There is an Abandoned MOD Railway hidden away in these Woods! 

Great video, Ant. I remember going to Hilton MOD site in the mid 70's. Six of us were sent up from Tidworth in Wiltshire to pick up five brand new 1 tonne Land Rovers. The shed we went into to collect the Rovers was full of old and new military vehicles. After collecting the Rovers, we took a detour to my parents house in Kirk Hallam, near Ilkeston, to have a cup of tea before driving back to our unit. It caused a bit of a stir with the neighbours, seeing 6 1 tonners and a 3/4 ton Rover parked up outside our house. lol.

Hi Ant - Have watched most of your videos and enjoy them a lot - The concrete sleepers with holes in were wartime economy sleepers - somewhat lighter and cheaper to make than full length sleepers. Because the sleepers where shorter than normal and don't project much outside the actual track width they were only really of use on low speed lines or sidings. The bars you found were to keep the track to gauge which could be a problem with lightweight track even on sidings. If they did load and unload tanks at the site then there were some pretty heavy wagon loads and the gauge bars may have been to stop gauge spread. Sorry - I'm a bit of a permanent way anorak. Thanks for making such interesting content.. Best Wishes, Bobbie

Hi Ant, I walk this wood regularly and know the area well. What I couldn't work out was why so much railway infrastructure was necessary at what was (an admittedly large) 7,000 vehicle US army and MOD mv camp). However I recently discovered that some sections of the floating mulberry harbour towed over to France on D Day (and still can be seen at Arromanches) were actually constructed at the MOD site at Hilton and loaded onto trains there for onward rail to the south coast. They certainly would need some sidings area to cope with those not to mention the thousands of vehicles stored and maintained on the MOD site. I knew the site when it still was its original size (much of the original concrete post and barbed wire topped fencing is still there). It really was huge and the camp railway you discovered connected to what was then the GNER Railway line through Etwall (this is still used as a walkway) and Mickleover to the GNER main line at Derby Friar Gate Station.

When I worked as an auditor in the mid 90s one job was a toy factory in the centre of derby. It was just off the a38 near the big petrol station and right at that island. The factory was literally off the end of a street of terraced houses. Bet they arent there now. They had warehouses at the Hilton site in the disused mod buildings as it was used as an industrial estate at the time. I remember there being a concrete tank ramp right outside one of their buildings . All replaced by housing now from the looks of it,

As a freight guard, I worked trains out of these sidings back in I believe 1982. The trains were conveying armoured vehicles.

My grandad lived 2 streets away from the depot I remember seeing the sheds when I used to go to his house as a child

Fantastic little find. More stuff like this please! Great that they didn't take up all the rails when building the new housing estate.

Superb, I just love the historic details. And the fascination how Nature takes over.

Went there in early 60s there was 22 or 24 sheds, each shed was 2.5 acres, full of army vehicles it was awesome..

Really interesting, didnt know about this one. I do remember finding a set of MOD remains at Scropton, a few miles west in the mid 1970s. Standard gauge sidings exchanging with narrow gauge. All the trackwork was down still as far as the perimeter fence, nothing beyond there. I think it was the start of the link to RAF Fauld, the bomb store that blew up in 1944.

The concrete sleepers were built at a time when most sleepers were made of timber andcare known as MoS types, bring short for Ministry of Supply. They were made in wartime when imported timber was in short supply and were some of the earliest use of concrete for sleepers on a large scale. They were built to take 75lb flat bottom rail, which in itself was different to the bullhead design in widespread use then. They were all about saving raw materials, need no cast iron chairs and a lighter weight rail. They have a few problems for modern use. 75lb rail is not widely used, as it's too flimsy for modern loads. The rails are secured to the sleepers using bolts cast into the concrete, which can't easily be replaced in situ. Finally, they have a tendency to crack or hog in service, unless very well supported. They would have been laid into ash ballast originally, which was cheap and acts like putty. Modern heavy stone can create point loadings which leads to the problem of cracking

That was amazing, Ant, that rail section looks unusual, and unusual looking sleepers. That was a turnbuckle, they used them on underframes of railway carriages years ago

Interesting little film nice one. Those bits of track with the concrete sleepers are of the WD/MODs standard design first used by the WD/ MOD during WW2 and are or were mainly found on WD/MOD land. The sleepers used were not really used anywhere except at WD/MOD sites until some got sold off or nicked from abandoned sites. There is, or was a few years back, some MOD track panels made with this type of sleeper for sale.

