If you register, you can do a lot more. And become an active part of our growing community. You'll have access to hidden forums, and enjoy the ability of replying and starting conversations.

GWSR Broadway Developments

Discussion in 'Heritage Railways & Centres in the UK' started by Breva, Aug 1, 2014.

  1. paulhitch

    paulhitch Guest

    Well, if you went over to the IOW on a day when both sets of carriages are in service, you would indeed encounter "The Tourist", complete with nameboards as the 1105 ex Smallbrook running non-stop to Wootton. Similarly W8 or W11 can be seen heading carriage set 484 as they did on Ventnor West services in the nineteen thirties. Not that this can ever be 100% authentic as the routes these ran on are long gone and the equipment used can differ but some places could try just a little harder to depict things as they used to be.

    Paul H
     
    30854 likes this.
  2. 30854

    30854 Resident of Nat Pres

    Joined:
    Mar 8, 2017
    Messages:
    12,172
    Likes Received:
    11,493
    Gender:
    Male
    Occupation:
    Retired
    Location:
    Brighton&Hove
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    No I do not currently volunteer
    Thanks Paul..... however, methinks we'd both best not hijack these nice folks' thread! :)

    As a near total GW ignoramus.... did any named trains ever operate regularly over the G-W line back in the day?
     
    paulhitch likes this.
  3. flying scotsman123

    flying scotsman123 Resident of Nat Pres

    Joined:
    Sep 9, 2013
    Messages:
    10,440
    Likes Received:
    17,941
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Cheltenham
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    Yes I am an active volunteer
    The Cornishman in the 1950s did, so Foremarke Hall in BR green with chocolate and cream Mk1s is perfect.

    Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk
     
    Bill Drewett and 30854 like this.
  4. Breva

    Breva Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Oct 11, 2010
    Messages:
    2,158
    Likes Received:
    3,790
    Location:
    Gloucestershire
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    Yes I am an active volunteer
    It was the pride of the line, which in fact was specifically designed for fast through passenger services and long distance freight:

    Broadway 5022 Wigmore Castle down Cornishman 08 07 1954a.jpg

    Here is a Castle hauled Cornishman barrelling through Broadway in 1954. Picture by John Diston. I think that may be his bicycle leaning against the steps, as he lived in upper Broadway and would hurtle down the high street to the station to watch trains.

    Original canopy overhang and footbridge step support columns on the right by the way. Notice how airy it all looks under the canopy. We very nearly lost that.
     
    jtx, Kinghambranch, AndyY and 5 others like this.
  5. The Dainton Banker

    The Dainton Banker Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jul 20, 2014
    Messages:
    1,720
    Likes Received:
    3,186
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Over the hills and far away
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    No I do not currently volunteer
    Thanks for the correction. I had thought that storage/repair facility had been closed down.
    As an aside, what happenend to the military rail preservation group that set up there ?
     
  6. The Dainton Banker

    The Dainton Banker Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jul 20, 2014
    Messages:
    1,720
    Likes Received:
    3,186
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Over the hills and far away
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    No I do not currently volunteer
    A quick look at Google maps showed the nine bridges as: 2 farm access, 4 rural roads, 1 B-road (B4035) and 1 A-road (A44) - all road-over-rail -, and 1 rail-over-rural-road at Honeybourne station yard. I presume the A44 (the Broadway by-pass) is a DfT responsibility but somebody must have had responsibility for the others since the line closed; even if no major repairs were needed there would need to have been safety inspections and, undoubtedly, minor repairs and maintenance. Given the relatively busy nature of some of those roads and their importance to local traffic it seems unlikely that the responsibility would have been left with Sustrans.(!) Is there any way we can check which, if any, of the bridges has been adopted by the Highway authorities ? If any have then that will reduce the potential cost, and on going liabilities, of an extension to Honeybourne.
    Incidentally I note that the access road to Bushy Hill buildings (farm ?), which used to go straight across the NR mainline to the east of Honeybourne, has now been re-routed to go through the underpass built to allow the GWSR access to Honeybourne station. Is there room for both rail and road here or are the Bushy Hill people just making temporary use of it ?
    Mike
     
    Kinghambranch likes this.
  7. michaelh

    michaelh Part of the furniture

    Joined:
    Apr 29, 2006
    Messages:
    3,080
    Likes Received:
    1,291
    Gender:
    Male
    Occupation:
    Very comfortably early retired
    Location:
    1029
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    Yes I am an active volunteer
    A44 was de-trunked several years ago and is the responsibility of Worcestershire County Council. From memory, that bridge is a new one - built by WCC as part of the Broadway By-Pass scheme and thus will be their responsibility.
     
