Anyone fancy joining a putative line revival project?

Airedrie to Bathgate, East West Rail (well Chiltern to Oxford - phase 1 A), Vale of Glamorgan,

However, all have been initiated/funded from outside so I suppose the lesson is that NR will not initiate a re-opening, but will progress it if supported and funded by outside bodies.

David R

 

Aln Valley seems pretty damn close to fully operational, can't be much longer before they're well and truly up and running - and I am deeply impressed by what they've achieved. For what it's worth, I am not devoting myself solely to this would-be enterprise to the exclusion of all else. I have some sense of perspective and realism. David - Vale of Glamorgan - that's the former name of the Barry steam railway, right? What has NR got to do with that? East-West, I've heard a deal of hot air on this subject but is anything actually happening? I suspect that, were it not for it linking Oxford and Cambridge, if it were anywhere else - e.g. Birmingham to Lincoln - it wouldn't get a look-in... Airdrie-Bathgate, again that'll be an SNP (or at least Scottish Executive/Parliament) initiative... it seems it's much easier to get stuff done when you have a devolved parliament! Whether or not this indicates that it might be an idea to have an exclusively English parliament, I couldn't possibly comment. Cranleigh is quite an attractive place - think a cross between Alresford and some of the larger villages of the Sussex Weald. I've never been to Dunstable and know of it only for the Priory.

 

Cranleigh and other places going back towards Guildford are now commuter towns, ask any one in Cranleigh do you want your railway back, and i would guess that the first question will be can i get to Waterloo on it? i see no other reason for a return of the railway, as i mentioned before, i used to travel through Cranleigh every day to do with work, and the A281 was always very busy,it would really have to be a 7 day service as week ends people would want to travel to Guildford to shop , rather than sit in a 5 mile traffic jam they may even think about using the train, so the only way Cranleigh will ever get its train service back is by people putting pressure on its local MP,and Council to get NR to look at it, and getting local funding to reduce the spend down to a level where NR may find a case in favour. it has to be done as part of the national net work.

 

I didn't realise that the track was still intact. 12 years after the branch closed to freight? I'm surprised.

But it only goes to highlight how huge the task has been when, in over 20 years since reopening, the railway is still extremely basic.

PM me if you're looking for somewhere a little more attractive. Post-divorce I'm looking for a lodger!

All well and good, as long as said devolved parliament throws money at the most needed/deserving/sensible cases and causes. Which in the SNP's case isn't (ahem) always the case. Their track record for pi55ing money up the wall is second to none...

 

With regards to the CVR/MCR, a) all the track was in-situ, and b) these days I'd liken the modus operandi to that of the EOR in many ways.

Peak Rail, once they gave up on Buxton (having rebuilt a bridge to escape from the station yard, only then to discover that BR would not agree a track bed share down the freight branch) had to start from scratch, laying track at Darley Dale. I won't go into all the many coups and U-turns that have taken place along the way. At least they have achieved a connection with NR at Matlock, and with any luck, they might one day get back to Bakewell, if the huge hurdle of the A6 can be overcome. That would create a more viable operation, and the arrival of Waterman's fleet can only be good news, so long as they don't p*ss him off, as they have done so many others.

Ironically a lot of the original PR faithful have decamped to the Ecclesborne just over the hill, which is fast becoming a decent outfit.

 

I think that's a little harsh. What they have achieved in the time is amazing considering it was an entirely clear site with no history of railway infrastructure.

We visit once a year when we are up there and the year on year progress is stunning - it is also the friendliest railway I have visited which has really inspired and engaged with the community.

 

Agreed. This isn't the place for politics, but railways (and their anti-Trident stance) are the only things on which I agree with the SNP.

Sheff, I was pleased to read in the Steam Beano that Ecclesbourne have just bought their freehold for a quid. Maybe their success will be a lesson to Peak Rail - or maybe it'll even grow to the point they can then take over PR and run it properly.

Oh, and isn't Alnwick Lionheart station on a completely new formation? That must also count as a significant landmark, no?

