East Midlands Railway Trust/GCR (Nottingham)

Loco restored....

 

That shunter badly needs a rad fan that fits the cowl if they want it to cool in anyway effectively!

 

Well done Phil and the team...and it is good to see locomotives moving around the site again.

 

Ooooh!!!!

https://www.gcrn.co.uk/node/96

 

Another video update....
https://www.youtube.com/live/RolQQxJFkWw

 

Another good news video - Should be a busy weekend on the GCR(N) and GCR!

 

Looks like the fund raising has done really well, two out of the three projects achieved and the last one looks to be doing well. It's good to see both halves of the GCR working together, and combining special events.

 

When the gap is filled, what options are there for Ruddington, personally thinking I would like to see the GCR station rebuilt, as it was, with the island platform, with a head shunt so the loco can release, in order to run round, there could be a DMU shuttle from there to the heritage centre, that arrives before the service train, into one side, waits for the train from LB, and leaves once passengers have transferred, the loco can then run round, via the now empty platform road .To simplify things, beyond the station, the line to the heritage centre could occupy the former up, line, towards LB, with GCR services using the other line beyond the turn out,

 

It's not an exciting answer but I think at the moment the answer is "we're not thinking about it or ruling anything out". You'd also have to contend with the fact that I think there are a lot of new houses by the old station site which not only restricts potential size of the site but also would be people who might oppose the extension and then complain of smoke and noise if it did happen. In this case the houses were there first

 

Some images I took yesterday on day 2 of the railway's return to service. A humble shunter, 3 coaches and a push-pull over Asher Lane crossing down to 50 steps made a nostalgic return to the railway as I first encountered it as a 3 year old back in 1997, although sadly (though understandably) this time the shunter was powered by diesel, not coal. I gathered that there was an estimated 300 passengers across the 6 departures (although some of those could have been repeat customers). Lots of people seemed very happy to see the trains running again, both on the railway and in the neighbouring country park. The beer festival in the new carriage shed was also reasonably well attended, despite the rather inclement weather during the earlier part of the day (complete with another 08).
As for what next, I am not the person to confirm, but I think I can say it is likely to be a cautious return to operations and the railway is not going to try to run before it can walk in terms of the complexity of operation or number of running days.

 

It's pretty well aligned with my vision for the site, however I'd be looking to reinstate the Down Loop too so that the arriving train could run-round independent of the heritage centre shuttle. The Up Loop, sadly, is impossible* due to housing encroachment. (*I mean, never say never, houses can be knocked down, but it seems unlikely!)
No real need to 'keep things simple' though, they have something like an 84 lever signal box at their disposal even assuming this grand vision didn't feature a reinstatement of the station box.
The biggest blocker to all of this, though, is the state of the old station bridge, which would need rebuilding to regain proper clearance underneath it before any train could pass through. And that's not simple as it's on a main road and apparently carries significant buried services too.

Realistically, I think any movement north of the current rail head is a good few years off... lets get the 'gap' done, develop some operational capacity on the northern section and then figure out where we go from there. And by 'we' I probably mean the next generation, not ours.

 

Could the renewed Ruddington station and all its associated track not be kept south of the road?

 

Looking at a satellite view of the site (outlined in red below), I think if you try and do a Leicester North and keep it all on one side of the bridge, you're going to run out of room. New housing has probably encroached too much to allow an island platform with an additional run round loop for at least one of the lines unless you have the platform run right up to the bridge as it originally would. You don't really gain any space by shifting the station north of the bridge either, which still requires amendments to said bridge
Then you don't have any parking space at the station without annoying residents, and also the old Ruddington station isn't a destination in the way that Ruddington Fields at the heritage center and country park is.
It's not as romantic an idea but I think the way forward is to construct the proposed south chord so a train leaving Ruddington Fields can move onto the mainline without having to reverse at 50 steps bridge or old Ruddington Village (see 2nd image for a very rough idea of what that would look like). That way you are taking trains straight to a destination station without having to introduce the complexities to the timetable of a reversal or a n additional train service which, although a romantic option, is not necessarily viable for every day running outside special events. It also would give you a turning triangle for things like incoming charter trains. Although that also isn't an easy option as it would include both quite a sharp curve and a not insignificant gradient, as well as a negotiation of land transfer with neighbours

 

I totally agree with ruddingtonrsh56 and believe that is what the GCR(N) is trying to achieve.
I would also add a huge "THANK YOU" to all the volunteers (and other workers both in view and in the back rooms) up at Ruddington who have been working so hard to get the trains running again.

 

Is there enough space at the heritage site for the necessary length of platform that would be needed for trains from Leicester? and then what about any that come in from the main line, as they would need somewhere with enough length to allow an GCR engine to attach whist the tour engine turns, and runs up to Loughborough to be serviced
My view is that possibly both are needed a station, where GCR services can terminate, and a chord to allow engines to be turned not just for main line charters but to enable GCR based engines, or coaches to be turned when needed, Re- instating Ruddington, with just the run round and island platform, would still give an destination, when the heritage centre is closed, or is holding another event, that prevents service trains running into it, a DMU shuttle would be a very practical option, given the restrictions, of the site, now that housing is close, to it, you have to be mindful of noise and concerns, from residents, so Straight in, run round, straight out, is the best option in my view .

 

The platform at the heritage centre is plenty long enough for GCR trains; charters are (see plenty of other threads) a luxury that are unlikely to justify capital expenditure.

 

Platform 1 at Ruddington Fields is plenty long enough for 10+ coaches and was built that way with the long term aim of being able to take charter trains. 7 or 8 coaches from Leicester North will be no problem.
I also can't think of any events that would happen at the heritage center that would prevent trains from running in there
Realistically I think of the two the south chord is far more likely to happen first as it requires less new infrastructure and allows a less complicated operating procedure. Plus I would imagine it would be cheaper, quicker and be less likely to put up neighbour's backs than building a new station right in the middle of a residential housing estate

 

As per your suggestion Martin - if the train was to enter a reinstated Ruddington, run round and leave again, how is that a 'destination'?

 

Can one track go straight through Ruddington up to the tram line and have an interchange there ?

 

To be honest I think that's highly unlikely to happen. The point at which the trackbed meets the NET lines isn't at a tram stop, and there isn't really a lot of room to build a station or interchange there, especially as it's close but not right at an existing tram stop (see second screenshot photo). Plus it's in what is now a nature reserve and, from what I can tell, a cutting, which will make adding in a station far more complicated both from a legal and construction perspective. Neither is there room to add GCR tracks alongside the tram line to Ruddington Lane tram stop, or space at Ruddington Lane to build a station.
Also, if you look at the old track bed, part of it is now just the middle of a farm (see first screenshot) which would be another obstacle as it's not like you're taking over a clear trackbed that isn't used for anything else, you have to contend with a farmer who probably wouldn't be happy about a steam train cutting across his land. Plus, if you just want to be close to public transport links into Nottingham City Centre, Nottingham City Transport run the 10C and 10X bus to outside the Heritage Centre, and just round the corner you can also get on the Kinch Bus 9, both of which run to Nottingham. I don't think it would be worth the expense or complexity when it wouldn't really be offering anything other than maybe an extra mile of track and a slightly quicker public transport link to central Nottingham