There’s something so calming about watching these videos. Being reminded of how beautiful and varied the UK is, the importance of our rail infrastructure, and ultimately just hearing those relaxing sounds of an engine hum. Always an enjoyable watch.

@doncoffey5820

4 ай бұрын

Thank you, some people apparently watch them to help them sleep!

Saying Sheffield is always busy is an understatement lol x

Don Coffey - you're the best ! I just got off a 5h14min video (in 7 or 8 segments), Canberra to Sydney with zero notes of any kind. Whereas you are the opposite, turning your videos into documentaries. I've been a subscriber for 3 or 4 years. Keep up the good work !

@doncoffey5820

3 ай бұрын

I appreciate the feedback and your support.

Thank you Mr. Coffey for this day’s video. Always interesting and attractive scenery throughout. See you on the next, sir. 🇬🇧🙂👍🇺🇸

@doncoffey5820

4 ай бұрын

Good to see you Martin. Glad you liked it.

Brilliant train ride again Don, most interesting. Thanks to you and all involved.🚂🚃👍

@doncoffey5820

3 ай бұрын

Thanks Laurie. Nic will see your comment 👍

Very interesting and well filmed video. Well done Nic for excellent driving, hope you had a well deserved cuppa afterwards.

@doncoffey5820

4 ай бұрын

Cheers Paul. Nic will see your comment 👍

Another nice trip, Don. Thanks.

@doncoffey5820

4 ай бұрын

Good to see you, thanks as always 👍

Just subscribed! I have watched your Hull - Manchester Piccadilly cab rides as it is a route I am familiar with. Keep up the good work 😉

@doncoffey5820

2 ай бұрын

Nice one Samual, thanks.

Still amazed to go fast through Chinley. I can just anbout remember it as 4 tracks with very slow junctions at either end of the plaforms, a legacy of when all trains stopped to exchange passenegers between fast and stoppers.

@doncoffey5820

3 ай бұрын

I used to go in New Mills South when I was a kid and the slow lines were open then. Progress the ogress.

Watching this video was for me a very emotional experience. This journey was exactly the one I used to take during the seventies. I must have done it dozens of times. Then I was in my twenties and working as a postdoctoral research assistant in the Physics Department at Manchester University. But my family home was in Grimsby, hence I regularly travelled the route. If I was in my twenties then you can guess how old I am now. Then I was just at the beginning and possessed of that certain optimism and expectation that accompanies youth. Now it is so much in the past and it is hard not to have regrets.

@doncoffey5820

3 ай бұрын

A similar age to me I suspect Tomas. All we can do is reminisce. One day these videos will be a legacy of times gone by but wouldn’t it be super if we could look back in 10 year increments.

Love your videos Don. I have been watching for months! Though, I only set up a KZread channel recently so I could subscribe. Keep up the amazing footage.

@doncoffey5820

Ай бұрын

I appreciate that, thanks.

Thank you again, Don. another great piece of work. Someone who lives in Doncaster, the route from Scunthorpe towards us is incredible.

@doncoffey5820

3 ай бұрын

I enjoyed filming it James - first time I’ve seen it.

Thank you very much for this lovely cab view!

@doncoffey5820

3 ай бұрын

Glad you enjoyed it!

I watched this in three segments, but a very scenic and interesting ride. Keep up the good work. Just enough information to help me understand British rail practice.

@doncoffey5820

2 ай бұрын

Thanks Robert. I tend to cover different subjects in each video so the more you watch the more proficient you’ll become.

I love to chill out watching your informative videos especially when having a casual meal on a tray. Many thanks.

@doncoffey5820

3 ай бұрын

I’m glad you enjoy them John.

As usual Don, I always enjoy reading your scrolling captions. Cheers from Canada.

@doncoffey5820

3 ай бұрын

Thanks George. I used to go see a customer at Ingersoll in my motor industry days and always enjoyed it and it’s on my bucket list to explore more.

