NORTH STAFF. RAILWAY. LEEK TO STOKE LINE. Abandoned Railways.

[Music] hello and welcome to our latest video today we'll be traveling the line between leak and stoke this was on the north staffordshire railway we'll be going over three sections the first between leak and lee brook this was called the chernik valley railway then we do the lee brook to milton junction this was called the leak branch then we'll do the milton junction to stoke which was identified as the bidolf valley branch line so come on let's get on with the trip well here we are again another day another trip so today we're going to be traveling to lake to stoke this is the site of leak station at the moment as i say it's a supermarket it's a very big station and had a lot of sidings but this is where it used to be let's get down there see what extra clues we can find so this is the uh pathway that went down to the station but also if you noticed on the side there was another pathway that also led to another part of the station complex hopefully if you can look ahead you can see where we're heading for next you can see a bridge that is where the line is going to lead us to next so we're looking back now at the station this is the line that went up to north road eventually on the manchester main line if you notice here's some steps these went to the actual station itself i'm sure we can superimpose a picture to show you on that so on the uh left here this is where all the freight lines used to be and there was a signal box down at the bottom so like say this is where the main station was and on the left we also had some sidings just like the station was enclosed by all these good sidings it was a very very busy terminal so like i say that was the site of leek railway station and this is the line going on to stoke and beyond so this looks like the original route this looks like an add-on you know to make it a lot wider now i did hear the preservation society were hoping to build an extension to their current railway and bring it up to leak does that mean they're going to be coming up this road are they just going to be shot i don't think there'll be any way through there looking at the property ahead yeah painful as it may seem this is the root of the railway not very wide ouch that's better back to a railway line again let's keep going yeah i've been traveling it's about half a mile now this is a lovely uh section you've got the golf course on one side and pure countryside on the other side so if you do consider doing the preservation line up here it'd be absolutely brilliant views for the passengers look at that little beauty eh ebar gum that looks fantastic look at the way the chips those four navies they certainly got the money's worth out of them here hey we're not gonna go around this mountain were they there she is from the other side just as rugged and what i found a bit of track this track wide track i found on the trip yes this is the sign of things to come looks like we've got some uh track here big reason someone's just lifted a bit of it out but this looks like the end of the line is this the running line that goes all the way through to stoke i've been told about i hope so this looks very promising yep this was the start of the large complex called cheddleton junction so this was start of a triangle that went off the turnip valley line and it eventually led up to cold and quarry and to the water house station now this was an important station because it was also the start of a narrow gauge which was run by the dairies and it went as far as hume end i think this opened around the 1900s and finished around 1930 odd just before the war as you can see here you can still see some of the sleepers that were part of the original line leading up to that preservation society ahead here we have it time to come by double lines straight through unfortunately now the preservation society have uh killed the link hmm so here's the other side of that triangle so this nearest line that we're looking at is the leak line the line that we'll be walking unfortunately the preservation society will put a big massive fence up which won't allow us to pass and that's why we've had to take this side route via a field let's get back online eh and here we have it the branch line that will take us to stoke and from what i've been told the track is in situ all the way there it's just very seriously mothballed in certain sections let's keep going and let's trace it along so while i've been told this line has been uh partially maintained by the preservation society i think they're hoping to open this line up to uh ending i'm not sure we'll certainly see how the condition of the track turns out but it looks pretty sound at the moment so while researching this line i had some conflicting reports certainly on the maps because certain sections showed it's been a single line whereas in other dates it showed it being a double line and it does make sense it does look wide enough for a double line certainly at the moment whether that's going to get narrow as we get along the trip i don't know look at this beauty ahead yeah weight bars are in there and everything all we need is a single box to operate it very nice and that's what backs up my theory about a double line that crossover or did that actually go to two lines because we're coming up to the junction i should say plenty of discarded sleepers here there and everywhere but uh very hard to work out what's what but it's still all here and that's a lot device to make sure you don't go onto the wrong line nice hut and just a little further down the line we have another discarded semaphore and so the trap becomes a little bit more rugged let's keep going find our next station eh wow you can understand why they call this a valley railway look at all the way to ship through this it is it's like nature's one with each other look at that very nice that'll certainly keep them warm in the winter better no stupid concrete wanting it so like i say this has been mothball for quite a while and as you can see nature is trying to claim it back luckily there's no trees or branches to destroy the line okay sticking with our original argument that is definitely room for two tracks there not a single line like some of the maps say yeah we should be coming to walgreens station pretty soon we're very flush with the canal at the moment and here we have it wall grain station can you see