Lost Lines in Shirebrook, Derbyshire

[John H-T]

I have recently been working in Shirebrook in Derbyshire.

Until the middle 1980's, just after the Miner's Strike, this was a major coal mining area with a railway system to match. Apparently the Town was served by lines built by the Midland, The LNWR and the Great Northern.

Shirebrook was such an important centre for the mining industry that it even had it's own wagon works!

The railway from Worksop to Mansfield and Nottingham through Shirebrook has been reopen as the Robin Hood Line and as far as I know is doing OK.

At present they are removing the road over bridge over one of the lifted lines which is on my route to work so I suddddenly had to find a new way. This has of course awakened my interest.

All in all there seems a lot of interesting History to look for and I wondered if anyone knows any more than I have out lined. Has anyone done a History of the Lines in the Shirebrook Area? If not there is scope for one. It is another Oakwood Press type book. I have not yet looked through their catalogue.

[Trev]

The closest I could find on the Oakwood press site was on GNR lines in the East Midlands.

A railway history of the area would be a great book though. I went to Barrow Hill last year and we seemed to pass plenty of abandoned track beds.

[John H-T]

Thanks Trev. I'll try and get some photos next time I'm up there to post on the site.

[Trev]

Originally Posted by John H-T

Shirebrook was such an important centre for the mining industry that it even had it's own wagon works!

I remember visiting Shirebrook depot on the way back from Toton in the early 1980's. Packed full of Class 56's. It's strange to think that an entire industry and infrastructure has now gone. No pits and none of the diesels which were especially built for the coal traffic.