingham (steel)
6D94 Rotherham - Hull Docks (empty coil wagons)
6E15 / 6X14 Eastleigh - Scunthorpe (empty rail carriers / engineers wagons)
4E33 Earles Sdgs - Scunthorpe (empty coal wagons for Immingham)
6E68 (Sunday) Kingsbury - Humber Oil Refinery (empty tanks) as seen here on the avoider in 2016: https://www.flickr.com/photos/the_walton_wanderer/26554053311/ (Photo: Neil Young)
6E08 Wolverhampton - Immingham (empty coil wagons)

A slightly odd regular Saturday working is 4D09 Tinsley - Doncaster Railport, which uses the line to access Hatfield & Stainforth, before running round and heading back to Doncaster to access the Railport (on the up side near Up Decoy / Wood Yard) to stable for the weekend. Seen here on the avoider: https://www.flickr.com/photos/big-stew/51905211386/ (Photo: Stewart Donohoe)

Down workings:
6J03 Immingham - Tinsley (empty steel wagons)
6J04 Hull Docks - Tinsley (empty steel wagons)
6J99 Immingham - Rotherham (steel coils for Wolverhampton)
6M99 Immingham - Wolverhampton (steel coils)
6J94 Hull Docks - Rotherham (steel coils for Wolverhampton)
6M39 Scunthorpe - Earles (coal in HTA wagons from Immingham, for the cement works)
6O01 / 6X01 Scunthorpe - Eastleigh (loaded rail carriers / engineers wagons)

Occasional tank trains are diverted this way that would normally run via Lincoln - this is a nice shot of 6M57 Lindsey - Kingsbury crossing the bridge over the river Don behind 60074 in 2016:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/the_walton_wanderer/26526750622/ (Photo: Neil Young)

A real oddity on Friday night was a diverted 4L63 23:11 Doncaster Railport - London Gateway container train, routed via Doncaster, Hatfield & Stainforth (run round), the avoider to Hexthorpe Jn, Swinton, Barrow Hill, Chesterfield, Toton, Water Orton, Walsall, Bescot, Stechford and Rugby.

Kirk Sandall Jn to St Catherines Jn is barely used now, I can only think of infrastructure monitoring trains that occasionally run this way. The last workings I saw on the line were the final Immingham - West Burton coal trains a few years ago. St Catherine's junction is quite different now with the busy Iport container terminal there (accessed via the curve from Down Decoy). Coal empties from West Burton are seen approaching St Catherines Jn in 2019 where they will take the curve to Down Decoy - however the loaded workings often ran direct from Kirk Sandall Jn towards Maltby: https://www.flickr.com/photos/big-stew/40401922263/ (Photo: Stewart Donohoe)

Another occasional use of this section until recently was by GBRF, for trains of empty box wagons from Roxby (or Scunthorpe) to stable at Down Decoy. Instead of running via Doncaster station, some of them were routed via Kirk Sandall Jn to St Catherines Jn, where they would run round and take the curve into Down Decoy yard. The number of spoil trains to Roxby has reduced, with the end of trains from Collyhurst in Manchester and Whitehall Road in Leeds, and I haven't noticed any trains running this way recently (although WTT paths still exist). GBRF occasionally run aggregate trains from Rylstone which are offloaded near Anchor Sidings at Scunthorpe - there are WTT paths for the 6D68 empties to run this way to Down Decoy, but I wonder if any freight traincrew (apart from those working infrastructure monitoring trains) still sign it?

St Catherines Jn to Brancliffe East Jn + Kirkby Lne End Jn - Pye Bridge Jn.
The passenger working via Pinxton (mentioned above) is a surprise to me! As mentioned above, the last coal trains to West Burton could be seen a few years ago on the line through Maltby, such as 66788 with 6B70 Immingham - West Burton coal in 2021: https://www.flickr.com/photos/49068127@N06/51337769419/ (Photo: Gavin B)

I think the most common freight workings (of a sort) now would be occasional wagon trips to or from the WH Davis wagon works at Shirebrook.

