A Tale Of Three Bridges (2)

 Blame The Midland Railway!

In 1838, the Sheffield and Rotherham Railway opened the first train line into Sheffield from the north east. The terminus was on the fringes of the city just north of the road called Wicker.

A link was engineered with the North Midland Railway at Masborough some distance from Rotherham town centre. The Sheffield line continued to  more central terminus at Rotherham Westgate.

Clearly such a weedy link to what was becoming a major industrial city was soon wholly inadequate. So the Midland Railway built a brand new line north from Chesterfield and through the hugely challenging Bradway tunnel ...

... to serve a brand new Midland Station. The route was challenging but simple in one sense. Just dig a gurt big tube through solid rock then run the tracks alongside a minimalist river.

OK, it got a bit more tricky as the rails approached the city centre and that river had to be buried to make way for the station - but the approach from the north was tricky as well.

The new main line opened in 1870 when Wicker was demoted to being a goods depot. 

We will get to our Three Bridges soon, honest.

So let's let the train take the strain as we chunter cheerfully southbound to Sheffield Midland. In this Google Earth view ...

... we see the main line entering top right and making its exit bottom right. Bottom left is the square block that is Tesco on the site of Wicker station, passenger then goods.

It is just about possible to draw a theoretical straight line frim top right to bottom left, the route taken by goods trains to Wicker until closure in 1965.

Moreover, we can explore the 1870 new line c/o Google Earth as it approaches Midland Station..

So here goes! Here we may spot our three bridges ...

... two rail and one road as the River Don is crossed. Next we cross the Sheffield and Rotherham canal ....

... as seen from the canal towpath.

 Keep an eye on the chimney, far right. 

We burrow under the Sheffield Victoria line.

 Next we are below the Sheffield Parkway A57 ...

... noting one of many disused roads that once crossed the line. There will be many more! Our next bridge is Sheffield's Supertram, namely the route to Meadowhell and Rotherham.

Then cast a bewildered eye on even more bridges and arches where trains from the east join in ...

... and even more ...

... as the tram tracks to Halfway filter in.

The tram then crosses over to the east side of the big train tracks ...

... and we are at the throat of Midland Station.

And we are told that HS2 is "challenging"!

It should be a doddle compared with getting the Midland Main Line through Sheffield! And the railway companies were doing it all over the UK!

Tomorrow, at last, we get to explore the Three Bridges..

  Next Three Bridges blog : Thurs 28 May