  8. Kinghambranch

    Kinghambranch Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Dec 20, 2006
    Messages:
    1,868
    Likes Received:
    1,588
    Gender:
    Male
    Occupation:
    Retired
    Location:
    White Rose County
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    No I do not currently volunteer
    Some of the rolling stock went to the new project at the Vale of Berkeley Railway at Sharpness but I guess some of the items have moved elsewhere or are languishing until the scrappy gets them.
     
  9. Breva

    Breva Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Oct 11, 2010
    Messages:
    2,158
    Likes Received:
    3,790
    Location:
    Gloucestershire
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    Yes I am an active volunteer
    I've covered that in my Weston Subedge to Honeybourne track walk. The link to the photographs is here:
    https://www.flickr.com/photos/73536293@N02/albums/72157631883254158

    What I think they did is that the farm was originally reached by crossing the bank up the hill on the level, with a user worked crossing. As the trains came rattling down the bank at a fair old lick, and the crossing was on a curve, they rerouted the access road along the line, under it via the old trackbed, and then back along to resume its original route.

    Here is a photograph of the rail over rail bridge, recently renewed and wide enough for both access road and single track Honeybourne line. You can see the track duing a 'U' turn.

    12-10-29 026.jpg
    The view is looking south towards Broadway. Immediately beyond was a relatively recently built freight yard. Behind the camera is Stratford; off to the right was the curve into Honeybourne.
    It's all still doable, nothing in the way.

    The Broadway bypass was built in the 1990s and the new concrete road over rail bridge is in good condition, with room for double track. On my Flickr site (link above) you can see another trackwalk covering the Broadway to Willersey section, with a picture of the bypass bridge.

    The 4 roads you saw may be rural, but believe me, 40 tonners get everywhere and they use them frequently. Sources of heavy lorry traffic are all local: the scrapyard at Long Marston, a haulage firm at Mickleton, a concrete plant at Weston Subedge, and the old Honeybourne airfield, now an industrial estate with another haulage firm based there. Two lorries recently met unexpectedly on the bridge at Weston Subedge, and one wiped out the pilaster and threw it on to the trackbed.
     
  10. The Dainton Banker

    The Dainton Banker Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jul 20, 2014
    Messages:
    1,720
    Likes Received:
    3,186
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Over the hills and far away
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    No I do not currently volunteer
    I think you misunderstood my point. I know the roads in question and I described them as "rural" only to differentiate them from either main (A or B class) roads or urban streets, indeed I referred to their busy nature and to the local traffic. My point was that, for this very reason, it seems unlikely that responsibility for the bridges had been left with the owners of the track-bed (Sustrans?) for the last fifty or so years but may well have been taken over by the local Highway authority. (Who, for instance, had to deal with the damage to the Weston Subedge bridge ?)
    If, as you say, most of the bridges are still tied to the ownership of the line, and have not been maintained and are in need of upgrading, then this will add considerably to the cost of the extension and may well explain the high figure quoted by Alec. If, on the other hand, some of the bridges have been adopted by the highway authorities then the Railway will be relieved of responsibility for them. This is why I thought it would be helpful if we could ascertain who was responsible for what amongst the nine bridges.

    Thank you for your explanation of the situation at the NR underpass. It is a long time since I looked at your track-walk pictures and had forgotten this one.

