OK the third and final part covering the Skellow lines north of Doncaster -
Routes from Thorpe Marsh Jn
This timing point on the freight-only line from Stainforth shows trains on 4 possible routes:
The new chord from Thorpe Marsh Jn to Heywood Jn (Knottingley route)
Applehurst Jn to Joan Croft Jn (ECML northbound to Hambleton / York)
Skellow Jn to Adwick Jn (towards South Kirkby Jn and Wakefield)
Skellow Jn to Carcroft Jn (towards Doncaster station via Adwick and Bentley)
Can’t resist linking this youtube video, which shows the tanks from Preston coming over the ECML on the bridge (the zoom makes it look like a rollercoaster!) then across Applehurst Jn (ECML connection from Joan Croft) and Thorpe Marsh Junction (Knottingley branch connection from Heywood Jn). I haven’t been here since the new chord was put in – last time I was there, the cooling towers of Thorpe Marsh power station were still intact and Class 56s were in EWS or Loadhaul livery.
Video: 56113 56090 6E32 Thorpe Marsh Jct 25/04/19
Channel: Mr C’s footage
Thorpe Marsh Jn to Heywood Jn
Main traffic is biomass from Immingham to Drax, currently up to 10 loaded trains per day.
On a Sunday night the Lindsey-Jarrow tanks usually run this way (via Knottingley and Milford) and also a Sunday night Lackenby – Scunthorpe service (for possessions / route retention at a guess). It’s a possible route for trains between Teeside and Scunthorpe but apart from engineering-related diversions it doesn’t seem to be used much for that purpose (quicker on existing paths via Joan Croft & ECML)
Applehurst Jn to Joan Croft Jn
Still has a fair bit of traffic. A couple of trains per day between Scunthorpe and Tees Yard / Lackenby, with occasional services from Scunthorpe to Tees Dock. The Lindsey – Jarrow tanks run this way.
One interesting service to run this way (ran on Thu 26 Nov and 3 Dec when I looked, but doesn't appear to be a regular working) has been a York – Immingham coal empties which then loads for Earles. Also, this route is still used as a regular diversionary route for the Immingham – Drax biomass trains. In the last week of November, overnight engineering saw several trains routed the old way via Milford, Gascoigne Wood, Hambleton and Joan Croft to Immingham. Also the first few trains often come this way when the service starts up on Sunday afternoons (empties from Milford Sidings).
Skellow Jn to Adwick Jn
The Lindsey – Preston and Lindsey – Neville Hill tanks run this way, both loads and empties. Loaded spoil from Leeds Whitehall to Roxby has also run this way, along with spoil empties running direct from Roxby to Collyhurst (routing for these varies depending on whether they are running direct from terminal to terminal or stabling in the yards at Doncaster). The Lindsey – Jarrow tanks may occasionally run this way on a Sunday night (via Hare Park, Turners Lane and Castleford) such as on 22nd November, but more usually runs via Knottingley on a Sunday night.
Skellow Jn to Carcroft Jn
This is a quirky routing that allows trains from the Humberside direction to access the goods lines through Doncaster station without crossing the ECML. Roxby – Rossington spoil empties have been routed this way although they sometimes get sent via Kirk Sandall. In the opposite direction, loaded spoil from Angerstein to Roxby has also been sent this way recently. The Dollands Moor – Scunthorpe service is booked this way although can be sent via Kirk Sandall instead. A couple of interesting services sent this way have been a Roxby – Neath Abbey Wharf service (then via Hexthorpe and Barrow Hill) and a Down Decoy – Immingham which formed a coal service to Ratcliffe (loads ran via Lincoln)
Shaftholme Jn – Heywood Jn (from ECML towards Knottingley)
Unlike the other Doncaster Freight lines, this became a passenger route when the GC Bradford services started running. A regular freight is the empty Plasmor service from Bow / Biggleswade to Heck, running empty via Milford, Gascoigne Wood and Hambleton and then south on the ECML to propel into the siding at Heck. Sand trains from Middleton Towers to Monk Bretton (and return) also run on this line. Trips between Doncaster and York (Network Rail wagons for maintenance) are routed this way to keep them clear of the ECML, and there are light engine moves at weekends to swap locos between Doncaster and Knottingley depots (also from Midland Road to Doncaster yards).
A couple of interesting services recently have been an Earles Sidings to Drax and return [I noticed this ran a couple of times on two Mondays at the end of November. As of February this traffic now appears to be running MWFO from West Burton to Earles instead, with fly ash in PCA wagons]. Also, the Doncaster yards (Hexthorpe or Down Decoy) to Hull gypsum empties (GBRF box wagons) have been running this way, then taking the route via Snaith (the only freight on that route at the moment). The loaded Hull – Ferrybridge services also run via Snaith, then the empties return to Doncaster again via Heywood Jn – Shaftholme.
