HST/VP185 Leeds to Derby 

What I love most about Don Coffey's videos is their utter professionalism. He enthuses us with his detailed commentary as well as historical aspects whenever they apply.

The engineering on the approach to Sheffield is amazing!

Another great video Don. Love the captions with local information. The Chesterfield Spire was originally strait but a virgin was married in the Church and the spire twisted in surprise.

What I find interesting about what the Victorians building the railways is the amount of labour digging and building those viaducts by hand some are wonderful and stunning pieces of workmanship.

Many thanks for yet another great journey. Due to ill-health, I am pretty much "confined to barracks" here in Scotland. Your super videos and informative narratives allow me to enjoy countryside that I would otherwise never see. Much appreciated.

Really nice bit of train-handling at Meadowhall. Experience shows!

Another beauty Don. And wax lyrical about railway architecture as much as you want - I love those snippets you put in! And about the weight the HST has to pull, I remember a now long gone railwayman friend who used to say - “passengers are 15 bums to a ton”!!😁

Loads of memories! I used to live just north of Wakefield Westgate in the mid-fifties, in one of those semis on the left at 10:33 (Cliff Park Avenue). There were no trees in those days (I suspect the frequent fires on the embankment kept them down) and we had a clear view of the track. All sorts went past, from A4s to scruffy goods engines and shunters, from Pullman cars to goods wagons. We could hear shunting going on (at Wrenthorpe?) at night, a train load of loose coupled wagons coming to a halt made a heck of a racket! My favourite train was the clockwork Hornby O-Gauge in the front room. :)

That was really enjoyable. I followed it on google earth, and it's amazing how many bits of old railway have been lost... whether it's a track that used to go off to a colliery, or a steel terminal.

During my enforced lockdown furlough I have gained much enjoyment from re-watching his videos and thinking about the many hours of hard work that goes into producing each one.

WOW ! GLAD TO HERE AGAIN , WATCHING THIS BEAUTIFUL VIDEO WITH PRECIOUS INFORMATIONS . NOW I HOPE TO WATCH THIS RIDE AGAIN , NEXT ON SPRING OR SUMMER . THANKS SO MUCH

You know it's going to be good day when you wake up to a new Don video. Absolutely amazing as always. Cheers Don we really appreciate your efforts.

It’s great seeing the routes I travel every week from this unique viewpoint. Thank you.

Another enjoyable and informative journey. Many thanks.

Really enjoyed this one . Thanks Don !

Thanks Don. Always great to watch your rail journeys as I can go around the country without leaving my flat. Please keep up the great work.

Hello from Cornwall Pennsylvania. Thank you, Don, for your usual fine video work. Best wishes for a great year! CAS

I want to thank you for all the information you provide on your videos. I have watched hundreds of cab ride videos to pick those for my long cab rides playlist. Yours are among the best that I have found. Again, thanks.

I love watching these journeys, takes to parts I doubt I'll get to see. Thanks again Don & pass on thanks to your supporting team, they do a great job 🚄🚄🚄

Another great video Don, and a great big thank you to all of the team. The information was brilliant along with the HST. The locomotive is brilliant.

Another great ride, Thanks again!

Our Ancestors who built the railways the Tunnels the Viaducts were Genius, Breathtaking skills and vision to Craft such Architecture, Simply Amazing. Loved this Video.

Another excellent travelogue, infused throughout with detail, history and information. Thanks for posting.

Again, many thanks Don. I appreciate all you and your helpful colleagues do; but most of all, I just enjoy the ride. Looking forward to the next one!

What a beautiful autumn view with that low sun and that green and brownish landscape. 😊

Thanks from a novice train lover for this video as well all your other ones Don, they are all eye openers for me , I’m an old steam lover from many years ago . Cheers mate 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿⚒⚒🇨🇦

Beautiful journey. Thank you for the interesting and informative facts about railway infrastructure (especially the amazing tunnels) and other sights along the way.

That sun actually added to the video IMO; beautiful tint to the entire landscape with the winter sun. Thank you so much, Don, for showing landscapes I can only dream about seeing right now.

The entrance to Clay Cross Tunnel. Incredible. Thank you Don for another amazing journey.

Don - many thanks to all involved. This video clearly shows the complexity of the west side of Leeds station, a sharp contrast to the east side. Copley Hill was a major steam depot in the early 60s. As usual your commentary says what is relevant, and had me smiling: Wakefield "Kurgate"!! Best wishes to all involved.

