Darnall - Least Used Station in South Yorkshire 

This was just mind blowing to see myself in a Geoff Marshall video. Honestly enjoyed watching the least used station in South Yorkshire but it was also fun being there as well. Thank you Geoff it was a epic day and it was a honour being the guest in your video... btw PACER!!!!!!!!!!!

Geoff, I just want to say my recovery from cancer has been made a lot more pleasant binging your videos. If you're up in the west of Scotland (Glasgow area), I'd love to meet you and do a request stop or least used with you. My family are a line of railwaymen, and trains are something I've always loved. Be the opportunity of a lifetime.

It’s great seeing Geoff collaborate with other traintubers and promote their channels. Such joy and kindness

A new feature to check in on the next least used: 1. Trash bags to pick up litter 2. Mysterious rectangular steel structure

Geoff: “How long are you prepared to wait, Simon?” Simon: “Forever.” The reason I love Collabs on the channel is because of the banter.

Darnall used to be a lot bigger as a station and it was the end of the 1500vDC electrification of the Woodhead Route in Sheffield. In fact, it was known as Sheffield Darnall unofficially, and was considered to be Sheffield's third station right up the early 70's, after Victoria and Midland.

My old stomping ground! Grew up around Darnall! Brought back kid memories when I heard that echo again after all these years!

I loved the reaction of the lady in yellow when you were doing the closing shot. She really wanted to get in your video!

Hello as a regular Darnall station user! Worksop to Darnall is my common commute (although it's mostly always easier to drive!)

I remember this station from 55 years ago but the underpass fooled me until you found the original. Many happy memories of Darnall where my mother was from and her family still lived. I remember one time deliberately scratching my arm on that old underpass wall then going back to my aunt's shop, 'Marion's', and saying I had tripped over whilst running for the train just so I could spend another day with the family. Extreme poverty in the community but real, decent people. Oh to travel back to those times. Thank you for triggering those memories.

Was just about to pack the kids paddling pool away , will do it after this now . Thanks Geoff 👍

So happy to see a Least Used Station Video again! 👏🏽

Watching these always makes me so sad about the state of the US's passenger rail system. Darnall, a town of 10,000 people, has a train station with over a dozen daily trains in each direction. Houston, the 4th most populous city in the US with 2.3 million people, has 3 trains a week.

I work through there regular working the 195s to Lincoln . The other not very often service that works through is the gainsborough central . Not sure what that is on the end for can't be for a DOO mirror when it isn't DOO on Northern . That station is the most used for those catching the wrong service out of Sheffield , can't tell you how many people jump on the Lincoln service thinking its the Leeds service , wanting Meadowhall and have to get off there to go back to Sheffield .

I lived in Darnall from the mid-1970's for 25 years and remember the station buildings before they were demolished. The ramps from the street to the platform were originally all under cover or underneath the station buildings, and I was upset when I returned years later to find them opened out to the elements and all the buildings gone. BUT... I fully understand this as the station was never manned and the dark, dingy and twisting passageways never seemed safe, especially as the station was practically devoid of passengers. As others have said, the bus services in Sheffield before deregulation were incredible - there was literally a string of 52 and 71 buses that could get you into the city centre every few minutes, and there was little point in walking away from the main road along a residential street to catch an infrequent and expensive train, when the next bus would arrive before you even got to the station! There are plenty of old photos of the station to be found on the internet, showing 4 lines running through the station and the original platform layout, the electrification of the line for the Woodhead route, the train sheds etc. It really was a busy freight hub but sadly they are mostly just memories now. PS: The litter-strewn underpass was always like that I remember - a useful little cut through from a number of houses on the opposite side of the lines to get to Darnall centre, but it was always a tense minute or two to get through it. Not for the feint-hearted!

ive known Darnall Station for years. My Grandmother lived at Darnall and we lived at Wiidhouse. I rtemeeber when the station was staffed and the 1928 station before all the buildings were demolished. I haver quite a few photographs of it in those days. On Summer Stairways it used to have loco hauled services to Skegness and to Great Yarmouth. My Great Uncle who worked on the Railway lived at the top of Creswell Road where that underpass comes out. As a child my gran used to say "Were going across the line well going over t' line in local dialect.

