Trivia: Lines proposed but never built (or where a line should have been built)

backontrack · 6 Sep 2017

Clansman said:
How rude of me to forget Crieff in all of this!

True, though I think Gowrie is larger than Crieff (certainly if you include Rattray).

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The L.C.D.R. once proposed a line from Kearsney to Folkestone via Alkham.

RailUK Forums

algytaylor · 15 Sep 2017

My favourite railway oddity - The Bishop's Castle Railway - was built with the intention of linking Hereford-Shrewsbury line to the Newtown-Oswestry line. Except it never made it ... they got as far as Lydham Heath, ran out of money, and so built the track back to Bishop's Castle so that at least it'd have somewhere to go to.

They started work on the railway in 1865, went in to receivership in 1867, and remained in receivership for nearly 70 years until it was finally put out of it's misery. Was too much of a basketcase to be in a grouping. A company in Cammel Laird bought all the scrap metal from the railway after it was shut down and smelted it down to build a battleship (HMS Prince of Wales). That was built in 1939, and within 2 years had been sent to the bottom of the south china sea by the Japanese. All that remains of the railway is a couple of rivets from the last engine (the Carlisle), which were at the Bishops Castle Railway Museum (which is, unfortunately, closing it's doors very soon)

But anyway ... it was half-built. Does that count?

pemma · 15 Sep 2017

Warrington to Macclesfield to Buxton was once proposed (at a time when there was a Buxton-Matlock line.)

edwin_m · 15 Sep 2017

jcollins said:
Warrington to Macclesfield to Buxton was once proposed (at a time when there was a Buxton-Matlock line.)

Wasn't that the LDECR, which would have carried on by a new alignment across the peak to Chesterfield then to Lincoln (the only part actually built) and a new port on the coast?

torten · 15 Sep 2017

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ouse_Valley_Railway
Quite an interesting never was. A cross-country blocking line which ultimately failed.

2HAP · 15 Sep 2017

torten said:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ouse_Valley_Railway
Quite an interesting never was. A cross-country blocking line which ultimately failed.

It was never really intended to be built, for political reasons. LBSC were very good at keeping competitors out of its patch, with the notable exception of the Tonbridge - Redhill - Reading line.

341o2 · 15 Sep 2017

edwin_m said:
Wouldn't that also have required abandoning the Green Belt, and changing the M1 alignment which allegedly cut through the tunnels?

It was Green Belt policy which caused abandonment of the Northern Heights, subsequentially the M1 extention used part of the proposed trackbed.

In the Lake district, there was opposition to the railway, especially from a Mr (daffodil) Wordsworth, as a result a proposal to extend from Lakeside to Ambleside, Windermere was never carried out. Oh the irony that 70030 should be named after him

Locally, to me, the proposal for a Solent tunnel linking the Lymington branch to the Freshwater branch IOW never got beyond a trial bore.

Likewise, landowners on the New Forest objected to the railway, which is why Lyndhurst does not have a station, and the detour south to Woodfidley before the line curves sharply west to Brockenhurst. Then Brockenhurst to Ringwood nicknamed Castleman's corkscrew due to the route it was forced to take

341o2 · 15 Sep 2017

Helvellyn said:
I think there were proposals to extend the line further along the shore of Windermere towards Ambleside, but then again the whole Kendal & Windermere line faced a lot of opposition headed up by none other than William Wordsworth. Little known fact is that the line terminated in the village of Birthwaite, just over half a mile from the lake. Only later did the village become known by the same name as the lake.

Just posted that (you got there first)

Redruth and Chasewater railway, Cornwall. Earthworks carried out on the branch to Chasewater, then just abandoned

Malcolmffc · 15 Sep 2017

The Chessington branch was supposed to be built all the way to Leatherhead but had only made it as far as Chessington South by WW2. Afterwards the land immediately outside Chessington was declared green belt and there was no longer a case to extend the line.

eisenach · 15 Sep 2017

How about Leominster -> Kington -> New Radnor (built) -> Aberystwyth (never really attempted though planned).
I think it might have taken a long time to get from Leo to Aber!

XDM · 16 Sep 2017

torten said:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ouse_Valley_Railway
Quite an interesting never was. A cross-country blocking line which ultimately failed.

Bits of it were built. There is a very deep cutting about two miles west of Uckfield station & there is a web site with many good pictures of abandoned earth works & even bridges. So they were prepared to put money into the project, buying land & heavy civil engineering.

