I was at Sheffield station on Thursday early morning and it seems quite busy but not much in the way of shops and such, compared to Manchester Piccy.

Is it not due for redevelopment? Why is there no bins?
What happend to Victoria station? (i know it closed due to Dr Beeching) Where did the lines go and is it going to be reopened? Link the two stations by tram?

Originally posted by Bookey
Why is there no bins?

I didnt think any stations had bins????? Something to do with people planting bombs in them???
It is about time it had a major redevelopment. It kinda lets the rest of the city down.

The questions i have is - How the hell do you get to it now to pick people up/drop people off?

The station is due to be redeveloped, starting this summer. The entrance hall and shops will be extended to where the taxi rank currently is - work on the platforms and shelters have already started.

As far as I know, to drop off and pick people up, turn into the station just next to the taxi rank, although there is no through route for long stay parking, you have to carry on past Dyson house and turn left into Turner Street.

When the station works, including the station square, are finished, all traffic including taxis needing to access the train station wil do so at Turner Street.

Originally posted by fuzzy
The questions i have is - How the hell do you get to it now to pick people up/drop people off?

Follow the signs!

At the Sheaf Street end of the station, under the sheltered bit, is the disabled short term parking bays, and a stopping point for those dropping off without waiting.

Short term parking for those picking passengers up and long term parking for those catching a train is now in the brand new multi-storey car park. The entrance to this is on Cross Turner Street (off Suffolk Road/Leadmill Road), simply follow the signs!

Eventually there will be no access to the station from Sheaf Street.

Originally posted by mr craig

It is about time it had a major redevelopment. It kinda lets the rest of the city down.

You may not have noticed, but it is in the middle of a redevelopment!

The footbridge has allready been renewed, with lifts installed, and a new tram interchange, and work has begun resurfacing platform 2 and repairing the canopy. All platforms will have this work done by the end of the year. A new multi storey car park has been built providing a lot more spaces than the old pay and display car park. Platform 6 is to get a passenger waiting lounge.

At the front of the station the old pay and display car park will be transformed into a nice public square. The roads around it are to be changed to be less ugly and dangerous.

Sheaf House is to be demolished, and replaced with a new building.

Finally, the councourse is to be re-done with new shops and a new travel centre.

Although this sounds like a lot of development, the listed victorian structure of the station will be preserved.

There is a display on the station telling you what is planned, in two locations, the platform 1 waiting area and the entrance area on the tram stop side.

Originally posted by Andy C
Sheaf House is to be demolished, and replaced with a new building.

Sheaf, along with Dyson, may be redeveloped rather than demolished; these two buildings now form part of the e-campus project as the bus station is not being downsized as much as was first anticipated.

I don't think a final decision has been made yet.

Well, the exhibition shows a new office block type building in the position of Sheaf House with a cafe-bar in the ground floor, with tables outside on the square!

Not sure about Dyson House though.

Where is/was this exhibition?

Originally posted by mr craig
I didnt think any stations had bins????? Something to do with people planting bombs in them???

Indeed, although strangely I have seen a couple of stations that have a metal ring on wall to which is attached a large, clear plastic bag that acts as a bin. Seems like a good idea as then you can see what is in the bin and the station keeps tidy.

There are bins available that can contain the force of a bomb, by channelling the blast upwards [not good when there is a roof above though as it collapses]. More expensive ones get around this by having water in the lining of top of bin and this takes the energy of the bomb and you get a huge cloud of steam instead of a blast. Still scary though !

Mind you, as we have seen abroad, the modern terrorist isnt adverse to planting the bomb on board the train instead of on the station [more devastation and disruption this way] :mad:

Originally posted by dinp
Where is/was this exhibition?

Well, I say exhibition....it's only really a few display boards on a wall in the station! There are 2 locations, entrance on the tram stop side, and the waiting area where you go onto platform 1 from the concourse.

Originally posted by Andy C
Well, I say exhibition....it's only really a few display boards on a wall in the station! There are 2 locations, entrance on the tram stop side, and the waiting area where you go onto platform 1 from the concourse.

Oh i've seen the ones you mean - I still think Sheaf and Dyson are undecided on though.

The station square plans are all accurate, they're doing soil samples at and around Sheaf Square at the moment.

Sheffield Victoria was closed in 1970 and completely demolished in 1989; all that's left to mark its position are the station approach, the Victoria Hotel, and a stretch of railway line (now used for freight).

Both the Central Railway (http://www.central-railway.co.uk/) and Don Valley Railway (http://www.donvalleyrailway.org/) projects have discussed building a new station on the site.

The railway through Sheffield Victoria used to come from Manchester via the Woodhead tunnel, then down through Stocksbridge to Victoria, and on to Darnall, Woodhouse, Worksop etc. There is still a single track between Stocksbridge and Darnall for freight trains, until recently trains ran up to the Steel works at Stocksbridge.

Originally posted by Umeeksk
[B]Sheffield Victoria was closed in 1970 and completely demolished in 1989; all that's left to mark its position are the station approach, the Victoria Hotel, and a stretch of railway line (now used for freight).


Closed 2nd January 1970, but was pretty much dead after the london route to Marylebone was closed in 1966. It was partially stripped and demolished in 1980, and the overheard power lines were all removed, along with most of the running lines, after remaining almost perfect for 10 years after closure (strange). It then stood partially derelict and half stripped from 1980 for another 9 years.....odd history.

Just relating to the bin thing (sorry to deviate from the thread). I was recently at Edinburgh Wavely Station and asked a guard if there were any bins, to which he replied no and explained the whole bomb thing and then informed me I could just put it on the ground!! I felt like a right litter lout so just carried it home.

I didnt llive here when they shut Victoria, and every time I drive under the Wicker arches it sets me off wondering what its like up there.

Can you get up there still and is any of Victoria left?

Originally posted by hj dary
Can you get up there still and is any of Victoria left?

Yes you can, just walk up the long road to the Victoria Hotel, the station/platforms etc was where the new car park is for the hotel. There are still some old buildings left but not much.

Originally posted by chri5
Yes you can, just walk up the long road to the Victoria Hotel, the station/platforms etc was where the new car park is for the hotel. There are still some old buildings left but not much.

Anyone fancy going for a wander?
I promise to leave the axe at home.... ;) :P

I saw your posts and thought i would clarify the situation with regard to the woodhead route, and Sheffiled Victoria. There were plans to open up the line for trains carrying lorries etc, but these were shelved a few months ago as too costly. They were going to pass through victoria (now mostly demolished) and not stop.

The woodhead line still exists in a single track from the junction with the main line in sheffield, and continues up to deepcar, where the old brach to the steelworks has been bolted on to the line. It used to brach off to the right and go to manchester via penistone, but that was ripped up along with the other track in 1986ish. There are plans to re-open the line to passenger traffic from stocksbridge to sheffield victoria.

I am part of the group that wants to see this happen, and would welcome any support. Check out our site at www.donvalleyrailway.org Here you will also find some pohotos of Vicrotia's current state.

If you contact me, im sure we can arrange a little sneak look @ the remains of victoria, as i know a way to get to it without breaking any fences or anything like that.


Regards
Jonathan

Naughty naughty Johnathan, if your mum catches you you'll be in big trouble.

My mum already knows!

Plans for the new look outside railway station here

http://www.bbc.co.uk/southyorkshire/sense_of_place/sheaf_square/master_map.shtml
http://www.sheffield.gov.uk/index.asp?pgid=8767
http://www.sheffield.gov.uk/index.asp?pgid=30984

Originally posted by Bookey
Is it not due for redevelopment? Why is there no bins?
What happend to Victoria station? (i know it closed due to Dr Beeching) Where did the lines go and is it going to be reopened? Link the two stations by tram?

There are no bins in stations for security purpuses.

Sheffield Victoria was NOT closed by Doctor Beeching, Victoria was marked as 'to keep open' in the Beeching plan. It is even Beeching who openned UK's largest yard at the time: Tinsley Marshalling that served Victoria (as well as the rest of the network).

The best website on the woodhead route that went thru Victoria has to be the http://www.thewoodheadsite.org.uk/ which has all data of past present, photos, history etc on that line.

Originally posted by jonathanp1
[B]If you contact me, im sure we can arrange a little sneak look at the remains of victoria, as i know a way to get to it without breaking any fences or anything like that.

There are many places where you can enter the Woodhead line, Tinsley is so easy, and in many places, so is the line between Wicker and Herries road viaduct.
I wouldn't mind going to see Victoria, never seen it myself.

Anyone got tips on where to go to go on Wadsley Bridge Station (other than walking along the line from god-knows-where) ?

sorry to revieve this almost deceased thread, but if Captain_Scarlet wishes to contact me at jonathan@donvalleyrailway.org i will happily show them how to get to Wadsley Bridge station with minimal effort.

As this is a thread about Sheffield train StationS, I would like to reflect on the planners of the Tesco and Sainsbury's new superstores at abbeydale/archer road.

The plan was that there would be a new abbeydale train station, which led into town, and a footbridge linking the car parks. What happened to these plans? Also Heeley station (the remains of) is a very large piece of land. I have never been up there to see, but have walked around it many times. The railbeds and bridges are still there or their foundations are. This seems like a missed opportunity. To clear the land of buildings to install a new light rail or local slow line, would be an extremely expensive enterprise, but here we have space for the extra lines or line, as the route was expanded to 4 lines between 1902 and 1971. These lines which were the slow lines to hope valley had been taken up completely a decade later, but the bridges are still there. Now there is just 2 fast midland lines and a few sidings, seems to me a shame to waste so much land. Especially when there is so much debate about extensions to supertram and where the track would go.

I would suspect the scheme is probably dead and buried.

I remember a key part of the proposal to build the station at Millhouses between Tesco and Sainsburys was for a park & ride, and the park & ride bus was introduced in the meantime as both a stopgap measure to ensure the facility is there and as a barometer of likely demand.

As the current park and ride service seems to be a bit of a flop, I doubt they will risk investing millions into upgrading to a rail based park & ride.