EMR and Cross Country sometimes come through here on diversions when works are on via Dronfield. It is also constantly use for ECS. Welcome to Sheffield Geoff.

I used to live at Darnall as a small child. At night I was comforted in bed by the sound of the trains passing through Darnall.

Kudos to the pair of you walking backwards and forwards through the subway to get all the different shots! Excellent video, as ever 👍🏻

Been there twice to get a ticket from the machine. Should have asked Geoff to get one for me! Slightly unusual when you consider I live in Kent! The passenger numbers should be one less to account for the travel ticket I bought. Strange that some years back when the Railway magazine did an article about the least used stations, I checked my tickets and discovered that I had actually single-handedly skewed their figures by 25%! Off to Perry Bar on Thursday to get tickets from the new machines and Reston is in the post.... only two needed to complete the U.K.

Nice to see Simon on this episode, nice one Geoff!

Great to see Simon finally appearing here 🙂

The station once saw electric-hauled Woodhead line freight trains passing through on their way to and from Rotherwood Sidings

Your least used stations seem to be better equipped than our normal (or even most) used stations 😅

Always great to see you in my area, hurray for Yorkshire! Darnall is a bit of a sad-looking place, i can see why it'd be the lowest in South Yorkshire. hopefully you get around to more least stations, or perhaps least used stations on tram networks and othersuch? Several tram networks to go through these days!

1:52 ok, now that was genius - conveniently blocking the view to the special tunnel - Geoff does some amazing videos

Ooooo Another Least Used!! Remember that time I met you at Aylesbury when you was doing least used Little Kimble

Wasn’t expecting Simon Poole do be in the video!

Thanks Geoff! I missed these episodes. PS, you rocked the suit and tie in the last video. Very Benedict Cumberbatch. 😉👍

Simon's great! Another top geoff guest x

Yes! So glad this is back! I’ve missed this! Thank you! 😁

Absolutely outstanding video Geoff! It is brilliant to see Simon as the special guest!

What on Earth was with the 'Wrestling Ring'?? 😂 Very quaint station, but definitely needs a bit of a spruce up and a clean. Cheers Geoff and SimOn.

Darnall also had an engine shed, then Cravens Carriage Works, which can still be seen on a passing train (left hand side heading to Sheffield) now full of caravans....

Great least used station Vlog Geoff. I’ve been a subscriber of Simons for a few years now!

Great fun. Thank you both.

Goose Lord this has been epic! Funny enough it is a least used station as it's the 1st time i've heard of Darnall station! It was excellent to see SimOnTrains/CyberTrades too!

I almost always have a plastic carrier bag or two tucked away in my bag. Quite handy for any number of eventualities including impromptu litter removal. Leave it better than you found it.

Im genuinely impressed you managed to make a 13min video about Darnall.

So the least used station in South Yorkshire is practically inside Sheffield. It's strange how these things work! :D I go kind-of near Darnall every so often, to Rother Valley Country Park which is just west of Kiveton Park, but I'm always on my bike. The last time I was there, there was a steam train on the other line near the park; the one which goes south to Chesterfield. I was on the other side of the lakes, thought "That's a funny noise," and looked across to see steam billowing out from behind the trees! :) I never saw the train itself. Now I think about it, I ought to keep up better with local events because I would have liked to have seen that train and I'm sure it would have stopped at my local station. George Stevenson is buried in the town, after all.

Of course there's no bike rack at Darnall, have you seen the hills in Sheffield?😅

What a pleasant sunny day. It feels like summer! That underpass must have been minging. Block it off with about 3 feet of sandbags, add some disinfectant; turn on the fire hoses, pull one bag out the bottom and run awayveryfast.

Didn't know you still did least used station videos, feels nice to have a classic Geoff vid

Oh hearing that music again... it brought an instant smile to my face 😌 Thank you for doing another LUS, Geoff! They are what I watched most when I first found your channel, and might still be my favourite ones 🤫

it would have looked very different in the past with the large engine shed (later a wagon repair facility) at the Western end of the station and the overhead catenary for the electrics. Lovely film 👍🏻

Love your least used stations videos so fascinating. The station has no allotment next to it. Your jokes always make me laugh.

