Short lived railways that were built post war

[montyburns56]

I recently stumbled across some pictures of the Butlins Filey branch and I was surprised that it only lasted about 30 years (1947-1977) and I wonder if there were many others? The only other one that I'm aware of is the second line to the ICI Winnington work at Northwich.

 

[Taunton]

Lots of Channel Tunnel Rail Link elements had short lives. The connecting line at Nine Elms, the longer spur at Longfield, the extra connections at the Chiselhurst Loops, etc.

On the Underground Green Park to Charing Cross.

 

[Jorge Da Silva]

Fareham Road to HS1 (2003-07)
Wasn’t there a spur near Manchester Airport used only for the building of Terminal 2

 

[MAV39]

Fareham Road to HS1 (2003-07)
Wasn’t there a spur near Manchester Airport used only for the building of Terminal 2

Thought there was a temporary spur built to help the contruction of the second runway in 1997-1998.

 

[Jorge Da Silva]

Thought there was a temporary spur built to help the contruction of the second runway in 1997-1998.

That’s it yes

 

[pdeaves]

Lots of Channel Tunnel Rail Link elements had short lives. The connecting line at Nine Elms, the longer spur at Longfield, the extra connections at the Chiselhurst Loops, etc.

Those are still present and, at least nominally, still in use. The Filey example was to full closure.

 

[DelW]

The HS1 connection from Fawkham Junction near Longfield to Southfleet Junction wasn't wholly new construction, it was a rebuild of an L C & D branch to Gravesend.
It seems to have lost passenger services in 1953, but to have been open to freight at least to the early 1980s. By 1994 it had apparently been completely closed.

 

[Western Sunset]

Not sure if this can be included as it opened during WW2, but there was the 2-mile branch built by the LMS to Cold Meece station, to serve ROF Swynnerton, near Stone, Staffs. Opened August 1941; last train June 1958.

 

[Romsey]

Lots of Channel Tunnel Rail Link elements had short lives. The connecting line at Nine Elms, the longer spur at Longfield, the extra connections at the Chiselhurst Loops, etc.

On the Underground Green Park to Charing Cross.

Linford Street Spur (Nine Elms Jn to Linford St Jn) is still technically open.
It was used by Steam Dreams Surrey Hills evening dining trip last year and is occasionally used for Rail Head Treatment Trains and moving on track machines like tampers.
Incidentally, it is a right pain to arrange 3rd rail isolations for engineering works as there isn't a section break between the two junctions.

 

[30907]

The HS1 connection from Fawkham Junction near Longfield to Southfleet Junction wasn't wholly new construction, it was a rebuild of an L C & D branch to Gravesend.
It seems to have lost passenger services in 1953, but to have been open to freight at least to the early 1980s. By 1994 it had apparently been completely closed.

Yes, coal to Southfleet power station.
The loops at Chislehurst are still part of the network - the Up Slow Tonbridge loop (essentially new build) is the normal route for Orpington-Bickley, the Down Fast hardly used.

 

[Merle Haggard]

Is the Graham Road Curve still open? Went for an interview when it was being built and it was the basis of a question - seen by the panel as a brilliant innovation...

 

[DelW]

Is the Graham Road Curve still open? Went for an interview when it was being built and it was the basis of a question - seen by the panel as a brilliant innovation...

It's still shown as open in the most recent Quail map I have (2016), not sure what services use it though.

 

[pdeaves]

It's still shown as open in the most recent Quail map I have (2016), not sure what services use it though.

There's at least one path available using it (https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/K12841/2020-03-21/detailed - I stopped looking after finding this one). Of course, whether the path is used is a different matter!

Edit: this one ran the opposite way: https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/K02000/2020-03-15/detailed

So it is still used occasionally.

 

[Merthyr Imp]

The Cotgrave Colliery branch from the Nottingham to Grantham line was about 2 miles long, opened in 1960, the colliery closed in 1993 and the track was lifted in 2012.

 

[montyburns56]

The Cotgrave Colliery branch from the Nottingham to Grantham line was about 2 miles long, opened in 1960, the colliery closed in 1993 and the track was lifted in 2012.

Right thanks, I hadn't thought about it before, but I suspect that there is probably a few colliery lines built post war.

 

[montyburns56]

Not sure if this can be included as it opened during WW2, but there was the 2-mile branch built by the LMS to Cold Meece station, to serve ROF Swynnerton, near Stone, Staffs. Opened August 1941; last train June 1958.

What's a few years between friends? Funnily enough I had noticed the line on a map a few years ago and marked it as an interesting site to visit, but I didn't realise it was built so recently. Also it's interesting that the station/track layout is quite similar to that at the Filey Butlins station. And like the colliery lines there must be some other ammunition depots or possibly even airfields that had lines built during and possibly after the war?

 

[montyburns56]

Fareham Road to HS1 (2003-07)
Wasn’t there a spur near Manchester Airport used only for the building of Terminal 2

I don't know if I would classify that as a line though as it seemed to be more of a glorified siding.

 

[Shimbleshanks]

The link between the two stations in Blaenau Ffestiniog? Though it did last for 50-odd years and is still there...

 

[Shimbleshanks]

Perhaps also the Octel light railway in Amlwch, though again it did see about 40 years of use...

 

[krus_aragon]

The link between the two stations in Blaenau Ffestiniog? Though it did last for 50-odd years and is still there...

