Middleton Railway

[The Parksider]

A couple of nice piccy's starting to find their way onto the Middleton Railway Archive (website) One of the colliery close up is nice, and another shows a train on the link curve to the main line with the cuckoo steps (one of the three sets of steps purported to be them) in the background.

[grumpytramp]

Great find Parkiehttp://www.middletonrailwayarchive.comCheck out the video page, in particular the first video which surely in the 2010's would send the Railway Inspectorate into the deepest possible strop ......... what appears to be one of Middleton Railways pugs passing along the line while what appears to be a Caterpillar 657 motor scraper and 16E (?) motor grader sits above and then crosses the line.I presume that this is fill being removed from the spoil heap and being used in the construction of the M621 which date the image to approx 1971.There is a nice reference to these works at the Motorway Archive website [ http://www.motorwayarchive.ihtservices. ... 1leeds.htm ] Quote: From nearby, ¼ million tons of colliery waste from a tip, partly surrounded by houses, in Old Run Road were used to form embankments and residents were delighted that at last they had a pleasant view instead of a shale tip at the front door. Adjacent to the tip the motorway, on a 30ft. (9m) high embankment, crosses the line of the Middleton Colliery Railway. The route of this historic railway line, which was still in use, into the former colliery has been preserved by building a corrugated steel 'Armco' tunnel under the motorway, which at 260ft. (79m) long and 19ft. (5.79m) in diameter was the largest structure of its type in Britain. In 1758 this line was the first railway system to be authorised by Act of Parliament. For the first 50 years the carriages were horse drawn, the change to steam being made in 1812 using a rack rail system and a maximum speed of 10 miles per hour. and Quote: The total cost of the scheme was £7.67 million of which £2.87 million was land purchase and service diversions £0.85 million. Tarmac Construction Ltd (now Carrilion Construction). completed the works three months ahead of schedule." This was Tarmac's (now Carrilion Construction) first urban motorway. It was soon realised that urban motorways had their own particular problems which were not generally encountered on rural motorways. In particular, the services in Leeds, both existing and new, were a nightmare.All main bulk earthworks sub-let to E.W. Ambrose, a local company, were carried out by a Cat 991 shovel (not a backacter) and dumptrucks, which in that era was unusual. Both red and black shale was imported from local sources and used in embankments in large quantities, necessitating the use of sulphate resisting concrete for all drainage works. Much of the Type 2 sub-base was won from the ballast (screened first) on local disused railway line embankments. This was early days (I believe) for machine laid extruded concrete kerb. Large quantities were laid out on this contract. The final video however is an absolute cracker, and includes lots of views of derelict railway lines, spoil heaps and the headstocks of presumably one of the Middleton Colliery shafts. I am looking forward to a commentary from the likes of Phill D and Parkie on that video:-)

[Loiner in Cyprus]

The final video however is an absolute cracker, and includes lots of views of derelict railway lines, spoil heaps and the headstocks of presumably one of the Middleton Colliery shafts. I am looking forward to a commentary from the likes of Phill D and Parkie on that video:-) I think the head gear is Middleton New pit. In the 60s, when I was an apprentice at Miggy Broom, it was a pumping shaft for the Broom Pit. I went down there a number of times to service the pumps. The weights holding the guide ropes for the cage were in water at the bottom of the shaft consequently the cage used to swing a little as it went up and down. It was an unmanned shaft therefore there was no onsetter at the bottom of the shaft (or half way down at the Beeston level) to signal the winder when you had reached the appropriate level. To signal the winder to stop the occupants of the cage had a large cast iron disc (approx 12ins in dia) that you hit with an hammer. The banksman at the pit top then signalled the winder to stop. The up side of going down the New Pit was you got water money, you always got wet, and when you had finished what ever you had to do you could get showered and go home.    