 

Yes its on the periphery of an industrial estate, they are now working to drop down from the new site to the original formation.

 

So that will presumably entail quite a steep gradient up into the station? Have they as yet got any running line?

Looking at the satellite images, I'm not entirely sure why they can't bridge the A1 - but there are obviously a few obstructions on the trackbed into the town (thankfully, not residential property, it appears). There was another line out of Alnwick too, but I think that the (relatively few) obstructions in Alnwick and then, by the look of it, quite a few in Wooler, would put paid to hopes of reinstatement, short of a major developer wishing to invest in it.

 

They have a short running line for brake van rides, the terminus station now has two platforms and a new build footbridge.

Bridging the A1 would cost a small fortune, plus getting to the original station would be painful through the town - finally the station itself is now Barter Books http://www.barterbooks.co.uk/html/About Us/The Bookshop.php which is worth a visit in itself if you ever find yourself in Alnwick, it has a fine selection of railway books!

I have to emphasise that I have nothing to do with the project (I have never even got round to joining them), however I really support them as they have always been so friendly and enthusiastic when we have visited. We go with my wife's family (who have no interest in railways) and I think they look forward to it more than I do each year, which say a lot about the welcome you receive!

My little girl had her first train ride there last year when she was 1 so it will always be special!

 

Would an A1 bridge be possible if funding was given for it to be built, or is it one of these daft cases where the road is too wide for a single span and the central reservation too narrow for a supporting pier? I've been aware of the bookshop for some time. There appears also to be some industrial use of the building?

If ever they could get major political support and funding to do so, reinstating the Alnwick-Coldstream line, then Tweedmouth to St Boswell's, linking up with the Waverley route - the potential for tourism would be enormous. I fear I'm living in dreamland here, though...

 

No idea - you are straying miles beyond my knowledge of the scheme here!

 

Vale of Glamorgan = Barry to Bridgend - definately a "Big Railway" Project. East West Rail at present is slowly grinding on, but current focus is on what was Chiltern Railway's Evergreen 3 Oxford Project - building a new spur at Bicester, then upgrading and doubling Bicester Town to Oxford - that's nearly reaching opening to Oxford (Water Eaton) Parkway

David R

 

Barry-Bridgend was an existing double track railway already to passenger standards (was used for occasional diversions), it 'just' needed capacity improvements (it was hobbled by a 12-mile block section) and some stations. Even then it nearly didn't happen as a lot of the funding got caught up in Welsh Assembly politics.


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Going back to our friend's employment situation, go back and finish college if you can but at 24 see if you can get on a training / apprenticeship scheme and do it by day release. It'll open doors for you. I don't know what skills you have or where your interest lies but we have a massive shortage of engineers in this country and despite people's misconceptions it's not all about oil and spanners, there is a real need for people who can write decent technical specifications and so on which could be just as rewarding as journalism and far more useful...

A friend of mine is a successful engineering manager now and still gets to play with pipe organs at the weekend.


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Nothing that cannot be solved with enough cash - make the bridge substantial enough and it can indeed span the A1 in a single go, or alternatively cut back one of the banks, install a retaining wall and shift the carriageway over slightly. The big downside of the latter option is the road traffic management measures necessary which can come to more than the cost of the bridge itself.

However as said pile of cash isn't available - or remotely likely to be raised from appeals (and even if it was there are far better uses for it on the railway scheme as a whole) the people behind the scheme have taken the practical stance of stopping short of Alanwick itself.

 

Is extra span on a bridge necessarily that expensive?

I was surprised no end at the time & still keep remarking now that the bridge, which replaced the level crossing between Taunton and Norton Fitzwarren was so long.
It is one span across the Grand Western canal - towpath and all- the present three roads of railway and the space for the lifted up line.

What might the considerations for not saving the width of one line have been? Disruption payments to Network Rail? Passive provision for trains off the West Somerset?
My guess is that if you were going to provide the foundations either side more bridge between them must have been relatively cheap.