For example, a 6Z10 ran from Shirebrook to Toton (via Pinxton) on 15th January taking a car wagon off repair: https://www.flickr.com/photos/128796627@N05/54281066540/ (Photo: Goff)

Other workings access Shirebrook from the Doncaster end, such as this movement of stored HHA wagons from York to Shirebrook in December, seen passing Maltby:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/75892080@N06/54192127937/ (Photo: Wilbert B)

A mysterious 5E86 working on the 14th Jan ran from Leicester to Doncaster Down Decoy via Trowell, Pinxton, Shireoaks and Maltby, and there are sometimes stock movements to and from Worksop (former yards now used for rolling stock storage). There are some very strange sights at Worksop these days, with a couple of recent drone videos on the DestinationTrainsPlane Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@trainsplanes/videos.
There's a 5Q76 13:35 Worksop - Doncaster RMT schedule for tomorrow. I understand these are movements of stored EMUs which are brought to Doncaster Royal Mail terminal to bring them "under the wires" so they can be powered up, to keep them in working order. One such unlikely working is seen at Maltby last year, with 57303 hauling class 379s! https://www.flickr.com/photos/75892080@N06/53750278394/ (Photo: Wilbert B)

I noticed there are a couple of wacky schedules in the working timetable. I doubt they've ever run and they seem rather unlikely to... although so do Class 379s at Maltby.
A search on Realtime trains shows a 6E12 MO Wembley yard - Goole Glassworks and 6M11 MO 16:00 return, running via Bletchley, Bedford, Corby, Toton, Pinxton, Shireoaks, Maltby, Kirk Sandall Jn.
The only thing I can think would use this path would be if the current Tilbury to Ince & Elton service (which conveys crushed recycled glass cullet, resembling sand) were to run to the glassworks at Goole. It would be nice, but WTT freight paths are often somewhat speculative and hint at potential traffic rather than indicate a service is actually going to run...

While on the topic of Doncaster freight lines, I'll link this post which starts as a historical discussion of the obscure tangle of lines in the vicinity of Doncaster Down Decoy / St Catherines Jn, and expands into a general guide to the current layout and sidings between there and Doncaster station: When did the Black Carr Junc GN/GE joint ECML chord (under the flyover) open ?

 

[eastwestdivide]

Kirk Sandall Jn to St Catherines Jn

This section has OOU in the berths on the signalling diagram on Traksy

 

[ChrisC]

Kirkby Lne End Jct - Pye Bridge Jct.
I was out walking yesterday through Portland Park near Kirkby in Ashfield. The footpath took me across this line and I was surprised how well maintained it looked for a line that has seen very little use for many years now.

 

[The Crab]

L

This is my local area, so it's interesting to have a look at the current use of these lines.

I did a series of posts on Doncaster freight lines in this thread back in 2021, but things have changed over the past few years: East-West Doncaster avoiding lines (current usage)

Hexthorpe Jn to Bentley Jn still sees regular use as a freight "avoider" for Doncaster. There's quite a variety of freight that uses it, although they tend to be trains which don't run every day, meaning only a handful of trains will use it on any particular day.

Some freight workings over the route in the past couple of weeks:

Up workings:
6D03 Tinsley - Immingham (steel)
6D94 Rotherham - Hull Docks (empty coil wagons)
6E15 / 6X14 Eastleigh - Scunthorpe (empty rail carriers / engineers wagons)
4E33 Earles Sdgs - Scunthorpe (empty coal wagons for Immingham)
6E68 (Sunday) Kingsbury - Humber Oil Refinery (empty tanks) as seen here on the avoider in 2016: https://www.flickr.com/photos/the_walton_wanderer/26554053311/ (Photo: Neil Young)
6E08 Wolverhampton - Immingham (empty coil wagons)

