Tinsley Yard and the Sheffield District Railway

[Paolo Coopio]

Im sure there are many memories of the old Tinsley Yard. It's heyday was slightly before my time, although I do remember going to the last few open days growing up. 

The Sheffield District Railway is a fascinating story. Some of it still used. Some of it left waiting to maybe one day be reclaimed and some of it wiped out. 

 

Ironically, it's been in the news this week that the Meadowhall Rd bridge may be taken down. 

[Bildeborg]

I can't speak of Tinsley Yard itself, but when I was briefly lodging with a mate on Hatherley Road, we used to catch the bus into town for work by a heavily fenced off compound that was chock full of old steam locomotives waiting to be scrapped!

This would have been in the early 1980's. 

BTW, what a superb video montage you have created there. 

[George]

First class job Mr Cooper . . . Used to work at Tinsley 70s and 80s . . . People used to come from all over the world to vhew th place . . . All part of the Great Privatisation Plan I'm afraid . . . The costs to make the place and keep it running were astronomical . . . Made a lot of people wealthy . . . The s steel Beeching plaque of Tinsley AdminBlock walk (wherever it went to) must itself be worth a tidy sum . . . Your dedication is appreciated . . . 

[George]

Soz about misprints Mr Coopio . . . Cat interfering . . . 

[Athy]

On 03/06/2022 at 12:10, Bildeborg said:

a heavily fenced off compound that was chock full of old steam locomotives waiting to be scrapped!

This would have been in the early 1980's. 

 

Wow, I wish I had seen those! I wonder if any of them, like so many from the Barry scrapyard in Wales, were bought for restoration and preservation. Enthusiasts of the time must have been aware of them.

 

Someone on here will know - and perhaps someone has photos of this compound. I guess if it was by the L.M.S. line it would have been a Midland compound....

[Laz]

My father worked as a shunter in Tinsley yard back in the early/mid 60's, he went on to run his own yard as a grade 'C' supervisor ( Lincoln), I remember he used to take me when he collected his wages, he always got a lift on a steam engine, I always remember the sound and smell of the steam, some happy memories, being on the footplate was something else, very exciting to a young lad.

[Lysanderix]

In the 1960s Sheffield was responsible for around a tenth of all freight traffic in the UK. A plan was introduced to concentrate this in a new marshalling yard and close the rest of the areas goods yards. Tinsley was opened in 1965 with hump shunting and unique ( class 13)dedicated master and slave diesel units in use. By this time ,steam was almost finished in the UK ( the last BR train ran on 11/08/1968) .A diesel depot was built adjacent to the yard.

It was all for nought as twenty years after opening British Rail abandoned most of its freight business and the yard was slowly run down and closed.

[Athy]

The "Twenty Guinea Special", I think that last train was called. That seemed an exorbitant fare at the time. These days, you wouldn't get very far on the railways for twenty guineas.

[Lemmy117]

5 hours ago, Athy said:

The "Twenty Guinea Special", I think that last train was called. That seemed an exorbitant fare at the time. These days, you wouldn't get very far on the railways for twenty guineas.

A bit cheaper than that, it was the Fifteen Guinea Special.

Nigel L

[Lemmy117]

Just now, Lemmy117 said:

A bit cheaper than that, it was the Fifteen Guinea Special.

Nigel L

Even when Tinsley yard was opened it was already nearly obsolete, BR was heading towards block train and Freightliner operations, wagon load was seen as inefficient. Interestingly of all the hump yards built, Tinsley was probably the most technically advanced with one of the first installations of the Dowty hydraulic retarders to control the speed of the wagons after going over the hump.

Nigel L

[ewanarm]

2 hours ago, Lemmy117 said:

Even when Tinsley yard was opened it was already nearly obsolete, BR was heading towards block train and Freightliner operations, wagon load was seen as inefficient. Interestingly of all the hump yards built, Tinsley was probably the most technically advanced with one of the first installations of the Dowty hydraulic retarders to control the speed of the wagons after going over the hump.

Nigel L

And it was home to the unique Class 13 shunter that were specifically designed for shunting in the hump yard

[Lysanderix]

As a young, enthusiastic, small steelworks manager I was responsible for introducing Freightliner movements of our steel bars to customers in Glasgow and , if memory serves me correctly…London and Exeter. As a “ jolly” I had an individual guided tour around the fairly recently opened Marshalling yard *and all I recall was a positive attitude toward the future. Of course, at that time…the late 1960s….Sheffield had a very busy local economy with bulk steel , engineering products and coal movements as well as of general freight.

Road transport ,with door to door delivery ,saw the death knell of rail movements for small( ish) consignments….although British Road Services still operated the road equivalent of freight depots….”grouping” small individual consignments into a larger movement.

* I “ cabbed” a class13!😛😊

[Athy]

18 hours ago, Lemmy117 said:

A bit cheaper than that, it was the Fifteen Guinea Special.

Nigel L

Even more so, then. I wonder how far you could go by train for £15.75 (if my maths are correct) now. It was probably a week's take-home pay for many people in 1968.

[Lemmy117]

Well I just checked and I can get an off peak return from Woodhouse to Lincoln for £15.70, so not very far!

Average weekly wage in 1968 (according to Google) was £22.00. Apparently they hiked the price of the last steam special as there were so many applications for tickets.

Nigel L