EastisECML · 26 Sep 2018

The proposal by a company called Great/Grand (I can never remember which) Central Railway for a continental gauge freight line from the Channel Tunnel to Liverpool docks seemed like a good idea. If I remember correctly it was going to involve rebuilding the Ashford-Redhill line linking to a new line built alongside the M25 connecting to Heathrow and the Chiltern line at Gerrards Cross. With tracks being rebuilt from there to Princes Risborough-Aylesbury-Calvert. The old GC alignment to Rugby and Leicester being utilised then new tracks alongside the MML and through Sheffield Victoria station site, across a reopened Woodhead route, past the City of Manchester stadium, through Victoria and along the route to Liverpool and up to the docks. I think they even had ideas as to timetabling local trains along these routes to best fit with their long freight trains (I'm assuming interlaced tracks at platforms for the differing widths). One rail magazine had a fantastical picture on front of a mocked up double decker passenger train with suggestions they'd run their own passenger trains as well.

Partly on this theme, the Scotswood alignment from Blaydon over the Tyne to Central station would probably save a few minutes on Tyne Valley journeys.

ChiefPlanner · 26 Sep 2018

Some cracking examples - the link from Felin Fran to Gwaun Cae Gurwen , via Pontardawe - partly built pre 1914 and restarted after the war - but never completed.

The Gower Light Railway

A connection off the Neath and Brecon to the Central Wales ....partly started. (a basket case)

Llandeilo to Lampeter via Talley

The Vale of Rheidol extended from Aberystwyth to Aberaeron !

And a gem of an idea - the Southern Heights Light Railway - single line route as part of the Southern Electric - mostly above the 1000 ft contour. (Orpington to Chelsfield)

30907 · 26 Sep 2018

A0wen said:
Something like that was the original plan for the Southampton & Dorchester railway, which is the reason why trains had to reverse into Dorchester South until 1970.

There were various proposals which were eventually squashed in favour of the Yeovil route. It requires a tunnel at the head of the Bride Valley, and another to get to Axminster (or two to get to the Seaton Junction area, which is rather more direct - it wasn't planned as a branch line!).

Jona26 · 26 Sep 2018

South to east chord linking Wrexham - Bidston line to Mold to Chester line just north of Pennyfford station. Earthworks commenced (and some still visible) but never completed.

Dr_Paul · 26 Sep 2018

algytaylor said:
My favourite railway oddity - The Bishop's Castle Railway - was built with the intention of linking Hereford-Shrewsbury line to the Newtown-Oswestry line. Except it never made it ... they got as far as Lydham Heath, ran out of money, and so built the track back to Bishop's Castle so that at least it'd have somewhere to go to. They started work on the railway in 1865, went in to receivership in 1867, and remained in receivership for nearly 70 years until it was finally put out of it's misery. Was too much of a basketcase to be in a grouping. A company in Cammel Laird bought all the scrap metal from the railway after it was shut down and smelted it down to build a battleship (HMS Prince of Wales). That was built in 1939, and within 2 years had been sent to the bottom of the south china sea by the Japanese. All that remains of the railway is a couple of rivets from the last engine (the Carlisle), which were at the Bishops Castle Railway Museum (which is, unfortunately, closing it's doors very soon).
But anyway ... it was half-built. Does that count?

What's interesting is that the track-bed of the line is pretty much intact after nearly 80 years, and can be seen from the A489, which parallels it up to the reverse. Had it gone on to Montgomery it would have required some pretty hefty earthworks.

Had the line up the Tanat Valley been extended, as intended, to Bala, then that would have required some really hefty earthworks.

3141 · 26 Sep 2018

341o2 said:
It was Green Belt policy which caused abandonment of the Northern Heights, subsequentially the M1 extention used part of the proposed trackbed.

It's the extension from Edgware northwards to Bushey Heath that was abandoned after WW2 as a result of the Green Belt. "Northern Heights" refers to the LNER branch from Highgate to Alexandra Palace, which was to become part of the Northern Line and be electrified. but BR closed it. "Northern Heights" may also refer to the LNER line from Finchley Central to Edgware, which did get electrified as far as Mill Hill East, and on which considerable work took place to double the track before WW2 started. These lines were not in the Green Belt, and would today be very useful.

