The Elsecar Heritage Railway (EHR) is located on the southern part of the former South Yorkshire Railway freight-only branch which ran from Elsecar Junction on its Mexborough to Barnsley Line.
Elsecar Heritage Railway
Peckett OQ Class no. 2150 "Mardy Monster" at the Elsecar Heritage Railway
The Elsecar Heritage Railway operated an out and back tourist train ride on a 1 mile (1.6 km) section of the branch using steam and diesel locomotives, previously running between Rockingham station (at the back of the Elsecar Heritage Centre) and Hemingfield Basin. The railway was operated using a variety of different preserved rolling stock.
The EHR had planned to eventually operate the line into Cortonwood, with a new halt at Hemingfield, doubling the length of the line to two miles.
The line was built to serve Earl Fitzwilliam's collieries and ironworks, which he leased out to local ironmasters. It opened in 1850 as part of the South Yorkshire Railway, known as the Elsecar Branch. Following assorted mergers the line finally became part of the LNER upon formation of the Big Four.
The whole infrastructure was nationalised after the Second World War, with the mines becoming part of the National Coal Board in 1947 and the railway becoming part of British Railways in 1948.
The Elsecar branch closed in 1984 following closure of the final colliery on the line.
Restoration began in 1994 as a project of Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council, and the line reopened as a heritage railway in 1996, operated by the Council. The Elsecar Heritage Railway became the operator in 2006.[1]
ClosureEdit
Elsecar Heritage Railway was mothballed indefinitely when its operators surrendered their lease in November 2020, it was reported at the time that a commitment was made by Barnsley Council to reopen the site. [2]
Hemingfield - current temporary terminus, with groundworks complete for proposed new intermediate station.
Cortonwood - planned new terminus station on the railway's Cortonwood extension.
Cortonwood extensionEdit
The railway's extension, currently under construction, involves the reinstatement of two level crossings, Tingle Bridge Lane and Smithy Lane. The latter, being a quiet road, will be protected by manually-operated crossing gates of traditional design. Tingle Bridge Lane is a busier road, and the railway is installing a semi-automated crossing barrier system, with barriers manually lowered from a signal box, but automatically raised by track circuitry. On 16 May 2011 the permanent way materials for the level crossing arrived and a donation scheme was set up to raise the remainder of the money needed. Funds raised through this scheme have since been used to purchase barriers and traffic signals for the crossing ready for installation. In August 2012 trial holes were dug to locate services under the road surface ready for the crossing installation to take place.
On 21 June 2012 the ground was cleared and levelled for ballast and track alterations in anticipation of constructing the station at Hemingfield, currently the end of the line.
On 19 April 2013 the EHR installed the level crossing on Tingle Bridge Lane, financed by a Director's loan, and began extending the line into Cortonwood Colliery, as the next step of the Project.
By June 2014 the whole track had been laid up to Cortonwood, with minor levelling and ballasting remaining to become operational. The railway is now engaged in refinements to the permanent way, together with the necessary regulatory processes (with the local authority and the Office of Rail and Road) to see the extension opened for public services.
Cortonwood memorialEdit
In November 2013 the EHR received a lottery grant of £50,000 to finance the provision of a Coal Mining Memorial Park at Cortonwood Colliery,[3] a nationally important site, where the 1984/5 Miners Strike began. The project was completed in November 2014.
elsecar, heritage, railway, located, southern, part, former, south, yorkshire, railway, freight, only, branch, which, from, elsecar, junction, mexborough, barnsley, line, peckett, class, 2150, mardy, monster, terminuselsecar, rockingham, stationcommercial, ope. The Elsecar Heritage Railway EHR is located on the southern part of the former South Yorkshire Railway freight only branch which ran from Elsecar Junction on its Mexborough to Barnsley Line Elsecar Heritage RailwayPeckett OQ Class no 2150 Mardy Monster at the Elsecar Heritage RailwayTerminusElsecar Rockingham stationCommercial operationsNameElsecar Heritage RailwayBuilt bySouth Yorkshire RailwayOriginal gauge4 ft 8 1 2 in 1 435 mm standard gaugePreserved operationsOwned byEarl Fitzwilliam Barnsley Council Elsecar Railway Preservation Group Elsecar Heritage Railway LtdOperated byElsecar Heritage Railway LtdStationsOne at Elsecar Rockingham station Length1 mile 1 6 km Preserved gauge4 ft 8 1 2 in 1 435 mm standard gaugeCommercial historyOpened1850Closed1984Preservation history1994Reopened2020ClosedHeadquartersElsecar Rockingham stationThe Elsecar Heritage Railway operated an out and back tourist train ride on a 1 mile 1 6 km section of the branch using steam and diesel locomotives previously running between Rockingham station at the back of the Elsecar Heritage Centre and Hemingfield Basin The railway was operated using a variety of different