Maybe worth sifting through the downloadable documents on the following websites

www.networkrail.co.uk
www.sra.gov.uk
www.southyorks.org.uk/pta/index.html
www.dft.gov.uk

I agree, that the current park and ride seems to be a bit of a waste. But that is because It is subsidised by Tesco and not sainsburys and only goes to the tesco, and I think just to the bus station in town.
I was hoping that a footbridge between tesco and sainsbury was built, which would mean that both stores could share the benefits of a park and ride, and make a great shortcut for local people.

But again my main point is a decent local service which could run from town to, say dore, with plenty of local stops. This would aid the abbeydale road corridor as this is terribly congested these days, mainly between sheldon road and archer road.

The SYPTE has a masterplan for the development of the rail network in South Yorks, which is very underdeveloped in comparison to West Yorks or Greater Manc.
It can be downloaded here http://www.sypte.co.uk/pdfs/T2020.pdf

The plan includes many new stations. These are

short term: Millhouses, Swallownest

short to medium term: Barnsley Parkway, Doncaster Parkway, Sheffield Victoria, Wadsley Bridge, Sheffield Airport (haha), Catcliffe, Finningley, Bessacar

medium term: Heeley, Totley, Stairfoot, Magna, Oughtibridge, Deepcar, Stocksbridge, Wath

Long term: Askern, Armthorpe, Carcroft, Ecclesfield, Haigh, Norton, Parkgate, Skiers Spring, Summer Lane

need yet to be checked: Balby, Barnby Dun, Bawtry, Rossington, Bradway, Moorends, Treeton, Tinsley

Now whether this ever takes off...

I don't wish to sound too cynical, but these aspirations come up in every transport plan the PTE produce, but never actually get actioned. In fact I'm sure I read somewhere that all the rail schemes have been dropped in order to focus on running the existing basic network successfully!

Incindentally a Bradway station would be brilliant for me, but a little unfeasible given the railway is in a deep cutting with steep sides, and a road one side and house the other. Would require deep excavations into the hillside, stabilising work, and lifts to get passengers down to the platform! Or is there any engineers that can tell me different?

Originally posted by fhain29
The SYPTE has a masterplan for the development of the rail network in South Yorks, which is very underdeveloped in comparison to West Yorks or Greater Manc.
It can be downloaded here http://www.sypte.co.uk/pdfs/T2020.pdf

I have had a look at this report and it appears to be about 5 years out of date.

Originally posted by Andy C
Or is there any engineers that can tell me different? Got any pics Andy?

Mr Strix

Originally posted by Strix
Got any pics Andy?

Mr Strix
It is extremly difficult to take photos of this section of the line, trust me I've tried.

If you're on Twentywell Bridge you miss the whole ravine as the line curves to the left and the houses and trees to the left block the view.

If you go on the island you can't see south because of foliage, and if you go onto to footpath to Bradway Bank you can't see because of a railtrack fence (the nasty ones) and once agian foliage not permitting seeing anything.

Only possibility, and I haven't tried it is on Twentywell Road.

Heeley and Millhouses is definitely interesting, but It'll never been done... I'd get a trainmaster or sommut instead of First's 7 day saver 'first week' if Heeley was openned, and do my shopping Millhouses using the same mode of transportation.

Utilising the line from Woodburn to Tinsley would also appear useful, either from the Woodhead or even from Midland, offering a rail link from Midland to Centertainement instead of the slow tram or bus.

The biggest obstruction to building a station on the Dore-Sheffield stretch is the fact that a loop would need to be construced to allow the stopping service for these stations not to hinder the express services currently using the line.

Mr Strix

PS why does Bradway need a station when Dore is so close?

Originally posted by Strix
why does Bradway need a station when Dore is so close?
god only knows...

Well, it isn't strictly necessary when Dore is so close, however Dore station is a bit away from where people live, and the walk from Bradway to Dore station involves walking down Twentywell Lane, which isn't pleasant in poor weather.

they did when the railway line to Manchester was beeing built think og putting an extra station where Baslow Road goes over the line where the Sidings are. It never happenned, but this place is very appropriate for a new station, and it's fairly flat too. they'd probably be able to retain the sidings as well.

who's heard of the latist plan for a rolling truck way that'll use the old track bed?

personally i think the new look station concourse and info screens on platforms looks great..finally (altho a long way behind catching up with Leeds and Manchester) altho the M and S outlet on concourse costs me a fortune!! lol

I didnt llive here when they shut Victoria, and every time I drive under the Wicker arches it sets me off wondering what its like up there.

Can you get up there still and is any of Victoria left?

There are also other stations on the old Woodhead line including Wadsley Bridge and Deepcar. Freight trains occasionally run to the Stocksbridge works, but there is no National Rail passenger service. At Wadsley Bridge, all the platform buildings have been demolished, but the platforms and single track still remains. You can't access the station from Halifax Road, because the stairs up to it have been bordered accross with a steel fence.

However, I do know how to get on to the line further up the track - don't you think Network Rail should be aware of this?!?!?!?

Anyway, when I went past there once, I saw a few teenage boys on scooters up there - who knows who else there is!