That was a really enjoyable explore. Railway infrastructure is always interesting.

Thank you - I've been looking for an abandoned section of railway track I cam legally walk on for a photo project I have in mind. This looks like the ideal spot.

Those devices you discover at about 9:45 are Turnbuckles. They are used to vary the tension between two things that they connect. As you say, in this application, they might have been used to adjust the distance between the rails.

Not only are your video's interesting the comments always add to your finds

I remember the name “Odeon Master” from old exploring forums 10+ years ago, always crazy to look back on pictures I took within the last 10 years of things that are just unaffordable houses now.

Hi Ant, thanks for another great video. Those bars were what used to call 'Tie Rods' when I worked for BR. They were to hold the gauge on poor bits of track.

I love it when you find these little gems hiding in plain sight👍👍👍 Bloody noisy when you trek in the woods in autumn😂😂😂😂😂😂

Wonderful - thank you

Hilton was a CVD (Central Vehicle Depot) part of the several UK base depots ran by the RAOC (Royal Army Ordnance Corps)

Ordnance Depot Hilton stored, maintained and repaired vehicles, primarily for the Army. There were three base vehicle depots at Ludgershall in Wiltshire, Ashchurch in Gloucester and Hilton. The military categorised vehicles into three classes: "A" vehicles were fighting vehicles such as tanks and armoured vehicles which were fitted with weapons. "B" vehicles were utility vehicles such as trucks, landrovers and staff cars. "C" vehicles were engineering plant such as diggers and cranes. Hilton only ever handled B vehicles. Most stores depots were rail served as this was the quickest way of loading and outloading stores and equipment, usually on flatbed carriages. Stores depots usually had a goods yard were trains could be assembled, loaded and stored whilst awaiting collection by mainline rail services. Many would have run to the military port at Marchwood for loading on to RFA ships or charters used to deliver stores to Europe via the UK stores depot at Antwerp or the various UK controlled ports around the world such as Singapore and Aden. Vehicles would be normally stored indoors, however all their ancillaries such as spare tires, tool kits and canvas covers would be stored centrally. Fuel tanks would be drained and engines preserved. When issued, the vehicle would have been made up according to its "Complete Equipment Schedule" (CES). Hilton closed in the 1980s, by which time it was a fully civilianised depot although controlled by the Royal Army Ordnance Corps (RAOC) with support from the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME) who controlled the co-located vehicle workshops. If you look in Hansard, there is a good description of Hilton and its fate by Edwina Currie, who was the local MP.

From the orientation of the fence posts I'd say it was line you walked down was fenced off not the sidings? Hence the gate

Another great “walk back in time”. Thanks Ant. See you on the next. Cheers mate! 🇬🇧🙂👍🇺🇸

Ant, no matter how long or short the video, if it's vintage rail it is always time well spent. mike

Really interesting. I'll hopefully have a look at this over Christmas as i live very close to this site and have never seen this 😊

Fantastic video thanks Ant. Love everything to do with trains, absolutely loved it. Thanks for taking me along. Please take care

Another great find, Ant, done with your usual enthusiasm! I wish you could make a dvd with all your explores on it!

Fab video. What beautiful colours. Great find again. Thank you again for taking us with you

Love it when you do videos like this...looking for old railway tracks etc,. Great finds amongst the trees. Like you said, they were strange looking sleepers with the holes in them. All the best.

A great find Ant. I'm surprised that they weren't all taken up for scrap. Thanks for sharing and Merry Christmas Ant.

Ay up ant I started that housing estate off and was Iinterested in the history of Hilton depot nice to see it again GreAt vid

Thank you for exploring here. I have had a short attempt to explore the west part of the triangle to Burton and I will get my boots on over Christmas and take a look at the North side of the triangle... Thanks again

Those distinctive short sleepers with holes in were used at a lot of MOD sites.

Nice one Ant,Keep em coming lad

Your drone footage is of immense visual help. Choice of mysterious music, excellent!

