It really gives you that feeling of wanting to go back in time and witness these long lost railway lines and stations and how people use to live and work around there. It's such a shame there is not much left of It's history to show. But you have certainly given us an insight to it. Thank you for this..
I watch yours and numerous others who do similar stuff to you and you start to realise just how big the rail network once was and how much we swept away in the name of progress. More than any time in our history we need affordable public transport. The cost and the scale to put back in place what we once had is astronomical
Great video. I grew up on the Westwood’s, before moving to Near Thorpe Lane. As a kid I use play out with friends near the old railway line and the new. Once spent a night under the 5 Arches (Tingley Viaduct) Never knew there was a pit at Westwood. But having spent time in those woods, you could see remnants of bell pits actually. I also walked through the tunnel that goes under Thorpe Lane, we called it the “Death Tunnel” because sometimes an intercity 125 train would come through. This was like a near death experience, clinging onto the walls for dear life. Apparently they are going to build a new platform for the White Rose Centre, makes sense having a new station there.
Fantastic , walked this myself the other day and also got cut to ribbons! Shocked me how big the viaduct is and how hidden it is also. Great watch again, thank you!
Well done Darren excellent presentation, your a trooper braving the brambles and nettles, the after pictures of how it was are very interesting. Thank you
Fascinating stuff, Darren! It galls me to see such beautiful masonry work discarded, after great craftsmen sweated blood getting it right... A spectacular viaduct and fine bridge abutments, the likes of which will never be constructed again! You are so lucky to live in an area rich in Industrial Archaeology. Cheers from Downunder. 😎
The viaduct is known in Middleton as the "5 Arches" and' the tunnel is the "Death Tunnel" because of the stupid dares we used to do in there. Thanks for the video, BTW.
So funny how I used to play on here as a kid it's called the 5 arches where we come from Middleton also stupidly high used to run through the tunnel to other side scary
These videos of yours, Darren are very good. Just a thought when you are exploring it would help your cause to have a pair of ordinary garden secateurs in your pocket. They are brilliant for slicing through brambles and some tree branches.
Thanks for the Tingley Viaduct bash; I have been impressed by it many times passing underneath on the mainline. It is made even more dramatic by being on a sharp skew and on a clear gradient. The flying junction must have been impressive.
Funny thing, with the old B&W photos I always thing of all the lost backstories of the people in the pictures. Thanks to Darren for this fine work.....
Thank you for sharing your day on this old railway Darren. The work you put into these explores is very much appreciated. I did once walk this line, from the viaduct to the site of Tingley station back in the spring of 1985. I have to say, it was much easier to walk down in those days lol, as there was hardly any undergrowth at all. . The viaduct wasn't fenced off either.
I know this video was posted a year ago but I'm just catching up now. Brilliant video again throughly enjoyed it. That boy walking towards you though sounds really creepy 😳 but I'm a big jessie 🤣
your not the only one i went over to an old wagonworks in chesterfield the gate had one bar loose & i knew there was no way was i going to fit thru that gap 15 years ago i would have been able to but not anymore so i found this a wasted journey so from that viaduct i would have had to undo a second bar to get thru then there is the question of is there a way out on the opposite side
Hi Darren. Brilliant video most enjoyable keep up the good work. In the late 50’s played in the field near Crow nest lane when the original wooden pedestrian bridge existed before being replaced with the ”new concrete one” On the goods shed side of the line a siding ran almost to the bridge even though the station had long gone. Steve
Wish this stuff wasn’t hidden it’s our heritage. Network rail still has Beechings shame. It looks a glorious walk, wouldn’t do it on my own though, a boy down there? Well vulnerable.
Hi Darren/ Daz, Another Great Video. Cut to Ribbons But still you Concerer on!!! Love the pictures matching up where thing's were. Really helps you Realise what was there! 100% on your Efforts!! You keep Well & Walking 🚶♂️! Big thanks for Sharing. Cheer Grant. 😉
Another nice vid. There's nothing left of the hunslet branch line as the cutting was filled in in the early 80's, the bridge next to waincliffe garage removed and the old line was sold to the residents of southleigh road which was nice for my old man as he actually travelled on the line as a fireman whilst on the railways. Look forward to your next one
Just a thought you can buy a retractable mini machete type thing you can put in your backpack. That means you can hack back the brambles and nettles and save your legs. I do a lot of drainage and gulley clearing all year round on the local walking spots where I live and it’s very handy 👍
Brings back happy Memmories used to ride our trials bikes all the way from the west woods down to the second Farmers access Nr the White rose used to be a Pub nr there called the woodman that whole Area was a Land fill wase site years ago.
Great videos I luv seeing the history of places wish I was more enthusiastic when I was in school though, have you done one about Halifax High level railway and Wheatley viaduct
Hi Darren yet another interesting video about the Beeston line another one to go and look for at some point and yet again didn't know that the viaduct and bridges where there now looking forward to seeing the next part with the swing bridge over the river aire as i know where that is as it's not far from where I live could you please let us know what the big round wall opposite the swing bridge is for as it as no entrance just go's round and round well keep up the good interesting information video's all the best Kevin
the round wall you speak of is the turret of the swing bridge the mechanics can still be seen from satelite view of the area from what i got told & the pic i saw of it the swing bridge was put in to allow tall ships past but it never moved after being installed the size was 4 times larger than a standard swing bridge for the gap it spanned across if you look at the island between the canal & river you can see the anchor abutment the bridge reached to & the others after were standard girder spans from what i could see is the remainder of the bed is still in use but the side which the swing bridge sat the entire embankment has been removed & replaced with an industrial estate
My elderly friend tells me that Beeston station was closer to crows nest lane, By the blocked off platform footbridge that's still there..... He's in his late 70's & has been around here his whole life
The footbridge was simply a footpath over the lines. The station was much further down on Town Street. I have an aerial picture of the whole area from early 1900's. I have no evidence of anything to do with the station after the 50's, so it's possible it was rebuilt and moved slightly.
