Doe Lea branch line

The Doe Lea branch is a partially closed and partially mothballed railway line in north eastern Derbyshire, England.

Midland Railway Clowne and Doe Lea Branches
Key
Open ex-MR Lines
Closed ex-MR Lines
ex-LNER Lines
Clowne Branch
through Clowne & Barlborough
Doe Lea Branch
through Glapwell
-----------------
Context
Up arrow
ex-MR "Old Road"
to Rotherham Masborough
Up arrow
ex-GCML
to Sheffield Victoria
Up arrow
Robin Hood Line
to Worksop
Whitwell
Clowne & Barlborough
Creswell
Whittington & Barrow Hill
Staveley Central & Town
Langwith Whaley Thorns
UpperLeft arrow
MML
to Sheffield
Langwith
Chesterfield
Bolsover Castle Station
Shirebrook
Palterton and Sutton
Down arrow
MML
to Derby
Glapwell
Rowthorn Tunnel
Rowthorn and Hardwick
Pleasley West
Mansfield Woodhouse
Left arrow to Teversall Manor
Mansfield
Down arrow
Robin Hood Line
to Nottingham (Midland)
----------------
Detail
Up arrow
ex-GCML
to Sheffield Victoria
Up arrow
ex-LD&ECR
to Spinkhill
Up arrow
Robin Hood Line
to Worksop
Whitwell
Barlborough Colliery
Southgate Colliery
Clowne & Barlborough
Clowne South
Elmton & Creswell
Creswell & Welbeck
Down arrow
ex-LD&ECR
to Shirebrook North
Hartington Colliery
Bell House Sidings
Left arrow to Barrow Hill
Staveley Central & Town
Oxcroft Colliery/DP
Seymour Colliery
Seymour Junction
Ireland Colliery
Markham Colliery/Vale
Coalite & Chemicals
Bolsover Colliery
Bolsover Castle Station
Bolsover South
Right arrow
ex-LD&ECR
to Shirebrook North
Byron Bricks
Palterton & Sutton
Ramcroft Colliery
Glapwell Colliery
Glapwell
Up arrow
ex-GNR
to Shirebrook North
Rowthorn Tunnel
Rowthorn & Hardwick
Pleasley West & East
Pleasley Colliery
Mansfield Woodhouse
Left arrow to Teversall Manor
Mansfield
Down arrow
Robin Hood Line
to Nottingham (Midland)
Down arrow
ex-GNR
to Nottingham Victoria

The single track line follows the valley of the River Doe Lea for much of its route.

Construction

The branch was constructed from north to south in three stages over twenty seven years.[1]

Passenger services

Initially there were only three stations on the branch - Bolsover (later renamed Bolsover Castle), Palterton and Sutton and Rowthorn and Hardwick. Bolsover station was down a long hill from Bolsover, Palterton and Sutton was midway between both small villages, but near neither, and Rowthorn remains a small village to this day, though it has acquired a "e" as Rowthorne. Glapwell colliery had brought people to live and work, but was not provided with a station other than a collier's platform at the pit. As a result of local campaigning a station was built at Glapwell and opened on 1 September 1892.

The initial service was three trains each weekday calling at all stations between Mansfield and Barrow Hill (then called Staveley"), one of which went through via Whittington to Chesterfield, with an extra Mansfield to Barrow Hill and return on Saturdays. there never was a Sunday service on the branch. This sinuous journey took about an hour from end to end.

By 1922 little had changed to timing or pattern, except there were now two extra trains on Saturdays and most of the trains ran through to Chesterfield.[8]

In 1930, the final year of passenger services, there were still three a day, each way, with an extra on Saturdays but only one Saturday train ran to and from Chesterfield.

The service was withdrawn on 28 July 1930.[9][10][11]

Although the local service was withdrawn, Bolsover station proved to be a remarkable survivor, bringing passenger trains to part of the branch for a further fifty years.

An unadvertised service continued to call until 14 August 1931 and pre-war excursions continued until at least 27 July 1939.[11][10] Records show that a half-day excursion service called at Bolsover on 26 July 1949 on its way to Bridlington and Scarborough.[11] The last steam train to use the line was an enthusiasts' special on 16 October 1965.[12][13] This train also traversed the Clowne Branch.