[The Parksider]

Loiner in Cyprus wrote: I think the head gear is Middleton New pit. In the 60s, when I was an apprentice at Miggy Broom, it was a pumping shaft for the Broom Pit. I went down there a number of times to service the pumps. The weights holding the guide ropes for the cage were in water at the bottom of the shaft consequently the cage used to swing a little as it went up and down. It was an unmanned shaft therefore there was no onsetter at the bottom of the shaft (or half way down at the Beeston level) to signal the winder when you had reached the appropriate level. To signal the winder to stop the occupants of the cage had a large cast iron disc (approx 12ins in dia) that you hit with an hammer. The banksman at the pit top then signalled the winder to stop. The up side of going down the New Pit was you got water money, you always got wet, and when you had finished what ever you had to do you could get showered and go home.     The name "new pit" always threw me, such that I assumed the pit worked to 1968, but as the MRPS booklet states it never re-opened after the 1920's strikes, and as you say was for pumping (and ventilation??) of the Broom.LIC I am told by the MRPS booklet that just south west of New Pit was "doggy pit" damned If I can trace that on any map, but having said that there seems to ne 1850's maps and 1890's maps and the pit could have come and gone in the gap.Bet that GT will know!!

[The Parksider]

grumpytramp wrote: I presume that this is fill being removed from the spoil heap and being used in the construction of the M621 which date the image to approx 1971. The shale spoil was indeed removed for the M621 so much so I think they left a hole in the hillside that required filling by "baled compacted waste" and of course there was a refuse compactor on the broom site for some years.MRPS refer to the broom site being "levelled" by that waste but god darn it, it was a level site as it stood, so maybe an inaccuracy excusable as it must be hard to accurately record the mining situation if you are actually a locomotive enthusiast!I would like your opinion on the opencasting around new pit (and your view as to wether doggy pit existed just SW of there)I assume the opencasting was of the top coal measures-you often refer to the better coal being deeper down, so although it must have been cheap to opencast surface coals - what about the quality? Why would the Victorians ignore top measure coals?? they could dig big holes as good as anyone today (as you have shown!)

[The Parksider]

You there Jim??Ta for your reply on the Miggy Railway lines. I wonder about the accuracy of the MRPS booklet, but NO CRITICISM as I say I think maybe these lads love their trains and the history of the pits and topography of the lines may be less important.I still cannot understand why the miggy railway ran from the core miggy mines around day hole end and broom to the top of the old run, and then a rope hauled incline took the tubs down to the Moor Road level below.Of course the line was diverted to avoid the incline, but it begs the question why did they simply not do that in the first place???My assumption is that the coal came out of the day hole end area at an elevation above Broom and maps seem to show that via the line following the contour of the hillside.Once the coal primarily came from Broom lower down than day hole end the line changed in that you would not send the coal up the hillside only for it to be sent back down.For me the key is where exactly did the 1758 line get its coal from?? and when did coal primarily come from Broom??Am I barking or onto something logical Jim??

[jim]

Hi Parksider, I think the MRT history reference to the Broom site being "leveled" might have been better described as "landscaped". What was a noticeable valley head was turned into a gentle hollow.I suppose it all depends ( again ) what one means by "level"!    

[The Parksider]

And finally Jim....A thorough read of the MRPS booklet indeed puts Casson Close exactly where you put it.It also goes on to state that far from the line going all the way to the river and being cut short, the opposite was proposed in that because casson Close was 100 meters away from the river it would have made sense to extend the original line to the river. So in 1809 Blenkinsop hatched plans to extend the line to the river crossing meadow lane and water lane onto the river wharfes.it was rejected on safety grounds by the mayor (hey safety is NOT a modern phenomenon).The line being cut short "to accomodate the creation of Great Wilson Street" may also be inaccurate in that casson Close may not have been able to handle the trade in the original form it was built in and Kidacre street was purchased and developed primarily to accomodate more efficient staithes with a larger througput Am I turning into an Anorak jim?

[The Parksider]

[quotenick="jim] What was a noticeable valley head was turned into a gentle hollow.Round here an area of upland that provides water collection for the initiation of a stream is called a "rein" and that word is not in any modern dictionary. In seacroft we have the rein and arthurs rein as tributaries to Wyke beck.Tracing the miggy colliery I note a small wood "Rein wood" on the "valley head" you refer to in 1852. More proof of the word "rein" being meaningful but now lost, and ammunution to contact the dictionaries and get it re-instated.AND ammunition for chameleon to ban me as a serial anorak.

[BIG N]

Well theres an interesting surprise - I was always led to believe that the first loco to work over the miggy in preservation was the sentinal but the third video down in that list would appear to dispel that theroy.That shot is fairly obviously an industrial saddle tank fetching new stock onto the line from the branch that fed the railway, amongst this new stock is the sentinal.you learn something new every day LOL