the platform there fully moss excellent nice it goes all the way along all the way up to that bridge at the top i might have also noticed we was on concrete sleepers all the way up to this point now we returned to the wooden ones and they are they came for fun so there is a house associated with this i don't know that was an actual uh station masters so that is usually a sign that there was wires going underneath so there may be a signal box here or a subway going underneath to the other side of the platform this was definitely the original station buildings and that's where you're off to next i'd say took me a good five minutes at least to what the full length of this it is massive very nice here we go same argument again definitely room for two tracks even though the platforms only have one platform well compared to the start of the trip this track is looking very rugged at the moment i don't know why it's going to stay in this condition or whether it's going to get worse say i'll soon find out that you're reaching this point now you can hardly see the track i thought this was all cleared all the way up to uh stoke here we have our next bridge so the next uh station up will be ending in fact i have been noticing for quite a while now these little funny markers what are these all about you clear one bridge and then you hit another typical like i say we're just a disused line going through the farmer's fields at the moment there's no railway structures to show you other than the uh rusty track here no semaphores or anything it's just a straight connection like you say it looks like it was the main line that went to to stoke i think it was called the leak branch not long to go now just around this corner then we're at the next station end and station which i believe was a single platform station again so bring it on that's what we just walked and here we're coming up to ending station and it looks like it's in pretty good condition nice station it looks like these buildings in use actually station kitchen wow well done so why i'm keeping you on focus here because surely that's not original i hope it is but wow certainly beating the test of time if it is here she is at the back obviously this was the good line etcetera and this is the hell to come so like you say this line has been preserved well by the preservation society up to the end of this station then it's old rough school so it looks like we're back to the old trekking mate although the track is there it looks like we're going to lose it's going to try and camouflage itself let's see how it develops so we just cleared the station and apparently there was also a very small siding here on the left it was called a wharf that went down to where the um canal boats hang around did i find some track in the general direction there whether this was actually part of the original uh war sidings or not i don't know actually that's where our track is that's where we're going so we're doing this walk in late spring so luckily you can still see the track i think in a couple of weeks time that will be invisible full of all this foliage and rubbish so consider this a blessing at the moment yeah this reminds me of the walk i did when i went skeleton junction to caddy's head it's the track is there but nature is slowly trying to get it back so if you notice this pathway coming off this pathway is in fact the old branch line that used to go to victoria mill you to cross the canal here and go along the other side of the bank alongside what was originally victoria miller i took on board what you guys said about bringing your sacateurs well there's no way i'll be able to hack through that this is where the track is and that's where it's going not a lot of clues around here that's a warning of the crossing ahead all right let's keep going mate oh it looks a bit rough here very close to a farmer and his fields show me the way on to this it's a very wet route at the moment because it looks like it is drying up at the moment on this section anyway so let's keep walking and see if we can reach our next station eh yeah there she is determined to stay and it looks like there's concrete sleepers so this ain't going to decay yeah it's certainly getting its own back now look at the state of it it is there i promise you as you can hear we have got drainage here running alongside the line if this wasn't here we'd have no chance this would be a swamp wow i'm not saying this is old track but look how flat that rail is is hardly anything left as you can see it's all still there just i don't know if you can tell or not but we are beginning to curve now slightly to the right this may be early signs that we're approaching the next station what do you call this an avenue of trees i feel like i'm on royal parade here let's hope there's a nice reward wait for me at the end and as if by magic it's all gone well the two houses that is looks like the guy was sick of uh seeing all that foliage but look here we've got some uh sleepers spare sleepers oh and look here yeah signaling i think we're near a station mate yeah got very large embankment very close to the line i wonder if this was the remainder of the station in fact it looks like you're somewhere else up ahead i'll check that first yeah so that's a go we found the station this is the site of the station and i can see the tunnel ahead so the station ended and the tunnels started so it gives you an idea on how much how close they were to each other can't see any buildings yet let's keep looking so there's the track yeah there's a tunnel this is where the station was in fact if you look at the side here you can see some old bricks give you an idea on how people originally got here notice there we've also got a gate that came into the station this is the edge so like you say i cannot find any clues of the platforms looks like they were ripped up and no signs of any buildings either remember we only had one platform on this side but uh no signs of it and like you say here we are at the tunnel as you can see it was rebuilt to strengthen it and that is the station building nice condition it looks like that was the booking office waiting room and everything else so then went down to the station that was underneath this there she's looking back let's go through our tunnel spooky and here's the other side of that tunnel so bye bye stockton brook station let's see if we can find milton now yeah yeah there's