preserved rolling stock The EHR had planned to eventually operate the line into Cortonwood with a new halt at Hemingfield doubling the length of the line to two miles Contents 1 History 2 Closure 3 Motive power 3 1 Steam locomotives 3 2 Diesel locomotives 3 3 Other motive power 4 Coaching stock 5 Stations 6 Cortonwood extension 7 Cortonwood memorial 8 See also 9 References 10 External linksHistory EditThe line was built to serve Earl Fitzwilliam s collieries and ironworks which he leased out to local ironmasters It opened in 1850 as part of the South Yorkshire Railway known as the Elsecar Branch Following assorted mergers the line finally became part of the LNER upon formation of the Big Four The whole infrastructure was nationalised after the Second World War with the mines becoming part of the National Coal Board in 1947 and the railway becoming part of British Railways in 1948 The Elsecar branch closed in 1984 following closure of the final colliery on the line Restoration began in 1994 as a project of Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council and the line reopened as a heritage railway in 1996 operated by the Council The Elsecar Heritage Railway became the operator in 2006 1 Closure EditElsecar Heritage Railway was mothballed indefinitely when its operators surrendered their lease in November 2020 it was reported at the time that a commitment was made by Barnsley Council to reopen the site 2 Motive power Edit nbsp Diesel locomotive No 2895 Earl of StraffordSteam locomotives Edit The railway s collection of steam locomotives are used regularly for passenger services Sentinel 0 4 0VBT No 6807 Gervase Running number 10 Operational returned to steam in 2013 Sentinel 0 4 0VBT No 9376 unnamed Running number 7 Scrapped Sentinel 4wVBT No 9599 William Operational returned to steam in 2017 Peckett OQ Class 0 6 0ST No 2150 Mardy Monster Undergoing overhaul Avonside 0 6 0ST No 1917 Earl Fitzwilliam formerly Pitsford Stored Robert Stephenson and Hawthorns 0 4 0ST No 7386 Birkenhead Undergoing overhaul Hunslet 0 6 0ST No 469 Hastings Undergoing overhaul Diesel locomotives Edit The railway s diesel locomotives are used to operate both passenger and engineering trains Hunslet Engine Co 0 6 0DH No 6950 Louise Operational Yorkshire Engine Company 0 6 0DE No 2895 Earl of Strafford Operational Sentinel 4w Elizabeth Operational Other motive power Edit Wickham trolley track inspection vehicle In storage awaiting restoration Coaching stock EditCoaching stock is painted in British Railways lined maroon livery BR Mk 1 TSO No 3958 In service BR Mk 1 TSO No 4903 In service BR Mk 1 BSK No 35305 In service BR Mk 1 SK No 25562 In service Stations EditRockingham Terminus and headquarters serving the Elsecar Heritage Centre Hemingfield current temporary terminus with groundworks complete for proposed new intermediate station Cortonwood planned new terminus station on the railway s Cortonwood extension Cortonwood extension EditThe railway s extension currently under construction involves the reinstatement of two level crossings Tingle Bridge Lane and Smithy Lane The latter being a quiet road will be protected by manually operated crossing gates of traditional design Tingle Bridge Lane is a busier road and the railway is installing a semi automated crossing barrier system with barriers manually lowered from a signal box but automatically raised by track circuitry On 16 May 2011 the permanent way materials for the level crossing arrived and a donation scheme was set up to raise the remainder of the money needed Funds raised through this scheme have since been used to purchase barriers and traffic signals for the crossing ready for installation In August 2012 trial holes were dug to locate services under the road surface ready for the crossing installation to take place On 21 June 2012 the ground was cleared and levelled for ballast and track alterations in anticipation of constructing the station at Hemingfield currently the end of the line On 19 April 2013 the EHR installed the level crossing on Tingle Bridge Lane financed by a Director s loan and began extending the line into Cortonwood Colliery as the next step of the Project By June 2014 the whole track had been laid up to Cortonwood with minor levelling and ballasting remaining to become operational The railway is now engaged in refinements to the permanent way together with the necessary regulatory processes with the local authority and the Office of Rail and Road to see the extension opened for public services Cortonwood memorial EditIn November 2013 the EHR received a lottery grant of 50 000 to finance the provision of a Coal Mining Memorial Park at Cortonwood Colliery 3 a nationally important site where the 1984 5 Miners Strike began The project was completed in November 2014 See also EditEarl Fitzwilliam s private railwayReferences Edit Overview details at Yorkshire com tourist website Overview details at 1 tourist website Award reported by biglotteryfund org ukExternal links Edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Elsecar Heritage Railway Elsecar Railway Website 53 29 37 N 1 25 09 W 53 49374 N 1 41927 W 53 49374 1 41927 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Elsecar Heritage Railway amp oldid 1160542026, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
