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Midland Main Line ( Wath Rd Jct - Normanton )

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Welshman

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As you say, it was part of the Midland Main line from Sheffield into Leeds and beyond [originally, St Pancras-Scotland expresses used to stop at Normanton where lunch was served], but, IIRC, it became riddled with speed restrictions in the 1940s and 50s due to being literally under-mined by the local collieries along the route.

It also missed now-important traffic centres such as Doncaster and Wakefield, and so as the Doncaster-Leeds and Doncaster York lines were improved [the latter particularly with the building of the Selby diversion providing a 125mph railway for much of the way], it was realised that faster journeys serving these centres could be offered by using those lines. So main-line Sheffield-Leeds traffic was diverted via Wakefield Westgate, and Sheffield-York traffic via Doncaster.

I think another major factor in the route's decline was the building of the M1 motorway, enabling travel from Sheffield to Leeds in under an hour[on a good day!]. The line through Wath could not compete with this, because of the various slacks due to subsidence. IIRC, the fastest Sheffield-Leeds timing was then about 1 hour 15 mins, as opposed to the 50 minutes or so via Wakefield Westgate nowadays.

Sorry I cannot remember the actual dates of closure, but I think the through trains had been diverted away by the early 1980s, and there was never very much local traffic over the line.

It would be interesting now, with the section between South Kirby Junction and Wakefield reported to be at full capacity, as to whether a case could be made for re-opening the line, as the subsidence problems should be ended now mining has all but finished. Is the trackbed still in situ, or has it been lost? But perhaps even now, Wakefield is too important a commercial centre to miss.
 

Eagle

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Mainline trains through Normanton had ceased as early as 1970, according to a certain online encyclopedia of indeterminable repute...

(The Selby diversion wasn't opened until 1983, so it wasn't a factor.)
 

Welshman

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Thank-you for those corrections.
I was going simply by memory, which I must admit is not quite as sharp as it used to be these days! :)
 

D6975

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Mainline trains through Normanton had ceased as early as 1970, according to a certain online encyclopedia of indeterminable repute...

That date is definitely wrong, because I can remember catching a Leeds-Poole via that route and I wasn't a railfan till long after 1970.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
It also missed now-important traffic centres such as Doncaster and Wakefield, and so as the Doncaster-Leeds and Doncaster York lines were improved [the latter particularly with the building of the Selby diversion providing a 125mph railway for much of the way], it was realised that faster journeys serving these centres could be offered by using those lines. So main-line Sheffield-Leeds traffic was diverted via Wakefield Westgate, and Sheffield-York traffic via Doncaster.

You didn't have to miss out Wakefield, though most services tended to. You could go Leeds - Westgate - Kirkgate and on to the Midland main line at Crofton and some services did do just that. The main reason for more services not doing so was that it was so time consuming going that way. The chords each side of Kirkgate and the one at Crofton all had very low speed restrictions.
 
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wolfman

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severe mining subsidance had some bearing it was like riding on a rollercoaster,plus the general decline of the mining industry and a general loss of traffic, and alternative routes were vastly superior.
 

34D

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Is the trackbed still in situ, or has it been lost? But perhaps even now, Wakefield is too important a commercial centre to miss.

Most of it is. Let's not forget that Crofton-Monk Bretton still exists for freight, so the actual gaps are fairly small: Goose Hill-Crofton and Monk Bretton-Swinton.

However, if any more routes were to be reopened in the Sheffield area, I'd prefer it to be the Woodhead route.
 
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severe mining subsidance had some bearing it was like riding on a rollercoaster,plus the general decline of the mining industry and a general loss of traffic, and alternative routes were vastly superior.

If the route was still open today would it be well used ?

if any more routes were to be reopened in the Sheffield area, I'd prefer it to be the Woodhead route.

Thats something everyone agrees on :D
 
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