a nice bridge i'm sure it's one of the many times we'll be crossing the canal on this route let's keep going perfect it might be a signal box nearby oh don't know what that's all about well it looks pretty recent-ish let's keep going i was under the impression this was a single line but why have we got a double line here quite a double bridge here i thought this was a single branch line am i mistaken look at that view in that amazing a the fact that i'm walking this line and everybody else is walking the line we're keeping nature at the sides so creating this fantastic avenue for anyone and everyone to walk down this is wonderful and i have noticed that certain branches that breach the track have been robbed off this is a sign that this track is being maintained i hope so yeah i'm feeling a bit guilty i've walked quite a while i'm not done any filming because there's nothing to film this is just the straight through line there's no bits and bobs on the side to show you there's no architectural features but this is a fantastic line and perfect for preservation so somebody snapped this up this gives you an idea on what is both sides of this track it's just crackle brackle and more brackle you would have no chance of walking this if these guys haven't looked after this section you see the section i'm walking it's like heaven yeah by looking at the width of this area i certainly say it was double lined it's too uh parallel with each other see the sidings are an alternative line let's keep going still a while away from our next station as you can see it's getting a bit muddy make sure you bring your boots out if you're going to do this walk no plimsolls on this trip looks like there's a bridge coming up let's check it out there she is pretty modern structure stainless steel girded chops all right so say we're just way past the halfway point between our last station and the next station which is milton let's keep it going mate as you can see she's getting a bit more overgrown at the moment but not too much to put you off the walk you can still see your way through that's the important thing here we have the concrete sleepers then we should only become wooden ones again old school yes i'm sure there was a double line here but there's our line second line and the bridge it's out so we hit our first major barrier of the day looks like we're not allowed over this bridge unless of course you leave the door open yep here it is a nice raw time bridge serves its purpose and again he's definitely double track maybe in a building at the side here i'm not sure yeah yeah it looks like this track is now well used yeah i think nature is winning this battle at the moment it's looking pretty well overgrown but there are plenty of users using this so let's keep going now there's plenty of greenery here but there is a bridge in the background there that is leak new road after leak new road that's when we'll be making our approach to milton well look at it we found it and here we make our way into milton and i am on the platform bring it on that's what i like platform oh yeah this is perfect hi it's not even been touched have normally been destroyed when they're on the freight lines but it's still here it's all there this is fantastic wow amazing so that shows you how far away we are from the bridge if you can see in the background and this is the station milton station nice station indeed compared to some of the stations we've been to it they're usually pretty sharp but look at this one it's going on and on and on like mainline status this wow and there's more well this day should ever end look how long it is massive look at that in the background you can still see where the original rocks were eventually built this station they were perfectionists they were fantastic so looking at some old map this is where you actually got onto the station right the side of the bridge apparently was a station building up there and effectively there's a walkway that came down and that's where you got into milton and now this is where the trip becomes a bit more industrial we're approaching stoke eventually but this is where they started having sidings holding sidings here there and everywhere i think there's also one or two callers coming up so let's see what clues we can find for them eh as you can tell with this boundary wall there was track here that's the track as it stands but there was definitely a track here it looks like there was some siding some loops i was probably uh freight loops to allow the passengers to get through it just goes on and on and on let's follow it see where it leads oh this looks a bit more serious let's see where it leads yeah it's uh just a fence to get over and i'm gonna get around that eh there's a bridge from the uh roadside and here from the other side let's say health and safety looks like it's a weak bridge we nearly lost the line but it just keeps popping up every now and then so let's find this junction like i say it's sounding pretty and dusty around here now so just walked up slightly from that bridge and it was around here we had a junction off to the left that went to the british aluminium works it was a very big complex we had its own personal sidings that went right round its border there she is that's the clue we were looking for straight up straight through into the aluminium works so this massive field which is now abandoned was where the aluminium works used to be e by gum yeah we walked up quite a bit now pretty close to milton junction if you look in the background we've still got that aluminium place you can still see the uh boundary wall for it this is a bits of airway junk here and there and everywhere and like i said it was definitely a another running track here maybe two let's keep going find this junction yeah it looks like the silver birch is trying to take hold that's what you get for not walking the line eh soon becomes unpassable oh dear he's stolen our sleepers cheeky buggers right so there is the uh the line that we're on and this is milton junction so it's at this point here that line split follows that route leading eventually to congleton and the main line to manchester and here it is looking back towards stoke this is a quirky little design very small lattice bridge very nice yeah it looks like we've got level crossing ahead let's check it out there you go i don't think we need to pull that to allow people to cross do we all