Coal and the Madeley Chord.
A picture taken at the very end of rail / coal haulage from Staffordshire's Silverdale Colliery. Traffic from the mine had been the final reason for the line's existence and with the closure of Silverdale (North Staffs last) the railway closed too. When built it linked industrial Stoke on Trent and Newcastle under Lyme with Market Drayton and Shrewsbury.
Here EWS liveried BR/Brush class 60, 60037 rolls into the run round loop above the West Coast Main Line with a loaded train of MGR hoppers. The loco will detatch, swap ends and descent the 'chord' into Madeley where it will join the main line. The Madeley Chord was built purely for the purpose of access to this stretch of line when it was severed first at the western end and then latterly at Newcastle.
Bizarrely I've heard that this little system's currently being refurbished by Network Rail and that in the last few days new points have been installed on the WCML to allow access once more ... hmm, I wonder what traffic is in the offing ... opencast or 'Logistics' from the huge Lymedale Business Park, which itself would require a short new formation beyond Silverdale?
Coal and the Madeley Chord.
A picture taken at the very end of rail / coal haulage from Staffordshire's Silverdale Colliery. Traffic from the mine had been the final reason for the line's existence and with the closure of Silverdale (North Staffs last) the railway closed too. When built it linked industrial Stoke on Trent and Newcastle under Lyme with Market Drayton and Shrewsbury.
Here EWS liveried BR/Brush class 60, 60037 rolls into the run round loop above the West Coast Main Line with a loaded train of MGR hoppers. The loco will detatch, swap ends and descent the 'chord' into Madeley where it will join the main line. The Madeley Chord was built purely for the purpose of access to this stretch of line when it was severed first at the western end and then latterly at Newcastle.
Bizarrely I've heard that this little system's currently being refurbished by Network Rail and that in the last few days new points have been installed on the WCML to allow access once more ... hmm, I wonder what traffic is in the offing ... opencast or 'Logistics' from the huge Lymedale Business Park, which itself would require a short new formation beyond Silverdale?