As always a great video. I remember travelling over part of this route on a train (EMR) from Peterborough to Liverpool. It was a stunningly beautiful May Day for the entire journey there and back. It’s great to see it from the cab with your informative text commentary.

@doncoffey5820

3 ай бұрын

Glad you enjoyed it Anthony.

Loved the trip as always ! Thanks for posting .

Thanks Don, as always an excellent video. What a treat, autumn in the Hope Valley was spectacular, even the rain didn't dull the colours. Also nice to see the unfamiliar sights of the flat lands of Lincolnshire and the various opening bridges crossing navigable waterways.

@doncoffey5820

3 ай бұрын

I thoroughly enjoyed filming it Mick. Glad you liked it.

Thanks for another superb cab ride. Seen them all but only just learned to use comment Stay safe.

@doncoffey5820

4 ай бұрын

Same to you Keith, all the best 👍

Great video as usual thanks Don, interesting and informative. I remember well the land slip at Stainforth and the disruption it caused. With the surrounding ground being so wet, there was speculation that it could spread to Goole, potentially causing hundreds of millions £ worth of improvements!

@doncoffey5820

3 ай бұрын

That’s a frightening prospect. We never know just how unstable our earth is - especially when we interfere!

Superb as usual. Thanks Don and NIc.

@doncoffey5820

3 ай бұрын

Our pleasure! Nic will see your comment Ray.

Soo wonderful to have watched and enjoyed Don. The North Lincolnshire Line offeres a lot of scenary :-)

@doncoffey5820

3 ай бұрын

Glad you enjoyed it Rick.

Lovely scenery, great colours and a treat at the end.

@doncoffey5820

3 ай бұрын

Glad you enjoyed it!

I don't know what it is about the rain, the rails and the train ride...but I really enjoy it. Greetings!

@doncoffey5820

3 ай бұрын

There was a time when I would have rejected a rainy day but I’ve come to think that in certain cases, it adds something.

Another interesting and informative video...enjoyed the scenery and the ride. Thank you for sharing.

@doncoffey5820

2 ай бұрын

Glad you enjoyed it.

An excellent video thank you

@doncoffey5820

3 ай бұрын

Much appreciated Jonathan.

I enjoyed the trip, thank you Mr. Coffey.

@doncoffey5820

4 ай бұрын

Thank you Christopher.

Wow stunning 😍

@doncoffey5820

Ай бұрын

Thank you! Cheers!

Thanks again Don for another excellent and entertaining video, particularly since it started out on my ‘home patch’. It was sad to see the picture of the interior of Wrawby Junction box with all the white ‘spare’ levers. When I was a box lad there in the early 1970s there were only four white levers which once controlled the points and two associated ground signals which gave access to the turntable road which was situated in the V of the Lincoln and Gainsborough lines (they were removed in the mid 1960s following the end of steam). All of the other levers were in constant, regular use 24 hours a day. There was also another signal box, Barnetby West, situated on the up side about half way between East Box and Wrawby. It controlled access to the up yard as well as the main running lines (but only on the up side in it’s latter years).

@doncoffey5820

4 ай бұрын

I was saying exactly the same to my mate. I can remember New Mills South with only a handful of white levers and now it’s the opposite.

Proper job .Well done😊

@doncoffey5820

3 ай бұрын

Much appreciated.

Thanks Don!a very interesting journey in many respects. Thanks Dave.

@doncoffey5820

3 ай бұрын

Good to see you Dave.

Wonderful videos Keep them coming

@doncoffey5820

Ай бұрын

Wednesday night Martyn 👍

I live in New Zealand now but grew up in the Grimsby area and have made this journey many times

@doncoffey5820

3 ай бұрын

Hopefully it brought back memories but I’m sure NZ must be super.

@davidpoultney4080

3 ай бұрын

Well I love it here but have a soft spot for my home area and you brought back memories of many trips, the last being February last year on my first time after Covid @@doncoffey5820

it just gets better thank Don and to all concerned

@doncoffey5820

3 ай бұрын

Thanks Brian - Nic will see your comment too.