CatfordCat · 27 Sep 2018

on the Underground, the Fleet line extension to Thamesmead and the Bakerloo Line extension to Camberwell both had at least a little bit of work done on them but never happened.

bussnapperwm · 27 Sep 2018

For a nearly done but not completed one, the line from Bordesley to Curzon Street. Would be useful for local services from Solihull/Stratford so they could link into the HS2 terminus

GrimShady · 27 Sep 2018

Fort William - Inverness
Fort William - Kyle of Lochalsh

Callander - Oban - Stirling - A sad loss in the 60s. It would be massively popular now!

The line to Callander from Stirling should be reopened, the place is suffocating with cars in the summer.

LNW-GW Joint · 27 Sep 2018

Class 172 Fan said:
For a nearly done but not completed one, the line from Bordesley to Curzon Street. Would be useful for local services from Solihull/Stratford so they could link into the HS2 terminus

Not only that, but it would have improved the connectivity between the LNWR and GWR systems a great deal.
The GWR remained very isolated in the western half of the west Midlands as a result, the only connections being the little used Wolverhampton LL-Bushbury link and the slow Wellington-Nantwich branch.
It took until 1967 to connect the systems together from Bordesley via St Andrews.

The Oxford and Rugby line mentioned above was another chance to connect these systems together.
It would probably have avoided the need to build the Great Central.
The Grand Junction was very keen to link its line to Oxford and the GWR, to avoid being blocked in by the London & Birmingham.
But the LNWR merger put paid to that.

Eyersey468 · 27 Sep 2018

HullMichael said:
A Light Railway was proposed between Beverley on the Hull-Scarborough line and the village of North Frodingham, but was never built.

Curiously the line is clearly shown as existing on the tile maps which still exist at some former NER stations.

I'm told that there was another line planned from Bridlington area to link up with the North Frodingham to Beverley line

lewesroad · 27 Sep 2018

Brighton to Newhaven via Rottingdean and Saltdean was planned - http://www.brightonhistory.org.uk/history/Abandoned_railways.html but abandoned.

Senex · 27 Sep 2018

LNW-GW Joint said:
The Oxford and Rugby line mentioned above was another chance to connect these systems together.
It would probably have avoided the need to build the Great Central.

I find that a fascinating one. The Midland line out to the north coupled with the Banbury line would have certainly meant there was no need for the GC Banbury branch and might indeed have made the case for the GC almost impossible to make out. Indeed, the Midland did try to get the MS&L to use that Rugby line instead of building part of their own railway. On the down side, the Rugby layout would have become even more impossible even sooner—though with three of the biggest and richest companies coming together there, there might have been sufficient incentive to do something about it.

matacaster · 27 Sep 2018

Original Channel tunnel with connecting line from Great Central.

Jagdpanther · 28 Sep 2018

The Tees Valley Railway had originally been proposed from Barnard Castle to Alston but only reached Middleton in Teesdale. Looking at the terrain its not difficult to see why.
Then there was the Monkseaton to Collywell Bay branch - which was built but never opened.

Wivenswold · 29 Sep 2018

Canvey Island branch on the LTS. Two schemes were talked about internally as late as the 1990's. One extended from Corringham, the other was a spur between Pitsea & Benfleet. It was more "wishlist" than plan though.

Oxfordblues · 29 Sep 2018

The Amounderness* Plan (* an ancient name for the Fylde) in the 1930s proposed a new direct line from Preston to Lytham via Freckleton and Warton (how useful that would have been on summer Saturdays to avoid Kirkham North Junction!), plus a cross-Ribble link from Freckleton to Hesketh Bank for a suggested Blackpool-Lytham-Southport service.

squizzler · 29 Sep 2018

I regret the Manchester to Milford route was never completed as envisioned. The missing section from Llangurig to Strata Florida would have had a tunnel under the Cambrian mountains, provided a more direct route to Aberystwuth and ensured the viability of the Caermarthern - Abreystwyth line! See Wikipedia article.

Macwomble · 29 Sep 2018

GrimShady said:
Fort William - Inverness
Fort William - Kyle of Lochalsh

Fort Bill to Inverness....definitely; not sure about Fort Bill to Kyle though.

GrimShady said:
Callander - Oban - Stirling - A sad loss in the 60s. It would be massively popular now!

Agreed!

GrimShady said:
The line to Callander from Stirling should be reopened, the place is suffocating with cars in the summer.

Lots of commuters from Callander to Stirling & beyond.

Trivia: Lines proposed but never built (or where a line should have been built)

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