right making our way to stoke yeah you can see where the old railway junk is look at it nicely piled up beautiful i should say it was double track so that looks like the excess from the second track that's been dug up so i should say the track's still there not in the best conditions but still visible yeah i do get the impression somebody's trying to open this line you know look at all this birch it's been cut the fresh cuts these they're trying to get rid of all this foliage in order to uh expose the line again is this your preservation guys or this network rail got a conscience ah i don't think so i've been walking for quite a bit now but this track is not in the best of conditions i don't know it's because it's been covered in all this moss and so it's decaying quicker but uh this will definitely need replacing it's very old schools look at the shoes on it and everything let's keep going yeah it looks like we're crossing the canal again nice raw iron bridge two lines i can now say the line is officially buried it's underneath all this crap good luck with digging that out here's the next bridge looks like it's unsafe again very nice yeah i say dodgy bridge don't go near let's keep going all right we're on the approach now to bucknell apparently there's some kind of a sawmill here as well as several sidings and of course the station so let's see what lies ahead hey oh dear looks like poison ivy's took over the track just see a bit of it there yeah but she's gone hopefully she'll reappear soon yeah it looks like we've got some kind of a footbridge ahead like old school as well actually it looks like a road yeah it's a road bridge going over yeah apparently we're very near a location where there used to be something called bucknell sawmill that was on the right hand side and that's coming up anyway there was also another siding that went through this park here at the side of it see where the fencing has changed direction that's where there was a siding that went up here's another one of those fancy bridges the sky's behind that aluminium there but like i said it was a siding and it started here and it went up there through that field round the corner so this is the location of the sawmill which later became some holding sightings for north wood collary yeah it did have its own sidings these look like some kind of imprints but yeah this is exactly where it was yeah it looks like there's a heavy-duty gate here that led into the yard wonder if this is where the railway line came through so around this location there was a hive of activity now there's some kind of a tramway that was bringing stuff down fearing it down and loading it onto the railways on this actual location where the sawmill was and everything and if you look over here does that not look very suspiciously like a location for a signal box certainly does so i'll put on the uh the diagram so you can at least see where the lines went and hopefully uh trace it yourselves but i just say industries destroyed what clues there are but at least you knew where it was right so just a bit further down i can see a bridge and underneath that bridge we'll hopefully find a station here is our next bridge and straight after this bridge we should find a station called bucknell and norwood station so this was the original bridge and the station started straight when this bridge finished so the bridge would have been started sorry the station would have started there as it would have done on that side originally there was a walkway from the original bridge that went down to the platform yeah that must be crazy been through a bit of brambles here just to find you a platform edge that's where she was and she went along like you say destroyed with the infrastructure that followed can you see that moth that was the platform yeah there she is that's a better idea i'll keep it filming yes yes yes that's better oh look at that that's a lot better yeah so where them bits of woods are sticking out that's where the uh platform edgings was yeah they're just a tiny bit more as you can see can you see them that's a lot better yes there's the platform right along this edge like that last station it's a pretty long station serve the needs oh look at it it's going off rages and like i say on this side this is exactly where that other platform would have been but there's no oh oh oh oh oh oh the phone whoa there sha ah she didn't let me down nice there's your platform on the other side excellent i can see him on the other baby as well nice that's where she finished and here we are at bottom flow junction this is looking to stoke and this is looking up the line here we are we're on the alternative line as you can see the track went straight ahead and it looked like it was double tracking it's a nice wide run that this line served loads of calories and eventually rejoin the main line at normacot and there she is looking back at the junction right let's continue on with the trip yeah you can tell this was a junction look at it look how wide it is all the way up there and this is our line going all the way up there perfect looking back on that junction area and here we are looking forward to where there will hopefully be a culinary and an ironworks pretty close yeah i've just noticed here the ground border has expanded we're getting ready now this is coming forward to berry hill coal and ironworks at a very big pit and obviously a very big ironworks with plenty of sidings let's see what we can trace so where you're looking at all these fields is where the slack heats were for the culinary all around here they were there was a pit called the railway pit there was a rose hill pits it was strewn with the industry they wanted coal they needed coal so they dug for so you can see how close a neck it is in here i can promise you now from here onwards it's going to expand big time yeah around this location there was some lines that went off on the spurs but it's all been leveled out you can't even tell where there was lines shame really as you say this is where all the pits were it's just open land now no sign of the industry past it's a bit sad wonder why they've done that very strange all right so we're coming up to the lashes bridge cast iron again so apparently the railway line originally went underneath here to serve the colliery this is where the line went under yeah from the looks of it looks like it was his own little private railway you