Middleton Railway; The Balm Road Line

My (Ben's) main aim for the visit to Middleton was to get plenty of shots of the Balm Road branch line, for a possible model railway article.

The main part of their line runs from Moor Road to Park Halt, but (back in the day when the Middleton were still moving freight) they also ran out the other direction from Moor Road out to the mainline freight yards at Hunslet.  Whilst they've not transhipped freight since the early 1990's, the connection remains.

The Middleton only use this stretch on Gala days, mainly because they have two ungated level crossings, one over a reasonably busy road.  It's a short bit of line, and one of contrasts; a winding, tightly curved bit through the woods...

...then into modern light industry.  About 40 years ago there was heavier industry here.  This line has always interested me; there's not many unfenced, roadside railways in the UK, and I'm too young to have seen this sort of industrial railway in real life, and there's not many of them left to see in the heritage sector.

The branch hasn't been used much, but the volunteers worked hard to get the line ready for the gala this year (I'm not sure if it was even used in 2022, as they had to postpone their diesel gala until this event in 2023).

The first time I visited, way back, the trains actually ran a bit further, to the original exchange loop.

These days that loop is blocked out of use, by the remains of the level crossing.  One of the gates has, unsurprisingly, been stolen (the area, and indeed the railway, has suffered from metal theft for decades).

Still, it was nice to have the opportunity to photograph the derelict railway whilst waiting for a train to arrive on the operational bit.  Elder Child needed some reference pics for a school project, so we strolled down there.

It put me slightly in mind of the "Walk the High Line" series by Joel Sternfeld, his series documenting the abandoned elevated railway in New York, immediately before it was converted into a linear park.

Interestingly it's not so massively overgrown as to prevent it's restoration for trains, but it's probably not worth the bother; if it linked to a mainline station rather than a freight yard, it might be worth the bother by the railway, but the days of transhipping freight are long past.

I thought I'd try a couple of monochrome shots, as the bright sunshine was giving some nice deep shades and contasts.