A slightly odd regular Saturday working is 4D09 Tinsley - Doncaster Railport, which uses the line to access Hatfield & Stainforth, before running round and heading back to Doncaster to access the Railport (on the up side near Up Decoy / Wood Yard) to stable for the weekend. Seen here on the avoider: https://www.flickr.com/photos/big-stew/51905211386/ (Photo: Stewart Donohoe)

Down workings:
6J03 Immingham - Tinsley (empty steel wagons)
6J04 Hull Docks - Tinsley (empty steel wagons)
6J99 Immingham - Rotherham (steel coils for Wolverhampton)
6M99 Immingham - Wolverhampton (steel coils)
6J94 Hull Docks - Rotherham (steel coils for Wolverhampton)
6M39 Scunthorpe - Earles (coal in HTA wagons from Immingham, for the cement works)
6O01 / 6X01 Scunthorpe - Eastleigh (loaded rail carriers / engineers wagons)

Occasional tank trains are diverted this way that would normally run via Lincoln - this is a nice shot of 6M57 Lindsey - Kingsbury crossing the bridge over the river Don behind 60074 in 2016:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/the_walton_wanderer/26526750622/ (Photo: Neil Young)

A real oddity on Friday night was a diverted 4L63 23:11 Doncaster Railport - London Gateway container train, routed via Doncaster, Hatfield & Stainforth (run round), the avoider to Hexthorpe Jn, Swinton, Barrow Hill, Chesterfield, Toton, Water Orton, Walsall, Bescot, Stechford and Rugby.

Kirk Sandall Jn to St Catherines Jn is barely used now, I can only think of infrastructure monitoring trains that occasionally run this way. The last workings I saw on the line were the final Immingham - West Burton coal trains a few years ago. St Catherine's junction is quite different now with the busy Iport container terminal there (accessed via the curve from Down Decoy). Coal empties from West Burton are seen approaching St Catherines Jn in 2019 where they will take the curve to Down Decoy - however the loaded workings often ran direct from Kirk Sandall Jn towards Maltby: https://www.flickr.com/photos/big-stew/40401922263/ (Photo: Stewart Donohoe)

Another occasional use of this section until recently was by GBRF, for trains of empty box wagons from Roxby (or Scunthorpe) to stable at Down Decoy. Instead of running via Doncaster station, some of them were routed via Kirk Sandall Jn to St Catherines Jn, where they would run round and take the curve into Down Decoy yard. The number of spoil trains to Roxby has reduced, with the end of trains from Collyhurst in Manchester and Whitehall Road in Leeds, and I haven't noticed any trains running this way recently (although WTT paths still exist). GBRF occasionally run aggregate trains from Rylstone which are offloaded near Anchor Sidings at Scunthorpe - there are WTT paths for the 6D68 empties to run this way to Down Decoy, but I wonder if any freight traincrew (apart from those working infrastructure monitoring trains) still sign it?

St Catherines Jn to Brancliffe East Jn + Kirkby Lne End Jn - Pye Bridge Jn.
The passenger working via Pinxton (mentioned above) is a surprise to me! As mentioned above, the last coal trains to West Burton could be seen a few years ago on the line through Maltby, such as 66788 with 6B70 Immingham - West Burton coal in 2021: https://www.flickr.com/photos/49068127@N06/51337769419/ (Photo: Gavin B)

I think the most common freight workings (of a sort) now would be occasional wagon trips to or from the WH Davis wagon works at Shirebrook.

For example, a 6Z10 ran from Shirebrook to Toton (via Pinxton) on 15th January taking a car wagon off repair: https://www.flickr.com/photos/128796627@N05/54281066540/ (Photo: Goff)

Other workings access Shirebrook from the Doncaster end, such as this movement of stored HHA wagons from York to Shirebrook in December, seen passing Maltby:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/75892080@N06/54192127937/ (Photo: Wilbert B)

