If you register, you can do a lot more. And become an active part of our growing community. You'll have access to hidden forums, and enjoy the ability of replying and starting conversations.

Extension Projects

Discussion in 'Heritage Railways & Centres in the UK' started by brmp201, Apr 5, 2017.

  1. MellishR

    MellishR Resident of Nat Pres Friend

    Joined:
    Apr 16, 2009
    Messages:
    8,068
    Likes Received:
    5,162
    How does Council support for restoring the railway into Leek square with their rejection of planning applications for the redevelopment at Leekbrook which would provide essential funding for the same project?
     
  2. Kingscross

    Kingscross Member

    Joined:
    Oct 19, 2009
    Messages:
    711
    Likes Received:
    484
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    South West
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    Yes I am an active volunteer
    The Bristol Harbour Railway has seen a gradual nibbling of available track over the last decade or so. The section to Ashton Junction over Ashton Gate swing-bridge was taken out of use beyond the Create Centre in the early 2000s, although track remained in situ. Now the line has been cut back a further 200 yards or so from the Old Create Centre terminus to make room for the Metrobus guided busway. There has also been quite a spectacular slumping of the retaining wall alongside the New Cut in the last couple of years, while BHR trains have only been running as far as Vauxhall Bridge. Hopefully structural repairs will be undertaken part of the Metrobus works.
     
  3. brmp201

    brmp201 Member

    Joined:
    May 18, 2010
    Messages:
    558
    Likes Received:
    771
    Gender:
    Male
    Occupation:
    IT Director
    Location:
    Surrey, UK
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    No I do not currently volunteer
    Interesting update on the Norfolk Orbital Railway website.


    The Holt Project


    As those of you with access to the internet will already know, thanks to your generosity we met the challenge of having to pay the next instalment towards the purchase of the second section of land at High Kelling. This still leaves us with having to find over £50,000 to complete the purchase so any suggestions or assistance really would
    be appreciated.

    Together with the initial stretch of land we purchased from the County Council some time ago this means that we have reached far beyond the half-way mark in purchasing the part of the railway route between the Cromer Road (by the North Norfolk Railway station) and the by-pass and much enhanced the prospect of getting into Holt. Our ambitions lie beyond Holt of course but we have to face and try to overcome each obstacle along the way. Fakenham remains the goal.

    In other developments, we are implementing the planning consent we received last year to establish a small embankment and install a demonstration length of track which will very kindly be supplied by the North Norfolk Railway. We are now waiting for the Army Disposal Unit who have agreed to undertake tree clearance and for the settlement of the land.

    We were consulted by the District Council about the building of a new roundabout on the A 148. This has been positioned to avoid the wide verge which is needed for the railway. As you will recall, this section is protected by the District Council’s Local Development Framework which specifies that the route must not be compromised. We have had an initial visit from the ORR, the Office of Rail and Road, to discuss technical requirements for the building of the line into Holt, including clearances between railway and road alongside the by-pass. The guidance of the ORR will inform our negotiations with the County Council as the other main interested party. We are to have a follow up visit in due course.
     
  4. Matt37401

    Matt37401 Nat Pres stalwart

    Joined:
    Jun 8, 2014
    Messages:
    15,326
    Likes Received:
    11,663
    Occupation:
    Nosy aren’t you?
    Location:
    Nowhere
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    No I do not currently volunteer
    Something I find rather worrying about the Norfolk Orbital Route is that both the Mid Norfolk and North Norolk have said they don't want it! So I do wonder why it's being pressed ahead with?
     
    35B, SteveA and Hicks19862 like this.
  5. Thompson1706

    Thompson1706 Part of the furniture

    Joined:
    Nov 19, 2007
    Messages:
    2,438
    Likes Received:
    1,844
    Gender:
    Male
    Occupation:
    Retired
    Location:
    Rhiwabon
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    Yes I am an active volunteer
    It seems to be a more sensible scheme than others currently being proposed / progressed.

    Bob.
     
