See https://bit.ly/3jItII0 These days it would be unimaginable to arrange a tour of this nature in only seven weeks, but the very determined Chris Boyle was able to make it happen!

This was more of a half day trip, starting at 10.45 and finishing at 16.11, but was available free of charge to those who had been on the original tour. It left Birmingham New Street with a 7-car set on what was a very dull and misty day. A four-page itinerary was produced, just showing amendments and additions to the original route. Unfortunately, it was not possible to include either Hem Heath Colliery or Drakelow Power Station loop (the latter was visited on a later tour), but all the other destinations that should have been visited on 22 Oct were finally achieved, plus a couple of bonuses.

Running via Aston and Lichfield, then on to the Coalville line at Branston Jn, the first installation to be visited, opposite Moira West Junction Signal Box, was Rawdon Colliery (121m 11ch). Here the end of the MGR bunker line was reached. Rawdon closed in Dec 1989, but continued to wind coal from Donisthorpe Colliery (connected underground in Aug 1979) until that pit closed on 12 Apr 1990. It also handled coal brought in by road from Bagworth. Rail traffic resumed when part of the Rawdon site became Swains Park Opencast Disposal Point. Of note the last outward coal train from Swains Park (6 Jul 2005) to Ratcliffe Power Station was the final coal train of all on the Coalville line which survives on aggregate traffic. This area is now 'Conkers' Woodland Adventure Park, with a 2ft gauge 'figure of eight' passenger line beneath the Coalville line, partly on the course of an ex-standard gauge line.

The next destination was the branch to Lounge Opencast (116m 60ch), which had a short life, opening in 1987 and closing in 1993, although the track remained in use until 6 Jul 2005 for trains from Swains Park (above) to run round before heading west to Burton-on-Trent. Again, the tour ran to the line end.

The branch to Coalfields Farm bunker was the first bonus. This loaded coal from Heather (pronounced 'Heether') Sence Valley Opencast Sites and was alongside the site of South Leicester Colliery.8 million tonnes were extracted from 1982-1996, taken to the bunker by two miles of conveyor belt on the track bed of the former Shackerstone to Loughborough (Derby Road) branch. The Coalfields Farm branch was visited by our 21 Mar 1987 'Thames & Trent' tour, but it stopped well short of the bunker, so it was pleasing that this 10 Dec 1989 tour ran over the weighbridge and through to the end of line.

It was a similar story with the next destination, Bagworth Rapid Loading Bunker, as there had been a DMU shuttle service to here from Coalville for the May 1987 depot open day. These had stopped at the signal short of the bunker, so again this was remedied by this 10 Dec 1989 tour running to the end of line. Bagworth MGR Bunker loaded coal from Nailstone taken there by a conveyor belt which had replaced a railway branch in 1980. This was rather difficult to operate with MGR wagons in particular and had three open level crossings. Nailstone had closed as a colliery in 1967 but a drift was excavated for coal to come to the surface for preparation and distribution from local collieries. These included Bagworth (ironically!), Ellistown and South Leicester Collieries. The last (Bagworth) closed in 1991.

Reversing here and returning to the main line at Bagworth Jn we ran across the layout to access the final branch of the day, which, as well as being the other bonus line, was not even in the additional itinerary! Rather ironically, the honour of being the last destination in this remarkable series of 1989 tours fell to the only location on them which had nothing to do with coal, Stud Farm Quarry, a new 1m 24ch branch which had only opened the year before. Here we stopped short of the loading bunker.

From here, heading towards Leicester, the tour ran past Desford Colliery on its way to Knighton Jn. It was the most southerly of the 'deep' collieries in the Leicestershire Coalfields and had a 'traditional' type of layout but had closed in 1984. Then the tour ran via Hinckley and, notably, the Nuneaton Midland Jn - Abbey Jn direct line (CA 15 Feb 1992), avoiding Nuneaton station. Arrival back into Birmingham New Street marked the end of this 1989 series of seven tours which, in total, visited over 50 freight locations, many of which had never been toured before nor, more significantly, were again. A second wave of pit closures over the next five years (the first had been after the miners' strike in 1984) meant that more than half had closed by the end of that period.

