Hensall Engine Shed and Surrounding Features
Introduction:
Afternoon all,
This report is NOT going to be up everyone's street, This report relies heavily on the history of the site, and illustrating what remains, rather than epic interior shots. That said I hope you enjoy the images and that the report makes for a good read!
History
I'll add history alongside images as we go, but I'll put the main points here:
Its hard to say for sure when the Engine Shed was completed, however research reveals that the line was opened by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway in 1848, so we can presume that the shed was built around this time. Although the shed was built by the L&YR it was a shared
shed and was open to traffic from the nearby Hull and Barnsley Railway too, which was quite a rare collaboration between rival companies!
The shed was never allocated any locomotives of it's own by either of the two companies, instead it acted solely as a maintenance shed and coaling/watering stage for passing locomotives. The shed's built with red brick from the nearby Albion Brick Works, Hull and is a two road design, just big enough to house two locomotives sat side by side. The building was constructed to a strange but apparently generic L&YR design, I'll try to point it out in the pictures, but the roof supports where built to point directly to the setting sun in the west, and to a certain constellation of stars, which I can't remember for the life of me... The shed was complete with a water tower, turntable, ash disposal plant and inspection pits. There where also a small network of sidings making up a small goods yard or stabling point.
Sadly the shed never really came into it's element, and saw next to no traffic... The decision was made in 1914 to close the shed to traffic. The track work and signalling remained in place right up to the 1960's (According to a local gentleman) in case a need for the shed should ever arise... Evidently, it didn't and the track work and signals where removed, and the shed left to deteriorate!
Today the old L&YR still remains in use between Goole and Leeds, the Hull and Barnsley Railway however closed in 1968. A part of the H&BR was reopened however in the 70's, as was the connecting spur between the L&YR & H&BR to accommodate freight trains to the newly opened Drax Power Station, the old spur in now known as the Drax Branch Junction.
Pictures
The Engine shed itself... (Taken 2010, when we first discovered the shed, as arguments on the 28DL FB proved correct, codenames don't work, the shed is now covered View attachment 626843 in graffiti, mad how even a place this remote is found by w*nkers). As you can see a 101 years of dereliction has taken its toll, a pair of large wooden doors would have sat on the front of the building here...
In this shot of the side of the shed you can just make out the angle in which the roof supports where built at, pointing to the west, as well as the engineers office/mess room. (2010)
The ash disposal pits...
The Turntable Pit, we where surprised to find this still out there and not filled in tbh, made a nice find, a little bit of digging revealed the Rail and Pivot still intact too...
And before moving on to the Tunnels, we also found that the sidings where still intact too! They'd simply been buried under a 101 years worth of soil!
Tunnels 2015
The first tunnel I came across, this was flooded up to knee height and extremely long! It's just a humble drainage tunnel, however the brick work was looking rather lush! The same bricks from the Albion Brickworks down the road too! As you'll see in the pictures though, the tunnel is on the verge of another collapse, the mortar is in a terrible state having being mothballed since 1968! Proper exploring, literally about 3 mile walk away from the nearest road or settlement by this point lol...
Right walking boots off, wellies on... Took this from the entrance of the tunnel, the tunnel curves to the left, before you come across the collapsed section, I never did find the other portal so your guess is as good as mine as to how long this actually is!
Next I came across this short underpass...
And this impressive little bridge to finish off with!
So not your usual report, but if you've made it this far I hope you enjoyed it! It's another place recorded on the forum if not I guess!
Cheers Guys!
TAW
Introduction:
Afternoon all,
This report is NOT going to be up everyone's street, This report relies heavily on the history of the site, and illustrating what remains, rather than epic interior shots. That said I hope you enjoy the images and that the report makes for a good read!
History
I'll add history alongside images as we go, but I'll put the main points here:
Its hard to say for sure when the Engine Shed was completed, however research reveals that the line was opened by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway in 1848, so we can presume that the shed was built around this time. Although the shed was built by the L&YR it was a shared
The shed was never allocated any locomotives of it's own by either of the two companies, instead it acted solely as a maintenance shed and coaling/watering stage for passing locomotives. The shed's built with red brick from the nearby Albion Brick Works, Hull and is a two road design, just big enough to house two locomotives sat side by side. The building was constructed to a strange but apparently generic L&YR design, I'll try to point it out in the pictures, but the roof supports where built to point directly to the setting sun in the west, and to a certain constellation of stars, which I can't remember for the life of me... The shed was complete with a water tower, turntable, ash disposal plant and inspection pits. There where also a small network of sidings making up a small goods yard or stabling point.
Sadly the shed never really came into it's element, and saw next to no traffic... The decision was made in 1914 to close the shed to traffic. The track work and signalling remained in place right up to the 1960's (According to a local gentleman) in case a need for the shed should ever arise... Evidently, it didn't and the track work and signals where removed, and the shed left to deteriorate!
Today the old L&YR still remains in use between Goole and Leeds, the Hull and Barnsley Railway however closed in 1968. A part of the H&BR was reopened however in the 70's, as was the connecting spur between the L&YR & H&BR to accommodate freight trains to the newly opened Drax Power Station, the old spur in now known as the Drax Branch Junction.
Pictures
The Engine shed itself... (Taken 2010, when we first discovered the shed, as arguments on the 28DL FB proved correct, codenames don't work, the shed is now covered View attachment 626843 in graffiti, mad how even a place this remote is found by w*nkers). As you can see a 101 years of dereliction has taken its toll, a pair of large wooden doors would have sat on the front of the building here...
In this shot of the side of the shed you can just make out the angle in which the roof supports where built at, pointing to the west, as well as the engineers office/mess room. (2010)
The ash disposal pits...
The Turntable Pit, we where surprised to find this still out there and not filled in tbh, made a nice find, a little bit of digging revealed the Rail and Pivot still intact too...
And before moving on to the Tunnels, we also found that the sidings where still intact too! They'd simply been buried under a 101 years worth of soil!
Tunnels 2015
The first tunnel I came across, this was flooded up to knee height and extremely long! It's just a humble drainage tunnel, however the brick work was looking rather lush! The same bricks from the Albion Brickworks down the road too! As you'll see in the pictures though, the tunnel is on the verge of another collapse, the mortar is in a terrible state having being mothballed since 1968! Proper exploring, literally about 3 mile walk away from the nearest road or settlement by this point lol...
Right walking boots off, wellies on... Took this from the entrance of the tunnel, the tunnel curves to the left, before you come across the collapsed section, I never did find the other portal so your guess is as good as mine as to how long this actually is!
Next I came across this short underpass...
And this impressive little bridge to finish off with!
So not your usual report, but if you've made it this far I hope you enjoyed it! It's another place recorded on the forum if not I guess!
Cheers Guys!
TAW
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