What's more, it's still in daily passenger use (when the line isn't flooded at Llanrwst). It's the original branch line to Trawsfynydd and Bala that's closed.

The Octel line is a better example, though I wouldn't personally describe it's operating life as short.

 

[JBuchananGB]

On the Underground Green Park to Charing Cross.

Still in use for ECS when needed.

 

[xotGD]

The National Garden Festival in Gateshead included a length of railway on which 3 vintage trams were running. It only lasted for the duration of the festival, although it did use an old track bed.

 

[MP33]

The HS1 connection from Fawkham Junction near Longfield to Southfleet Junction wasn't wholly new construction, it was a rebuild of an L C & D branch to Gravesend.
It seems to have lost passenger services in 1953, but to have been open to freight at least to the early 1980s. By 1994 it had apparently been completely closed.

Was part of this branch the site of one of the few Heritage Railways/Centres that was a flop.

 

[Merthyr Imp]

Right thanks, I hadn't thought about it before, but I suspect that there is probably a few colliery lines built post war.

Not so far away was the Calverton Colliery branch from the Nottingham to Mansfield line. That was over seven miles long, in operation from 1952 until the colliery closed in 1998.

 

[DelW]

Was part of this branch the site of one of the few Heritage Railways/Centres that was a flop.

There was an attempt at preservation in the early 1980s, but according to Wikipedia, it fell through by 1983 as the group was unable to raise the amount of money that BR wanted for the track and a lease of the line. See the Wikipedia article titled "Gravesend West line" for more information.

 

[Merle Haggard]

There's at least one path available using it (https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/K12841/2020-03-21/detailed - I stopped looking after finding this one). Of course, whether the path is used is a different matter!

Edit: this one ran the opposite way: https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/K02000/2020-03-15/detailed

So it is still used occasionally.

Thank you, and thanks also to DelW.

My recollection (I may be mistaken) was that its purpose was to allow Richmond - Willesden J - Broad St trains to continue to serve the city after Broad Street closed by running into Liverpool St., but that arrangement didn't last long. What strikes me as curious is that the LMR Midland Lines and GN services to the City via the Widened Lines were replaced by Thameslink and the Waterloo & City route still exists but the LMR Western Lines ones have disappeared. The Tring - Broad Streets were withdrawn at electrification (for understandable reasons) and, at the same time, Willesden Junction main line platforms were closed. This made commuting to the City from the Western Lines quite tedious, and the last straw was the North London service no longer serving the City. I wonder what the City gents from Tring and Berko did?

 

[d9009alycidon]

Cairnryan Military railway was built to serve an emergency port in 1942, it was never needed as a port, but was used post war for disposal of surplus munitions and later as a shipbreaking facility. The line was closed and lifted in 1967.

 

[Revaulx]

Thank you, and thanks also to DelW.

My recollection (I may be mistaken) was that its purpose was to allow Richmond - Willesden J - Broad St trains to continue to serve the city after Broad Street closed by running into Liverpool St., but that arrangement didn't last long. What strikes me as curious is that the LMR Midland Lines and GN services to the City via the Widened Lines were replaced by Thameslink and the Waterloo & City route still exists but the LMR Western Lines ones have disappeared. The Tring - Broad Streets were withdrawn at electrification (for understandable reasons) and, at the same time, Willesden Junction main line platforms were closed. This made commuting to the City from the Western Lines quite tedious, and the last straw was the North London service no longer serving the City. I wonder what the City gents from Tring and Berko did?

Your recollection is spot on.

One of the key objectives in the rebuilding of Euston was massively improving access to the Tube. I suppose that a simple transfer onto the City Branch of the Northern was deemed to be easy enough.

What struck me as odd at the time was forcing all GN inner suburban passengers into Moorgate; not just commuters. It looked very much like operational convenience trumping passengers’. BR at the time did seem to like the idea of segregating suburban services so they didn’t sully the wonderful Inter-City stuff.

 

[Taunton]

What struck me as odd at the time was forcing all GN inner suburban passengers into Moorgate; not just commuters. It looked very much like operational convenience trumping passengers’. BR at the time did seem to like the idea of segregating suburban services so they didn’t sully the wonderful Inter-City stuff.

There was logic explained at the time.

It was noted that few inner suburban passengers at Kings Cross left the station, they almost all went into the Underground, to either West End or City. Sending the trains to Moorgate allowed direct travel to The City, and a far easier cross-platform interchange to the Victoria Line at Highbury for the West End.

It also relieved congestion at Kings Cross, both access to the Undergronnd, which was inadequate then, and the rail side congestion at the station throat, which in the days of loco-hauled services was considerable as well. It likewise allowed outer-suburban passengers for The City to make cross-platform interchange at Finsbury Park. I seem to recall the calculated numbers per hour of each of these flows were in Modern Railways at the time.

 

[Revaulx]

There was logic explained at the time.

It was noted that few inner suburban passengers at Kings Cross left the station, they almost all went into the Underground, to either West End or City. Sending the trains to Moorgate allowed direct travel to The City, and a far easier cross-platform interchange to the Victoria Line at Highbury for the West End.

It also relieved congestion at Kings Cross, both access to the Undergronnd, which was inadequate then, and the rail side congestion at the station throat, which in the days of loco-hauled services was considerable as well. It likewise allowed outer-suburban passengers for The City to make cross-platform interchange at Finsbury Park. I seem to recall the calculated numbers per hour of each of these flows were in Modern Railways at the time.

Thanks for that. Most interesting.