One of life's great mysteries is when Coalfields Farm branch closed, was taken out of use, or the last train ran. Can anyone assist please? https://bit.ly/39uWp6o is the latest train photo (18 Jul 1996) that your Editor can find and we know that production ceased that year. The location was removed from the timetable by Aug 1997. The 1½ mile branch (OG 14 Jun 1976) was particularly interesting.

The first part from Coalville Jn (112m 13ch) to the former Charnwood Forest Jn was a reopened curve linking the Coalville line with the Shackerstone to Loughborough Derby Road branch. It then used a 550yd section of that branch to SK 4304 1242 and after was a new build railway for about 1,250 yd alongside the northeast site boundary of South Leicester Colliery to end at SK 4339 1150.

Addendum: Regarding the Leicestershire Coalfield, although South Leicester Colliery was connected underground with Ellistown (presumably for ventilation/emergency access etc); it was also connected to Snibston in Coalville itself as was nearby Whitwick Colliery. Coal from all three was actually brought to the surface at Snibston Drift. Measham Colliery (where rail traffic had ended in 1981) was connected underground with Donisthorpe Colliery in Mar 1985 so the coal then went underground to Rawdon Drift which had previously been connected to Donisthorpe. However this only lasted 15 months, the Measham section closed after the last shift on 26 Jun 1986.

1:50,000 map (1987) Burton is off top left and Leicester bottom right. The 'Mine' upper left is Snibston near Coalville Mantle Lane. Coalville Jn is upper right of centre and the 1½ mile Coalfields Farm Branch runs down to Ellistown. Heather Sence Valley Opencast Site is off lower left, with its two mile coal conveyor belt route marked as 'Conveyor'. Middle far right is Bardon Hill Quarry branch.

The 1m 24ch Stud Farm branch and its rounding loop (OG 1988) from Bagworth Jn. The Burton-on-Trent/Coalville to Leicester line runs north to south here, far left from top to bottom.

More bleak weather at Rawdon Colliery on 10 Dec 1989; the line used to go further here.
[© Ian Mortimer 1989]

A National Coal Board diesel shunter approaching a level crossing on the quite lengthy Nailstone branch with a rake of loaded coal wagons in Mar 1979. Nailstone Colliery itself (in the distance middle left) had closed in 1967 but the large coal preparation plant served several collieries linked underground. As mentioned in the report, this branch was replaced by a conveyor belt when Bagworth Bunker opened near the main line; coal from Bagworth Colliery then was then brought to the surface at Nailstone for preparation before bing taken by conveyor back to .... would you believe ... Bagworth bunker to load into MGR trains!
[© Ian Mortimer 1979]

In railway days the layout at Nailstone (1:10,560 scale 1964 map) was unusual with a very tight curve that wagons were propelled round from the empty wagon sidings (rightsode on map), then they ran under the loading hoppers and were drawn out after loading - thus the loop was ungriceable you had to be an empty wagon to do it! The curve was so tight the wagons even had to be separated to go round (into rakes of two or three) which was hardly an efficient method of operations particularly for MGR wagons.

The same map with all the Nailstone branch, upper middle to bottom left, Bagworth Colliery (bottom right) and Ellistown top centre were linked undergound to Nailstone as was South Leicester Colliery (off map to the northeast). Note Bagworth & Ellistown station CP 7 Sep 1964 along with the Burton (off top) to Leicester (bottom) line.

Stud Farm Quarry bunker, looking towards the end of line from the tour, this branch had only opened the year before and, of course, is still open and sending out many aggregate trains now.
[© Ian Mortimer 1989]

Just up the line towards Leicester the tour passed Desford Colliery Jn, where a short NCB worked branch ran to Desford Colliery which was famous for its brass band. Before the colliery closed in 1984 Chris Boyle organised a trip on the railway for the RCTS in Jun 1983,
[© Ian Mortimer 1983]