09:30 I think I have worked out what 'the wrestling ring' is for! Right behind where Sim0n is stood there is a freshly planted bench seat, it has fresh tarmac around its legs. The bench seat at the opposite end of the shelter is not freshly planted. The tarmac around its legs was laid at the same time as the rest of the platform. To install the bench seat, holes would have been dug out, the legs (only) would have been planted in concrete, left for a few days/weeks whilst it set, before finally covering the top of the concrete bed with tarmac (which is now the newer looking squares), and bolting the seat to the legs. During that period, whilst the concrete was left to set, two legs poking out of holes in the floor would have been a bit of a trip hazard to say the least. So a square, sturdy barrier was put around it, the 'wrestling ring'. Believe it or not, 'the ring' is not fastened down..... because I went and picked it up!! Each metal leg is set in concrete which is held in a 1 foot length of ducting, which is then sat on a piece of plywood. You can see the wooden boards on the floor at 09:51. It is still there on the platform (July 2022), I guess, because, the works department just forgot to take it away. Ladies and gentlemen of the assembled jury, I rest my case.

Unusually good service for a least used station

Geoff, I’m so happy to see you having a great English summer! Also, the tunnel/walkway bit was very cool.

I really like the music you play in the videos.

Great this came back. I'm doing this in Poland.

There are announcements at Darnall but they have been turned off. The voice is Celia Drummond. There is a Paramentary Service between Sheffield and Cleethorpes via Brigg with 3 services on a Saturday each way. If you want to get to Darnall Station from the Centre of Sheffield I advise to use Stagecoach Bus 52 or First Group 52a as they are far more frequent.

I love this series, kept me going through lockdown etc, great work Geoff

Lovely symmetrical thumbnail picture to draw me in!

The underpass is similar to the Cattle Tunnel at Needham Market!

Interestingly on the same line a few stops at worksop. A large number of Elizabeth line trains were stored on the sidings until recently required.

I’m amazed that the station in Darnall still exists as a station, as it only serves as a suburb of sheffield, similar to woodhouse. considering there is plenty of bus services on a more regular basis going to the area to the centre of Sheffield, but they must be keeping it open for a reason

Great video and nice to see Simon too

That squared off metal section is probably where the missing Sheffield Stands are getting fitted. 👍

Once again, great ending, and fantastic to see Sheffield again!

Great to see Simon (aka "Cyber Trades" ) in this one, another of my favourite RU-vid channels Maybe a wrestling tournament on the platform would be good way of boosting passenger figures lol 🤣

New thing to look out for at a least used station, does it have a boxing ring! Great to see Sim0n Trains here, I've always enjoyed watching his videos!

Brilliant video! Loving the new cinematography; new and refreshing but still feels like classic Geoff :) Any idea when the latest station stats will be out from the ORR?

Yes! Best series

As a Sheffield girl I fricking loved this!! Take my word for it, Woodhouse is nicer.

Enjoyed this video Geoff great to see Simon with u he has great RU-vid channel too.

Is nice to meet up with Simon which is very nice and good video 😃😃😃

Love your channel. it's not something I thought I'd be interesting in.. but it's very compelling content. Love it!

Love the new video, excellent content as always, but I do have to say that the suit from your Elizabeth line video was a brilliant look and I defo think you should employ it in more videos like this. The professional look plus sliding on the platform really brought together the best bits of your channel like nothing else quite has. Obviously this is already a 10/10 video though, so whatever you do, you will continue to be awesome and to inspire us all.

Lots of activity just to west of Darnall station in the past. I remember seeing stock stabled there in the 1980s. The DC wires went down to Woodhouse, as I recall. In between was Rotherwood yard where the 76s worked and were stabled.

Darnall looks like a very vibrant and exciting place!

Finally another least used station 😄

I’ve recently be watching Simon. ‘SimOn Tains’

The thing with Darnall station is that it really has very little reason to exist. There are buses to Sheffield City Centre every five minutes through the day, and Meadowhall buses run every half an hour. The only reason you'd really use it is if you were traveling towards Lincoln (or more recently Leeds)or if you needed to change trains in Sheffield. Hopefully if/when the Barrow Hill line reopens it will lead to more people using Darnall station.

I think the "least used railway underpass" has got a good challenger in the flooded one Geowizard used [accidentally, as he was meant to use a different one about 100 yds away] on his crossing the black country without roads mission.