    Mike
     
  11. Bill Drewett

    Bill Drewett Member

    Joined:
    Dec 8, 2015
    Messages:
    277
    Likes Received:
    845
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Bristol
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    Yes I am an active volunteer
    Interesting post on the railway's 'Boardroom Blog' today, about the proposed investments in 2018. Given recent discussion here about the wisdom of investing in the Broadway extension compared with other facilities, it's worth noting that while completing the Broadway project, the railway will also be investing in a range of other infrastructure projects, including a 2-road carriage shed and 'heritage wagon shelter'. So the picture is not: extension versus other infrastructure. It's both, simultaneously.

    The overall message seems to me to be, that this railway is in excellent financial health, (especially considering the challenging embankment failures of the last few years), and very prudently managed. All credit to them.
     
    Last edited: Oct 5, 2017
  12. flying scotsman123

    flying scotsman123 Resident of Nat Pres

    Joined:
    Sep 9, 2013
    Messages:
    10,440
    Likes Received:
    17,941
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Cheltenham
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    Yes I am an active volunteer
    Very pleased to see that, the heritage wagon shelter was a nice surprise too! Glad to see such commitment on all the other things too - we get stuff done here!

    Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk
     
  13. threelinkdave

    threelinkdave Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Aug 1, 2013
    Messages:
    2,065
    Likes Received:
    1,240
    Gender:
    Male
    Occupation:
    Retired
    Location:
    Stratford-upon-Avon or in a brake KD to BH
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    Yes I am an active volunteer
    The situation re Suspect trans (Sustrans) seems to be unclear. They claim ownership of trackbeds but when challenged to prove ownership they go silent. There was an article in Steam Railway a few years ago which tried to uncover the truth.
     
  14. AndyY

    AndyY Member

    Joined:
    Feb 23, 2013
    Messages:
    433
    Likes Received:
    480
    Is ownership of railway trackbeds covered by the Land Registry?
     
  15. 30854

    30854 Resident of Nat Pres

    Joined:
    Mar 8, 2017
    Messages:
    12,172
    Likes Received:
    11,493
    Gender:
    Male
    Occupation:
    Retired
    Location:
    Brighton&Hove
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    No I do not currently volunteer
    I believe conditions of access to the Land Registry have been tightened up, following it's use by fraudsters to manipulate the Court system into allowing them to steal properties, which came to light a few years ago.
     
  16. Gloucester Boy

    Gloucester Boy New Member

    Joined:
    Oct 1, 2013
    Messages:
    125
    Likes Received:
    352
    Gender:
    Male
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    Yes I am an active volunteer
    A snippet from a volunteers announcement by Chris Bristow today:

    Finally, a word about car parking at Broadway; I have been in talks with Wychavon council, who manage all the Broadway car parks, for the last 10 months about the possibility of them taking over our land earmarked for a car park and running it in conjunction with their other car parks. These talks have been very positive and, whilst I have a high degree of confidence that a successful outcome will be achieved, as we all know from personal experience with property matters, nothing is sure until contracts are exchanged!
     
  17. Gloucester Boy

    Gloucester Boy New Member

    Joined:
    Oct 1, 2013
    Messages:
    125
    Likes Received:
    352
    Gender:
    Male
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    Yes I am an active volunteer
    Further info from the volunteers announcement today, relating to Broadway (I have only put the info relating to Broadway):

    GWSR Board approves a significant Capital Expenditure programme for 2018

    Dear fellow volunteers,

    As the running season draws to a close (where did yet another year go?) I am pleased to tell you that the finances of your railway are in excellent shape. This is due to three factors;

    Firstly, as you know, the share issue was over-subscribed to the tune of £80,000 and we have the privilege of having thousands of new shareholders from both near and far.

    Secondly, the running season has again been a great success. Passenger numbers at this time are slightly ahead of last year and, as I believe I reported before, there has been a healthy rebalancing of passengers away from special events and on to normal service days.

    Thirdly, we have enjoyed massive support from the Trust (GWRT) for both the extension to Broadway and the Tim Mitchell building, the latter now being very much a part of the landscape at Winchcombe.

    Regarding the extension to Broadway, all is very much on track for the planned opening on Good Friday next year, 30th March 2018.

    As you know, the railway's funds, coming from the above sources, are used exclusively for investment in the railway and its infrastructure.

