Crofton depot - what was there before?

[DarloRich]

I had cause to be near Crofton depot ( the Alstom former Bombardier depot near Wakefield) recently and wondered what was there before - looking at the google earth views it has a tear drop shape that you would expect from some kind of yard. Was this a colliery at some point?

The area has changed so much over the last 20 years that there are few clues to be found

 

[Grumpy]

I had cause to be near Crofton depot ( the Alstom former Bombardier depot near Wakefield) recently and wondered what was there before - looking at the google earth views it has a tear drop shape that you would expect from some kind of yard. Was this a colliery at some point?

The area has changed so much over the last 20 years that there are few clues to be found

Civil Engineers sidings etc

 

[DarloRich]

Civil Engineers sidings etc

thank you - I didn't think of that!

Do you know if it was BR or contractor?

 

[Grumpy]

Do you know if it was BR or contractor?

Not sure.
The only time I was interested was when it was the North Eastern Region Divisional Engineer's P Way depot and had one of those departmental shunting locos that were listed in the shed books.
The 1962 Ian Allan shed book shows Departmental loco no.85 allocated to Crofton P.W. depot

 

[John Webb]

Have a look at maps on the National Library of Scotland's maps site, for example https://maps.nls.uk/view/195442101 - this, from 1971, shows a railway depot of some sort. Maps prior to this show a 'Green field' site. Hope this helps!

 

[Falcon1200]

IIRC Healey Mills depot had a couple of Class 03 shunters allocated, whose work was at Crofton PW Depot.

 

[Ploughman]

I think it's last job was the build up of new S+C units for LNW Electrification around 1992, some units also built up at Castleton.

 

[GardenRail]

It was definitely a Pway depot years ago. Before the trees grew, you could see all the ballast wagons and tampers from Redbeck Motel on Doncaster Road.

 

[SHerr]

I remember visiting there once or twice in the early 90s but can’t remember a great deal about it. I think as mentioned above it was used for building up panels of track.

I think the reason I visited, is there were some parts there for the Eastern Regions temporary waybeam bridges that by then were in a sorry state, from memory most of the beams were at Beighton Depot but somehow some smaller bits had been left at Crofton and I think I had to rummage through the weeds try it to find bits! I certainly remember the visit to Beighton more as one time I went there was 1 if not 2 lines of withdrawn class 45s there. Unfortunately I had no camera at the time of the visits which I’ve always regretted.

 

[childwallblues]

I think Croftons work these days ts servicing DMUs.

 

[Adrian Barr]

The 1988 Quail map for the Eastern Region shows "Crofton Permanent Way Depot" with a similar number of sidings to the present DMU depot. It appears to have been a regular BR location rather than a private contractor.
Apparently it closed in 1994.

The place seems a bit camera shy, but I found these BR blue beauties on flickr:
03047 at Crofton in 1976, with stacks of concrete track panels behind: https://www.flickr.com/photos/andy_hoare/5148971737/
40115 in the headshunt in 1977, waiting departure with concrete track panels: https://www.flickr.com/photos/tunnel_one/7581558166/
45068 departs Crofton onto the main line in 1982 with an engineers train: https://www.flickr.com/photos/blue-diesels/53656503017/
08776 at Crofton in 1990: https://www.flickr.com/photos/dwbphotos/51550947643/

This 1955 map gives an interesting view of the area before the depot was built: https://maps.nls.uk/view/91789063

There were two nearby collieries, Walton (originally Sharlston West) is adjacent to "Ings Farm" on that map. Sharlston Colliery (originally New Sharlston) was nearby, on the line to Pontefract Monkhill - the connection into the colliery can just be seen at the top of the 1955 map (near the number 39). "Sharlston Colliery Pit wheel" is visible on google maps on the site of the colliery.

Also on the 1955 map, a triangle can be seen (with a sewage works marked in the middle) of which only one side survives. The trackbeds can also be clearly made out on google maps imagery. At Crofton West Junction there were actually two junctions very close together, one of which formed part of the triangle which led to Crofton South Junction and the start of the Dearne Valley railway towards Doncaster. "Crofton Hall Sidings" were located beyond Crofton South junction, and are also visible on the 1955 map. A google image search for "Crofton Hall Sidings" brings up an interesting picture of a 40 and the double junctions at Crofton West which was posted to Facebook.

Railway Memories No.6 by Stephen Chapman quotes a former driver saying "All the coal off the Dearne Valley used to go into Crofton and we took it on to Lancashire." So there was a (modestly sized) yard at Crofton, but not where the permanent way depot was built...

 

[GRALISTAIR]

IIRC Healey Mills depot had a couple of Class 03 shunters allocated, whose work was at Crofton PW Depot.

I think I vaguely remember that. My last 03 was based at 32A though.

 

[trawler]

The last of two original Bombardier facilities (If you count Horbury as a train assembly facility) around Wakefield. Crofton was the testing facility that because of the resulting investment effectively enabled it to be passenger train depot as it is today. A key facility now for Grand Central, servicing both for Cross Country and Transpennine Express.

 

[Adrian Barr]

Crofton was the testing facility

I'd forgotten about that, the Monk Bretton branch forming a convenient test track:

Voyager at a shiny Crofton depot in 2001: https://www.flickr.com/photos/56249446@N06/48290602857/
Voyager testing on the Monk Bretton branch: https://www.flickr.com/photos/the_walton_wanderer/52738414523/

 

[357]

The 1988 Quail map for the Eastern Region shows "Crofton Permanent Way Depot"

The sign by the crossing is still a BR era one for "Crofton Track Works"!

 

[DarloRich]

The 1988 Quail map for the Eastern Region shows "Crofton Permanent Way Depot" with a similar number of sidings to the present DMU depot. It appears to have been a regular BR location rather than a private contractor.

thanks - an interesting collection of pictures.