Second favorite video going to Holyhead #1. Thanks Don for putting all the info in the video. Like that much. in U.S.A.. You do more than you know Don you take cripples out for a Journey . Thanks Again. May God Bless.

These videos are now such well put together they could actually be dvd releases etc. This is my favourite yet (but then it is a class 43!!) thanks for the work in putting these together, very enjoyable to watch.

Great video Don. Sheffield is my birthplace,I live in the Isle of Man now but will be relocating to Thirsk in a few weeks.Most of my spotting days in early 50s were on the ECML at Doncaster,Retford and Peterborough plus Sheffield Midland and Victoria of course.Looking forward to doing a bit of train watching at Thirsk.

Absolutely brilliant - Many thanks Don from NZ - been here 55 years now, Loved the bridges etc into Sheffield. Can we see the speedo now and again.. Cheers.

absolutely brilliant. when you slowed for the tunnels I sat here on my own with my whisky and went WOW. the information is excellent , i hardly dare look away from the screen for fear of missing bsomething.Cheers a lot

Another wonderful and informative cab ride Don. Many thanks. We'll miss the HSTs when they bow out. I hope some of the sets will be preserved, they have served us well. Thanks again.

Another highly enjoyable video. Some beautiful scenery and so much great architecture. I love all the lovely cut stone facing the cuttings and tunnels and those tunnel entrances are just fab. Cheers.

Excellent video and as always extremely informative. Thanks, Don!

A brilliant drivers view and with plenty of information. My Grandad would've loved this video, God rest his soul. Keep up the good work.

Thanks again Don for another excellent video .Very informative as allways .Can't wait for your next instalment 🚊🚉🚊🚉🚊🚉🚊

Another wonderful production Don. Thanks for your time and effort once again. Cheers, Norm.

Another excellent video Don. Thank you for uploading it. Looking forward to your next one.

Hi Don ... Thanks for yet another well informed, detailed video of an area I have only so far followed via track plans. You've "brought it to life" for me. As usual have had to watch this twice to appreciate all the finer details within, just goes to show how good these excursions are. What a wonderful sky above Chesterfield! .... quite a long slow drag to Sheffield and then it's all over in a flash until Derby. ...never mind, ..." the going is better than the getting there" ... as an old BR slogan said. ... Well it is if you're in the cab!! ... Ps, thanks to your EMT colleagues for their assistance ... it IS appreciated!! Thanks, AB

Very well done DON another OSCAR winning video full of news and information and tails of the past railway scene and not forgetting architecture, an all together wonderful video. Shows your colleagues will help you out in being able to produce these great videos. Pleas carry on making more. Best regards Phil

Hi Don, just caught up with your lasted, watched this on the iPad with headphones on, the roar of those engines is something else, shame in real life will be lost for ever at some stage, brilliant production as ever! 🤓Eddie

Well i have just watched this video and i have really enjoyed it from start to finish. In my view you give us some technical information and appreciate the architecture and surroundings on these routes which as you say we never see. Keep up the good work.

Don thank you for sharing this route. Ridden this route and variants many a time usually starting or ending in Sheffield. Although very familiar scenery even I've learned a few new things watching this! Love the HST action as well!

Up to Sheffield now. Loved every second of it thusfar! Especially the higher speed parts, the amazing acceleration sounds, your insights and appreciation of all the beautiful bits of architecture and in particular the amazing entree of small viaducts, bridges and tunnels to Sheffield's station! It's almost like a smaller Lime Street entrance, untill the station that is. Thanks again for this amazing footage Don! Looking forward to the rest of this journey; later this evening or first thing tomorrow! 🥳

Hi Don, another stunner. Thanks as ever for your editing and captions. I would hope that the magnificent masonry in those Sheffield cuttings will get the heritage listing they deserve.

Great video Don, Appreciate all your work on these.

Another wonderful video Don, as usual full of interest. TY

God I love this channel. Fantastic picture and sound. Used to work for BR in 80s to late 90s as trackman. Worked out of faversham Kent. Had to retire because of ill health. Watching these videos brings back so many memories good and bad. Thanks for your hard work.

Loved it. Fantastic. Thanks so much for the videos.

44c here in the west of Sydney, watching cool countryside go by on this great vid great work Don on all of those you have done keep em coming.

Mr coffee I'm sitting here in my living room in Connecticut and really enjoying my train journey through the English countryside you make this so enjoyable and informative thankyou so much.

