View allAll Photos Tagged TransPennineTrail
With the remains of Widnes docks framing the foreground, Freightliner 'Shed' no 66599 crosses high above the River Mersey as it negotiates the last few miles to journey's end at Garston with the 9.25am containers from Southampton MCT (4M58).
It was nice (and fortunate) to time the visit for low tide when there was rather more of the river bed to see - including the odd supermarket trolley!
To the left can be seen the Trans Pennine Trail - a long-distance pathway crossing England from Hornsea in the east to Southport in the west, a distance of some 207 miles. It's also known as Route 62 on the National Cycle Network, which it becomes from Selby.
No biking on this occasion, but rather a trip out in the car over the Mersey Gateway Bridge.
6.09pm, 20th July 2020
Based on a LNER-design by Sir Nigel Gresley during WW2, these locomotives bear all the hallmarks of a heavy duty build that's perhaps more consistent with the physical needs of a steam locomotive rather than the lesser moving parts and more benign environment of electric traction.
Constructed post-war between 1950 and 1953 for use on the 1500v DC Woodhead route they carried some modifications to the 1941-built prototype 'Tommy', while still bearing the armour plate appearance of the original.
Seen here is unit 76053 which is heading down the Dearne Valley towards Wath Yard with what looks like an engineers' train. Mitchell Main Signal Box, which controls the road crossing I'm stood upon, is just out of sight on my right, and the small South Yorkshire town of Wombwell forms the backdrop.
The railway disappeared from here almost 40 years ago but the trackbed was retained to form part of the long distance Trans-Pennine Trail where, those with time and energy to burn, can make their way over a sizeable part of the defunct Woodhead route to eventually end up on the banks of the River Mersey.
The fields are long gone too and in their place now stands a retail / industrial park. In the distance can be see a rake of parked-up Merry Go Round wagons - a sign of the importance of coal to this route.
Should blow up to full-screen for anyone interested in rivet-counting, or seeing a bit more! Commenting off for this one, thanks.
Ilford FP4 rated at 160asa, developed in Acutol.
1st July 1977
I've long(dendale) been meaning to come back here and reshoot this scene. I shot it a few years ago and deemed it good enough to print. I look back now and cringe, sorry to the recipient of said print 😁 I think (hope!) I've improved ever so slightly since then.
Couldn't believe my luck (or eyes) this particular morning. Not a scrap of mist anywhere, until I dropped down into a fog-filled Longdendale valley. Bliss.
The Transpennine Trail just sneaks into the bottom of this shot, hence the name.
The sea front at Hornsea, East Riding of Yorkshire. There was a lot of this uninspiring wooden fencing but the puffin did cheer it up!!! Beautiful beach. The symbol on the right edge (which I didn’t spot at first) is the waymark symbol for the Trans Pennine Trail which starts/finishes in Hornsea. The other end of the trail is 2 miles away from home in Southport. The trail is 215 miles from coast to coast.
A rider on the Trans Pennine Trail might be forgiven for not recognising this scene, captured where the route crosses Station Road on the outskirts of Worsborough village.
This shot was taken in 1977 when the railway was still vibrant and carried significant quantities of coal from the many collieries in the area, over the Pennines and Woodhead to Fiddlers Ferry Power Station in the North West.
On my left is the ground-floor signal cabin known as Lewden Crossing - the signalman here was in charge of the manually operated crossing gates and the few signals protecting it from both directions. On the right is a fairly sizeable wooden hut, which I'm guessing was used by the permanent way crews. If the railway line here looks like it's rising steeply, well that's because it is - this is the infamous Worsborough (or Wentworth) Incline with a ruling gradient of 1 in 40. Even against the level planks of the wooden hut the gradient is quite apparent.
It was the steepness of the incline that usually necessitated the use of four electric class 76s on the coal-laden MGR trains that used the route - two up front and two bankers behind. In this shot the bankers on duty that day, 76029 (nearest the camera) and 76023, are coasting back down the grade to Wombwell where they will await their next turn of duty.
By kind permission of the signalman I was stood inside the crossing gate for this shot. No surprise the cabin was pretty basic and the wooden walkway, sturdy but insubstantial, took you around to the back of the cabin and safely over the semaphore signal wires. No safety handrails or hi-vis painted planks here, you were expected to look where you were going.
The demise of the coal industry in Yorkshire, and falling freight traffic generally, would result in closure of the Woodhead route together with this section, the Wath branch, some four years later in 1981.
Happily the closed route was converted to form part of the Trans Pennine Trail and you can now walk or ride over a significant part of the line, the Woodhead tunnel excepted. So, if you find yourself in these parts and come across an innocuous road while dodging to avoid the plentiful bushes and scrub either side of the trail, spare a thought for what used to be here.
Ilford FP4 rated at 160asa, developed in Acutol
1st July 1977
Not seen one in many years, fantastic to watch :)
Look close and you can see the tongue darting out.
A pair of 1500v DC class 76 electrics, 76031 and 76032, depart from Wombwell Main reception sidings having collected a rake of coal-laden MGRs from what was a then vibrant Yorkshire coalfield. The ultimate destination is Fiddlers Ferry Power Station on the banks of the River Mersey, but the class 76s will only taken them as far as the Manchester area where diesel traction will take over for the final leg.
Just behind me is the start of the 1 in 40 Worsborough Incline - so the two electric locomotives on the front will be supported by a further two at the rear banking the heavy train up the challenging grade.
Rather like the Yorkshire coalfield, nothing now remains of the railway system here which was closed in 1981. Cyclists and hikers can still enjoy a good deal of the old route however which now forms part of the Trans Pennine Trail - an official leisure pathway between the east and west coasts of England.
Agfa CT18
1st July 1977
This fab (if rather neglected) bench is up at the Stockport end of the walk along the Mersey, just before you get to The Crown! I liked how it looked in the sun
I remembered that a few miles down the trail was this lovely gorse, so took a deliberate walk to see it in bloom :)