My old commute from Kiveton Bridge. A few people did use Darnall....maybe quicker than buses? The train is certainly quicker than the bus from Kiveton.

I'm incredibly Charmed by Simon, definitely going to follow him.

I grew up in Darnall but didn't use the station much. I remember going to Cleethorpes for a seaside day out and travelling from the station but the bus service through Darnall was always so frequent it wasn't the most convenient option. The litter-strewn passage brings back memories! The street beyond that used to be flanked by disused and demolished factories. A wonderful playground for me and my mate in the 80s, gleefully ignoring the advice of those scary public information films. We found a pool full of frog spawn there once.

Geoff should visit the new Perry Barr Station. And University Station (not finished yet).

With that square railing whatever it was you could have done the tag team hanging over the top rope waiting to get tagged in pose.

Funny seeing Simon in a Geoff video.

6:27 He actually acknowledged my question

These are always a treat. I kinda want to figure out what's the least used station is in my city. And perhaps I can do one of these video as a fan cover.

Geoff, those of a certain age (i.e. me) will remember Darnall as a loco shed (41A) and later a DMU depot. I guess that there is no trace of it these days.

Meanwhile ‘levelling up’ trundles into the far distant future.

Of course when I’m away from home Geoff visits a station near me

I just got on a train at Darnall. It was unusually closer from where I was than Sheffield station. Somebody got off as well.

Great video. Thanks for posting 🇦🇺

Epic video Geoff nice collaboration video with the SimonTrains amazing content keep up the good work.

Excellent, one of your best Geoff.

Ha, I was at Darnell last month with some guys from work. We were visiting a Railway Engineering company just a 5 minute walk away from the station.

Just when I thought these two would never collaborate, along comes this video. If I was in Simon's shoes I'd either be comically nervous or wondering what I was doing with his shoes on.

YOUR BACK WITH LEAST USED STATIONS!

When I saw two trains passing by each other on this section down by the Supertram Park & Ride I took a picture. Seemed like a rare moment.

I think that before it closed Attercliffe would have been the least used in S Yorks and then Brightside. These closed after Meadowhall opened and the SuperTram is a short walk away. Great video. I suspect that passengers can get a more frequent bus into Sheffield.

Great vid as usual! Never used Darnall, despite living about 2 miles away. I will however admit to being a Geocacher... There's a lot of us around locally and the CITOs are well attended!

Great LUS video Geoff… looking at some of you other videos .. I remember you looking for foot crossings of railway lines .. least used or otherwise ..living in Aylesbury we have lost two in recent years due to Health & Safety issues .. but one near me on the single track from Aylesbury to Princes Risborough (just near Stoke Mandeville Hospital) is still open .. I videoed the last day of the Class 121 bubble cars here in 2017.. but don’t know how much longer this will still be here with nearby HS2 engineering works possibly impinging in its future.

we waited ages for another episode

Used of course to be a name every railfan would know as Darnall shed (41A) was a principle depot for Sheffield GC until replaced by the new fangled diesel depot at Tinsley in the early 1960s . Tinsley itself now long closed too.

I live within walking distance of Darnall station. I use it regularly for business and recreation. If you think it's facilities are limited now, you should have come twenty years ago. No shelter, no dot matrix information board, no information point, no lighting. Many a time I stood there in the pitch dark waiting for a train that might or might not arrive, unaware if there was anyone else on the platform so dark was it. Northern Railway organised a clean up several years ago which my wife and I attended to remove litter and flytipping from the approaches to the station. I don't think it's ever been repeated since. The ' car park' of two spaces, one reserved for disabled drivers, is used as a parking lot by the many minicab drivers who live on Station Road. I gave up reporting the misuse of the disabled parking space to Northern Railway as nothing was ever done. The approaches to the station which is at the end of a cul de sac are disgusting. You highlighted the tunnel under the line to Creswell Road. You didn't mention the drug dealing and gangs of teenagers who hang around in the entrance underpass to the 'island ' platform. Having said all that, it's a handy station for a keen walker like me who wants to get out towards Worksop or Retford or even Lincoln. The other way take me into Sheffield in five minutes and up to Barnsley, Wakefield and Leeds without having to change trains if I want to. There's even a Saturday only service to Cleethorpes if I fancy some candyfloss or a stick of rock.