Thanks, Don. I can remember the run from Sheffield to Doncaster from my trainspotting days in the mid-seventies. The trains used the old Masborough station (signed simply "Rotherham") - how the mighty are fallen!

@doncoffey5820

3 ай бұрын

I know, it’s a shame Steve but there has been a bit of a comeback. Fingers crossed for those old stations.

A bit moist between Earles Sidings and Edale.... Thanks for another great video Don. Nice to see some lines and routes I haven't seen before. Cheers.

@doncoffey5820

3 ай бұрын

Thanks Michael - yes, I think the weather man calls it precipitation!!

interesting scenery 😊

Another brilliant video Don. Had been looking forward to watching it since you announced it. It’s only a small country as countries go but the diverse countryside is amazing. The track layout into Manchester always fascinates me. Thoroughly enjoyed it. Looking forward to the next one. All the best. Stay safe. Mick.

@doncoffey5820

3 ай бұрын

Cheers Mick - I’ll get something out soon.

Another excellent journey through, for me, new territory at the beginning. Interestin bridges that were crossed. The history is always good. It must have been marvellous to be a brickie or a hod carrier in 19th century Manchester. Those red brick buildings and the railways works would keep you going for years.

@doncoffey5820

3 ай бұрын

As you know, the architecture is one of my favourite aspects of the railway - it fascinates me what they achieved.

I want to do this for real but obviously cant!!! thank you so much Don!!!! very relaxing and informative at the same time! I often follow the line on google maps to relate to the surroundings!!

@doncoffey5820

3 ай бұрын

You mean ride in the cab Nick? No, it isn’t possible but rest assured if I could I would. These videos are the nearest I can offer.

Thanks Don, Cleethorpes station area looks almost derelict, must have been interesting in it's heyday. Thanks for the pics of the semaphores, very impressive

@doncoffey5820

3 ай бұрын

Yes, just have little Google Martyn - you won’t believe your eyes.

This is a good one, Don. In steam days Frodringham had a stud of Austerity 2-8-0s which rarely travelled more than 30 miles hauling coal and some finished steel. To note them in your book, living in the NW you had to go there - they would never come to you. To buy houses in and around Hathersage there are restrictions to avoid 2nd homes and other non residents. A genuinely beautiful area, even in the rain.

@doncoffey5820

3 ай бұрын

You and I have a lot in common - similar things interest us. Thanks as always for your feedback.

Great film again Don. Just before Grimsby Town at Pasture Street there is a trace where the Great Northern route from Peterborough, Boston and Louth came in on the left, closed October 1970.

@doncoffey5820

3 ай бұрын

Thanks. I always have various historic maps out when I edit the videos but there is so much to talk about, I am wary of it becoming one long caption which makes it hard to watch.

Another wonderful video. Many thanks as ever Don. My usual question, where to next?

@doncoffey5820

3 ай бұрын

Good question! I think we’ll do a light engine move from Earles to Leeds on a 66.

So informative , unlike so many these days what dont even give Station/ Town names . !

@doncoffey5820

3 ай бұрын

I’m glad you think so. They take a lot of work but I think it is worth it.

Very good train Video my friend!Like and sub

@doncoffey5820

3 ай бұрын

Much appreciated Bruno.

I do agree with samlane's view of 'calming'. When I have a 'off' day, I do enjoy a Coffey video to relax and .... yes nod off. But I always watch each throughtly first. Also I watched a documentary about Mars and then watched this video and reflected 'blimey' we haven't half been busy. Some very clever work been done before a wheel could turn and turning the wheels are fairly complicated as well! It is a great shame you didn't have your camera turned on in the Hope Valley in steam times!

@doncoffey5820

3 ай бұрын

If only we had a series of cab rides dating back to steam - if only for comparison. These videos will stay long after I’m gone so I’ve made my contribution! It has become apparent that these videos are used to help people relax and If they are educational and interesting - I guess my work is done. Take care Roger.

Good stuff. Sheffield must be the largest city in Western Europe to have no lines under wires!

