Good afternoon everyone! Today I'll take you to the north of England, introducing the much requested Hope Valley Line! This famous trans-Pennine route runs from Greater Manchester to South Yorkshire, crossing Derbyshire in between. From those packed suburbs southeast of Manchester (Denton, Hyde, Stockport, etc.) to Sheffield, cutting west-east through the scenic and iconic Peak District (Southern Pennines). Along the way, many waterways (Tame, Peak Forest Canal, Noe etc.), ridges (Brown Knoll, Bamford Edge etc.) and many historic structures/landmarks (mills, tunnels, viaducts etc.). An eastern common section and a "3-way" layout at Manchester. A true rail gem for rural English routes lovers, characterized by diesel traction and a variety of passenger, freight & shunting operations! Think this fits yours? This is my Hope Valley Line: Manchester to Sheffield via Stockport, Reddish & Guide Bridge! GENERAL FEATURES - 64mi(103km) total length (16% already modeled). - Double track, standard gauge (4 ft 8 1/2 in/1435 mm), unelectrified (most of). - 1:90 (11‰) max gradient (Chinley Jn). - 60-70mph(96.5-113kph) average speed (up to 90mph). Route management: - Network Rail. Passenger service: - Northern Trains Ltd [available]. - TransPennine Trains Ltd [needed]. - Transport UK East Midlands [needed]. - AWC, XC, TfW (few areas only). Freight service: - Freightliner Ltd [available]. - GB Railfreight Ltd [needed]. - DB Cargo UK Ltd [available]. THE ROUTE Up: General view of the route. Down: western variants focus. STATIONS This route includes 33 active stations/stops, 10 already modeled. The calls are, as follows: - Manchester Piccadilly terminus A1--Manchester-Crewe Line------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Levenshulme - Heaton Chapel - Stockport main B1--Hadfield&Ardwick Jn Line----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Ardwick - Ashburys C1--Hadfield&Ardwick Jn Line----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Gorton - Fairfield - Guide Bridge A2--Buxton Line------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - Davenport - Woodsmoor - Hazel Grove B2--via Reddish------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - Belle Vue - Ryder Brow - Reddish North - Brinnington - Bredbury - Romiley C2--via Guide Bridge----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Hyde North - Hyde Central - Woodley ----Rosehill Branch-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Rose Hill Marple B3--via Marple-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Marple - Strines - New Mills Central ----Common----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Chinley - Edale - Hope - Bamford - Hathersage - Grindleford ----Midland Main Line----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Dore & Totley - Sheffield terminus STATIONS PICS Up: Manchester Piccadilly. Down Left: Stockport. Down Right: Guide Bridge. A) Hazel Groove. B) Romiley. C) Rose Hill Marple. D) Marple. Up Left: New Mills Central. Up Right: Hope. Down: Sheffield. ROLLING STOCK PASSENGER - NT BR Class 195/0-195/1 Civity DMU & TPE BR Class 185 Desiro DHMU & NT BR Class 150/1 Sprinter DHMU & EMR BR Class 158/0 Express Sprinter DMU. + Class 323, 390, 350, 220, 153, 150 etc. Please, put your LIKE here first, Thank You! Continue Below...
Page 2 FREIGHT - BR Class 66/0-66/5-66/7 "Shed" Diesel-electric mainline loco + PCA-BCC & HOA-A Wagons. + Class 20 & JNA wagon. PASSENGER SERVICE NT 23 / Manchester-Sheffield: a) Piccadilly-Sheffield via Reddish [semi-fast] 1Tph, 1h50min. b) Piccadilly-Rose Hill Marple via Guide Bridge [stopper] 4Tp3h, 30min. c) Piccadilly-New Mills Central via Reddish [semi-fast] 1Tph, 30min. 20 / Manchester-Buxton: - Piccadilly-Hazel Grove/Buxton [stopper] 1Tph, 20min (driveable). TPE SR / Liverpool-Manchester-Cleethorpes: - Lime Street-Cleethorpes via Stockport [fast] 1Tph, 1h30min (driveable). EMR 02 / Liverpool-Norwich: - Lime Street-Norwich via Stockport [fast] 1Tph, 1h30min (driveable). Plus MAC/MGP TTs! FREIGHT SERVICE Despite connecting MML with Manchester lines, daily volume still quite low. These trips usually originate from Earles Sidings (Hope) or Peak Forest (Chinley Jn), with destinations throughout northern England. Shunting operations on Hope Works private branch. Without forgetting Guide Bridge yard traffic! Sectors involed: - Stone/aggregates - Cement powder 8/10Tpd (mainline). LAMPOIL This would easily pass through the DTG process, using part of two existing routes: MAC (ATS) & MGP (DTG). One of the best compromises you can get in TSW, Imo! ROUTE PICS A) Manchester View. B) Ardwick TMD (Siemens/TPE). C) Longsight TMD (multi TOCs). D) Guide Bridge VMF(FL) & Brookside sidings. A) Reddish Vale Viaduct & River Tame Park. B) Marple Aqueduct & rail bridge. C) Torr Vale Mill groove (New Mills). D) New Mills Jn & its signalbox. A) Bugsworth Basin & Peak Forest Canal. B) Chapel Milton Viaducts (to Peak Forest). C) Cowburn Tunnel (England's deepest). D) Hope Cement Works & quarries. A) Ladybower Reservoir/Dam & Peak District. B) Totley Tunnel (route's longest). C) Dore JN (MML link). D) Sheffield View. ROUTE VIDEOS Piccadilly-Sheffield cabview (via Stockport, Jun 2024). Sheffield-Piccadilly cabview (via Reddish, Jan 2019). Edale trainspotting (Oct 2025). Peak District freight action (2021-23)! All RIGHTS and CREDITS to the original authors. CONCLUSIONS I'd like to see this coming to TSW at some point, as one of my favourite UK routes! A solid stock selection already available, just a couple more (different times, perhaps) to stuff it properly! Until that, fingers crossed guys! Caravatt .
Very interesting suggestion! I'd really like a new line in Manchester, as well as driving the Class 195 and Class 185 Desiro.
Yep, a really nice route indeed Quite fast, with a strong contrast between suburban/rural areas! Diesel focused of course, but many electric services still playable (Manchester area)! Think it would be something really interesting to make
