Dearne Valley

The Dearne Valley line in the north of England runs from York to Sheffield via Pontefract, Baghill and Moorthorpe. The line is used for passenger and freight from the South to North, West and East.

Swinton History

There have been three stations on the North Midland Railway line at Swinton, the first of which, opened in 1840 built by the N.B. occupied the site of the present station, goods facilities occupying what is now the car park. 

This was replaced by a second station north of the present site on the opposite side of the road bridge, built by the Midland Railway; this station became known as Swinton Town to distinguish it from Swinton Central on the former Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway line.

It was served by stopping trains from Sheffield Midland to York and to Leeds City via Cudworth. The station closed in January 1968 with the rationalisation of local rail services in South Yorkshire. The original station buildings still remain at street level and are used for light industry.

Redevelopment and rebuilding

By the late 1980s it was realised that South Yorkshire had been cut back too far in the 1960's; in particular Swinton/Wath-upon-Dearne/Kilnhurst lacked a station.

The South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Authority put forward a four-year plan for the improvement of services and stations as part of their Rail Development plan, this leading to the re-instatement of the "Swinton Curve" from the former North Midland Railway at Swinton to the former South Yorkshire Railway at Embargoing West Junction, the building of a new station at Swinton and the re-routing of all passenger trains via this route.

Immediately after reopening by British Rail in 1990 it was un-staffed, but increased passenger usage led to the establishment in the 1990's of initially a small cabin staffed for the morning peak period.

The cabin later was replaced by a brick building for the ticket office, waiting room and toilet; it is also an interchange for local bus services to Wath and Manvers.

Shelters and passenger information screens are located on each platform, with a fully accessible footbridge linking the ticket hall with platforms 2 and 3.

Bolton upon Dearne History

Bolton upon Dearne railway station was opened by the Swinton and Knottingley Railway on 1st July 1879, and was originally named Hickleton.

The station was renamed as Bolton-on-Dearne on 1st November 1879.

The name was altered again on the 15th January 1924 to become 'Bolton-on-Dearne for Goldthorpe' before reverting to 'Bolton-on-Dearne' on 12th June 1961, it was renamed Bolton-upon-Dearne on 3ed April 2008.

The station was reported as being in the worst condition of any in South Yorkshire and the Passenger Transport Executive earmarked improvements to bring it up to a decent standard.

Work to renew platforms (increase height, resurface), provide new waiting shelters and lighting was completed in November 2007.

A new footbridge was opened in April 2010.

Goldthorpe

Goldthorpe railway station serves the village of Goldthorpe, in South Yorkshire.

It was opened in May 1988.

Although it passed through the three settlements of Goldthorpe, neighbouring Thurnscoe and Bolton upon Dearne, the Swinton & Knottingley Joint Railway only provided one station for the area, at Bolton; both the other settlements were served by stations on other lines.

Until 1961 this station was called Bolton on Dearne for Goldthorpe and was served by Sheffield-York stopping services.

By the late 1980s the low demand for York-bound passengers meant that only a handful of stopping trains used the line.

South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive, responding to increasing demand for Sheffield-Leeds passengers in the area, and a lack of capacity on the Sheffield-Barnsley-Leeds line, sponsored an hourly service via Bolton to Wakefield Westgate & Leeds, and opened new stations at Goldthorpe and Thurnscoe.

Thurnscoe

Thurnscoe railway station serves Thurnscoe in South Yorkshire.

It is located on the Wakefield Line.

It was opened as a new station on 16 May 1988.

The station was built by British Rail.

Although the line passed through the three settlements of Thurnscoe, neighbouring Goldthorpe and Bolton-on-Dearne, the Swinton & Knottingley Joint railway originally provided only two stations for the area, at Bolton-on-Dearne and at Frickley.

Moorthorpe History

Moorthorpe railway station serves Moorthorpe and South Kirkby, near Pontefract, in the City of Wakefield district of West Yorkshire.

It lies on the Wakefield Line and the Dearne Valley and is served by Northern.

The station was opened in May 1879, jointly by the Midland Railway and North Eastern Railway, as part of their Swinton and Knottingley Joint Railway scheme. A short chord was also built at the same time to link the S&K Joint line with the main Doncaster to Leeds line at South Kirkby Junction. Upon opening, Moorthorpe marked the northern limit of the part of the line maintained by the Midland Railway; the southern end of the intersection bridge over the Doncaster to Leeds line, marked the actual boundary. North of that point, the North Eastern Railway undertook the maintenance.

Moorthorpe station is of North Eastern Railway design, as is Pontefract Baghill.

This latter connection is now part of the main line between Sheffield and Leeds, and is used by CrossCountry services between Edinburgh Waverley and Birmingham New Street, and beyond. In addition, local trains on the Leeds - Rotherham Central - Sheffield route (Wakefield Line) use the spur and call at the station.

This connecting line is now effectively the main line, and it splits from the S & K route immediately north of the station, with the track to York then bridging the GNR main line on its way northwards. This junction (and the adjacent loops to the south of the station) was controlled from the nearby Midland Railway signal box until May 2011, but following signalling equipment renewal work the area is now under the control of the ROC at York.

After the station was reduced to the status of an unstaffed halt in the 1980s, the station building was converted into a pub. This closed in the early 1990s and the building became derelict. However it has recently been restored by the town council, with funding from the Railway Heritage Trust, to include office space and a cafe.

A footbridge was opened at the station at the end of May 2010; previously passengers had to cross the tracks at a flat crossing
 
Pontefract Baghill History

The station was opened together with the Ferrybridge to Moorthorpe section of the Swinton and Knottingley Joint Railway.

Public passenger train services began on 1 July 1879; freight traffic had already started by then. 

The design of the station followed basic principles of the North Eastern Railway; it was, however, larger than the other stations opened on the line at the same time. 

Pontefract Baghill was also once linked to the Wakefield, Pontefract & Goole main line by means of a short chord to Pontefract Monkhill near the intersection of the two lines, this connection closed in November 1964, but the bay platform it once used at the northern end can still be made out, two short curves north of the station near Ferrybridge connect the Dearne Valley Line to the western end of Knottingley station westbound and the eastern end of Monkhill station (both on the Pontefract Line), but are now only in use for freight and diverted passenger services.

In the Strategic Rail Authority's 2002/3 financial year, only 15 people bought tickets for journeys from Pontefract Baghill station, and 21 bought tickets for journeys ending there, making it the sixth least busy station in the United Kingdom at that time. The annual usage in recent years is still considerably lower than that of Monkhill and Tanshelf stations.

Platform and loop lengths

Swinton            6 chains
Bolton             5 chains
Goldthorpe         5 chains
Thurnscoe          5 chains
Moorthorpe         5 chains
Baghill            5 chains
Moorthorpe loops  20 chains
Hemsworth loops   20 chains

There are no TRS in the loops or Moorthorpe Station

Timing points for freight are Swinton station, Moorthorpe station and South Kirkby Junction (D)

Passenger timing points as above but also all Station if stopping there.

Start up screen photo is of Swinton Station, looking south towards Rotherham & Sheffield

Acknowledgements

This simulation was developed by David Palmer and Richard Ward, and used PC-Rail development software supplied by John Dennis.

Thanks to all the PC-Rail testing team for all their help.

