What was this bridge over the "Little Don" in Stocksbridge for ?

[JS2021]

Has anyone got any info on this disused bridge in Stocksbridge ?

It is over the river "Little Don" just below Underbank reservoir's dam wall.
The bridge is on my 1905 map of the area, but not apparently going anywhere even then. It looks like a narrow gauge railway bridge but why would they build a railway when there was already a railway* in existence just over 100 yards to the north ? Is it an ex road bridge ? Did Manchester Rd go that way before they built Underbank reservoir (built 1897 to 1907 ?) ? I thought it went a bit south of that point ?

* Sheffield Corporation Tramway 1897 to 1907 ?

[Edmund]

A suggestion - for cattle to be moved between pastures?  May be related to the dam construction, loss of grazing area under the dam wall - hence Water Department paid for a high spec stone bridge?

OR:

The Water Department built a tramroad to serve the dam construction, work started in July 1897. It required several large cuttings, four large and three small bridges and a number of stone culverts.  The length was 3 and a half miles and the cost was £990 10s 1d.  It was in full operation as at June 1901. It was shown on the map as "Sheffield Corporation Railway" and ran between Stocksbridge and the quarry at Langsett, and ran some distance north of the area in question.

[JS2021]

12 hours ago, Edmund said:

A suggestion - for cattle to be moved between pastures?  May be related to the dam construction, loss of grazing area under the dam wall - hence Water Department paid for a high spec stone bridge?

OR:

The Water Department built a tramroad to serve the dam construction, work started in July 1897. It required several large cuttings, four large and three small bridges and a number of stone culverts.  The length was 3 and a half miles and the cost was £990 10s 1d.  It was in full operation as at June 1901. It was shown on the map as "Sheffield Corporation Railway" and ran between Stocksbridge and the quarry at Langsett, and ran some distance north of the area in question.

Thanks for your answer.

I'd have thought it is quite a substantial bridge if it's just to link farmlands !

The "Sheffield Corporation Railway" ran just over 100 yards to the north, it is also on the 1903 map you included but just above the section shown. It did occur to me that it could be a narrow gauge railway bridge for a temporary railway to build the dam wall, but how would it have joined up with the aforementioned SCR ? And in any case the SCR literally runs past the top of the dam wall anyway.

[Heartshome]

11 hours ago, JS2021 said:

Thanks for your answer.

I'd have thought it is quite a substantial bridge if it's just to link farmlands !

The "Sheffield Corporation Railway" ran just over 100 yards to the north, it is also on the 1903 map you included but just above the section shown. It did occur to me that it could be a narrow gauge railway bridge for a temporary railway to build the dam wall, but how would it have joined up with the aforementioned SCR ? And in any case the SCR literally runs past the top of the dam wall anyway.

Hi JS. You might find this of interest! In a writeup from Langsett Parsh Council:-

......  The extended line from Langsett was completed in September 1898.

......  2 locomotives were ordered to work the line. The LANGSETT for standard guage

and the LITTLE DON for the 3foot guage. The line was closed on completion of the dam in 1904.

                                                                                                       Ok Regards Heartshome.

[Edmund]

This photo is of the right area at the right time, and I think the bridge can just be seen behind the trees to the right of Bridge Farm and below the bigger road bridge in the embankment:

[Edmund]

I think the bridge is an aqueduct that carries the Langsett Trunk Main 33" water pipe across the Little Don.  See map below and zoom:

[Heartshome]

23 minutes ago, Edmund said:

I think the bridge is an aqueduct that carries the Langsett Trunk Main water pipe across the Little Don.  See map below and zoom:

Good call Edmund! looks most likely reason!

[rover1949]

Now that is a very interesting map.

Does the Ecclesfield Tank still exist? It doesn't appear to be connected.

[JS2021]

22 hours ago, Heartshome said:

 toHi JS. You might find this of interest! In a writeup from Langsett Parsh Council:-

......  The extended line from Langsett was completed in September 1898.

......  2 locomotives were ordered to work the line. The LANGSETT for standard guage

and the LITTLE DON for the 3foot guage. The line was closed on completion of the dam in 1904.

                                                                                                       Ok Regards Heartshome.

Thanks H.

I have previously added to my most valued book (the Cobbs historical rail atlas) the standard gauge line to Langsett (built for the constr of the reservoir) ending at Langsett, and a 3ft gauge line built from there to the far side of the reservoir. 

Since Langsett reservoir was built 1889 to 1904/1905 (whereas Underbank was 1897 to 1907) that info could be for SCR ?

[JS2021]

9 hours ago, Edmund said:

I think the bridge is an aqueduct that carries the Langsett Trunk Main 33" water pipe across the Little Don.  See map below and zoom:

Good guess, but it doesn't actually look like a pipe bridge, and in fact close examination of the approaches appear to be shallow embankments, as would be expected for a road or railway ?

[Heartshome]

19 minutes ago, JS2021 said:

Thanks H.

I have previously added to my most valued book (the Cobbs historical rail atlas) the standard gauge line to Langsett (built for the constr of the reservoir) ending at Langsett, and a 3ft gauge line built from there to the far side of the reservoir. 

Since Langsett reservoir was built 1889 to 1904/1905 (whereas Underbank was 1897 to 1907) that info could be for SCR ?

Ah! so it could be for the 3ft line then!! interesting!

[JS2021]

Just now, Heartshome said:

Ah! so it could be for the 3ft line then!! interesting!

The bridge may well have been built be for a narrow gauge construction railway, though it seems a substantial bridge for that, but the one your source was referring to seems to be the one for Langsett Res, not Underbank ?

