1. The History
Back in 1961, British Rail opened a four-and-a-half-mile single-track branch line to the newly opened Bevercotes Colliery, linking to the network at Boughton Junction on the Lancashire, Derbyshire and East Coast Railway (LD&ECR) line between Chesterfield Market Place station and Lincoln. Bevercotes was the first fully automated colliery in the UK and also the first to be fully equipped to load coal into Merry-go-round trains . Trains were fed by four 35-ton weigh hoppers, in turn fed from a 4,000-ton storage bunker built by Head Wrightson.
The branch left the LD&ECR about a kilometre west of Boughton and turned north. Half of the line was in a cutting, half on a bank (the former to preserve farmland) and included bridges over the River Maun and River Meden, 2 roads and seven bridges over the railway. The 350-yards (320m) Broughton Brake tunnel (known locally as Mummies Tunnel) was just over two miles along the branch. It had portals of brick whilst the interior was near-vertical brick side walls. incorporating regular refuges and a segmental arch concrete roof.
The line closed temporarily between January 1962 and August 1965 and saw its last train on 18th June 1993 when the colliery closed and following the removal of coal stockpiles. The branch, including the tunnel, was brought back into use as part of a Network Rail test track during the summer of 2012. The tunnel was to be used as a training environment for on-track machines, but the need for re-ballasting meant this never happened so the track was lifted circa 2017.
2. The Explore
Last time I came here it was on a dark and cold eve in December 2018. The light was poor and my pictures came out pretty poorly. Also, I’d missed the boat a bit as the track had been lifted the previous year. Been meaning to go back for a revisit for ages and finally got round to it.
Since I last went, they have erected a number of palisade fences and after being a bit slow in the up take, though this place had defeated me. The tunnel appeared to have been sealed up plus I was struggling to get down to the floor of the steep cutting the tunnel is in. I was just about to go went I looked at the most obvious way down which was doable, then got to the tunnel to find both ends open.
In the end it was a relaxed mooch and was glad my efforts were not in vain! And that I managed to get a much better set of pictures.
3. The Pictures
To the north, the cutting is moderate and the ballast means it hasn’t become overgrown too badly:
Last time I approached from here, but this now doesn’t look good:
In other places, it’s a long away down:
And the cutting well brambled:
And it looks like tunnel is fenced off too:
But on closer inspection:
Retracing my steps and looking in the most obvious place I’m down. Good job as I wasn’t getting over this!
Got a proper brambling getting to the tunnel entrance (north portal):
And were in:
Looking down the tunnel:
And the first of many refuges:
We finally reach the far end:
And into the open:
The cutting is deep here:
Time to turn around:
And head back out again:
Back in 1961, British Rail opened a four-and-a-half-mile single-track branch line to the newly opened Bevercotes Colliery, linking to the network at Boughton Junction on the Lancashire, Derbyshire and East Coast Railway (LD&ECR) line between Chesterfield Market Place station and Lincoln. Bevercotes was the first fully automated colliery in the UK and also the first to be fully equipped to load coal into Merry-go-round trains . Trains were fed by four 35-ton weigh hoppers, in turn fed from a 4,000-ton storage bunker built by Head Wrightson.
The branch left the LD&ECR about a kilometre west of Boughton and turned north. Half of the line was in a cutting, half on a bank (the former to preserve farmland) and included bridges over the River Maun and River Meden, 2 roads and seven bridges over the railway. The 350-yards (320m) Broughton Brake tunnel (known locally as Mummies Tunnel) was just over two miles along the branch. It had portals of brick whilst the interior was near-vertical brick side walls. incorporating regular refuges and a segmental arch concrete roof.
The line closed temporarily between January 1962 and August 1965 and saw its last train on 18th June 1993 when the colliery closed and following the removal of coal stockpiles. The branch, including the tunnel, was brought back into use as part of a Network Rail test track during the summer of 2012. The tunnel was to be used as a training environment for on-track machines, but the need for re-ballasting meant this never happened so the track was lifted circa 2017.
2. The Explore
Last time I came here it was on a dark and cold eve in December 2018. The light was poor and my pictures came out pretty poorly. Also, I’d missed the boat a bit as the track had been lifted the previous year. Been meaning to go back for a revisit for ages and finally got round to it.
Since I last went, they have erected a number of palisade fences and after being a bit slow in the up take, though this place had defeated me. The tunnel appeared to have been sealed up plus I was struggling to get down to the floor of the steep cutting the tunnel is in. I was just about to go went I looked at the most obvious way down which was doable, then got to the tunnel to find both ends open.
In the end it was a relaxed mooch and was glad my efforts were not in vain! And that I managed to get a much better set of pictures.
3. The Pictures
To the north, the cutting is moderate and the ballast means it hasn’t become overgrown too badly:
Last time I approached from here, but this now doesn’t look good:
In other places, it’s a long away down:
And the cutting well brambled:
And it looks like tunnel is fenced off too:
But on closer inspection:
Retracing my steps and looking in the most obvious place I’m down. Good job as I wasn’t getting over this!
Got a proper brambling getting to the tunnel entrance (north portal):
And were in:
Looking down the tunnel:
And the first of many refuges:
We finally reach the far end:
And into the open:
The cutting is deep here:
Time to turn around:
And head back out again:
