Woodhead - Dinting / Glossop + Waterside Line

[Iron Horse]

Hello Everyone,

I’m not sure why, but I have a bit of a fascination when it comes to the Woodhead line, particularly the Dinting/Glossop branch and the Waterside branch. I have the excellent Woodhead books by E.M. Johnson and they are a mine of information. But I’d love to know if anyone has any of the following information about Glossop:

Track and signal layouts during the 1940/1950s (earlier would also be fine).
Track incline information on Dinting/Glossop.

Ditto for the Waterside line.

Or perhaps there are some paid resources I could look up?

Thank you for your time,

IH

 

[Mcr Warrior]

This OS map, published c. 1945, will give an idea of the railway lines in the area of the time.

View map: Ordnance Survey, Cheshire XI.NE (includes: Charlesworth; Chisworth; Glossop; Hyde; Longendale.) - Ordnance Survey Six-inch England and Wales, 1842-1952

The Waterside branch is in the upper right of the map extract.

More here...

The Waterside Branch Railway - Glossop Heritage Trust

The Waterside Branch opened in 1879 to serve the Hadfield mills and Dinting Printworks. These aerial views provide an idea of the layout of the line at the Waterside end. The others are of Maconochie’s, which moved to Waterside during World War 2. In 1951 a reporter from the Glossop Chronicle...

glossopheritage.co.uk

 

[woolleywoods]

Hello Everyone,

I’m not sure why, but I have a bit of a fascination when it comes to the Woodhead line, particularly the Dinting/Glossop branch and the Waterside branch. I have the excellent Woodhead books by E.M. Johnson and they are a mine of information. But I’d love to know if anyone has any of the following information about Glossop:

Track and signal layouts during the 1940/1950s (earlier would also be fine).
Track incline information on Dinting/Glossop.

Ditto for the Waterside line.

Or perhaps there are some paid resources I could look up?

Thank you for your time,

IH

My Uncle used to work the line on Steam and Class 76 locos we found this book hope the pics from it help.

My Uncle used to work the line on Steam and Class 76 locos we found this book hope the pics from it help.

My Uncle used to work the line on Steam and Class 76 locos we found this book hope the pics from it help.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

@woolleywoods. Like the schematic track diagrams. When do you reckon that they date from, as I can't see the Waterside branch (which I believe closed sometime in the mid 1960s) shown anywhere, or maybe it was excluded because it was, presumably, non-electrified.

 

[woolleywoods]

My Uncle used to work the line on Steam and Class 76 locos we found this book hope the pics from it help.

Hope it helps there are a lot more pages I thought the approach to resuscitation after getting electrocuted was different to our approach now.
Cheers Jon

The book on the cover in the picture says 1954 I know by 56 he had joined the Army and was Tank driver in BAOR one heavy beast for another heavy beast, he always loved trains and tracked vehicles no surprise considering how he started out.

Many thanks Jon.

It's probably a bit late for you but I posted because you said 40's-50's

Jon

 

[Iron Horse]

Hello Everyone,

Thank you all so much for taking the time to reply to my questions!

Best regards,

IH

 

[Ken H]

2 things of interest to me in this area

1 Dinting viaduct. When were the extra piers put in and why? Was the bridge so deficient

2 Mottram Yard. Must have been a chilly place to work.

 

[woolleywoods]

No worries

cheers Jon

 

[billh]

2 things of interest to me in this area

1 Dinting viaduct. When were the extra piers put in and why? Was the bridge so deficient

2 Mottram Yard. Must have been a chilly place to work.

Winter 1947, Mottram yard and mainline closed for two weeks with a train blocking the Dinting end entrance. Train could not be moved , brakes frozen on. Many coal trains could not be run , partly contributing to coal shortages ( there were other reasons) and potential power cuts.
So yes, a chilly place . Mottram Staff Halt for the yard still has platforms and was in use for many years after the yard closed. Certain Hadfield EMUs called there according to old timetables.

 

[johnnychips]

The piers were added 1918-20 because the existing viaduct couldn’t cope with the increasing weight of coal traffic, according to Wikipedia.