What an amazing find well done ant its also lovely showing what it used to look like 😊

Nice little nugget quality as always top man keep them coming 👍

Something ghostly about how nature reclaims the past endeavours of people.

Modern history is also great to explore,this video was really interesting. Thanks Ant.

Another hidden gem of the past . Liked the old cooling chemiys in the back ground.

Two great videos Anthony, and in the second video, wow!!!! What a great find. On another note hopefully in a future video, will you by any chance be covering the Friargate old railway station, Friargate bridge and the old Bonded Warehouse? If so it'll go really well with these two recent videos you've done. Anyway mate keep up the good work, all the best from Devon Mike.

Enjoyed that thanks again Ant

Excellent - thank you!

Great video thanks for sharing..

Have a look on google earth and use the timeline you can see how they were & looking at it I think some of it probably got buried, a few years back the end of the sidings used to end in buffers by the gate on the other side of the housing estate by the road, don't know if any of that end still exists? nice work ant

Very good Ant 🙂🚂🚂🚂

Hi Ant, you did say suggest things, and there are a couple of places I'm curious about. I've only been following you for about 18 months so you may have covered them before my time! As you come out of Standedge Tunnel, heading south, and you pass Diggle, I've spotted on Google earth what looks like an abandoned branch to the left that seems to go into a tunnel, (nearest road Butterhouse lane), and as you continue towards Mossley station, and also on the left, nearest point Armit Road, there's a chimney. You may already have done them, if so sorry - but I AM curious! Loved all the Ladybower series, and everything else I've seen.

Hi you mentioned what those rods are from Rail to Rail. Are called,they are called tie bars they hold the rails into Gauge when there’s a curve

Hello the bar between the rails is a tie bar temporarily used to maintain gauge

There's some good quality track there in those woods, with flat bottom rails and concrete sleepers which won't rot for decades and it could be sold or donated to a railway preservation group somewhere, but I think they'd have to remove it themselves and it would of course involve serious hard labour, especially having to cut out so many trees, with the land owner's permission of course... And I once had a job digging up and removing old disused railway sidings by hand so I know how hard it is, especially as some of the track I lifted had full size concrete sleepers which are SERIOUSLY heavy! It takes eight strong healthy blokes just to drag one a few yards, real MAN'S work, and I'm proud to have done it. And I think some anti-social teenage yobs should be made to do something similar as it's hard work which wears you out and you get well filthy too.

Great find. Something like this more than makes up for all the dull explores (but still a good walk if nothing else).

Hard to imagine the number of locations the MOD had rail linked across the country, government hardly leads by example in using rail for the few remaining locations.

nice one ant

Just been. Feet Sunk in mud. Gorged Delighful rewards though:-)

no trains running today Ant. leafs on the line and a few trees between the sleepers 😂🤣👍

Have you done one on the remains of the existing track of the Swadlincote loop at cadley hill nadins opencast siding

Tanks and munitions were moved by rail flatbeds.

Well you could of gone right upto the fence that keeps u off the railway as long as you don t go over on to active line you would be ok to look around by it

9:49 tie bar for holding the gauge.

Those sleepers were made for the War Department and according to Gareth Dennis, in his video about sleepers in the UK (railway ones) ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-cIJoboyJGfk.html, they were the first implementation of prestressed concrete sleepers in the UK and were so successful work on developing reinforced concrete sleepers ceased. Gareth may appreciate a few stills from the video for his archives.

Lack of signs of rust and denting point to asbestos. Nobody will be eager to demolish those sheds.

Had a walk over to the site this afternoon, on a day similar to how you saw it Ant and very interesting it was. You can see the main running line through the trees and an electrical box by it. I Do wonder if beyond that fence would be classed as BR property though, not sure as a train did rumble past and they are pretty close 🤔

Just had someone demolish the crossing gate at nearby Hatton and Tutbury station and the saga of trains stopped just before the crossing at closed signals and the sight of the signalman hand cranking the gates open as they wouldn't open automatically.

Those look like mobile rails were you can move

Why is it still gated off, is it private land?

What was Hiltons Task ??

Apocalyptic

Please, for the sake of everyone else outside your local - tell us upfront where you are and what the dickens is an MOD site. Sorry, I am just an ignorant Aussie 🙃