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Railtour map drawn by our member Dave Mellor.<br>[© Dave Mellor 1989] | 
Railtour map drawn by our member Dave Mellor.<br>[© Dave Mellor 1989] | 
Railtour map drawn by our member Dave Mellor.<br>[© Dave Mellor 1989] | 
Railtour map drawn by our member Dave Mellor.<br>[© Dave Mellor 1989] | 
1960 map, the single track was the Midland Railway Tibshelf South Jn (Erewash Valley line) - Pleasley Jn line, via Pleasley Colliery. The pale blue spot was Butcherwood Sidings; orange spot Teversal Colliery; pink spot Silverhill Colliery; yellow spot Great Northern Railway unadvertised Teversall East station (photo later).
The brown spot was the buffer stops location on the GNR branch from Skegby Jn where trains reversed to/ from Silverhill Colliery. The 1980 direct bunker line followed the NCB line (shown) from Teversal Colliery. | 
1960 OS 7th SeriesOne-inch map.
The Clipstone triangle on is top centre on the Lancashire, Derbyshire & East Coast line. Moving down the map:
Light blue spot: Mansfield Concentration Sidings.
Sand colour/yellow spot:Clipstone Colliery.
Dark Green Spot (left):Mansfield Colliery with the town off map left.
Purple spot (far right):Bilsthorpe Colliery.
Red spot:Rufford Colliery.
Pink spot (bottom):Blidworth Colliery.
The Midland Railway line is the single track along the bottom; Farnsfield Jn is bottom right. | 
A very wet Sun 23 Apr 1989 at Bentinck Colliery; this was as far as the front of the train reached (bunker ahead).<br>[© Ian Mortimer 1989] |
The front of the tour at Blidworth Colliery with the track ahead lifted in the distance.<br>[© Ian Mortimer 1989] | 
This is where the front of the tour reached at Rufford Colliery, just short of the loading pad.<br>[© Ian Mortimer 1989] | 
The ex-Midland Railway Rufford Colliery Sidings Box from the south. Left is the MR line to Clipstone Colliery; at the point ahead left are Rufford Colliery Empty Wagon sidings and right the Loaded Wagon Sidings. The headstocks are right of the signal box. (21 Sep 1980.)<br>[© David Blower 1980] | 
The same location at a different angle in Apr 1981 with loaded wagons in Rufford Loaded Wagon Sidings. The single track to the Empty Wagon Sidings curves round to their left and was worked as a 1,010 yards long branch with its own 'Train Staff' kept here. Line of sight 'Yard Working' would be difficult with the long single line and curve. The MR Clipstone Colliery line is left. The ancient MR signals are a delight. Rufford Colliery was surrounded by Sherwood Forest with no habitation at all.<br>[© Ian Mortimer 1981] | 
The previous tour to Bevercotes Colliery, on 13 Apr 1982, at its limit of working, with the bunker behind the photographer. This was a remarkable tour in itself, as it ran on a weekday - the Tuesday after the Easter Weekend - some of the lines were not open at weeeknds. This was very unusual in those days, and covered a number of highly sought after lines, in particular Stairfoot to Cudworth. https://bit.ly/2VdICuW Also, it was unusual for a Trans Pennine unit to be used on railtours. Your BLN Editor noted that, unusually on a tour in those days, he did four sections of new track on it. As well as the Bevercotes Branch and Stairfoot to Cudworth there was the realignment of the Leeds - Selby line at Hambleton and also Kirk Sandall Jn to St Catherine's Jn for the first time. Graeme Beedle is walking in front of the two British Rail staff to the right of the front of the unit.<br>[© Ian Mortimer 1982] | 
19 Mar 1975, the view from the brake van as Loco 25101 hauls a train of empty coal wagons from Rotherwood Sidings to Mansfield Concentration Sidings from the main line (towards Tuxford and once Lincoln) around Clipstone West Jn to Clipstone South Jn curve. Clipstone West Jn Signal Box is in the background, actually about halfway round the outside of the curve and inside the former Clipstone triangle. It is still operational but now completely trackless, controlling only the main line.<br>[© Ian Mortimer 1975] | 
Until 1980 access to Silverhill Colliery from Butcherwood Sidings (on the Westhouses to Pleasley Colliery branch) involved a double reversal and the use of the end of the short Great Northern branch from Skegby to Teversall (the station name was spelt 'll' - the village and colliery had one 'l'!). The view here is on 11 Sep 1980 from the brake van of a train of empty coal wagons being propelled into the headshunt south of the station (so you needed to be in the brakevan to reach the end of line), and shows Teversall (Great Northern) station, remarkably intact given that it only ever saw unadvertised workmen's services (possibly in the early 1940s) and later occasional excursions by which time it had become Teversall East. [There is no passenger opening or closure date in Quick.] Silverhill Colliery can be seen in the background left, as can the spoil heap next to it mentioned in the report.
After reversal the train will draw forward through the platform to Silverhill. This section closed in 1980 after Teversal Colliery closed, replaced by a direct line (per tour map) to Silverhill on the course of a former NCB line connecting Teversal and Silverhill Collieries which the 1989 IMinE tour did.<br>[© Ian Mortimer 1980] |
Silverhill colliery with the rapid loading bunker commissioned in 1980 and associated conveyor belts, the headstock is top right.
The bunker line was actually at right angles to the original rail access to the colliery. This is where the tour reversed at the end of line.<br>[© Ian Mortimer 1989] | 
17.00 on 23 Apr 1989 and the tour runs through Sutton Colliery (which closed four months later)<br>[© Ian Mortimer 1989] |