There's also:
* a small footbridge over the avoider about a mile from its W end, accessible via public footpaths from the Richmond Hill area or the footpath alongside the Don (N side of the river)
* part-interrupted views of the line across the flood meadows and a view from below of its bridge over the Don from the footpath alongside the Don
* a viewpoint of the junction at its W end from an overbridge (Guest Lane Warmsworth)
That footbridge looks promising. I can't remember if I walked over it - I suspect I walked down Newton Lane instead to reach the main access point to the Transpennine Trail on Sprotborough Road.
I remember seeing the footpath below the bridges which carry the trail (on the H&B bridge) and the avoider over the Don, but I think I took a diversion to Sprotborough via Guest lane and Mill Lane.
I remember the view from the bridge that overlooks Hexthorpe Junction, I took a couple of photos but there was no freight about! Things are a lot easier these days with Mobile phones, Realtime Trains, Tracksy and so on...
Within Sandall Beat Wood (on the St Caths - Kirk Sandall line) I always fancied taking a photo of the Middleton Towers sand (when it ran via Worksop to Kirk Sandall/Barnby Dunn) from the footbridge which overlooks the junction with the former Markham Main Colliery, but never had the patience to wait for a train that might not be running. I could photo that 6D21 spoil train there, but looking on Google Maps there are a lot more trees - it used to be a fairly open space. The photo of 6D21 was taken from the footpath that links Stoops Lane with Lakeside, where the train is leaving the cutting and the line is rising slightly to join the Low Ellers Curve and cross the ECML. At the Kirk Sandall end of that line I can see it goes over a couple of roads, but most of it seems to be in a cutting and the bridges I've walked over don't give especially good views (being a single line makes the cutting narrower I suppose). I remember watching the sand train go over the crossing at Thorne Lane where it enters the glass factory - it would be nice to get a photo of the sand train with the plant in the background but I don't know if that is feasible - I have a photo somewhere but it just shows the sand wagons going over the road crossing I think.
I've not been to the nature reserve at Potteric Carr for a few years. For anyone who might be curious - it's not an ideal place for rail photography due to all the trees, but it's an interesting place and I remember when you bought an entrance ticket they gave you a sort of permit to use the foot crossings - I remember one at the end of Down Decoy sidings, and another which crosses the Down chord from the ECML to the flyover lines. You get very close to the bridges where the Lincoln line and the Kirk Sandall line cross the ECML, and there's a hide (for birdwatching) which looks across the ECML to a pond on the other side. Another part of the reserve is behind a line of trees parallel to the line close to St Caths junction - I remember being surprised by an 08 shunter loudly gronking behind the trees. My overall impression of the place was constantly hearing trains that you couldn't see, while being bitten by exotic insects - but it's a nice place, I should go back for another visit sometime.
The Skellow line around Thorpe Marsh was quite a pleasant location when I visited it years ago - another place I ought to re-visit sometime to see the changes since the new chord was put in.
A couple of superb posts. Everything I could have hoped for ... and more.
On the South Yorkshire Joint Line, from what you say, it seems to be doomed to closure. Even as a 'secondary' route to free capacity on the 'main' lines it seems to be inferior to the alternative, longer, route using the Doncaster to Lincoln and Lincoln to Worksop lines and Pyewipe Jnc.
(As a complete aside, is Pyewipe Jnc another case of a junction named after a pub, or is there any other local feature named after the lapwing ?).
You also mentioned a couple of times that empties and loaded trains take different routes and said (in one case) and implied (in the other case) that gradients on the routes from Doncaster were (one of) the cause(s). My impression of the area is that its as flat as a pancake. Perhaps I'm just wrong or perhaps the gradients are caused by civil engineering works rather than topography ?
As a diversionary route between Doncaster and Toton/Derby/Midlands (if Chesterfield was completely blocked on all lines) I was suggesting the route from Doncaster - Pyewipe Junction - Newark Castle - Nottingham would be more practical than the South Yorkshire Joint, even ignoring route knowledge (I'm speculating but that would be my guess, I don't know how the timings would compare).
There aren't any real gradients around Doncaster itself, but if the tank trains to Kingsbury are diverted via the Doncaster Avoider and Mexborough it means they have to climb Santon bank near Scunthorpe - not a particularly steep gradient compared to more famous locations, but enough to be an issue for the heaviest tank trains, especially if a Class 66 is pulling 30 tanks! In theory these could also run via Brigg, Worksop, Shirebrook and Toton when the Lincoln route was unavailable, but while the gradients might be OK, route knowledge would be a problem.
The Onllwyn - Immingham coal train appears to run outward via Lincoln and return via Mexborough, but I don't think that is related to gradients, perhaps more to do with pathing or traincrew requirements.
The gradient that would cause an issue if you ran Toton - Shirebrook - Maltby - Doncaster is at the East Midlands end, on the freight line between Ironville Junction, through Pinxton, to Kirkby Lane End Junction (and Kirkby summit). The weight limit for a 66 means is a bit restrictive for bulk trains - I don't think you could pull a 2000 ton train with a 66. Historically, almost all the freight taking this route in this direction would have been coal empties, so it wasn't really a big issue. The other issue as a diversionary route - there just aren't that many freight trains for which Toton - Shirebrook - Maltby - Doncaster would be a useful alternative route, and I doubt it's cleared for containers.
