Since publishing a series of articles about the Micklehurst Loop, I have, over the past couple of years, kept my eye open for interesting shots of the line. This is a selection of these that I have permission to share …. A big thank you to copyright holders/photographers. Their details appear with each image.

The first photograph was taken in the middle of the 20th century. The exact date is unknown. It begins our renewed focus on the Micklehurst Loop by showing a goods train leaving the Loop in Stalybridge. …

These next two photos were taken in the yard opposite Hartshead Power Station and show one of their fireless locos and a more normal steam loco, a 0-4-0ST. The pictures were taken by Keith Chambers who writes:

“I visited Hartshead Power Station as a teenager on 22nd May 1971. We had come up from down south (Woking) to spend a day tracking down surviving steam and had already been to Heaps Bridge and seen a working loco, Colyhurst to see a ‘Jinty’ in steam albeit as a stationary boiler and finished our little tour off at Hartshead. My abiding memory is of being guided by one of the station’s staff up and over the high level conveyor to get to the locos. It was spectacular up there and slightly scary. Being a Saturday afternoon nothing much was happening shunting wise and RSH 7661 was in the back of the engine shed along with the fireless HL 3805. There was however another RSH 0-4-0ST present stored in the sidings. This was works number 7646 of 1950.”

To complete this small section on the Power Station, the next photo shows the overhead conveyor which Keith Chambers refers to.

As usual, I will continue to keep an eye open for further interesting images which might add to our appreciation of what was primarily an important short goods line but which was also used as a convenient diversion route for passenger trains.

If you want to read the other articles in this series, you can find them on these links:

https://rogerfarnworth.com/2021/01/31/the-micklehurst-loop-part-1

https://rogerfarnworth.com/2021/02/05/the-micklehurst-loop-part-1a

https://rogerfarnworth.com/2021/02/15/the-micklehurst-loop-part-1b

https://rogerfarnworth.com/2021/02/18/the-micklehurst-loop-part-1c-including-hartshead-power-station

https://rogerfarnworth.com/2021/03/07/the-micklehurst-loop-part-1d-some-miscellaneous-items-relating-to-the-area-around-the-staley-and-millbrook-goods-yard

https://rogerfarnworth.com/2021/02/21/the-micklehurst-loop-part-2

https://rogerfarnworth.com/2021/02/22/the-micklehurst-loop-part-3

https://rogerfarnworth.com/2021/03/09/the-micklehurst-loop-part-3a

https://rogerfarnworth.com/2021/04/16/the-micklehurst-loop-part-4

https://rogerfarnworth.com/2021/09/09/the-micklehurst-loop-once-more

References

1. https://www.facebook.com/groups/steamlastyears/permalink/309114765781339, accessed on 1st June 2022.
2. https://pjbrailwayphotos.piwigo.com/uploads/9/o/6/9o6rl289yj//2017/09/23/20170923113521-a1a483bf.jpg, accessed on 1st June 2022.
3. https://m.facebook.com/groups/3179146545455384/permalink/4387305281306165, accessed on 6th September 2022.
4. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/LMS_Class_7F_0-8-, accessed on 6th September 2022.
5. https://twitter.com/TrekExploration/status/1214999510423887878?t=JBQEsPPJQrVEsO4PMCmPhA&s=09, shared on twitter by Ant of Trekking Exploration UK, accessed on 14th February 2023.