I do like it when the old images can be aligned with the present day. It helps to visualise, particularly as this is an area of Leeds I knew well back in the 1990s.
Thanks Darren, your attention to detail in finding things that most people wouldn't take a second glance at plus, as I've said before, your exact location photo merges are just brilliant👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻😠🎵
At 15.45…. Pepper road signal box. I was a kid in the late 70s and early 80s, living on leasowe road… about 100 yards away. The signal box man used to let me and my mates go in there. There was a wooden staircase going from the bridge down to the signal box. And on the embankment at 9.18 we had a den in the bushes looking down on to the tracks. No metal fencing back then.
Hi Darren. The picture of Wakefield Rd box brings back memories. The line curving to the right leads straight on to Stourton engine shed, which you can see in the background. I was a fireman there until it closed in summer 1968 and we transferred to Holbeck shed. You would be surprised just how big those sidings were opposite where the Freghtliner cranes are. Stourton up sidings, all gone in your other pic.
Darren,you're doing a great service to us old Hunslet folk, thank you. I have to point out an error in the Hunslet Goods Railway part 2 video. When you were on Wakefield Road at 12m13sec the photo you've shown with the tram is actually Belle Isle Road looking North towards Balm Road. This is not meant as a criticism just a point of clarification as I know you're not an Hunslet lad. Please keep up the good work, and more power to your elbow. Thanks once again for all your hard work and enthusiasm. Kindest regards.
Thanks Trevor. Yes I know. I've had a. 100 messages tonight lol. My mistake, it was the trams that threw me. And it was labelled as wakey road. Plenty more Hunslet stuff coming over the next few months. Thanks for watching
@@AdventureMe thanks Darren. I'm a true Hunslet lad, lived on Pepper Road opposite Clayton's for my first 23 years then got married and moved to Rothwell (not far from you I think). I've lived in Rothwell for 53 years now but still have fond memories of Hunslet. I also served my time at Hunslet Engine Co. and stayed for 10 years. Looking forward to more Hunslet stuff coming up. Cheers.
Brilliant as always. Love the way you seem to blend and phase the old and present day photos. Very clever. Very informative and descriptive. Thank you.
More memories. The footbridge that you were on going over the motorway was a timber construction. I used to cross it each day to go to school on Woodhouse Hill Road. My home of some 70 years ago is still there as is the school. Great video, so interesting.
I remember the Tram from Wakefield to Leeds, Tram terminates at the Bull Ring in Wakefield. I may have been about 5 or 6 when I rode the tram with my Mum.
Good evening Darren just watched Hunslet part 2 very interesting as always now looking forward to part 3 with the swing bridge but you said it never swung rumour as it that it did swing but only once it was too heavy at one end and there was problems so they swung it back into place and it never swung again but please check it out and hopefully see your drone in action see you next week Kevin
Great video, love seeing all the lost history. Only problem with these great videos, it makes us want to see the next one straight away! Take care and stay safe everyone.
The north abutment of the viaduct across the Midland line can still be seen from passing trains about halfway up the cutting side and there is a little bit of embankment between that and the abutment on Wakefield Road tucked away behind the Shell petrol station. (I'm saying abutment more than you here, can't beat a nice abutment!)
Thanks Kris. I suspected there maybe some viaduct left on the other side. I didn't want to trespass though. I saw the embankment behind the garage, I was tempted to head up the side of it. But it was getting dark and I was frozen.
Darren you were are the Queen's Service Station. If you go in they have an old aerial photo of the site showing the railway bridge and old Pontefract Road where those circular concrete things were used to an old pub which I think was the Railway.
Another cracking vlog Darren really look forward to watching your vlogs please keep them coming, again it's fantastic to see you merge the then and now photos stay safe and keep up the good work with your vlogs
Fantastic Darren. Nice to see you doing brilliant History and I'm also using my imagination while watching you. Great efforts as well with the photos. But looking forward to your Drone footage in the future xx Thank you xx 😊🎥
The old picture at 12.14 is actually Balm Road not Wakefield Rd. Trams did not run up Wakefield Road they stopped at Thwaite Gate, at least not in the 1950’s. Also the steps on the ‘Cuckoo steps’ were made of wood. Great video Darren
They did run up wakey Road. They came through Robin Hood and Rothwell and down the A61. There was even a tram shed and storage facility just off the A61.
Walk down Leeds country way south of tingley. It still has the old platforms. The line leads to a tunnel. I’m sure there is still one or two buildings left remaining. Opposite St Mary’s church, woodkirk
Nice to see the photo of a 77xxx from Cuckoo Steps. This is either 77004 or 77013 as these where the only two allocated to the area, namely 50B Neville Hill in 1959, later 55H. I never saw any of this class of 20 locos as they were all allocated on the Eastern side of the country or Scotland.
I know a bloke who lives right where you started that 😅 he'd have been brilliant to have accompany you as he's really up to scratch with his history there
I'll get him to chat to you somehow. He's shown me around Middleton woods and around where the heritage railway is. I rewatched your videos you covered there and was able to recognise parts of the old lines. Really amazing, honestly. Loving the series so far btw.
Hi there. Got to you via Martin.! Question... Has your 'hunslet' got anything to do with the hunslet locomotives I've heard of.? Great video. Great photo fade-ins. Keep em coming. Rich UK 🥰🥰🥰.
Hi Richard. Welcome aboard. Yes it's the very same Hunslet as in the Hunslet Engine Co. If you watch my Middleton railway video, it's mentioned in there with some locos. And also I will be doing a video on it soon.
