Midland Railway Clowne Branch

The Clowne Branch is a lifted but protected former railway line in north eastern Derbyshire, England.

Midland Railway Clowne and Doe Lea Branches

Legend Key Open ex-MR Lines Closed ex-MR Lines ex-LNER Lines Clowne Branch through Clowne & Barlborough Doe Lea Branch through Glapwell ----------------- Context ex-MR "Old Road" to Rotherham Masborough ex-GCML to Sheffield Victoria Robin Hood Line to Worksop Whitwell Clowne & Barlborough Creswell Whittington & Barrow Hill Staveley Central & Town Langwith Whaley Thorns MML to Sheffield Langwith Chesterfield Bolsover Castle Station Shirebrook Palterton and Sutton MML to Derby Glapwell Rowthorn Tunnel Rowthorn and Hardwick Pleasley West Mansfield Woodhouse to Teversall Manor Mansfield Robin Hood Line to Nottingham (Midland) ---------------- Detail ex-GCML to Sheffield Victoria ex-LD&ECR to Spinkhill Robin Hood Line to Worksop Whitwell Barlborough Colliery Southgate Colliery Clowne & Barlborough Clowne South Elmton & Creswell Creswell & Welbeck ex-LD&ECR to Shirebrook North Hartington Colliery Bell House Sidings to Barrow Hill Staveley Central & Town Oxcroft Colliery/DP Seymour Colliery Seymour Junction Ireland Colliery Markham Colliery/Vale Coalite & Chemicals Bolsover Colliery Bolsover Castle Station Bolsover South ex-LD&ECR to Shirebrook North Byron Bricks Palterton & Sutton Ramcroft Colliery Glapwell Colliery Glapwell ex-GNR to Shirebrook North Rowthorn Tunnel Rowthorn & Hardwick Pleasley West & East Pleasley Colliery Mansfield Woodhouse to Teversall Manor Mansfield Robin Hood Line to Nottingham (Midland) ex-GNR to Nottingham Victoria

Construction

The Mansfield Lines Act of 8 July 1865 authorised the construction of the branch,^[1] along with others in the area which was undergoing rapid industrialisation, especially in the coal and iron industries.

The 5.75 miles (9.25 km) line was built by the Midland Railway from Seymour Junction^[2][3][4] on their Doe Lea Valley line to Creswell Junction,^[5][6] immediately north of Elmton and Creswell on their Nottingham to Worksop line, now known as the Robin Hood Line. It was physically completed by January 1872, but not opened throughout until 1 June 1875 and then only for freight, the sole traffic up to that point being coal from Barlborough Colliery.

The branch served three collieries - Oxcroft, Barlborough and Southgate^[7][8] - and one station, initially called Clown ("e" was only added to the village and its railway features in the 20th Century) but was later renamed twice, becoming Clowne and Barlborough in 1951. The primary purpose of the line was to give access from the east to the booming coal and iron industries in the Staveley area.

The line was steeply graded from both ends to its summit at Clowne. It had no tunnels, but required three substantial cuttings and a 70 feet (21 m) embankment. Further significant work occurred in the late 1960s when it was bridged by the new M1 Motorway.^[9]

Between 1896 and 1900 the LD&ECR built their Beighton Branch which both adjoined and crossed the Clowne Branch in Clowne. Relations between the Midland Railway and the new company were good. A connection was laid between the two lines in Clowne, running north west to south east, some distance east of both companies' stations. It was only ever used for freight and closed in 1937^[10]

The line has the Engineer's Line Reference (ELR) BAC3.^[11] Codes beginning "BAC3" appear on structures such as bridges which remain Network Rail's responsibility, even though tracks have been lifted.

Passenger services

Passenger services commenced on 1 November 1888, thirteen years after opening and sixteen years after physical completion. Three trains a day plied between Mansfield and Chesterfield, calling at all stations via Elmton and Creswell, Clown, Netherthorpe, Staveley and Whittington. A common thread between these stations is that every one of them was subsequently renamed at least once or, in the case of Whittington, relocated. The time taken for this sinuous 21 miles (34 km) journey was about an hour.^[12]

By 1922 five trains a day, Monday to Saturday, plied the route, ^[13] but this was the high-water mark. By 1952 only one train each way, Monday to Friday, served Clowne and Barlborough, timed to suit schools. That was withdrawn on 5 July 1954.^[14] The station's goods facilities closed in July 1960, leaving its sole purpose excursions, such as for football matches, and Summer Saturday holiday traffic, notably from Radford to Blackpool North. That called for the last time on 18 August 1962.^[15]

The last steam train to use the line was a non-stop enthusiasts' special on 16 October 1965.^[16][17] This train also traversed the Doe Lea Branch.

Freight

Freight was always the line's primary purpose. Barlborough Colliery ceased production in 1921 and Southgate followed in 1929.

Oxcroft Colliery, at Stanfree, survived until 27 February 1976.^[18] After it closed its facilities for loading coal onto trains were retained and developed as the "Oxcroft Disposal Point"^[19] for opencasted coal. The site had something of a Red Letter Day on 9 May 1992 when Class 58 locomotive 58 044 was ceremonially named "Oxcroft Opencast".^[20]

The site continued in railway use until Spring 2006, latterly to load coal opencasted from Arkwright colliery and brought to Oxcroft by road. This coal came off the short Oxcroft Branch at Oxcroft Colliery Branch Junction and traversed the Clowne branch for less than a mile to Seymour Junction, heading westwards.^[21] The track and loading equipment at Oxcroft DP was protected for some time, but by 20 July 2013 the track had been lifted and all structures had been demolished, though no attempt had been made to landscape the site or remove roadways.