 

[32475]

I thought this timetable from Sept ‘60 - June ‘61 might interest you……

 

[Ken H]

I thought this timetable from Sept ‘60 - June ‘61 might interest you……
View attachment 134702View attachment 134703View attachment 134704

May i submit that to timetable world? I would credit you obvs. Or submit it yourself. Timetableworld.com. there is an email on there.

 

[32475]

May i submit that to timetable world? I would credit you obvs. Or submit it yourself. Timetableworld.com. there is an email on there.

Of course you submit it can Ken. Interestingly the timetable only shows trains in one direction e.g. out of London Road. I came across the timetable years ago when I bought a book in the second hand bookshop in Glossop and when I got it home, the timetable was between the covers- a lucky bonus!

 

[Broucek]

Is it possible to walk or cycle any of the Waterside branch?

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Is it possible to walk or cycle any of the Waterside branch?

Yes. Looks like part of the 'Pennine Bridleway' long distance trail is routed along the former trackbed, on a section between Cottage Lane, near the bottom of the A626 Glossop Road in Gamesley, heading to Woolley Bridge Road in Hadfield. Maybe a couple of kilometres.

 

[Broucek]

Yes. Looks like part of the 'Pennine Bridleway' long distance trail is routed along the former trackbed, on a section between Cottage Lane, near the bottom of the A626 Glossop Road in Gamesley, heading to Woolley Bridge Road in Hadfield. Maybe a couple of kilometres.

Thanks! Wish I'd tackled it when I did Hadfield-Woodhead!

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Might be possible to continue beyond Woolley Bridge Road. Though it no longer follows the Pennine Bridleway there, and just looks to be a track at the back of an industrial estate. Anyone able to confirm?

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Track incline information on Dinting/Glossop.

Ditto for the Waterside line.

Looking at a 1:25000 scale OS map from 1972, the Waterside branch line looks to leave the main line at around the 550ft contour level, before proceeding generally downhill and then terminating in the vicinity of Tintwistle Bridge at around the 450ft contour level.

Believe the line was some 2 miles 16 chains long, so reckon that's an average downhill gradient of 1 in 116.

As regards Dinting to Glossop, looks like Dinting station is at (or around) the 525ft contour level, and Glossop at a similar contour level, so it'll be almost, if not quite, dead level on that section.

Be good if someone can confirm these rough calculations.

 

[32475]

Couldn’t help noticing Great Central Railwayana Auctions have the Mottram No1 signal box sign in their next auction (sorry I can’t do a link to it)

……Lot No 435

 

[Ken H]

Couldn’t help noticing Great Central Railwayana Auctions have the Mottram No1 signal box sign in their next auction (sorry I can’t do a link to it)

……Lot No 435

Here you go

Great Central Railwayana

Great Central Railwayana Limited (GCR) was originally founded some 35 years ago. Great Central Railwayana is the oldest established, leading specialist auctioneer and valuer of railwayana, transport related and advertising memorabilia.

auctions.gcrauctions.com

 

[AndyPJG]

Hello Everyone,

I’m not sure why, but I have a bit of a fascination when it comes to the Woodhead line, particularly the Dinting/Glossop branch and the Waterside branch. I have the excellent Woodhead books by E.M. Johnson and they are a mine of information. But I’d love to know if anyone has any of the following information about Glossop:

Track and signal layouts during the 1940/1950s (earlier would also be fine).
Track incline information on Dinting/Glossop.

Ditto for the Waterside line.

Or perhaps there are some paid resources I could look up?

Thank you for your time,

IH

This link may be useful, shows the (re-)signalling layout from Manchester London Road to Woodhead, albeit for early 1950s as part of the electrification scheme.

http://www.lymmobservatory.net/railways/sbdiagrams/woodhead3/mswstage2_150dpi_q25.jpg

Edit: also found this Glossop Central Station locations

http://www.lymmobservatory.net/railways/sbdiagrams/glossop_branch_elec_xq65.jpg