Merry Christmas from Beighton

[Unitedite Returns]

As its nearly Christmas, I thought that we should perhaps have a couple of snowy views.

Snow at Christmas always seems to be in short supply in Sheffield, so I hope that these images taken in and around Beighton in January 1977 will suffice.

Merry Christmas.

First Picture

The former North Midland Railway (LMSR) line between Beighton and Killamarsh, looking back towards Beighton and the Brookhouse Coking Plant, on 08/01/1977. A great train-spotting site for those that remember it, where the former Great Central Railway formation (left-hand-side) and Lancashire, Derbyshire and East Coast formation (right-hand-side), sandwiched the former North Midland Railway (LMSR) line.

 

Second Picture

 

The former North Midland Railway (LMSR) line between Beighton and Killamarsh, looking back towards Beighton, on 08/01/1977. The 'bird-cage' bridge behind the train used to carry the former Great Central Railway formation over the former North Midland Railway, although by the time that this image was taken, the G.C.R. main-line to London, had been reduced to the status of a truncated freight only branch-line.

 

[History dude]

The first picture is a class 56 loco pulling MGR wagons on a colliery to power station run. The nearest thing you can get to a model railway on the full size thing. Since they went around in a circle from colliery to power station and back again.

The second picture is a class 37 loco pulling oil tankers.

Most of these classes of locomotive have now been scrapped, even though the 56 had only started to come in service the year before the photograph was taken.

[lysander]

The class 56 caused something of a stir when a number were built for BR  by Electroputere in Romania.

Snow always causes the UK to have problems....even a few m/m. Having spent several winters in snowy foreign climes where the white stuff is dealt with... be it on the roads, rail or airports... there is little wonder they are amazed at our seeming incompetence or unwillingness to invest in snow clearing equipment.

[History dude]

7 hours ago, lysander said:

The class 56 caused something of a stir when a number were built for BR  by Electroputere in Romania.

Snow always causes the UK to have problems....even a few m/m. Having spent several winters in snowy foreign climes where the white stuff is dealt with... be it on the roads, rail or airports... there is little wonder they are amazed at our seeming incompetence or unwillingness to invest in snow clearing equipment.

That's perhaps true. But the investment in other countries is probably due to the fact that they have longer spells of snow, which last on the ground longer than we do. Our biggest problem at the moment is not snow, but flooding. If you take the recent snow spell, it wasn't much and didn't last long. Perhaps if the weather alters to being colder and with longer periods of ice and snow, then it will be worth spending on the problem.

The Sheffield Flood is still being paid off I believe. That's the real need as a winters on the whole turn warmer and wetter and the summers get even more wetter!

[lysander]

The problem, when it arrives....as it always does... costs the country £billions yet we seem incapable of making sure we have sufficient snow clearing equipment and saving the cost of disruption..

I lived in small town Canada where the local Council was responsible for snow clearing. They used lorries ( granted heavy ones) which doubled up during the year on road maintenance and general Council use...and they plow...salt being of no use at the low temperatures they can have. Also many people have their own plow attachments and keep their own drives and streets open...But I agree flooding is becoming a major problem of developments on flood plains.

Merry Christmas 

[History dude]

It's only the gulf stream that keeps Sheffield a lot warmer than Canada. Otherwise we would be using ploughs and not grit to move the snow. 

[lysander]

Actually, the bit of Canada I call my second home lies on the same latitude as Southern France...but, I agree its the Gulf Stream that keeps Sheffield ( on a similar latitude to Labrador) that bit warmer.