Otherwise light engine movements to and from Shirebrook Diesel Depot became the sole regular through traffic, supplemented by occasional freights and power station coal diversions.^[22] This continued until the 1990s when an underground fire threatened to undermine the line, compounded by the expensive need to replace the points at Creswell Junction. These points were replaced by plain line, as were those at Oxcroft Colliery Junction. Superb images of the area are available on line^[23] but note that, as the aerial view on the site shows, "Oxcroft Colliery No 3" signalbox was near Barlborough Colliery, not Oxcroft Colliery.

At 20 July 2013 the track between Oxcroft and Creswell had been lifted and piles of concrete sleepers had been placed beneath overbridges in Clowne and Woodthorpe Road (between Shuttlewood and Mastin Moor) to deter wheeled access. Structures such as overbridges had clearly been maintained. The route remains protected from breach or encroachment.

Possible Future

The line from Foxlow Junction through Hall Lane Junction to Seymour Junction and Oxcroft Disposal Point has been mothballed as there remains the possibility of opencasting in the area. For example, in 2005 UK Coal (now Coalfield Resources), expressed an interest in extracting c530,000 tons near Mastin Moor.^[24]

The Doe Lea line South from Seymour Junction to Bolsover (now known as "The Bolsover Branch") has been mothballed as it runs through the new Markham Vale Enterprise Zone at M1 Junction 29A.^[25] It is hoped that someone will invest in this infrastructure to create road-rail interchange facilities. The Clowne Branch has not been removed or breached as it, too, might provide access to Markham Vale from a different direction.

A further possibility for the line, mooted by Derbyshire County Council should railway use come to nought, is to use the trackbed for community access and off-road leisure travel.

References

Notes

1. Anderson & Cupit 2000, p. 40.
2. Anderson & Cupit 2000, p. 42.
3. Kaye 1988, p. 27.
4. [53°15′32.81″N 1°20′3.57″W / 53.2591139°N 1.3343250°W Seymour Junction by map and satellite]
5. Hurst 1987, p. 70.
6. [53°15′55.72″N 1°12′59.88″W / 53.2654778°N 1.2166333°W Creswell Junction by map and satellite]
7. Clowne Branch with colliery to the right: via picturethepast
8. Bower 1993, p. 25.
9. [53°16′10.98″N 1°18′15.96″W / 53.2697167°N 1.3044333°W M1 Bridge over Clowne Branch by map and satellite]
10. Booth 2013, p. 35.
11. ELR Codes and Descriptions: via www.railwaycodes.org.uk
12. Hurst 1987, p. 67.
13. Bradshaw 1985, p. 660.
14. Kingscott 2007, p. 137.
15. Hurst 1987, pp. 70&53.
16. Hurst 1987, p. 79.
17. DVD 2004.
18. Hurst 1987, p. 68.
19. Oxcroft Disposal Point in late BR days: via wikimedia
20. Kelly 1992, p. 5.
21. Hurst 1987, p. 71.
22. mgr train coming off the Clowne Branch at Creswell Junction: via flickr
23. Oxcroft No.3 Signalbox: via signalboxes
24. Potential opencasting: via coalfieldresources
25. Markham Vale Enterprise Zone: viasheffieldenterprisezone

Sources

• Anderson, Paul; Cupit, Jack (2000). An Illustrated History of Mansfield's Railways. Clophill: Irwell Press. ISBN 1-903266-15-7.
• Booth, Chris (2013). The Lancashire, Derbyshire and Lincolnshire Railway A pictorial view of the "Dukeries Route" and branches. Blurb. 06715029.
• Bower, Alan (1993). North Derbyshire Collieries on old picture postcards. Keyworth, Nottingham: Reflections of a Bygone Age. ISBN 0 946245 78 9.
• Bradshaw, George (1985) [1922]. July 1922 Railway Guide. Newton Abbott: David & Charles.
• DVD (2004). East Midlands Steam, Marsden Rail 26. Bradford: Marsden Rail.
• Hurst, Geoffrey (1987). The Midland Railway Around Nottinghamshire, Volume 1. Worksop: Milepost Publications. ISBN 0-947796-05-3.
• Kaye, A.R. (1988). North Midland and Peak District Railways in the Steam Age, Volume 2. Chesterfield: Lowlander Publications. ISBN 0 946930 09 0.
• Kelly, Peter (July 1992). Kelly, Peter, ed. "General News". The Railway Magazine (London: IPC Magazines Ltd) 138 (1095). ISSN 0033-8923.
• Kingscott, Geoffrey (2007). Lost Railways of Derbyshire. Newbury: Countryside Books. ISBN 978 1 84674 042 8.

External links

• The Clowne Branch on old O.S. Map: via npemaps
• Seymour Junction north eastwards: old maps via Old-Maps
• Creswell Junction north westwards: old maps via Old-Maps

Other Reading

• Midland Railway System Maps (The Distance Diagrams), volume 2 - Leeds to Leicester and branches; Derby to Manchester and branches; Cheshire Lines (1909-1923 ed.). Teignmouth: Peter Kay. 1998. ISBN 1-899890-17-3.