The section between Ipstones and the quarry was lifted at about the same time as Froghall to Oakamoor and for the same reason (to sell the metal to raise money).
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Less mentioned Preservation Lines - lets BIG them up!
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The section between Ipstones and the quarry was lifted at about the same time as Froghall to Oakamoor and for the same reason (to sell the metal to raise money).
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xc170
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Lincolnshire Wolds Railway - always overlooked and rarely mentioned.
The Lynton and Barnstaple Railway, a narrow-gauge line in North Devon. Only one mile of track from Woody Bay is open at present, but it has ambitious plans to expand.
Would combine well with a visit to the unique Lynton and Lynmouth Cliff Railway which is entirely water-powered.
Would combine well with a visit to the unique Lynton and Lynmouth Cliff Railway which is entirely water-powered.
UP13
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Hampton and Kempton - just a small loop but they have great ambitions. They are at the start of their preservation journey but they are very good at coming up with ideas to entice young families. The waterworks engine house is a good visit for the enthusiast.
Additionally it is cheap so the perfect place to take my two train obsessed little ones.
Additionally it is cheap so the perfect place to take my two train obsessed little ones.
JohnMcL7
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That was my first thought as well, I didn't know it was existed until I was on a long cycle from Inverness to Aberdeen and could see a DMU peeking through the trees which was a welcome surprise. They have the 140001 prototype although sadly it doesn't look like it's going to be moving any time soon, if ever.
John
adrock1976
Established Member
I cannot remember the name of the preserved railway in Derbyshire (it is not the Crich Tramway), but I visited it back in 1988 on a day trip. The ticket that was purchased at the time was a Birmingham to a destination of Derby/Langley Mill+bus if that resonates with anybody at all.
I have not seen any publicity regarding this preserved railway that I am referring to at all in subsequent years, hence how I believe a shout out is needed.
I have not seen any publicity regarding this preserved railway that I am referring to at all in subsequent years, hence how I believe a shout out is needed.
I'll chip in with Rocks on rails at Cottesmore (near Oakham in Rutland)
a short section of line along a former quarry branch with a sort of museum dedicated to ironstone quarrying used to absolutely crammed with rusting industrials that would never make it to restoration but they have passed many of these on and now there are the rusted hulks of Industrial kettles from local quarries and a few better condition diesels plus a working Hunslet kettle hauling the carriage up and down the line and a lineside walk with a few vintage wagons to photograph and inspect
a short section of line along a former quarry branch with a sort of museum dedicated to ironstone quarrying used to absolutely crammed with rusting industrials that would never make it to restoration but they have passed many of these on and now there are the rusted hulks of Industrial kettles from local quarries and a few better condition diesels plus a working Hunslet kettle hauling the carriage up and down the line and a lineside walk with a few vintage wagons to photograph and inspect
tiptoptaff
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Llanelli and Mynydd Fawr Railway - very small at the moment, but thanks to the TA's surviving railway detachment, has had an extension put in over the summer. Only open sporadically at the moment, as it's still trying to get itself fully off the ground. They currently use a brake van and a mk2 with a small industrial diesel. They are trying to restore a bubble car too.
mushroomchow
Member
I can second the Ecclesbourne Valley Railway, @AY1975 - a great little throwback to bucolic 1960's / early 1970's country branch lines. I'd recommend visiting it in it's current state before future signalling and maintenance plans go ahead, because there's a fair bit of charm that comes from it's slightly ramshackle set-up at present, whether that's the guard having to get out and operate road crossings himself or the surprisingly frequent incursion of sheep onto the running line (it's happened on both my previous visits, but I shouldn't be surprised - it is Derbyshire after all!) 
Lovely little snapshot of the "low ebb" of branchline operations which, while melancholic, will surely resonate with a lot of visitors of a certain age.
Sorry to be a grumpy-bum here, but I didn't like the L&HR at all.
Very good at what it does (namely, shipping tourists to the boat to visit Windermere), but from an enthusiast's point of view I found it utterly rubbish, and somehow the slowest line of any gauge I've ever ridden on too, presumably an intentional decision to let punters "get their money's worth"! The boat ride made up for it, I guess, but I got the feeling it's treated as a purely commercial operation where, to misquote Jason Donovan, "Any Steam Will Do!"
The Fairburns are wasted there - if you're going to pootle along at 5mph in a packed carriage full of tourists who don't particularly care about the motive power, you may as well just use industrial locos. I'd honestly have rather just ridden the boat - I've been to a few heritage railways over the years and I'd have to say that one was the worst.
Nice bit of the country though, provided you don't accidentally stray into Barrow-in-Furness. Go to the Ravenglass & Eskdale instead.
Lovely little snapshot of the "low ebb" of branchline operations which, while melancholic, will surely resonate with a lot of visitors of a certain age.
