Lost Woodhead - From Coal Super-Highway to Cycle Trail

Welcome to the final part of this Lost Woodhead series. The former major arterial route between the east and west. Responsible for moving countless volumes of freight (mainly coal) between the coalfields in the east and the hungry power stations in the west.

We've been following the disused railway from the outskirts of Sheffield at Deepcar, across the Pennines and we land on the west side of the famous Woodhead Tunnels. This railway carried hundreds of services every day and we're walking the final part through the Longdendale Valley towards Hadfield, where the abandoned railway suddenly returns to an active railway line for the last few miles into Manchester.

This section is called the Longdendale Trail, named after the chain of reservoirs that it follows downstream. A popular and well documented trail path.

We leave the former Woodhead station before passing through the collection of sidings on the western approach to Woodhead. We've covered the station and tunnels on previous episodes. After a short while, we see wide panoramic views of the Woodhead reservoir on the approach to Crowden station.

The trail passes Torside crossing before eventually arriving at Hadfield.

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The line opened in 1845, built by the Sheffield, Ashton-under-Lyne and Manchester Railway. It became part of the Manchester, Sheffield & Lincolnshire Railway in 1847. In 1897 it became part of the Great Central Railway (GCR) and it’s mainline between Manchester and London (via Sheffield, Nottingham, Leicester). In 1923, it was grouped under LNER (London North Eastern Railway). Before upon nationalisation moving under British Railways in 1948.

Before the outset of WW2, plans were drawn up to electrify the section of the GCR between Manchester and Wath and Sheffield. Steam hauled heavy freight trains were struggling over the steep gradients on the line at the time. The project was delayed by the war, but was completed in 1955. The overhead wires energised at 1,500 volts DC. Whilst this was tried and tested technology (and is still standard in the Netherlands), the comparatively low voltage meant that a large number of electricity substations and heavy cabling would be required. It also made regenerative braking by transfer of power from descending to ascending trains in the same section of line comparatively straightforward.

Having seen major investment in the 1950s, the line was controversially closed to passenger traffic on 5 January 1970. Freight continued until 1981 when the line was mothballed. The tracks were ripped up in the following years.

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