Another great video Darren and, as others have commented, it's great to see the old photos being faded in! Many years ago, whilst walking round an old slate quarry near Coniston, I came across an old machine that had been built by the Bramley Engineering Co. in Leeds, i'd not heard of the firm but assumed it was in Bramley, however your old photo of the derailment (at 10:00) shows the company there alongside The Cuckoo Steps. Does anyone know why so many steps were thus named? There's two mentioned in this video and there were also some near Lofthouse station.
DARREN,...AT THE 6MINS 40 SECS YOU SHOW AN OLD VIEW OVER PEPPER ROAD BRIDGE HUNSLET.....IT SHOWS HUNSLET SOUTH JUNCTION SIGNAL BOX AND IF YOU LOOK IN THE DISTANCE BEYOND THE OLD HUNSLET GOODS LINE VIADUCT AND DOWN BY PONTEFRACT ROAD BRIDGE IS A 2ND SMALL SIGNAL BOX CALLED WAKEFIELD ROAD. ABOVE THE BIG SIGNALBOX YOU CAN SEE A SLOPE, A SHUNTING INCLINE, TRAINS WERE DRAWN UP HERE TO BE UNCOUPLED AND LET ROLL DOWN INTO HUNSLET DOWN SIDINGS, (behind the camera). THIS AREA BY THE SLOPE WAS CALLED THE RHUBARB END FOR OBVIOUS REASONS.......ALSO DOWN BEYOND PONTEFRACT ROAD BRIDGE TO THE RIGHT WAS STOURTON LOCO. DEPOT...( now the freightliner terminal) AND ON THE EXTREME LEFT OF THE PICTURE AGAIN BEYOND PONTEFRACT ROAD BRIDGE WAS A LARGE WAGON REPAIR WORKS AND SIDINGS WE KNEW AS STOURTON BACK ROAD WHERE AT LEAST TRAINS OF 80 WAGONS IN LENGTH COULD BE STABLED. THIS PICTURE IS IN THE 1970S...BY THE MID 80s LEEDS POWER BOX AND COLOUR LIGHTS SAW THE CLOSURE OF THE OLD SDIGNALBOXES PLUS ALL SURPLUS TRACKS HAD BEEN LIFTED.
I remember the railway bridge over Belle Isle Road. A little bit further down, on the right, was a pub with a large ad for Dutton's OBJ beer on the gable end - a colourful version of www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/obj-duttons-ale-beer-stout-coaster-nr-118849771 9:34 That looks like the early '60s from the filthy loco, and the cars in the car-park to right of the industrial building on the right. The chapel in the middle distance is on Wakefield Road. I think you can see the original line way at www.google.com/maps/place/Pepper+Rd,+Leeds/@53.7721807,-1.5181609,235m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x48795c4af670f879:0xb2c307f99bb03685!8m2!3d53.7730457!4d-1.5221612 passing from bottom left to top right. I think the flat-roofed building to the bottom left of the large warehouse is where the chapel was. In the video it's the RCS building. If you zoom out I think the line followed the long narrow warehouse/factory to cross just SE of the petrol station on Pontefract Road. There is a curving road from the warehouse that seems to follow the curve of the line. The old map I use at www.archiuk.com shows modern roads through very vaguely, so it's difficult to work out. However, it shows no embankment immediately to the south west of Pontefract road - there were building immediately adjacent to the line. 10:02 27th September '64 - www.railwaysarchive.co.uk/docsummary.php?docID=1084, www.railwaysarchive.co.uk/eventimages.php?eventID=1197&imageID=616 Watching this video, and following it on old maps and google maps, and following interesting historical threads, has taken me several hours! I wonder if you could provide waypoints - it would make following you much easier (but harder for you!). I am looking forward to part 3 - but please not until I have done the chores I should have done today.
Another really interesting video. Especially as this was my area as a child and I am still in close contact with it. Just one note, the image of the railway bridge at 12.15, is that Wakefield Road? I believe it is actually Belle Isle Road Bridge looking North towards Hunslet. I used to live just around the corner from there and would watch passing locos from my bedroom window as a child. Sorry to be pedantic... keep these great vids coming.
When I was creating the video, I had that same thought. It was labelled as Wakefield Rd Bridge. The only thing that was different between this and Belle Isle bridge that made me think it was genuine. Is the tramway, Belle Isle Rd didn't have one as far as I know but Wakefield Rd did. And also the chimney behind was different to the Belle Isle picture I had. I could still be wrong, but they were my observations at the time.
@@AdventureMe I'd say this does look more like Belle Isle Rd - there was indeed a tramway up it and I believe it went up the central reservation between the two carriageways. I think the business you can just see beyond the bridge on the left was Alf Cookes (?) whereas at Wakefield Road it would have been the much larger John Waddington's printing works.
@@tonywiese5683 Maybe it is then. The tramway was the only thing that made me think twice. I looked on the old maps and it didn't show a tramway up Belle Isle rd, but obviously much later it could have been.
@@AdventureMe I've just found thos on the Leodis photographic archive website: www.leodis.net/display.aspx?resourceIdentifier=2002102_62615603&DISPLAY=FULL
@@AdventureMe It can be hard tying up images if you aren't familiar with a location. The tramlines originally terminated at Balm Road/Moor Road junction. This can be just seen under the railway bridge, the building being St. Oswald's Church (Just visible to the right of the tram). The tramway was then extended south during the 1940's. This was initially to Belle Isle Circus (1940) the to Belle Isle Terminus (Middleton Road junction) in 1946. The Leodis Leeds web site has a number of images of this location. This one shows the bridge from the opposite direction in October 1950. www.leodis.net/display.aspx?resourceIdentifier=4692