Rother Vale Collieries

The Orgreave Train Collision occurred on 13 December 1926 near Orgreave Colliery signal box on the Great Central Railway line about 4+1⁄2 miles (7.2 km) east of Sheffield. A goods train had collided with a preceding goods train on the same line, and the wreckage had obstructed the adjacent passenger line. A workmen's train, known as a paddy mail, ran into the wreckage; paddy mails were workmen's trains operated in connection with all three shift changes at the collieries. These were hauled from Sheffield Victoria, as far as Orgreaves Colliery Sidings by the main line company, using whatever locomotive was available. At this point the colliery's own locomotives took over and in connection with this operation 'Rothervale No.6' was fitted with vacuum brakes. The train then ran to Orgreave Colliery platform and Treeton Colliery.

Woodhouse railway station serves Woodhouse and Woodhouse Mill in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The station is 5.25 miles (8 km) east of Sheffield station on the Sheffield to Lincoln Line. The next station east was Waleswood, until its closure in 1955, and is now Kiveton Bridge. The next station west is Darnall. Beighton railway station, originally adjacent to the junction with the Midland Railway, but rebuilt by the MS&LR when it began work on its "Derbyshire Lines", was until 1954 the next station south. Woodhouse Mill, Orgreave and Fence were served by a station on the North Midland Railway named Woodhouse Mill. From 1955 until removal in 1981, the Barnsley Junction-Rotherwood segment of the Manchester – Sheffield – Wath electrification terminated slightly west of the Woodhouse station platforms, within sight of the station.

Woodhouse Mill railway station was opened in 1840 by the North Midland Railway on its line between Rotherham Masborough and Chesterfield. It was situated to the south of the main A57 road shortly after this left the City of Sheffield and served Woodhouse Mill, near Sheffield, Orgreave, Fence and (Aston cum Aughton), all within Rotherham, South Yorkshire. It may initially have been simply a halt, but the Midland Railway installed an island platform with a timber and brick booking office at its centre. Nearby was Orgreave Coke Works and Fence Colliery. It closed in 1953.The station was located between that at Treeton and the original North Midland station at Beighton. The line is still in use today but has been a freight only route since July 1954, although it is very occasionally used as a diversionary route and by excursions not calling at Sheffield. It serves as a bypass line which keeps freight trains away from the congested lines through central Sheffield.

Rotherwood exchange sidings were set at the eastern extremity of the Manchester-Sheffield-Wath electric railway between Orgreave Lane and Retford Road, on the south eastern boundary of the City of Sheffield with the Parish of Orgreave, within Rotherham. The sidings, located approximately at milepost 46¾ (measured from Manchester Piccadilly), consisted of two sets of lines split between the up and down sides of the line, and were laid out for the purpose of locomotive changing on trains passing through the area. Originally steam, later diesel locomotives brought trains, particularly coal from the Nottinghamshire coalfield to the down sidings, where the motive power was changed to electric traction for the run over Woodhead to Mottram yard where it was changed again for steam (later diesel) to continue its journey. The returning empty traffic was changed over in the up sidings. Entry to the down sidings was by Permissive block regulations from Woodhouse East Junction and on busy days trains would queue for the full distance. The sidings were controlled by a British Railways built signal box set at the east end of the up sidings on the down side of the line.

Orgreave Colliery was a coal mine situated adjacent to the main line of the Manchester, Sheffield & Lincolnshire Railway about 5 miles (8 km) east of Sheffield and 3.5 miles (6 km) south west of Rotherham. The colliery is within the parish of Orgreave, from which it takes its name.

Orgreave Colliery platform was a workman's halt built to serve the miners working at Orgreave Colliery in South Yorkshire, England. These workmen's trains or "Paddy Mails" were operated between Sheffield Victoria and Treeton Colliery at shift change times being hauled along the main line to Orgreaves Colliery Sidings (the extra 's' being added by the railway in error but never corrected) where the main line locomotive was exchanged for one belonging to the colliery company, usually "Rothervale No.6" which was fitted with vacuum brakes. The platform was situated almost at the bottom of an incline with a gradient of approx. 1 in 27 to be climbed to reach the main line with the return trains. It was often the case that the train was reversed a short distance to more level track to give it a run at the gradient and a banking locomotive provided, sometimes on damp days too. The "Paddy Mails" ceased running in May 1932 due to parts of the bridges between Orgreave and Treeton being washed away when the River Rother flooded. The line was repaired but the "Paddy Mails" were not re-introduced, being replaced by "Pit Buses" operated by Sheffield Corporation along the main routes from the city centre and the local area. One of the "Paddy Mails" was involved in an accident on 13 December 1926.

Fence Colliery was a small colliery sunk at the lower end of the village of Fence, South Yorkshire, England alongside the main Sheffield to Worksop road in the 1840s, shortly before the opening of the North Midland Railway through the Rother Valley.

The Cross Daggers is a Grade II listed former public house in Woodhouse, Sheffield, England.The building features a date stone above the door which states that it was built in 1658 as well as the initials TGN, which is said to have stood for Thomas Godfrey Newbould, a prominent Quaker and landlord. The building overlooks the village stocks as well as the cross. Although it has largely been used as a public house since its completion, in more recent years it has been used to house various restaurants.

Orgreave is a village and civil parish on the River Rother in South Yorkshire. It is in the Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham, about 4.5 miles (7 km) east of the centre of Sheffield and a similar distance south of the centre of Rotherham. The 2011 Census recorded its population as 739. This is a slight decline since the 2001 Census, which recorded its population as 761.

The Birley Collieries were a group of coal mines set in the Shire Brook Valley in south-east Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. They were connected to the railway system by a branch line from the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway at Woodhouse East Junction, about 800 yards east of Woodhouse station. From 1877 to his death in 1926, William Dunn Gainsford was owner of the Birley Collieries, with his cousin Alfred John Gainsford serving as Managing Director.

Treeton is a village and civil parish of the Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham in South Yorkshire, England. It is located about 4 miles (6 km) south of the town of Rotherham and 5 miles (8 km) east of Sheffield City Centre.

The Church of St Helen is the parish church in the village of Treeton in South Yorkshire, England. It is a Church of England church in the Diocese of Sheffield. The building is Grade I listed building and dates back to at least the 12th century AD. It is a prominent feature within the village, and can be seen from all directions.