@doncoffey5820

4 ай бұрын

They’re on with it David. It’ll soon be full of knitting 👍

The line to Barton on Humber was originally to connect with the cross Humber ferry. I once crossed to Hull on Lincoln Castle, a paddle steamer car ferry. Tattersall Castle, moored at The Embankment in London is a sister ship.

@doncoffey5820

3 ай бұрын

So much is lost to the car Geoff. I’d love to see some of these old artefacts.

What a juicy contrast with the recent Peak Rail vid of the route back in 1985. In the early 90s we managed a slice as much as possible.

@doncoffey5820

3 ай бұрын

I must look this video up - somebody else mentioned it.

@duncancurtis5108

3 ай бұрын

It's quite a treat. Long scrapped 08537 at Grimsby Docks, 37s at West Marsh, Fish Dock box, 114s parked on Towns middle track.

The Scunthorpe to Grimsby in the cab i have done a few times, with my dad,s old work colleagues.

@doncoffey5820

3 ай бұрын

Excellent - that would turn a lot of people green with envy!

2:15:53 Japanese Knotweed is a damned nuisance. It needs lots of weed killer over a number of years. I was told that the early railways used it to stabilise embankments, but not sure of the truth of that. I know that it escaped from Victorian ornamental gardens, etc.

@doncoffey5820

3 ай бұрын

I’m not sure how it got there but it is quite common along with other pests like Giant Hogweed.

@MM0IMC

3 ай бұрын

@@doncoffey5820 having horses, I'll obliterate any signs of Giant Hogweed that even gets close to their field. It's very nasty and can leave both animals and humans with skin photosensitivity for decades! 😱

Since you put this video up an engineer working on the just completed repairs and upgrades to the Keadby Canal Bridge has put up a video on KZread of a test opening and closing of the bridge after the work was complete (it's titled 'Keadby canal bridge opening and closing' and posted by JIM’S SPEEDSHOP ) There is also a 1935 film of the Bascule bridge operation.

@doncoffey5820

3 ай бұрын

Thanks George, I’ll look right now. Take care.

Another excellent video, Dan. I wasn't aware of the Keadby sliding bridge and looked-up other videos to show it in action. Amazing and supposedly the last of its kind in the world? The fact that canal traffic has precedence doesn't surprise me. After all, canals were the main form of bulk transport before the railways. In the USA, the waterways have precedence over rail for that reason, so even passenger trains have to wait at times to allow river traffic (including pleasure craft) to pass. The same is true for lifting road bridges! On busy routes, some bridges have set opening times each hour so that river craft can plan their journeys. Part of the reason that US railroads are less well used by passenger trains than in Europe. Please keep showing us more details of the UK rail system that are less well known and understood!

@nicklittle8780

4 ай бұрын

Oops ... Don, not as typed! Apologies, Don.

@doncoffey5820

3 ай бұрын

Don’t worry about the typo Nick - I’ve been called worse ;-) Here, trains usually take president over road vehicles but I guess your theory about boats makes sense. Some of the old engineering fascinates me. That rolling bascule is an American design - wonderful it is too.

Brocklesby has a huge signal box.

Well done Don another masterpiece, informative as always a pleasure to watch. I've done most of this route, so nice to see from a drivers Nic point of view. When my folks lived in north Lincolnshire i used to ride on the bit from Donny to Cleethorpes. Once i rode the Hope Valley line on a Pacer 142. Back in 2008 on a diversion from London to Blackpool involving St Pancras to Sheffield, 142 to Piccadilly and then on to Blackpool.

@doncoffey5820

3 ай бұрын

That takes me back David - I used to sign 142’s and Blackpool! Thanks for the comment.

Thoroughly enjoy your videos, I find them very relaxing and have watched the freight ones over and over as I am recovering from a myopathy caused by Lipitor. RR is a lot different than here in Bruce Mines, Ontario Canada. 2 questions: what are the periodic series of slats in between the rails and what is the box affair that follows the routs in the ditch? Great production, let's have some more........