Sorry to be a grumpy-bum here, but I didn't like the L&HR at all.
Very good at what it does (namely, shipping tourists to the boat to visit Windermere), but from an enthusiast's point of view I found it utterly rubbish, and somehow the slowest line of any gauge I've ever ridden on too, presumably an intentional decision to let punters "get their money's worth"! The boat ride made up for it, I guess, but I got the feeling it's treated as a purely commercial operation where, to misquote Jason Donovan, "Any Steam Will Do!"
The Fairburns are wasted there - if you're going to pootle along at 5mph in a packed carriage full of tourists who don't particularly care about the motive power, you may as well just use industrial locos. I'd honestly have rather just ridden the boat - I've been to a few heritage railways over the years and I'd have to say that one was the worst.
Nice bit of the country though, provided you don't accidentally stray into Barrow-in-Furness. Go to the Ravenglass & Eskdale instead.
I can second the Ecclesbourne Valley Railway, @AY1975 - a great little throwback to bucolic 1960's / early 1970's country branch lines. I'd recommend visiting it in it's current state before future signalling and maintenance plans go ahead, because there's a fair bit of charm that comes from it's slightly ramshackle set-up at present, whether that's the guard having to get out and operate road crossings himself or the surprisingly frequent incursion of sheep onto the running line (it's happened on both my previous visits, but I shouldn't be surprised - it is Derbyshire after all!)
Lovely little snapshot of the "low ebb" of branchline operations which, while melancholic, will surely resonate with a lot of visitors of a certain age.
I've made a couple of visits to -- and much liked -- the Ecclesbourne Valley Ry. I see where you're coming from, re its evocation of a DMU-worked 1960s / early 70s branch line in decline. An interesting oddity is, that this branch actually lost its passenger services much earlier than that era; i.e. from the beginning of 1949.
Bevan Price
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I tried to visit the Lytham museum twice - on both occasions it was closed on dates which their publicity stated it was supposedly open. If that was typical, it is not surprising that it closed.
A short narrow gauge line worth visiting - preferably on a gala event day - is the West Lancashire Light Railway at Hesketh Bank (between Southport & Preston.) Narrow guage "quarry" style steam locos plus some internal combustion shunters, and friendly volunteer "staff".
Hourly buses from Preston or Southport for anyone without a car.
Llanigraham
On Moderation
I shall mention the railway I volunteer on, The Corris Railway.
Again another short line with just a few volunteers, but from a start of no track or vehicles, we now have a battery loco, 3 diesels and a steam loco, with a second steam loco under construction. Also plans to gradually extend the line down the valley towards Machynlleth and we have started the ground work to build a new station in Corris village, modelled on the previous building demolished many years ago.
Again another short line with just a few volunteers, but from a start of no track or vehicles, we now have a battery loco, 3 diesels and a steam loco, with a second steam loco under construction. Also plans to gradually extend the line down the valley towards Machynlleth and we have started the ground work to build a new station in Corris village, modelled on the previous building demolished many years ago.
mushroomchow
Member
Sounds like the Midland Railway at Butterley to me. Not been there for a number of years, but I'm aware they make a lot of their money through photo charters, especially at Swanwick Junction which is a great and evocative location.
I forget whether or not the mainline connection north of Ironville is still in situ, but in 1999 the Kosovo Train for Life started its journey in Butterley.
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bramling
Veteran Member
Sorry to be a grumpy-bum here, but I didn't like the L&HR at all.
Very good at what it does (namely, shipping tourists to the boat to visit Windermere), but from an enthusiast's point of view I found it utterly rubbish, and somehow the slowest line of any gauge I've ever ridden on too, presumably an intentional decision to let punters "get their money's worth"! The boat ride made up for it, I guess, but I got the feeling it's treated as a purely commercial operation where, to misquote Jason Donovan, "Any Steam Will Do!"
The Fairburns are wasted there - if you're going to pootle along at 5mph in a packed carriage full of tourists who don't particularly care about the motive power, you may as well just use industrial locos. I'd honestly have rather just ridden the boat - I've been to a few heritage railways over the years and I'd have to say that one was the worst.
Nice bit of the country though, provided you don't accidentally stray into Barrow-in-Furness. Go to the Ravenglass & Eskdale instead.
I understand the point about the L&H, however personally I quite like it. They do run a carriage or two with compartments, which is the way to avoid all the tourists, and if one visits towards the end of the day when visitor numbers tail off a bit the place takes on more the atmosphere of any other heritage railway. They do PRIV discounts too which endears them to me, and I found the staff particularly welcoming. It’s a shame the railway was never able to use the full branch, however IIRC a road scheme put a stop to that, also being the reason why the Haverthwaite site is rather cramped.
