The Gwili Railway thread

I believe the loop is a constraint. I am sure someone will clarify?

The thing is if you never try and grow you end up standing still and I think, sustainable growth is the bedrock of the preservation movement.

Obviously there are lines that are too long etc.... but I remember once someone telling me - when we go to abergwili we will need 2 locos in steam and 2 diesels, we will need a car park, and how will we maintain all the extra track and we wont get anymore visitors. Looking back now thank god the railway did extend! Its a balancing act - but would I love the railway to go to conwil... yes I would. Do I think on balance it would be a good thing...
Yes I do.

Extensions tend to benefit from grant funding which wouldn't be available other wise so as long as it doesn't put too much of a strain on the other parts of the railway happy days.

 

[citation needed]!!

Yes railways need to be developing and moving forward otherwise they turn stagnant, but there's loads of things you cna do that don't include increasing the length of your running line.

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There was one 'proposal' to get the railway across the river from Carmarthen and then turn sharp left into a tunnel about 6 miles long which would replace about 13 miles of winding track and leave the Gwili where it is, that lasted all of five minutes due to cost. At least that proposal lasted longer than one hairbrained scheme to build the new line on stilts above the existing line. Where do they get them from?
There was serious thought of having to tunnel at the Aberystwyth end due to housing all over the track bed with a big hill in the way of an alternative route (and the VoR now using the old Carmarthen platform). Like the whole proposal everything went quiet once the costs were published.
I've seen questions on here about the benefit of the link. For those who weren't here at the time of the feasibility study the cost was estimated to be £750 million, The benefit to the communities on route and in general … only £450 million. Quite a large cost/benefit gap .