    Taking the satisfactory nature of your railway's finances together with the high degree of confidence that our Broadway project will be achieved on time, the Board met this week to review the current cash position and our projected cash inflows and from this information determine which capital projects should be undertaken in 2018.

    In its deliberations, the board concluded that the Broadway station building would open for business in March with a functioning booking office and toilets, but that other expenditure at Broadway, however desirable, would be deferred in order that pressing projects relating to other aspects of the railway could move ahead expeditiously in 2018.

    The projects your board approved are as follows;

    1. Sufficient funding to allow the completion of the booking office and toilets at Broadway, prior to the opening on 30th March 2018
    4. Security cameras and associated equipment at vulnerable locations
    Items 1 by the way, have already been the subject of a quotation process and require no further approval - they are shovel ready!

    I hope you will agree with me that the above makes exciting reading and reflects the confidence that we all share in this superb volunteer run enterprise!

    All good wishes,

    Chris

    Chris Bristow

    Finance Director
     
  18. Bean-counter

    Bean-counter Part of the furniture

    Joined:
    Jul 21, 2007
    Messages:
    5,844
    Likes Received:
    7,688
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Former NP Member
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    No I do not currently volunteer
    I wish this forum has an 'iPlayer' section to make repeats more readily available!

    The busiest lines in the UK, almost all of which are longer than 12 miles, are not busiest by virtue of just enthusiast business - indeed, quite probably, they have some of the lower proportions of enthusiasts amongst there overall passenger numbers. So, clearly 'respected research' is either wrong or a load of real people are failing to do as predicted by 'experts', a very serious offence!

    What longer lines are is 'more than a train ride' - they are the basis of a day out, either enabling the combining of the heritage steam experience with a visit to a definite destination (quite often the coast) that means the train journey is in effect 2 separate single journeys, or breaking their journey to enjoy various features along the line, some provided by the line (e.g. The Engine House at Highley) or simply taking advantage of the area through which the line runs, which is likely to offer walking opportunities, picturesque villages etc. None of which is to say the need to make visits to the line interesting and the basis of a full, and varied day, isn't vitally important to these lines but the simple fact is that their passengers will spend time around the Railway in question, but will also consider it 'worth' travelling from much greater distances if they are coming for a full day rather than at most a couple of hours, thus expanding catchment areas for business. Any 12 mile railway which foresees it passengers as doing nothing but an out and back journey and leaving may comply with respect research but in the real world is going to be in more difficulty than a varied, longer line with lots to do on board and roundabout!

    Some costs vary directly with length of run - as the costs which vary directly with number of trains run are probably about 1/3 of total costs of train services, these are the 'mileage' based ones and pretty much the ones that vary with length of line. Other costs may well be affected but on a 'stepped' basis - whether a longer run needs more locos and coaches in use each day for example. Also, is the 'longer bit' flatter or steeper than the rest, heavily engineered or lacking in major structures, earthworks and bridges? Such factors affect costs far more than simple length of line. At the same time, needing to use more resources can also make travel more pleasant and encourage growth/remove overcrowding as a barrier to growth, but such moves have a cost. What is the case is that the increase in the costs of what you already have are marginal for the usage extra business makes of that.

    Depending on where the extension/longer runs goes, the far may be capable of being proportionately increased., if the end result is a 'destination'.

    All of which argues for Broadway but probably not for either Honeybourne or Cheltenham!

    Steven
     
    ross, gwalkeriow, Sawdust and 3 others like this.
  19. Martin Perry

    Martin Perry Nat Pres stalwart Staff Member Moderator Friend

    Joined:
    Apr 15, 2006
    Messages:
    16,510
    Likes Received:
    7,753
    Location:
    1012 / 60158
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    Yes I am an active volunteer
    Can you quote that source please?
     
  20. Bill Drewett

    Bill Drewett Member

    Joined:
    Dec 8, 2015
    Messages:
    277
    Likes Received:
    845
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Bristol
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    Yes I am an active volunteer
    Another piece of information that puts recent conversation in this forum in a completely different context. It's often a mistake to infer from silence that nothing's planned, or indeed happening...
     
    RayMason, jnc, Gloucester Boy and 2 others like this.

Share This Page