@doncoffey5820

3 ай бұрын

Thank you - much appreciated. Most of the track equipment is explained in other videos so by watching them, you’ll pick up virtually everything I think but the slatted devices are actually overspeed or train stop devices. There is one to arm the system and one to trigger if the train reaches it quicker than the time out which is 974 milliseconds for passenger and 1300 for freight. By varying the distance between them, they can initiate a brake application if the train goes too fast. At som e signals they are butted up against each other to prevent the signal being passed at danger. I think to long box you refer to is cable trunking which is all being upgraded in new schemes and also stops cable theft - a problem on occasions here.

Super

After looking at the map in these videos I do see the importance of northern powerhouse rail. The north has mannnnny railways criss-crossing but it seems the UK is very north-south railway heavy, and the northern cities are only connected via branch lines off the north-south routes, and then the branch lines get connected to other branches, connecting the towns and cities. Rather than an intentional straightforward route between them. Is that accurate or nah 😶

@doncoffey5820

3 ай бұрын

It was once a labyrinth but the railway lost out to the roads at a vulnerable time. Some of the buildings that were just demolished is a crime.

What happens to Nick now will he drive one back

@doncoffey5820

3 ай бұрын

Yes, he waited an hour then worked one back.

First time I've been to Grimsby 😄 I assume you're based in the Midlands Don, so no chance of ever seeing Poole/B'mouth/Southern routes? Thanks also to the driver of course 👍

@doncoffey5820

3 ай бұрын

Yes, thats right. Filming a long way from home is a bit of a logistics issue and would probably require me to lodge both before and after filming. There’s a lot to cover within reach but you never know - if I get the right offer!

Brilliant as ever.......where did the service terminate?

@doncoffey5820

3 ай бұрын

It went through to Liverpool Dave. If the weather had been better I’d have stayed with it but we’ll go on a better day.

I do love the 185! Wish there was more of them built. Have you ever had to use the full power of them? Don't half move like a rocket :D

@doncoffey5820

3 ай бұрын

Yes, absolutely. I tend to drive to the schedule and a 185 is on top of the job so can be quite relaxing but make no mistake, if I am late, the 185 gets the beans and we try to catch up within the speed limits. The acceleration is a plus point under such circumstances.

Wish we had more drivers like Nic on the South Westerns. Very rare we get a smooth stop at the platforms. Not sure if that is a problem with the 444 EMU'S or our drivers.

@doncoffey5820

3 ай бұрын

Some types can be fickle but without trying I don’t know. Nic and myself pride ourselves on smooth stops!

I have not seen you do Wembley to Ardingly, please can you this one via Haywards Heath station

@doncoffey5820

2 ай бұрын

I might have some Ben Elias footage but I’m not due to edit that run yet Robert. It’s way off my patch and I’m busy on other projects.

Well done Don, another good 'un! A great pity that linespeed is only 60mph over so much of the Grimsby end - it looks so straight and level that it should be 75 or even 90. Guessing it's because of so many level crossings. Btw - do know if the 'SP' differential speeds along the Hope Valley will be upgraded so that 185s can do those as well?

@doncoffey5820

3 ай бұрын

Line speed are a complicated subject Tim. Before they can be upgraded, the track and the signalling need to be checked and in places, upgraded too. Currently, the Class 185’s are still restricted due to their axle weights so no line speed increase in the Hope Valley - or at least, not to SP or MU speeds.

Where was the final destination of that service, Don? Lime Street via Chat Moss?

@doncoffey5820

2 ай бұрын

It went to Lime St via Cheshire Lines Dave but the weather turned and the driver had a route learner so I called it a day.

What does o d stand for at level crossings?

@doncoffey5820

2 ай бұрын

It’s in the slides at the beginning Edward. It stands for Obstacle Detection.

Don't suppose you have any videos going down (Rotherham) Masborough Station to the left towards Chesterfield?