[Heartshome]

1 hour ago, JS2021 said:

The bridge may well have been built be for a narrow gauge construction railway, though it seems a substantial bridge for that, but the one your source was referring to seems to be the one for Langsett Res, not Underbank ?

Mmmm!! ?? well I hope you can find verification of what it was actually for. Maybe try asking the 

Stocksbridge History gang, might be someone there who knows! worth a try.

[JS2021]

32 minutes ago, Heartshome said:

Mmmm!! ?? well I hope you can find verification of what it was actually for. Maybe try asking the 

Stocksbridge History gang, might be someone there who knows! worth a try.

How do I ask them ? Are there any of them on here ? ! ?

[Heartshome]

2 minutes ago, JS2021 said:

How do I ask them ? Are there any of them on here ? ! ?

Contact :-  STOCKSBRIDGE & DISTRICT HISTORY SOCIETY . They have some real good info writeups and brill Photos

[JS2021]

10 hours ago, Heartshome said:

Contact :-  STOCKSBRIDGE & DISTRICT HISTORY SOCIETY . They have some real good info writeups and brill Photos

Sent them a "contact us form" off their website this morning.

[Heartshome]

5 hours ago, JS2021 said:

Sent them a "contact us form" off their website this morning.

Be interesting if they come back with some news for you, here's hoping. 

[madannie77]

Not sure that this gives any clues, but it is a splendid image of Underbank Reservoir under construction, from the Stocksbridge History Society

[madannie77]

From Reservoir Railways of Manchester and the Peak by Harold D Bowtell (Oakwood Press, 1977)

"Although nowhere recorded in surviving minutes, it seems certain that the narrow gauge rail was laid down the main line for the first time during 1900.....this enabled narrow gauge trucks to run through from Langsett puddlefield, quarries and workshops to Half Hall, around Fox's boundary, and drop back down across the main road by level crossing to the Underbank embankment site and the bed of that prospective lake"

Unfortunately the map included in the book is not particularly detailed and does not show any rail line in the vicinity of Half Hall and the bridge in question. 

[JS2021]

3 hours ago, madannie77 said:

Not sure that this gives any clues, but it is a splendid image of Underbank Reservoir under construction, from the Stocksbridge History Society

Interesting pic ! What it is also shows is the kind bridge one would expect for temporary narrow gauge line, and it is much less well engineered the one we are trying to identify. 

[Heartshome]

Hi JS, if you have no response from Stocksbridge & Dist History Soc, 

try contacting the Stockbridge :-  LOOK LOCAL NEWSPAPER. It's published and distributed around Stocksbridge,

there is an address and contact phone number comes up when you click on.  Ok Heartshome.

[JS2021]

On 03/04/2022 at 21:00, Heartshome said:

Hi JS, if you have no response from Stocksbridge & Dist History Soc, 

try contacting the Stockbridge :-  LOOK LOCAL NEWSPAPER. It's published and distributed around Stocksbridge,

there is an address and contact phone number comes up when you click on.  Ok Heartshome.

No response yet H. TBH I seem to remember I sent them  a contact us form about something last year and never heard anything, it might even have been about th same thing !

[Heartshome]

10 minutes ago, JS2021 said:

No response yet H. TBH I seem to remember I sent them  a contact us form about something last year and never heard anything, it might even have been about th same thing !

Ok, try this guy :-   Dennis Pindar    at         d.pindar@yahoo.co.uk      he contacted me from the History Soc about

something I wanted to know.    Ok Heartshome

[JS2021]

On 11/04/2022 at 21:43, Heartshome said:

Ok, try this guy :-   Dennis Pindar    at         d.pindar@yahoo.co.uk      he contacted me from the History Soc about something I wanted to know.    Ok Heartshome

Hello H, Dennis sent the following info :

Thanks for your enquiry re the small bridge across the Little Don River at Stocksbridge ‘Top End’. I have been in our museum today with some of our members and no one can remember this being anything but access from one pasture to another. We have checked on the dam construction photos we have,  and as one of the other correspondents has intimated, the Sheffield Corporation line, an extension of the Stocksbridge Railway line was 200 – 300 mts further north from this bridge. We also have noted on the Samuel Fox works drawings of railway and properties that there is no evidence of any rail extensions at this point and Fox’s did not own any land where Bridge Farm is. Our best guess is that the bridge was built during dam construction as a ‘given’ or sop to the farm owner at that time. The banks of the river were widened and steepened to accommodate discharge from Underbank Compensation Dam.

Regards, Dennis Pindar, Chairman SDHS

My comment was :

Thanks for your E mail Dennis. Your suggestion seems the only game in town, though I still maintain that's a very substantial bridge for such a duty !

[Heartshome]

4 hours ago, JS2021 said:

Hello H, Dennis sent the following info :

Thanks for your enquiry re the small bridge across the Little Don River at Stocksbridge ‘Top End’. I have been in our museum today with some of our members and no one can remember this being anything but access from one pasture to another. We have checked on the dam construction photos we have,  and as one of the other correspondents has intimated, the Sheffield Corporation line, an extension of the Stocksbridge Railway line was 200 – 300 mts further north from this bridge. We also have noted on the Samuel Fox works drawings of railway and properties that there is no evidence of any rail extensions at this point and Fox’s did not own any land where Bridge Farm is. Our best guess is that the bridge was built during dam construction as a ‘given’ or sop to the farm owner at that time. The banks of the river were widened and steepened to accommodate discharge from Underbank Compensation Dam.

Regards, Dennis Pindar, Chairman SDHS

My comment was :

Thanks for your E mail Dennis. Your suggestion seems the only game in town, though I still maintain that's a very substantial bridge for such a duty !

Glad you got an in depth reply, at least everyone has tried their best to answer your query. Looks like Edmund was right! 

Regards Heartshome