Really enjoyed that. The via duct was beautiful and so were the bridges. You also got a train and that is always fantastic. What bothered me is I believe a locked gate means you have no right to be there. A video isn’t worth breaking the law for. Please stay safe
That field between the railway line and ECML down below was completely dug out for open cast coal in the 1960s, the field you referred to as the "farmer's access" through the part demolished bridges. The soil was put back , but then sunk down over the years so the drain stacks still stand proud above the current soil level ( can be seen from Leeds-Dewsbury Road just past the White Rose Centre). Freight trains still used the Middleton branch line when I was at secondary school in 1960s.After its closure the track was lifted and the cutting from the Tommy Wass pub /Rex cinema to the actual junction with the ECML was filled in with rubbish by Leeds City Council, so is unlikely to be built on. As lads from Beeston we used to always play in the woods at Westwood, mainly old oak trees I think and the railway bridges were great for "dares".
I was unaware of the open casting there but seem to remember that the infill was a rubbish tip for some years and hence the pipes sticking out of the ground. One other thought comes to mind - where the branch line hit the main line there was a fly over. I can remember it being there in the late 1950s as I used the train there daily.
Thanks for another really interesting video Darren. Wonder where the boy went 😱 Hope it wasn't your love of those M&S chocolate biscuits that nearly got you stuck in that fence 🤣
@@AdventureMe I was down there a few months ago walking the dog. It felt very eerie after you follow the track round the corner and see the working line. Could well be haunted round there.
Hello mate, thank you somuch for uploading this and other interesting films to RU-vid. I lived in Farsley between 2016 and 19, had wanted to explore the nearby Pudsey loop and Greenside tunnel but, due to the onset of acute anxiety and depression, I was unable to get so far. Thank you for taking me there! Do you have any plans to explore the disused line which ran from Wakefield through Alverthorpe, Flushdyke and Ossett. I lived in Flanshaw, Wakefield between 2014 and 16, spoke with a number of locals who remember it as a working line and were able to describe the layout of stations, bridges and viaducts. A conversation with a former coal wagon driver still sticks out in my memory when he explained the layout of Chickenley Heath station.
My Grandfather was a signaller at the end of Ossett Station way back when. I also remember the bridge that ran over Batley Road just after Alverthorpe station where the line ran onto a high embankment down across the playing fields towards Low Laithes.
That's the footage I got. You cant really see him on there, but he was clear as day to me walking towards me. I finished my talking and when I turned around, he was gone.
Wow Darren, you must be super-slim mate! I did this walk with my mate yesterday from the Dunningley Lane end and despite being relatively slim ourselves neither of us could squeeze through the railings to get onto the viaduct! Still, it was a great walk and I got some good photos. When are you doing the old Batley-Woodkirk line? There’s plenty to see on that one!
@@AdventureMe We were worried it could be like a lobster pot - we might just squeeze in but then might not be able to squeeze back out & would be trapped on the viaduct 🤣🤣
Thanks Darren, another belter. I remember as a kid in the mid 1960's there were marshalling yards to the south of Garnet Road. Do you know which line they used to connect to?
There was a mineral railway for the collieries that ran close to garnet Rd, it had connections to the Hunslet line and towards the old crown point goods yard. If that's the one you mean.
@@AdventureMe Thanks for the reply. Don't think that was it. I remember the yards were quite large, but then I was only a nipper so everything seemed big to me.
I’m wondering if you’ve done or would be interested in doing the abandoned line from near Thornhill (Dewsbury) passing over the viaduct at Horbury Bridge and on to Crigglestone and beyond? Also the old marshalling yard at Healey mills just by Horbury bridge?
Really enjoyed this Video. Used to work at Slaithwaite for my dad and we was under the viaduct of The railway bridge and I remember seeing somebody and I said I'll talk to him in a minute and when I turned round again he had disappeared and I think he was a ghost of a worker who lost his life while making the Bridge. He was in old working clothes and I was Frightened at the time xx still remember it clearly. So I think you saw a ghost xx
Hi Darren, re the unexpected bridge at the beginning, looking on Google it looks like it might have crossed a branch line or siding or am I imagining things?
the platform existed & as for the boy you saw the trees thru the arch that gave you the impression someone was coming thru & if the image was a lad he would have walked round the stone hill to avoid you
The boy walked up through the arch and up the hill towards me. I stopped talking to the camera as I still feel weird doing that with people around. Put the camera down and looked back up, he wasnt there. So I walked down the hill to see where he had gone, but no sign. It was just so quick and strange. Maybe he knew another route I couldn't see and wanted to avoid me.
@@AdventureMe tbh i scrolled back on you vid to where you were walking thru the old bridge & all i could see was the trees thru the second arch that at a glance looked like someone on the other side of arch, the vid shows no one else was there you may have seen someones last movments before death(ghost) which is unusual considering your vids are done during the day, your not the only one i too have seen ghosts during the day best one & the only one barnsdale bar tunnel when both gates were open a walk thru that got a little eerie as the tunnel was clear all the way thru but once i got to the middle it went really foggy then cleared up when i got the the other side like i said this this was during the day & it was a really hot day too
@@jasinere35 I think your fevered imagination got the better of you. It's a hot day and warm moisture laden air flows into a cool tunnel from each end meeting at the coldest point - the middle. The moisure in the warm air condenses into fine water droplets. Voilà - fog! I have seen the same phenomenon in a cool warehouse on a warm day.