Occasional specials continued to call at the station. One such was run to Chesterfield in connection with the Queen's Jubilee celebrations in Queen's Park, Chesterfield on 28 July 1977.[14][11][10] This had been on the initiative of the headmaster of Bolsover Church of England Junior School as there were insufficient buses to take all the children to the event. Thereafter, there were yearly August excursions from 1978 until 1981 organised by Bolsover Miners' Welfare when trains of at least nine coaches ran to Scarborough.[12][11] Another source claims that the last charter from Bolsover Castle was a nine-coach train to London Liverpool Street via Chesterfield on 15 November 1980 organised by Bolsover Secondary School PTA.[15][14][11]

Run down

The decline of the branch was a case of last in - first out.

When the line closed to local passenger traffic in 1930 Glapwell Colliery was still going strong. As its sidings left the passenger line north of Glapwell station and all coal went out northwards, the station was abandoned along with the track southwards through Rowthorn Tunnel almost to Pleasley Colliery West Junction, leaving a short length there as a siding. The abandoned section had been difficult and expensive to work and was simply redundant.

After closure the tunnel found two new uses, first as a mushroom farm then, during WW2, as an ammunition store. It has since been filled in.

This left the earliest two sections – the Doe Lea line and the Doe Lea extension deviation – running as a dead-end branch from Seymour Junction to Glapwell Colliery. Unofficially at least, the branch became called the Glapwell Branch for a generation of railwaymen, as for the next forty four years that was its terminus. Until the advent of British Rail Class 20 diesels in the early 1960s the characteristic motive power along the branch were the ubiquitous Midland 3F and LMS 4F 0-6-0s hauling the dominant traffic - coal. Coal from Glapwell, Ramcroft, Bolsover and Markham, with a small amount of traffic from Coalite and a smaller amount from Byron Bricks.

The line's leisurely routine was interrupted for a few days in August 1952 when the ex-LD&ECR Doe Lea Viaduct, which straddled the Doe Lea Branch a short distance south of Bolsover Castle station, was demolished by the army using explosives.[16][17] This was filmed and the film later used in a commercial war film, becoming a bridge in war torn France.[18]

Ramcroft Colliery closed in 1966 and Glapwell followed in 1974, rendering the line south of Bolsover redundant, though it was not lifted until 1978.

Bolsover and Markham Collieries closed in the 1990s and Coalite finally went into receivership in 2004, but it had not provided much traffic for some time.

This left the remaining stub from Seymour Junction to Bolsover Castle station (only slightly longer than the original 1866 Doe Lea line to Bolsover Woodhouse) intact but redundant.

By now, unofficially at least, the branch became called the Bolsover Branch. At 2011, apart from predation by thieves and vandals, it was intact, but overgrown.

Trackbed uses

The branch between Bolsover Castle and the bottom of Rylah Hill between Palterton and M1 J29 is now a public bridleway known as The Stockley Trail.[19]

Glapwell Colliery and all associated tracks have been buried under landscaping of the former pit tip.

Parts of the trackbed in the vicinity of Pleasley West and those of neighbouring lines have been turned into public footpaths and bridleways.[20][21]

Possible future

The line from Foxlow Junction through Hall Lane Junction to Seymour Junction and Oxcroft Disposal Point off the Clowne Branch has been mothballed as there remains the possibility of opencasting in the area. For example, in 2005 UK Coal (now Coalfield Resources), expressed an interest in extracting c530,000 tons near Mastin Moor.[22]

The Doe Lea line south from Seymour Junction to Bolsover has been mothballed as it runs through the new Markham Vale Enterprise Zone at M1 Junction 29A.[23] It is hoped that someone will invest in this infrastructure to create road-rail interchange facilities.

The Clowne Branch was purchased in 2016 by Derbyshire County Council and is planned to be developed into a full Greenway all the way to the east and to provide a sustainable transport link with Creswell Rail Station. Although this disused line has not yet been fully cleared and surfaced to Greenway standards, several volunteer groups keep it accessible to foot or cycle traffic as an interim measure

The Doe Lea Valley is planned to become part of the route of the north eastern arm of HS2.

References

Notes

Sources

Other Reading

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.