The rumble of that engine is so nice, I hope and pray to see at least one more cab ride in one of these before they dissapear for good. Lovely video thanks Don :)

Absolutely top class footage as always Don.

Excellent as usual 👍

As usual 'Loved It' 'Loved It' the history ,the beautiful tunnel ends that we never usually see! One day I would love to do these trips for myself.Thanks Don, thanks driver and thanks to the boss, who lets you film these trip's. Like a good film can't wait until the next one.

Hello from Vancouver BC Canada! Thanks for the video! Also thanks for the commentary during the video, nice to get background on the areas. It fascinates me the age of the infrastructure.Cheers!

Great stuff, Thoroughly enjoyed that run too, great information and thanks for the time to look at the tunnel entrances and other points of interest. It has to be considered that you probably won't see as much detail as a passenger on the train, I love the front facing view. It reminds me of trip on Glasgow Blue train service when I was young and there was a glass partition behind the Driver giving passengers a great forwards view.

Thank you for another great journey! 😊👍

Thank you for another excellent film - who needs a day out when you have your videos. You even answer questions on the strap line before one has the chance to ask them !!!!!

Nice one don.Those tunnel entrances are stunning.

Thanks Don and to your helpers, another great video with excellent captioning. The sound of those VP185 engines is awesome especially under headphones. Please, if there's a chance of more of these with the same HST/VP185 combinations, make some more before we lose them for ever.

Once again a great video , thanks for sharing

What a great trip Don love those tunnels including Bradway and Milford some time we will go to whiteball another of Brunels great tunnels indeed thanks .

Thanks Don. Another very informative video. Travelled this route a fair bit over the years, but never up front apart from some DMUs north of Sheffield in the 1970s and 80s.

Terrific video, loved your comments, makes it so very interesting. Thank you

loved that video Don. the architecture of the tunnels is amazing. i bet that the largest variety of tunnel architecture in the country on one line

Another excellent video. Travelled the Sheffield to Derby part of the route several times as a student in Sheffield who wanted to stay living in Nottingham. Rather than take the more direct route down the Erewash Valley line, I sometimes hopped on the HST and went home via Derby instead [especially when the cross country train to Nottingham was sometimes late]. It was fantastic to finally see in detail the tunnel entrances I had only before seen at speed!

Setting at my desk with my 2nd cup of coffee and sun glasses applied. Great fun Don.

An interesting and enjoyable video.

excellent as we have come to expect TV companies would be proud of the quality and content thanks and well done Don

Great video. Leeds is my hometown. Moved to Dronfield and travelled this line everyday to get to work in Sheffield.

Great to see the hst's are still going.

Well done Dan. Great photography and excellent commentary

Another great video Don. Thanks.

Excellent as usual, Don.

Another fine Video Don always look forward to seeing what you have Lined up next

As always brilliant......Thanks from an expat. Leeds lad in OZ.....

Awesome video as always

Great Video again Don. I love trains. It's hard to believe that this route is not electrified and we are here in 2020.

Your videos are very entertaining and educational

Thanks again Don. Another masterpiece. Clay Cross portal brings to mind Box Tunnel; which to mind is a simply stunning.

Can't wait Don... Thank you my friend...

Lovely tunnel entrances!!!

Love the sound of the Diesels working away bit of character instead of the bland electric things .

This is just a wonderful video. Glorious English countryside and one of the nicest and most interesting lines in the Midlands.

I've traveled this route a number of times but never gotten a good look at those stunning tunnel portals. Normally the moment you notice them they are gone! Nice to get a proper look at them from the driver's eye view!

Thank you for sharing this experience!

Another good video Don very informative

Thanks Don. Another great trip.

Look’s great even goes passed my house. Thanks for sharing.

Don, another interesting and informative video. to be honest had to watch in three sittings.

Thanks for the upload, as a mature trainee driver applicant. This is fascinating to see

Excellent will watch your other videos. Very good and informative.

Superb video. I have travelled the route from Sheffield to Derby & onwards to Birmingham frequenly since the mid 1980s. To see it like this with a great commentry is awesome. They just don't make tunnel entrances like they used to anymore do they. Thanks again.

Used the line many times but I've never seen the Clay Cross, Toad Moor Elliptical or Milford tunnel portals front-on. Again, many thanks Don for the detailed information and historical aspects of your footage.

Thanks for sharing Don. Another gem! Looks like there is very little left of the old third side of the former triangular junction at Ambergate. Hard also to believe that what is now the Matlock branch, was once a mainline through to Manchester.