It seems to be increasing rare that I take journeys by train these days, but a trip into Sheffield yesterday (A city I will admit to be hopeless at geography-wise!) saw the chance to take a quick fifteen minute journey along the Hope Valley line in a gentle rain.
It's clearly been far too long since I was last at Grindleford station. The semaphore signal on the Sheffield side that I'd always stick around to watch go into the danger position with a satisfying clunk has gone, replaced by a light signals. Don't get me wrong, there's no denying this is a much better improvement for driver visibility, even more so given the station is on quite a tight curve for high speed standards, but there's just something slightly... cold... about it. Perhaps once its weathered in to its surroundings I might think differently.
Interesting gantry style though, it has to be said!
Looking the other way, the accompanying signal box that used to sit on the curve has also gone with the modernisation programme. I do remember seeing an advert though in a local paper for the structure being listed 'for sale'. As with a lot of large, cumbersome items, it was advertised as 'buyer collects'!
A closer look at the portal for Totley Tunnel. Modern image modellers take note at the amount of debris left over from maintenance works.
Despite the passage of time, the station cafe still stands looking over the cutting next to the tunnel.
Signage around the station has also been improved. I didn't actually realise some of the terrace cottages were known as 'Midland Cottages'. A nice little nod the the original builders of the line.
Some of the signage has even been done in the British Railways 'Midland Region' style. I always quite like these maroon totems, they blend in quite nicely with their surroundings.
Another look at the road bridge. This is quite a handy reference for painting model stone - Note the amount of green!
Probably the biggest shock though came at Dore & Totley station. This section was notorious for being a bit of a bottleneck on the Hope Valley side, rationalisation had seen a double tracked station on a junction reduced to just a single track and platform. Seeing this new build platform no doubt creates some opportunities for speeding up services in the future.
You'll have to forgive the somewhat candid phone image - It took a long time to twig exactly what was different about the place!
And after arriving into Sheffield, I had just enough time for a quick nip into the new Rails of Sheffield 'satellite store' that has recently opened in the station. Signage towards it wasn't great (Follow signs for the taxi rank if you plan to visit!) but it was a very nice, and very welcome against the inclement weather, little shop. I cursed myself slightly that I couldn't buy anything large - I could have easily fallen for the Bachmann Railway Children set they had for sale in the preowned section!
Well worth a quick visit if you're passing through.
Next week - A return to modelling!