@doncoffey5820

20 күн бұрын

I’ve got the footage all the way via Barrow Hill but so far I’ve only published this; kzread.info/dash/bejne/i4VmydyEmbi2d9o.htmlsi=KKcAMiSDxtfj0VAp and this kzread.info/dash/bejne/aZ6sxsqEY9TPgag.htmlsi=eZ5Srg8Krhi6ADJW

Are the signal boxes between Grimsby and to Donny going to be looked after as i hope they will not knock them down, the wooden ones could go to preserved railways but Wrawby box would not be moved so easy as most is brick built, such a sad sight at Scunny as the last time I was there I was watching the class 08 shunters making up trains on the hump sidings

@doncoffey5820

3 ай бұрын

I don’t know what will become of them John. Some are listed but I suspect others are at risk. The ones on the Hull line seem to have survived - so far!

One day someone will design a non squeaking wiper but I'm not holding my breath.🙃

@doncoffey5820

3 ай бұрын

Haha, they drive me nuts Andy but if I report any more, they’ll think I’ve got shares in the wiper blade company.

Are drivers ever cleared to break the speed limit and/or make unplanned stops

@doncoffey5820

2 ай бұрын

No, never speed limits Phil but they can stop if they need to. Examples might be, urgent trip to the loo or to deal with a wasp 🐝. We can stop if we need to investigate a fault.

1:11 Can I ask what the white square thing is in the 6 foot, with the white cable feeding into it, please?🤔

@doncoffey5820

3 ай бұрын

I had to ask Nic because I’ve never seen one. It’s a shore supply so they can power the 185’s up overnight while the cleaners and light maintenance staff are on. We have them at Manchester but they don’t look like that.

Believe its 60 mph now between hazel grove and edgeley JN if im correct?

@doncoffey5820

3 ай бұрын

I can’t be 100% sure because I don’t sign it now. You are probably correct because they have revised it recently.

A most interesting video for a "Southerner". However I am assuming that this service doesn't terminate at Oxford Rd so can you tell me where it does terminate? Thank you

@doncoffey5820

4 ай бұрын

Yes Rob, it continued to Liverpool via Cheshire Lines. If the weather hadn’t been so threatening, I’d have stayed on but we’ll do it another day.

@samuelfellows6923

4 ай бұрын

☹️ ~ unfortunate that you had to end the recording so early in that journey, assuming the video would be 3-4 hours had you done the full length to Liverpool?

@doncoffey5820

Ай бұрын

I learned a lesson with the Trafford Park to Wembley video which didn’t perform as well as it should due to its length. However, I would have stayed on, it’s only another 45 minutes or so.

21:17 Is that a deer between the 4 foot of the opposite tracks?

@doncoffey5820

3 ай бұрын

I’m afraid quite a lot of wildlife succumbs to the trains because it is frequently undisturbed. Not something I am proud of and I do my best to give them a chance.

59:25 I thought the camera positioning was fine where it was.🤔

@doncoffey5820

4 ай бұрын

I am fussy with the camera.

@MM0IMC

3 ай бұрын

@@doncoffey5820 Ever the perfectionist!😉

What happened to Liverpool section? Must be more services in the East to create. What ever happened to Manchester Victoria Routes channel, had high hopes but seem to have let us down.

@doncoffey5820

3 ай бұрын

Sorry, you’ve lost me.

@user-md2vj5hl9b

3 ай бұрын

@@doncoffey5820 Must have thought wrong, has I thought Manchester Victoria channel was your spin off for Northern routes. I have some more suggestions for you, Saltburn would be good, but Leeds to Manchester would let you down. Castleford service.

@doncoffey5820

Ай бұрын

Saltburn is planned and I will personally film York via Castleford in the summer too. It just fills in some gaps.

Clearly the idea that the Hope Valley upgrade is a ‘new project funded by the cancellation of HS2 stage 2’ is fantasy. The upgrade work has been going on since 2021. No sign of any electrification work.

@doncoffey5820

3 ай бұрын

I tend not to get too emotive about it. I just wait and see what happens!