know it wasn't connected to our line because it went from a cold depot that was up near the main road to the pit head so i expect they did very stuff up to the main railways itself but this is like you say just a an underpass but definitely had a railway track in fact motor tracks yeah but i do like the architecture on this very old school well done yeah you can see yourself this area is well used by railways and loads of sidings serving the industries right let's move on to fenton manor oh very nice couple of broad boxes let's check them out yes let in a bit of a gap in the middle here i think this is a single box you know yeah it makes sense i think we've got a signal box this is from the other side very nice local artists been at it again just to remind you what industry we're talking about yeah approaching the tunnels shortly and it's getting very jungle-ified it's still walkable though but my railways underneath all that it's an interesting sight in the middle of nowhere there's our line and this is the hell to come fenton tunnel which i believe will be flooded oh my godness i'm only just staying dry but i don't know how oh my god i'm nearly done it here is the tunnel oh i was told i'd have to go over but luckily i could just see the rails so as long as i stay on the rails i should hopefully stay dry just got out of balance now until we hit them cones wish me luck wow dry land at last all the crazy things you get up to eh whoa not that off my bucket list right let's get to the end of this tunnel here we go surprise surprise yeah we've got two of them this time it must be my lucky day well like you say this is the dry end of phenomenal tunnel let's go and find fenton mana station just leading up to it now look at all this fancy brick eh it certainly looks like we're getting ready for a station very ornate is this our platform edge could be you know she's climbing the embankment slightly it looks like some kinds of remains of an old wall here as well is that the original pathway that came down to the station yes yes yes look at that that's the original buildings look at the brickwork fantastic excellent so that is very close to where i just filmed that wall so come on to the station here go into the buildings go on the platforms oh this is super i didn't think any of this would be here it's even got the original signpost remember the ones that used to be put on there the uh the maroon ones excellent look at the platform edge here nice that is the original platform edge perfect look he's going a long along along that's exactly as it should have been nice shameless nothing on the other side it gives you an idea on where they were in fact there is something sticking out i'll check that out so here we are on the other side looks like some kind of tarmac or something being put on top of what was originally the station that survived whereas the bricks as you can see have been strewn here there and everywhere but the tarmac being as stubborn as it is has lasted a test of time but yeah look at it here's the birch taking over everything but you can still see the edging on the other side expect that was the original platform you know and again looking on the other side they're going to leak side is that one of them posts again whether you throw the maroon signs look all the brickwork underneath there's loads of it wow look at that a nice little bug box that must mean we've got a signal box nearby hi and the first of the bridges i've seen with a number on bridge number two what's mean we're near the end put the old signal in leading up to the junction yeah you can tell people haven't been walking this line nearly totally gone looks like there are one or two dedicated followers of fashion call it what you will we're getting very close now where the line curves around and joins on with the main uh line that went from london at that point there hopefully we should find some traces of where there was a very big engine shed nor staffordshire engine shed it was so here's our line but look at all the space the potential for space for sidings on both sides yeah you can certainly tell we're getting ready to hit the center and that's how far out from stoke we are looks like there was originally a sign there warning the people of something coming up ahead or maybe the name of the junction and so we make our approach to what i suspect will be bridge number one this just as i expected there she is very nice there's our tunnel from the other side and here's the final approach leading up to the uh main line now behind you there that used to be a massive locomotive shed massive it was loads and loads of sidings in fact on the other side it was also a roundhouse but there there used to be a very very big locomotive shed well as you can see network rail have been pretty busy around here in fact to be truthful this line looks like it's live well in fact the whole line in theory is live but this looks like it's been used i expected used for engineering purposes but yeah certainly some life in this baby whoa look at this we've got foliage on the line again in fact i did notice there's some track lifters up there i wonder if they're using this as like a test bed to make sure they're operational before putting them on the main line yeah that makes sense yeah so like i said this is used at the yard now by the mates at the uh network rail and that's where that track curves around hopefully joining the main line very shortly i'll give you one last shot of that then we'll move on to stoke station eh here's our line have been officially tapped off no one's making any of those trap machines and bringing them through here here's our line and this is where it joins the line through to stoke in fact this is where our line ends all together now been severed look at it ah well come on let's go and have a look at stoke station see what's down there and that's where we've just come from [Music] [Music] so i'm in the car park here at stoke station but originally this was all marceline yards there was loads of lines here as you can see with the space it's absolutely perfect to have the goods next to the passengers very ornate station there but also on a massive massive martini idea hope you enjoyed the trip guys i certainly did [Music] you

Channel: one manc

Views: 15,743

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Id: UcHUAPsjPug

Length: 43min 38sec (2618 seconds)

Published: Wed Jun 16 2021