i spent many a day at st james bridge doncaster with dave burgin and roy maskery, i lived near darnall station so i was brought up with the sound of trains. the master cutler, the south yorkshireman and the boat train veiwed from acres hill bridge,if you wanted to see the elete we had to go donny or if we wanted to go further afield york was a great day out. ive still got ian allens combined volume from 1957 it cost me a paper round price 10/6. 60162 st johnstoun was the only A1 not underlined in my book, i wonder how many of these books are about, ive seen one on display at york railway museum,we didnt get many streaks at darnall, sometimes very rareley we would see one in darnall sheds, i can still smell the age of the steamtrain.:)

As a child I can remember my father taking me to see the 'trains' at Darnall, we stood at the top of the drive looking down from Kettle Bridge onto the loco' depot (steam shed) seeing all the steam engines, and the coal hopper, what a sight.
Many years later, I worked at Darnall shed, but it was a wagon shop then, not quite the same exiting place I first saw.

I still have my Winter 1958-59 Ian Allan "Combined" - it also cost me 10/6. They occasionally turn up on Amazon, or via abebooks.com (such as this one (http://www.amazon.co.uk/British-Railways-Combined-1961-62-Allan/dp/0711025916/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1254469467&sr=1-5)) or they have been/will be reprinted such as this one (http://www.amazon.co.uk/British-Railways-Locomotives-Locoshed-1952/dp/0711034893/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1254468962&sr=1-1)

It was so very different 50 years ago but fortunately many steam locos. have been preserved and some of them continue to pull special trains. In November 2007 Mrs hillsbro and I enjoyed a day out to Chester behind 60009 Union of South Africa. Here is the same loco at Sheffield in April this year:http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u219/twigmore/60009Sheffield02.jpg and the "born again" A1, 60163 Tornado: http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u219/twigmore/Tornado3.jpg

Remember 'sneaking' into Darnell sheds, (early 40's) and being chased out but not before we'd logged everything in the sheds. Couldn't afford journeys to Donny but enjoyed watching at Woodhouse when at the Grammar.
Didn.t go to Woodhouse Mill tho', that was LMS, a bit like watching United, didn't enjoy it even if they lost
Eric

I've got Ian Allen's GWR, LMR and LNER loco spotters books from 1958 along with the loco shed book. Also his ABC of British cars. Thats when we had British cars.

My Grandma ran the pie shop on Darnall Terminus and would take me on Darnall train station.I knew the porters Kath Ledger and Lena Horne who would get me in the loco cabs and signal boxes.In my teens the station was beginning to run down but was still staffed and they knew I would be in on the last train and turn off the gas lights by pulling the chains on the platform and down the underpass.They would be waiting to lock the gates behind me at the top of the ramp.It was always a well kept station and won awards for both being smart and for the garden areas.The waiting room always had a lovely roaring coal fire in the winter months.I have so many memories,the fishermen at week-ends catching trains to Lincolnshire,the baskets of homing pigeons being loaded and the queues for the trains right out in to Station Road on works weeks.The Master Cutler which always belted through was halted at the station by a stop signal one day and I remember gazing in to another world inside the luxurious Pullman coaches.I lived on Nidd Road and was up at the sheds every day logging numbers.

Hi Chris
Tornado went through heeley on friday with four pullman coaches.
Happy Days

As a child I can remember my father taking me to see the 'trains' at Darnall, we stood at the top of the drive looking down from Kettle Bridge onto the loco' depot (steam shed) seeing all the steam engines, and the coal hopper, what a sight.
Many years later, I worked at Darnall shed, but it was a wagon shop then, not quite the same exiting place I first saw.

hi ,just joined the sheffield forum ,bringing back some good memories.i too used to go to kettle bridge to see the trains with my grandmother nellie cooper from harding street .

hi ,just joined the sheffield forum ,bringing back some good memories.i too used to go to kettle bridge to see the trains with my grandmother nellie cooper from harding street .

Well if you both log in to the Sheffield libraries photograph archive and type in Darnall,there is a photo of the Kettlebridge slope with a group of lads trainspotting in the 1950's,brought back memories for me!

hi, already seen the photo ,certainly a memorable view. thanks for that ....many thanks tanfield1

I feel I've stumbled into the enemy camp, all this LNER stuff. Our mis-spent youth was at Millhouses and Grimesthorpe. I still have all my Ian Allen spotter books dated 1945 and 1948 marked all of 2 shillings.
In hindsight the times wer'nt mis-spent, we learned the geography of England, how to read O.S. maps, how to ask directions, catch buses and write letters to shed foremen. We went as far afield as Glasgow and Shoeburyness !!
I'm sorry to say my grandson would struggle catching a train or writing a letter, maps?, he's not too bad.
Being an LMS must come with being a unitedite I expect, when you're born off Heeley bottom.
Bob.

Hi Bob - welcome to the Forum. Here's a photo (http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u219/twigmore/MillhousesStation.jpg) that might take you back..:)

Thanks for that Hills, that might have been taken even before my time !
But what an up-market signal box ! with a bay window ! I expect it's still there.
I would love to trace my old pal Derek Hughes with whom I covered the country and spent days on the Crewe footbridge. It's very sad, there's no guarantee they are still alive.
I did make a start converting my old slides to digi' but ran out of steam, no pun intended.
You may just smile, on my first date with my wife of 56 years, I took her on a bus to Toton engine sheds. Well it was a big depot !!
Needless to say she has'nt let me forget it !
Bob.

There are no trace of any buildings at this location now, all signalling is controlled from Sheffield.