Today, South Yorkshire’s railways are a modern network of busy lines, ranging from the electrified East Coast Main Line to the regional and local railways of the area. They serve the cities and towns of Sheffield, Doncaster, Rotherham and Barnsley, and passenger services link them to other destinations across the country. However, the area’s railways have changed enormously since the late 1970s when many were traditionally operated with semaphore signals and signal boxes, and freight-only branch lines served the numerous collieries in the area. There are interesting freight flows still, though Tinsley Yard is now shut, as are the collieries. Traction has changed as well, with Class 56s, 60s, 66s and HSTs replacing the 20s, 31s, 37s, 40s, 47s and Deltics of earlier years.
In Railways in South Yorkshire: Four Decades of Change the author, Mike Wedgewood, explores the South Yorkshire railway network and its trains over four decades, illustrating some of the many changes that have taken place along the way. Volume 43 in Key’s Britain’s Railways series, it contains many previously unpublished photographs and aims to take the reader on a journey through South Yorkshire, showcasing a number of now-closed lines and industrial landscapes that no longer exist.
174 colour photographs. 96 pages