mid wilts railway

Hi, it has never been the plan to build the main line to London, as i have already said,the station and part of the goods yard with about 300m of track would be my project. I have spoken to lot's of residents in Seend, the parish council and loads of mates who are builders and engineers and have had a very positive responce from all. This is the last part of the mid wilt's in the area and if not preserved will be gone forever.

 

Both Fencote & Rowden Mill stations (Worcester - Bromyard Line) have been very well restored to pristine condition by their enthusiastic private owners here;

Rowden Mill Station:: OS grid SO6256 :: Geograph Britain and Ireland - photograph every grid square!

These were long abandoned & very derelict (though not demolished) when work first started. Now they are a considerable asset and very popular when occasional open days are held. Remarkably they are only a couple of miles apart.

 

As a resident of Trowbridge this has been my dream project for a long time, though it was 2' 6" in my head! There are some issues with connecting Seend to Holt, but I'd get involved anyway!

 

With the Seend tramway as a genuine example of a private industrial railway feeding into a standard gauge branch line there is a nice story to be told, I'd have thought.

 

You COULD build a line from Seend to Bowerhill (Melksham). Going beyond that toward Holt you have the problem of the A350 and the old Semington Road. The A350 could be crossed with a bridge alongside the canal bridge (they'd never allow a level crossing on the old route), though that'd be a challenge, and the old Semington Road could be crossed on the level as it's buses only now. Going the otherway, you could cross by the Three Magpies on the A365, but there is a canal wharf in the way after that I think. If you could get passed that, you'd have to cross the A361 by Caen Hill but you could only get as far as Avon Road from what I can see.

Of course, some of the route is in private ownership now.

The alternative would be for a short line from Seend toward the outskirts of Melksham as far as you can, then try and rebuild the Seend Tramway to make it "interesting"

 

Yes I must admit I was surprised it came out just there. Ive passed that route dozens of times and not noticed it.

Think you could put a bridge in there, but you would have to alter the gradient in order to get the height there. No way would they allow a significantly reduced height there simply because its such a well used road.

Worth trying to acquire was left of that line, not because its ever likely it could be relayed, but for most of its length it would be a heck of a nice cycle way.

 

I think the project is a good idea .Go for it!

 

Yes I do too. There seem to be quite a lot of railway enthusiasts in the Melksham area judging by all the model railway shows, so it should have a bit of potential when it comes to manpower I would have thought.

Good luck to you!

 

I think this is a really good idea. This part of Wiltshire and just over the border in Somerset has a rich history of mining and industry none of which is celerbated anymore. There once was a mining museum in Monkton Farliegh but that shut many many years ago. Melksham was also the home of John Fowler and that family so a good railway connection there.

A small line from the site at Seend to the outskirts of Melksham would suffice, and then restoration of the Tramway at Seend itself. Visitors could travel from Melksham to Seend to avoid increased traffic in the village, get off the train, look around the village and the Tramway. Small but perfectly formed and something desperately needed in this part of Wiltshire! Then again I might be getting ahead of myself.

 

I have VERY fond memories of Melksham Goods Depot in the early 70s when I used to(unofficially!!)
help out the chap who ran the show (Mr Herbert Clothier) -- Oil trains ex LLandarcy (CL 47s) plus
the 2 trip freights (Swindon-Westbury return) each day.
Anyone know of the above or indeed any photos to share??
EXTRAORDINARILY HAPPY DAYS spent by a 12 yr old lad!!!
Neale.

 

The museum in Monkton Farleigh was less a mining museum and more a stone mine that had been converted into a military facility during the war. They stored the ammunition for DDay there and was a hell of a remarkable achievement. I visited a number of times and found it a remarkable place, utterly massive. It even had its own miniature underground railway for moving shells and bombs around. It still exists (something that big could never be demolished) but I gather its used for secure document storage now.

The proximity of a heritage line to the canal does open up a lot of potential it has to be said. The flight of canal locks are a major tourist attraction in their own light.

 

Hi Neil,

This sound like everyone's dream to be able to own a station and do what you like with it.

May I suggest you look at putting a collection of artifacts together first of all, or how about running the station as a pub / restaurant?

Then once that is up and running why not build a 2ft 6ins gauge narrow gauge railway on the tramway section there are some very nice 2ft 6ins gauge locos for sale one of which is in working order I believe.

Good luck with your plans.

 

My thoughts exactly

 

...guess nothing came of this then?

 

Interesting thread. Best of luck to the promoter. To my mind there's two phases with a scheme of this nature - once any planning conditions satisfied, laying some track, bringing in some rolling stock is the first phase. If the next phase is planned to be operating trains it's another phase - satisfying the needs of ROGs (link to guidance pasted in), then generating an SMS, Rule Book, Maintenance Regime, Staff Training Regime, Risk Assessments, Hazard Log and implementing same. I write this based on experience of the last 30 years volunteering on a heritage railway - in the front line for that time and a managerial position for 10 of those years. A read of some of the RAIB heritage railway accident reports (and wider rail reports) will highlight pitfalls to be weary of. Hope that helps. Devonbelle.

ORR launches new guidance on ROGS

 

Personally, I doubt anything ever will - or should for that matter. Ray

 

Well, the thread started in early January and it's now mid-March - I doubt if the promotor could prepare a plannning application in that time. As for whether it should happen - I got the impression that it was essentially a private scheme, and as far as I know there's no reason why the chap shouldn't have his own railway - others do, and I don't think they threaten anyone else.