  6. Matt37401

    Matt37401 Nat Pres stalwart

    Joined:
    Jun 8, 2014
    Messages:
    15,326
    Likes Received:
    11,663
    Occupation:
    Nosy aren’t you?
    Location:
    Nowhere
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    No I do not currently volunteer
    Fair enough. What ever's proposed though it's still going to take a good deal of co operation between all parties though.
     
  7. The Dainton Banker

    The Dainton Banker Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jul 20, 2014
    Messages:
    1,720
    Likes Received:
    3,186
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Over the hills and far away
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    No I do not currently volunteer
    As you are aware, the issue of the by-pass and roundabout came up in the "Holt extension" forum last April, and you will remember that several posters were adamant that there was no longer sufficient room to run tracks alongside the new by-pass. As this was contrary to the information you had posted I had hoped that you would offer an explanation but you made no comment. You have now posted a further update, but in this forum instead, and again we are left wondering as to the truth of the matter. Either there is, or is not, room to lay tracks. If there is not room what alternative do you have for linking through, or around, Holt. There needs to be a clear answer to this or the whole Orbital project will be in jeopardy.

    Mike
     
    35B likes this.
  8. brmp201

    brmp201 Member

    Joined:
    May 18, 2010
    Messages:
    558
    Likes Received:
    771
    Gender:
    Male
    Occupation:
    IT Director
    Location:
    Surrey, UK
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    No I do not currently volunteer
    Hi Mike,

    I have no connection to the Norfolk Orbital Railway (although I do get up to the area most years), but I do check their updates and share anything I see of interest. I agree that there does seem to be some conflicting information here, so we shall have to continue to watch for further updates.

    Regards,

    David
     
  9. The Dainton Banker

    The Dainton Banker Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jul 20, 2014
    Messages:
    1,720
    Likes Received:
    3,186
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Over the hills and far away
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    No I do not currently volunteer
    Whilst on the subject of Norfolk Railways :

    Mid-Norfolk Railway.

    There seems to be very little information available on the extension of the Mid-Norfolk towards County School. From the fact that they are fund-raising for sleepers I assume that they are intending to push north from Hoe, and may already have started, but there is no information on their website or their Facebook page. With three or so miles of track to lay I would have thought they were in need of all the support they could get but there is no publicity at all. If you look under donations on their website there seem to be four current projects : Shed appeal (started 2012), Coach appeal (2014), Turntable project (2015), and Sleeper project (undated but presumably 2016). There is no indication that any of these projects have been started, let alone completed.
    I appreciate that it is not easy to maintain an on-line presence but it shouldn't be too hard to post occasional updates to let interested parties (and potential donors) know what is happening. Nobody would expect the kind of coverage generated by the GWSR / Broadway teams but even a quarterly progress report would be an improvement and might attract some extra support.

    Mike
     
    jnc likes this.
  10. The Dainton Banker

    The Dainton Banker Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jul 20, 2014
    Messages:
    1,720
    Likes Received:
    3,186
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Over the hills and far away
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    No I do not currently volunteer
    Thanks, David,
    Hopefully somebody from the Orbital can give us an authoritative answer.
    Mike
     
  11. Hicks19862

    Hicks19862 Member

    Joined:
    Oct 6, 2015
    Messages:
    738
    Likes Received:
    612
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Manchester
    I was always under the impression that the NNR was at best indifferent to the aims of the NOR, perhaps seeing an extension in to Holt as unrealistic and competing for funds with other more achievable projects, didn't realise the MNR felt the same.

    Just my opinion but I think the Holt extension should be forgotten, and all the effort and funds focussed on the MNR extension to Fakenham.
     
  12. Gav106

    Gav106 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Mar 29, 2010
    Messages:
    1,741
    Likes Received:
    2,017
    Location:
    Nantwich, Cheshire
    Hi all. I visited the MNR for their steam gala the other weekend and asked about the website. There used to be a page on the old one where there were regular updates, a type of blog, on the progress of the Pway dept. They said they have been having some issues and that page can no longer be accessed on the new website. As to Facebook it wasn't that long ago that they posted new on the progress towards North Elham stating their aim was to run a train up to North Elham by the end of the year. As of last weekend this was still their aim when asked.