A mysterious 5E86 working on the 14th Jan ran from Leicester to Doncaster Down Decoy via Trowell, Pinxton, Shireoaks and Maltby, and there are sometimes stock movements to and from Worksop (former yards now used for rolling stock storage). There are some very strange sights at Worksop these days, with a couple of recent drone videos on the DestinationTrainsPlane Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@trainsplanes/videos.
There's a 5Q76 13:35 Worksop - Doncaster RMT schedule for tomorrow. I understand these are movements of stored EMUs which are brought to Doncaster Royal Mail terminal to bring them "under the wires" so they can be powered up, to keep them in working order. One such unlikely working is seen at Maltby last year, with 57303 hauling class 379s! https://www.flickr.com/photos/75892080@N06/53750278394/ (Photo: Wilbert B)

I noticed there are a couple of wacky schedules in the working timetable. I doubt they've ever run and they seem rather unlikely to... although so do Class 379s at Maltby.
A search on Realtime trains shows a 6E12 MO Wembley yard - Goole Glassworks and 6M11 MO 16:00 return, running via Bletchley, Bedford, Corby, Toton, Pinxton, Shireoaks, Maltby, Kirk Sandall Jn.
The only thing I can think would use this path would be if the current Tilbury to Ince & Elton service (which conveys crushed recycled glass cullet, resembling sand) were to run to the glassworks at Goole. It would be nice, but WTT freight paths are often somewhat speculative and hint at potential traffic rather than indicate a service is actually going to run...

While on the topic of Doncaster freight lines, I'll link this post which starts as a historical discussion of the obscure tangle of lines in the vicinity of Doncaster Down Decoy / St Catherines Jn, and expands into a general guide to the current layout and sidings between there and Doncaster station: When did the Black Carr Junc GN/GE joint ECML chord (under the flyover) open ?

What a brilliant post - better than I could have hoped for. Thank you for your effort!

 

[Adrian Barr]

This section has OOU in the berths on the signalling diagram on Traksy

Interesting... that's prompted me to have a delve into these infrastructure monitoring workings over the South Yorkshire Joint line. I should probably have looked into this earlier as they are rather interesting and I could have gone out to photograph them on the section that's now out of use!

From what I can gather, there's a diagram off Derby which runs every few weeks (maybe someone knows the exact frequency they are supposed to run). It starts off as 1Q60 on a Monday running via the South Yorkshire Joint line, and finishes on a Saturday running as a 1Q68 in the other direction over the South Yorkshire Joint line. In the meantime it tours Yorkshire with the intermediate headcodes 1Q61 > 1Q67.

Rather conveniently, alex.sleight on flickr has photographs of many of these workings where he includes the timings in the captions. In 2024 the Colas traction on these workings changed from top & tail class 37s to class 43 HST power cars. At some point during the spring or early summer, these workings stopped using the section of line between St Catherines Jn and Kirk Sandall Jn. The last workings I can find that were routed this way were 1Q60 on 4th March and the return working to Derby, 1Q68 on 9th March.

This is a summary of known (from photos) 1Q60 / 1Q68 workings and routings in 2024 (1Q68 runs in darkness / early morning so there aren't many photos).

From Derby (1Q60 MO)
1Q60 08/01/24 37057,37610 Pinxton, Maltby, Kirk Sandall Jn
1Q60 05/02/24 37254,37607 Pinxton, Maltby, Kirk Sandall Jn
1Q60 04/03/24 43257,43277 Pinxton, Maltby, Kirk Sandall Jn
1Q60 29/04/24 37219,37607 Route not known, 3.5 hours late leaving Derby
1Q60 24/06/24 43251,43274 booked via Pinxton, Maltby, Doncaster (set off from Derby over 200 mins late, missed out the SYJ line)
1Q60 19/08/24 43251,43257 Bulwell, Maltby, Doncaster (Pinxton temporarily closed due to damaged level crossing)
1Q60 09/12/24 43277 Pinxton, Maltby, Doncaster

To Derby (1Q68 SO)
1Q68 13/01/24 37057 Kirk Sandall Jn, Maltby, Pinxton
1Q68 09/03/24 43257 Kirk Sandall Jn, Maltby, Pinxton
1Q68 27/07/24 43272,43277 (route not known)

