childwallblues
Established Member
Oh for the Leeds New Line again!
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Halifaxlad
Established Member
You never know TPE services may end up being diverted that way via Bradford, then re-branded 'NPHR' although Im personally hoping for HS2 to carry on to Manchester as NPHR instead as I'm skeptical that TPE has enough stock.
Sorry if this has gone a weee bit off thread but TRU is essentially NPHR. Because who really is going to spend billions to cut 10 minutes of the overall journey time? TRU output: 40 minutes NPHR output: 30 minutes
Ian Walmsley is hyper-enthusiastic about it in the November Modern Railways, p. 46. "Best piece of research since British Rail. ... Genius ... Possibly the best £150k ever spent in the rail business ... ". And not because of its aesthetics.
If my memory serves me well, the Leeds New Line was no faster than the line via Dewsbury.
It was built mainly to relieve congestion around places like Mirfield and Batley [Mirfield had a mpd, and a constant procession of coal trains from the South Yorkshire coalfields to Lancashire and returning empties; Batley was a bigger station than now with GN platforms serving trains from Bradford Exchange to Wakefield via Dewsbury Market Place].
It was steeply-graded with sharp bends - I remember going over it once at the front of a Trans-Pennine dmu, and it was "brake, throttle, brake" all the way!
That's not to say that had it survived it could not have been eased in the way the exisiting route via Dewsbury has been, but on closure, it was simply an alternative, rather than faster, route.
Engineered wood, as I think it's called by architects and their engineers, is strong and long lasting. In this case it can be both structural and insulating. Excellent.
Spartacus
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Batley itself was never really a problem location as all the lines had their own platforms, but as well as Morley tunnel the section between Batley and Dewsbury was a particular pinch point due to the GNR route taking up the space where any widening of the formation would have occured, and at a different level for the most part too.
In later steam days the New Line was officially off limits to steam hauled services under normal circumstances due to the gradients and subsequent time lost, though in reality it seems to have been an edict largely ignored going by the evidence available.
Yes, I totally agree. Beeching cuts were a disaster to highly populated West Yorkshire, especially towns of Wetherby, Otley, Heckmondwike, Ossett, Queensbury, Gomersall, Cleckheaton, Liversedge, Boston Spa, much larger now than in 1960.
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You said it. Built to relieve congestion. And what do we have now? Congestion.
And trains that are a lot better at dealing with gradients
Begs the question if Wetherby should be reopened, given its closeness to Boston Spa a Suitably sited station could serve Both places.
But not being familiar with the original route in guessing some creative rerouting would be needed to get to the nearest line Into Leeds .
I mention it because that new motorway is very busy .
It does to be double the traffic that there was in 2005,09 when both sections opened .
( Mind you 2005 section collapsed due to bad construction)
But not being familiar with the original route in guessing some creative rerouting would be needed to get to the nearest line Into Leeds .
I mention it because that new motorway is very busy .
It does to be double the traffic that there was in 2005,09 when both sections opened .
( Mind you 2005 section collapsed due to bad construction)
Wetherby should be reinstated for the reason stated below for Leeds and York and the fact that 10,000 houses are planned around the Wetherby- Cross Gates trackbed
Boston Spa is on the way to Tadcaster, another expanded town worthy of a reinstated railway but this time just over the border in North Yorkshire. A new town of 2,000 houses is planned between the two for commuters to Leeds and York.
As both cities are already grid locked in the peaks what better way to convey commuters 10-15 miles than a railway?
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superkev
Established Member
Queensbury was pre beeching in 1955
K.
That was the only one I wasn't sure of. One out of nine not bad.
61653 HTAFC
Veteran Member
Though you did also describe Gomersal and Liversedge as "towns" which is stretching it a bit!
Halifaxlad
Established Member
I don't think closing Queensbury was that much of a disaster in comparison to the rest.
Absolutely, but if any public transport decision is left to Leeds City Council, the answer will be more buses creating even more congestion.
Halifaxlad
Established Member
May be their idea is to build up a better case for trams or worse the dreaded tram train with a top speed of 50mph?
61653 HTAFC
Veteran Member
Or yet more stations on routes that don't have the capacity for them.
Halifaxlad
Established Member
I do love how Leeds & Bradford Councils build these new stations that slow existing services down, then bang on about why they need faster trains. Oh the irony.
What would you call them?Though you did also describe Gomersal and Liversedge as "towns" which is stretching it a bit!
61653 HTAFC
Veteran Member
Not towns... but probably not villages either seeing as there isn't really much greenery between them and the next place. Liversedge is essentially an area or district of Heckmondwike.
But then it's only us Brits who seem to get hung up on labels for places, with our royal charters and city statuses. In the U.S., even little one-horse settlements might well be known as cities. Here other than the oddities of the likes of Ripon and Wells, the titles generally imply size or at least relative size within a surrounding area.
GRALISTAIR
Established Member
Large village or small town. Smaller than a village would be a Croft I think
Ploughman
Established Member
Hamlet?
I resent being called an oddity especially being a past Mayor of this oddity. We became a City in 1804 but didn't develop at the same rate as other cities keeping a rural feel. This is the reason we lost our railway in 1967 but we still have our cathedral that many are jealous of.
If you are referring to Ripon, surely it has now only 1/3 of a cathedral! A nice one though, and one that deserves a railway to arrive at it in style.
61653 HTAFC
Veteran Member
Only an oddity in the sense of being, as you say yourself, a city with a very rural feel. The centre of Ripon is more that of a market town than a bustling metropolis, but it's none the worse for it. My use of the word oddity was facetious but not malicious.
61653 HTAFC
Veteran Member
No thank you, I'm trying to quit...
Bevan Price
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True - Queensbury station was at the foot of a valley. Most of the population live near the top of the hill -- and a longish steep walk home from the station. Trains simply could not compete with a frequent bus service (Halifax / Bradford) that went right through the most populated areas.
Bevan Price
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The rail service to Tadcaster & Boston Spa was pretty useless even before Beeching -- just one train per day to Wetherby and Leeds - and no return service.
The Leeds New line also lost its local services before Beeching; the stations were mosly in less convenient locations than those on the ex-L&YR line through the Spen Valley. The problem with the latter was probably that it did not run to Dewsbury, the nearest large town to Heckmondwike & Cleckheaton.