    The shed appeal is still ongoing and I believe that when some soil samples were taken the ground wasn't as stable as hoped so they were looking at the options.

    I didnt ask about a coach appeal as I was unsure of the situation as they did get some coaches from long Marston but I believe these then went on to the ecclesbourne where one has just come back into service.

    The turntable project looks to be a longer term aim but I didn't really ask about that as I believe they are more interested in the shed first.

    They are doing the santa trains as the poler express as this has been very successful at other railways and as it's a larger amount to set that up (but with hopefully larger profits at the end) I'm guessing money is being pumped into that. I'll next go down in August when on a family Holiday so I can see if there is much more by then regards to the north Elham extension.
     
  13. mikechant

    mikechant Member

    Joined:
    Oct 24, 2012
    Messages:
    203
    Likes Received:
    233
    Given that it's likely to be a few years before they get to county school, I wonder if it would be worth constructing a temporary platform at North Elmham (just south of the level crossing, to the west of the line looks suitable)?

    This would show real progress and potentially allow trackbed walks to County School, about 2 miles). It might not make financial sense though, don't know how much a temporary platform like the one at Northallerton West (Wensleydale) costs.
     
  14. brmp201

    brmp201 Member

    Joined:
    May 18, 2010
    Messages:
    558
    Likes Received:
    771
    Gender:
    Male
    Occupation:
    IT Director
    Location:
    Surrey, UK
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    No I do not currently volunteer
    Lots of updates on Mid-Norfolk Railway Facebook page, including a live video from today of a weed-killing train getting very close to North Elmham. Also this on their Twitter feed, of the train approaching North Elmham level crossing.
     
  15. The Dainton Banker

    The Dainton Banker Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jul 20, 2014
    Messages:
    1,720
    Likes Received:
    3,186
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Over the hills and far away
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    No I do not currently volunteer
    Thank you, Gav and brmp,
    I missed that on the Facebook site : the layout is not easy to follow.
    They are making much better headway than I realised. I'll chuck a bit into their kitty shortly.
     
    brmp201 likes this.
  16. michaelh

    michaelh Part of the furniture

    Joined:
    Apr 29, 2006
    Messages:
    3,080
    Likes Received:
    1,291
    Gender:
    Male
    Occupation:
    Very comfortably early retired
    Location:
    1029
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    Yes I am an active volunteer
    Isn't the Bluebell already at East Grinstead?
     
  17. Jamessquared

    Jamessquared Nat Pres stalwart

    Joined:
    Mar 8, 2008
    Messages:
    26,099
    Likes Received:
    57,414
    Location:
    LBSC 215
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    Yes I am an active volunteer
    We were last time I checked ;)

    Tom
     
  18. gwilialan

    gwilialan Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Dec 8, 2012
    Messages:
    1,658
    Likes Received:
    3,891
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Out there somewhere
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    Yes I am an active volunteer
    "Carmarthen North" was the working title we gave to the end of the extension while 'discussions' ( :eek: ) were ongoing about what to call the new station. Abergwili Junction is now the formal name for "Carmarthen North" (Although on some maps I have seen an additional station about half a mile north of Abergwili - just north of bridge 5 - marked as Carmarthen north. Not sure where they got that idea and no, there is no and will be, no station there!)
     
  19. michaelh

    michaelh Part of the furniture

    Joined:
    Apr 29, 2006
    Messages:
    3,080
    Likes Received:
    1,291
    Gender:
    Male
    Occupation:
    Very comfortably early retired
    Location:
    1029
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    Yes I am an active volunteer
    So why does the OP list it as an extension in progress?
     
  20. goldfish

    goldfish Nat Pres stalwart

    Joined:
    Jan 13, 2009
    Messages:
    14,900
    Likes Received:
    12,241
    Probably meant 'Ardingly'…

    Simon
     
    Tuska likes this.

Share This Page