After an earlier recce during the Christmas holiday period, when all was quiet in Great Rocks Dale, we stopped off briefly on our way to Chester more recently and found it was a hive of activity. From the overbridge next to the former Peak Forest station on the old and much-lamented Midland Railway route between Manchester Central and Derby that used to thread its way through the Peak District, this relatively short section of the former main line is still busy with stone traffic. It also maintains semaphore signalling from Great Rocks Junction signalbox. Limestone from the Buxton quarries at Tunstead, Hindlow and Dowlow is distributed across the country from here, largely in the hands of Class 66s from Toton depot. Nos. 66021, 66077, 66200 and 66205 were on site at the time of our visit, as was another 66, probably from Roberts Road, Doncaster, whose identity was hidden behind the hoppers.
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