hi and welcome to a triple bill of your mooching farmer
after a morning of escaping ferrets and sliding sat navs ...yes another pet job... with a couple of hours to spare before i picked my daughter emily up from school
i decided it was time for another spot of mooching 2 were planned and 1 just sort of came about.
the three are all in the former nottinghamshire coal field boughton brake tunnel,edwinstowe railway station and thoresby junction the last two are on the same line so i,ll deal with them as part 2 & 3 respectivly.
my inital intention was to photograph the former station at ollerton but when i went to the old station house the lady at the door really didnt want to give me permission as she didnt want people around all the time which is understandable so after politely thanking her set off to find the next mooch boughton brake tunnel or mummies tunnel.
now this has been done many times that its got a beard... even as recently as 2020 so i wont bore you with the full history and just put the potted one on
British Rail opened a four-mile single-track branch to the new Bevercotes Colliery in 1961, linking it to the network at Boughton Junction. It was closed temporarily between January 1962 and August 1965, and saw its last train on 18th June 1993.
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 and the track was lifted some time in 2017.
today
after the usual batman routine over the fence and down the side of the bridge ( i swear im getting too old for this ) nature has started to take back the former track bed boughton tunnel is dry and fairly free of rubbish although the bridge has seen its fair share of fly tippers.
walking through the tunnel there were a few drops in the trackbed but everything is still the same apart from the undergrowth at either portal which meant being knee high in nettles and the occasional thorns at great detriment to my legs.
it looked like the tunnel had been someones home at some point with a pair of socks drying on a tree i decided to retrace my steps lest the owner came back to claim them the climb back up the side of the bridge nearly killed me and with a little time to spare went back to the car lit a fag and went off to find my next mooch at edwinstowe but thats another post could the railway innovation centre one day decide to reinstate the branch as a test track extension you never know
lines have been known to be re opened half a century after their closure so boughton tunnel could once again see trains untill then it waits quietly returning to nature.
many thanks to black shuck and anyone else for the past photos,
then.... the line lies derelict and disused track lifting hasnt yet taken place looking towards the former bevercotes colliery.
now looking towards bevercotes after the track has been lifted and turned into a fly tippers paradise.
then....another look at walesby road bridge with the fixed distant sign and board denoting the end of the test track in the distance
.
now... the sign has gone only the posts are left and the vegetation is taking over.
the only way down to the trackbed is on your right but its a killer getting back up hence the batman routine.
the view from walesby rd bridge looking towards the tunnel.
then... boughton tunnel possibly in use as a test track extension looking towards ollerton.
now....the same view today the tunnel portal is almost hidden as nature reclaims the track bed.
the track may have gone but the ballast remains as a reminder of the past.
the tunnel approach after clambering through the undergrowth.
then.... bougton tunnel still seeing occasional trains
now....looking through the tunnel towards ollerton a sad empty sight.
the south or ollerton portal is more overgrown.
looking towards olllerton a trackside post stands in the undergrowth note how steep the cutting sides are.
heres a couple to finish off with.... a tunnel recess now a bit off white.
looking back towards ollerton.
the long tromp back..im not really that tall.
and finally a pair of socks await their owners return.
after a morning of escaping ferrets and sliding sat navs ...yes another pet job... with a couple of hours to spare before i picked my daughter emily up from school
i decided it was time for another spot of mooching 2 were planned and 1 just sort of came about.
the three are all in the former nottinghamshire coal field boughton brake tunnel,edwinstowe railway station and thoresby junction the last two are on the same line so i,ll deal with them as part 2 & 3 respectivly.
my inital intention was to photograph the former station at ollerton but when i went to the old station house the lady at the door really didnt want to give me permission as she didnt want people around all the time which is understandable so after politely thanking her set off to find the next mooch boughton brake tunnel or mummies tunnel.
now this has been done many times that its got a beard... even as recently as 2020 so i wont bore you with the full history and just put the potted one on
British Rail opened a four-mile single-track branch to the new Bevercotes Colliery in 1961, linking it to the network at Boughton Junction. It was closed temporarily between January 1962 and August 1965, and saw its last train on 18th June 1993.
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 and the track was lifted some time in 2017.
today
after the usual batman routine over the fence and down the side of the bridge ( i swear im getting too old for this ) nature has started to take back the former track bed boughton tunnel is dry and fairly free of rubbish although the bridge has seen its fair share of fly tippers.
walking through the tunnel there were a few drops in the trackbed but everything is still the same apart from the undergrowth at either portal which meant being knee high in nettles and the occasional thorns at great detriment to my legs.
it looked like the tunnel had been someones home at some point with a pair of socks drying on a tree i decided to retrace my steps lest the owner came back to claim them the climb back up the side of the bridge nearly killed me and with a little time to spare went back to the car lit a fag and went off to find my next mooch at edwinstowe but thats another post could the railway innovation centre one day decide to reinstate the branch as a test track extension you never know
lines have been known to be re opened half a century after their closure so boughton tunnel could once again see trains untill then it waits quietly returning to nature.
many thanks to black shuck and anyone else for the past photos,
then.... the line lies derelict and disused track lifting hasnt yet taken place looking towards the former bevercotes colliery.
now looking towards bevercotes after the track has been lifted and turned into a fly tippers paradise.
then....another look at walesby road bridge with the fixed distant sign and board denoting the end of the test track in the distance
now... the sign has gone only the posts are left and the vegetation is taking over.
the only way down to the trackbed is on your right but its a killer getting back up hence the batman routine.
the view from walesby rd bridge looking towards the tunnel.
then... boughton tunnel possibly in use as a test track extension looking towards ollerton.
now....the same view today the tunnel portal is almost hidden as nature reclaims the track bed.
the track may have gone but the ballast remains as a reminder of the past.
the tunnel approach after clambering through the undergrowth.
then.... bougton tunnel still seeing occasional trains
now....looking through the tunnel towards ollerton a sad empty sight.
the south or ollerton portal is more overgrown.
looking towards olllerton a trackside post stands in the undergrowth note how steep the cutting sides are.
heres a couple to finish off with.... a tunnel recess now a bit off white.
looking back towards ollerton.
the long tromp back..im not really that tall.
and finally a pair of socks await their owners return.
Last edited:
