Defunct preserved railways

It is interesting to see there are no failed heritage railways (where Jo Public left the station area in a coach and went a reasonable distance). There are a lot where they were "I dreamed a dream" types which never really got going if started at all. Most of the closed sites other wise is the ones solely based in sites of engine sheds etc i.e. where there was no room to give Jo Public a proper train ride. Some of these moved and kept their name or renamed. Some private ones have gone/moved where the property was sold, and/or the owner/operator died/retired.

 

Although it was brake van rides, not a coach and the station was still in BR ownership and still saw coal trains, you could argue this was joe public joining a train at a station:

http://simonwhittinghamphotography.zenfolio.com/p456689996/h3718feca#h3718feca

 

As far as i can see Swansea Vale is the largest defunct preservation scheme, with around a mile of track, so i agree there is a trend.

 

Agreed, can't think of anything bigger, the group at Long Marston might possibly have had more stock, but the track they just rented off the MOD as far as I can work out.

 

I was there on one of those occasions!

 

I dont think marston group ran any trains... i think most failed schemes were small sites with little chance to expand.

 

I'm pretty sure they did, they had some sort of route that circumnavigated the site. Not sure if they used them, but I'm also pretty sure they had a couple of items of coaching stock too.

 

Sorry, coming late to this one...

Yes, it's a one-road shed. At best it could accommodate 46115 and "Nunlow"(0-6-0T) - just. Not worth the effort.

 

Long Marston held some Railway Open Days in the past, including some passenger trips. I last visited the site in 1997 and took some photos including this one of "Mulberry".

I believe some of the Long Marston stock moved (or was planning to move) to the nascent "Beaver Valley Railway" which is/was a plan to reopen the mothballed Sharpness Branch. Nothing seen on Nat Pres. or other sites regarding the Sharpness project for at least 2 years so this could be another one to add to the list. I believe that considerable regeneration/housing plans exist for Sharpness so a railway might well appear in future but not necessarily of a heritage type.

 

I seem to recall that someone said that someone else in the gwsr c+w dept is/was involved in the sharpness proposal, gave the impression that something was still happening there - maybe... I know I'm a font of all knowledge! I'll try and find out when I'm next in...

 

Would Longmoor not have been larger? I appreciate it hardly got off the ground, but it was a scheme.

 

I didn't think they ever owned the track, but were running on a storage agreement from MOD?

 

Sadly, I wouldn't know, Wenlock. It closed before I arrived, hence I phrased it as a question!

 

I seem to recall a story of the local residents being so opposed to a heritage railway they actually bought some of the trackbed themselves specifically so a society couldn't, so that would imply it was never owned by the society, at least not much of it presumably, perhaps enough for some storage...

 

Yes and then they got a motorway instead

 

Serves 'em right!

 

No it was the A3 which was upgraded and moved closer, as the M3 is far to far to the north west.

I understand it was the army bigwigs who lived close, which didn't want the railway to be taken over as a preserved railway as it was on their door step.

 

Indeed, though the A3 isn't really a motorway as such. I think the LMR would have been such fun for enthusiasts with the complexity and branches and the circle of track. Genuinely a train set. Whether the punters would have enjoyed a tour of the firing ranges, or indeed the MOD enjoyed having them have a tour of the firing ranges, is another matter. Would we have been able to play "spot the Russian spy" in the 70s and 80s?

Also interesting to note that the length of line considered "ideal" seems to have increased as well. It used to be said that 5 miles was the perfect length, but 10 seems to be the length these days. (Paul, you will be itching to reply to this I know). My observation is that the lines experiencing passenger growth and generally looking like their "on the up" tend to be those that are 10 miles+ long. There are exceptions to this, KWVR and IOWSR, but they have other attractions. What you cant be is both short (less than 5 miles) and uninteresting. My hypothesis is that people expect a day out....either travelling on the train (so a longer run) or visiting attractions / seeing nice carriages, in other words "interesting".

 

I think your analysis underestimates some of the so called "smaller lines". For example there are signs that several are setting the bar much higher than previously. Look at for example the East Somerset's restoration of the Ivatt, the Dean Forest appointing a General Manager, Blaenavon development, Gwili Extension, Swindon and Cricklade taking on a Hall and the new shed. None of these things suggest that the smaller lines are suffering through a lack of popularity either on a volunteer front or in terms of visitor numbers. It appears to me that many are becoming more businesslike and are being just as successful in attracting capital investment as your SVR's or GWSR's. It is not so much the length of line that should be taken into account but the overall experience- for many railways the most profitable/lucrative event are the Santa Specials where the length of the ride takes second place to the Santa visit.

Regards

Matt

 

Quite. The Avon Valley Railway claims to have 80,000 visitors a year. It is hardly in the premier league when it comes to authenticity or attractions on offer.