Are there any "complete" heritage railways?

I find it quite amazing how, over 60 years since the first heritage railway began operation and over 50 since the first standard gauge heritage lines to look through some of the threads in this section and the "steam traction" page and read of so much talk of extensions, locos steaming for the first time in preservation, etc. It says much for the resilience and vision of the movement.

One interesting discussion point to emerge from my musings is to ask if there are any lines which are essentially complete. In other words, is there a heritage railway where there are no plans (or possibilities) to extend, add double track or improve the signalling, all the resident locomotives have steamed at least once in preservation (with no new acquisitions planned) and all the carriages have been restored, even if some are currently being overhauled after a spell of duty?

I'm certainly struggling to think of any, although I can't claim to know every single line in the UK. The Talyllyn perhaps? Snowdon Mountain probably? On the Standard gauge, the only possible contenders that sprang to mind (and I might be wrong) were the Paignton & Dartmouth, Worth Valley and South Devon (assuming the idea of an Ashburton extension has been abandoned.)

 

Well, the obvious one that jumps out at me as 'complete' would be the KWVR - complete branch line, undercover storage for all locos and carriages, fully restored/rebuilt stations. The only thing that is not complete is the signalling.

The Ecclesbourne Valley Railway would be another that is a complete branch line, along with the Dartmouth Steam Railway.

 

The Ffestiniog, Talyllyn and Snowdon Mountain are as complete as they probably ever will be - though the Ffestiniog has the Harbour Station remodelling to come, and the Talyllyn is building a new carriage shed at the moment. The Welsh Highland and Vale of Rheidol are complete as far as the route is concerned, though the WHR needs more stock, station buildings and signalling, and the VoR has arguably moved backwards in terms of stock availability since it was privatised - the new workshops at Aberystwyth will help in that regard massively.

I doubt that any railway can ever be regarded as "finished" in terms of development - there will always be something to improve, some aspect that need expanding, and even if that isn't the case, human nature will make it so, since to stand still is firstly quite boring, and secondly, essentially equates to moving backwards whilst everyone else moves on.

John

 

I think the lines which stand the most chance of being "complete" are the more commercially driven examples such as Paignton & Dartmouth or Lakeside & Haverthwaite. Nothing against these lines at all, but they do seem to have more of a business head when it comes to housing "long term project" carriages for example. Such lines therefore appear to have adequate stock and a healthy selection of useful engines which don't take 15 years to steam again when they come out of service.

As for other lines, I think Selsig has a very valid point when he talks of human nature demanding improvement/expansion. I for one would certainly not be interested in a railway which had no new restoration projects at all, although I speak as an enthusiast rather than a causal visitor. I think interest in new projects, be it engines extensions or rolling stock is an essential element to attracting and retaining volunteers, and there are several examples where volunteer numbers have swelled in response to a big job like an extension.

If all plans for extensions were called off tomorrow and all engines/coaches that have yet to run were scrapped, I would bet however that the majority of heritage railway passengers probably wouldn't be too fussed.

 

Hi
Are you sure that signalling on KWVR is no completed
Since the opening of Damen's loop it seem me the contrary
Netherthelesse the KWVR is a remarkable exemple of a "squared finished railwy": in other words a true gem!
kindest regards

Noel

 

The Manx Electric Railway?
http://manxelectricrailway.co.uk/

 

Surely any list should include the Severn Valley Railway [goes from Bridgnorth to Kidderminster], the East Lancs Railway [goes from Heywood to Rawtenstall], North Yorks Moors [goes from Pickering to Whitby] and Bo'ness & Kinneil [goes from Bo'ness to Manuel] as starters. As noted, however, just because the line is complete in terms of line length there are always improvement to public and rolling stock facilities which will be part of any "developments" that the railways will undertake.
In one respect the changeover from line extension to facility development is a sign of maturity as a railway acknowledges its limitations and sets about improving what is has rather than seeking to simply extend the length of its running line.

 

It's certainly a true gem, where I cut my teeth as a lad. However it has two signalling projects on the go - Keighley Station and Haworth, and I suppose in the fullness of time it would be nice to signal Oxenhope too.

 

For starters, there's a long thread on the SVR forum about going north from Bridgnorth - 60 pages when I looked just now.
Also the ELR have a page on their web site about an extension to Castleton - Castleton Extension & Heywood Station | The East Lancashire Railway.

JP

 

Thanks for your comments so far, everyone. I haven't missed many lines by the sound of it. Hadn't thought of the Manx Electric or the Lakeside & Haverthwaite. Even if some projects are pretty long-term, and some may never come to pass, so many lines still have much in the pipeline that we can look forward to in terms of extra mileage, new locos (either new-build or not yet steamed in preservation) and interesting carriage restoration projects.

 

Include the Romney too. Pretty much any railway has to make continual incremental improvements to stock/ facilities. But once it gets to the stage where such activity is dictated more by commercial need than pure 'heritage' renewal aspirations, I'd be calling the railway complete.

Roger

 

And the Moors is always going to have the pipedream of Rillington

 

And the WSR will always be looking towards Barnstaple...

Steve

 

Probably easier - and cheaper - to go west to Barnstaple

Steve

 

As an insider, I can confirm that the Dartmouth Steam Railway is not "complete". We are well established but by no means are we planning to stand still!

 

The FR is 'finished' in the sense that the paint job on the Forth bridge is finished (until they got the new paint that is); as soon as one thing is done, another project gets started or a vital bit needs repair. I'm sure this is the same at every railway, heritage or otherwise.

Much of the FR infrastructure is under strain trying to cope with a railway that is now much longer and busier than it was designed to cope with. Hopefully the phase 5 appeal will allow the FRC to improve it (just ask any FR loco crew about the wet weather facilities at Boston Lodge...)

 

Epping & Ongar Railway is perhaps the most complete 'out of the box' railway on opening day, that I have seen. Granted they still have much to do, especially to get to Epping, but Ongar and North Weald stations are well restored, with 'final' track & signalling layouts almost (but not quite) complete from the outset.

 

I would also be surprised if the EOR is "complete" in a motive power sense at this stage. The acquisition of 4141 and 4953 has meant that there will shortly be two locos available for traffic capable of handling as heavy a train as EOR is likely to run, but presumably more engines will be sought at some stage?