43277 is seen on 1Q60 on 4th March 2024 at Mansfield Town (timings and actual running times in the caption): https://www.flickr.com/photos/122599534@N05/53577686188/ (Photo: Alex Sleight)

43257 is seen on the other end of 1Q60 at Worksop on the same day, with the timings for the return 1Q68 on the following Saturday (the date the photo was uploaded) shown in the caption:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/122599534@N05/53577926930/ (Photo: Alex Sleight)

Those early March workings show a route including the St Catherines Jn to Kirk Sandall Jn section, and appear to have run that way. By 24th June, 1Q60 was being routed from St Catherine's Junction through Doncaster station. The route for 1Q60 on 29th April is not known, but it left Derby very late and may have missed out the South Yorkshire Joint line entirely. There might have been other 1Q60 / 1Q68 workings between March and June, but at some point in that period it looks like the St Catherines Jn to Kirk Sandall Jn line was taken out of use (although not officially closed). This means it is quite likely that the most recent workings over this section were by HST power cars!

The WTT schedules for 1Q60 and 1Q68 still include the St Catherines Jn to Kirk Sandall Jn section, but variation schedules are input via Doncaster station when the trains actually run.

1Q60 schedule for Monday 3rd February: https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/service/gb-nr:H46234/2025-02-03/detailed
1Q68 schedule for Saturday 8th February: https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/service/gb-nr:H46252/2025-02-08/detailed

Some rather nice photos of these services:
37099 at Maltby signal box on 1Q68 in 2017: https://www.flickr.com/photos/marcus_45111/49995679861/ (Photo: Marcus)
43050 and 43060 working 1Q60 at North Anston (near Dinnington) in 2020: https://www.flickr.com/photos/44208207@N00/50505809197/ (Photo: Bob Gellatly)
37175 crossing Brookhouse viaduct (between Dinnington and Maltby) with 1Q60 in 2022: https://www.flickr.com/photos/big-stew/52433962887/ (Photo: Stewart Donohoe)

Flickr search for 1Q60 photos sorted by date: https://www.flickr.com/search/?sort=date-taken-desc&text=1q60
Flickr search for 1Q68 photos sorted by date: https://www.flickr.com/search/?text=1q68&sort=date-taken-desc

=====================================

Also thinking about Tracksy, a quirk of the Doncaster map is that at Maltby it usually leaves a "ghost train" showing the headcode of the most recent northbound working. For example, as I write this, there is a 4E86 shown there on the map. This might have been the 5E86 movement from Leicester Depot to Doncaster Down Decoy I mentioned in my previous post (which could have been a GBRF loco with translator vehicles for a unit move, now I think about it, as the translator vehicles are often stabled at Leicester Depot).

Back in October, during a week when the route via Lincoln was closed overnight and freights were planned to run main line through Retford, there was at least one instance where 6E04 (Whitemoor - Doncaster Up Decoy) diverted from Retford onto the "Whisker Hill" curve, then via Worksop and Maltby - below is my speculation why. I only noticed this because it left a "ghost train" on the map at Maltby!

Another diversion on the route between Peterborough and Doncaster recently was 6E04 02:20 Whitemoor - Doncaster Up Decoy on Friday morning (25th October).

It was booked to run main line via Newark and Retford, but once it got to Retford it diverted via Worksop / Shireoaks and the South Yorkshire Joint Line via Maltby.

I don't think there was anything blocking the main line, so it might have gone this way to avoid the double run-round required at Down Decoy and St Catherines Junction (with Up Decoy sidings not being directly accessible from the south when coming from the ECML). Normally 6E04 is booked via Lincoln, allowing it to access Up Decoy directly from Bessacarr Jn onto the reversible Up East Slow.

I wonder if that 5Q76 from Worksop will run tomorrow - in the previous post I said it was running today but got the date mixed up, the schedule is actually for Monday (and also Tuesday as an earlier 10:53 departure)
https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/service/gb-nr:K27761/2025-01-27/detailed