Some of the Welsh railways can be just as bad for being full of tourists - in fact worse with old people fighting with each other just to get the best seat to look at “a view”, and stuffed full of uninterested coach parties!
Llanigraham
On Moderation
Yes but they are the customers who buy tickets and spend money in the shops and the cafes, and therefore support the volunteers in keeping the lines running.
I get sick of so-called enthusiasts who come, take a few pictures, don't spend any money evn on tickets, and then complain about how "we aren't original"!
Charles B
Member
There is also The East Kent Railway, The Lavender Line in Sussex, The East Anglian Railway Museum, The Colne Valley Railway, and, though it is not an original preserved line, The Mangapps Railway Museum in Essex.
I have to agree with Llanigraham. I make a point of buying a ticket and using the catering facilities of railways I visit. In return they give me a great day out and the opportunity to shoot video.
I have to agree with Llanigraham. I make a point of buying a ticket and using the catering facilities of railways I visit. In return they give me a great day out and the opportunity to shoot video.
I agree here with Llanigraham; plus, I admit to a rather negative and sulky attitude toward the preservation movement as a whole: the only parts of it for which I have much use, are the in my eyes more worthwhile independent heritage lines, which for me keep alive a faint echo of how the railway scene was in its, in my view, great days three-quarters-of-a-century-plus ago. A crucial way for me in which they do that, is: they are not just an "echo chamber" of delighted railway and steam enthusiasts; they carry, and earn their money by carrying, something other than that -- the non-railway-enthusiast public, a lot of whom are in fact not particularly enchanted by the experience. That's the element which saves the whole preservation / heritage thing for me: if it were nothing but "gricers playing trains and revelling in it", it would nauseate me and I'd want nothing to do with it. (I know I'm strange in that respect.)
(Like Charles B: when visiting a heritage line, I pay my fare to travel, and usually spend fairly freely at attendant facilities.)
Yes, and don't forget the Spa Valley, the Kent & East Sussex, the Epping Ongar, and the Isle of Wight Steam Railway.
The Epping Ongar is a fine example of a Great Eastern branch line, and it's unique as it's the only heritage railway on a former London Underground line. Talking of the LU, to get to the IWSR by train you have to go on the Island Line, which although not a heritage railway is a delight in itself with its vintage 1938 tube stock. Enjoy it while you can!
Paul Hitchcock
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Actually, for a line of around five route miles, the I.O.W.S.R. can hardly be said to come in the "less-mentioned" category at all. 2018 has been a particularly good year in fact, culminating in an hour long prime time T.V. programme. This, received in the Republic of Ireland, produced visitors to the I.O.W. very largely as a result. It also generated visitors living nearer at hand.
trash80
Established Member
Is the IOWSR the only preserved line where you can travel to it on National Rail rolling stock thats older than some of the steam locos on the preserved line?
Trainfan344
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Surely Most lines with Tornado visitng also counts? :P
trash80
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Indeed though i regard that as a special case, of course as more new build gets completed it will become more common.
nat67
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And has a Brush!
HaggisBotherer
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I think there's an awful lot of revisionist (and not entirely accurate) memories of the so-called 'great' days of the railways, when viewed through the rose-tinted prism of nostalgia. Many branches in particular had a very poor, infrequent and slow service; rolling stock was old, cold, uncomfortable, dirty and leaked when it rained; station staff were every bit as likely to be having a bad day - probably more so, in fact - than they are today.
On top of that... one, as a traveller, would have probably had a rather more difficult and more tiring journey to the station, having left a cold and drafty, single-glazed house without all the mod cons that we take for granted in modern life; dressed in clothes that were less comfortable, probably heavier and less efficient.
As a species, homo sapiens is very good at filtering out the less enjoyable aspects of memories and only remembering the good bits. And I've always thought that Ealing studios has a lot to answer for!
Preserved railways are, to all intents and purposes, a theme park. We tend to have a very different view when railways are a vital form of transport and need to get from A to B, C, or D as quickly and comfortably as we can.
Nostalgia has a habit of conveniently forgetting that, in those allegedly 'great' days of the past, the railways being considered were the latter, not the former, and have to be regarded within the entire context of the times and experience, not by us merely cherrypicking the shiny and interesting bits through a metaphorical glass screen from the comfort and convenience of the 21st century.
That's where nostalgia falls down, giving us a warped and inaccurate impression of the past.
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Paul Hitchcock
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Just so!
Flying Phil
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Given that we have heritage railways dependent upon volunteers, voluntary paying public, voluntary donations/bequests and sometimes ringfenced funding (HLF etc). it is not surprising that these railways are a selective view of the past we want to remember. They all have to tread a difficult path between popularity and commercial interests vs historic accuracy. Most do a good job most of the time......thankfully.
Paul Hitchcock
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These places are in competition with all sorts of leisure attractions and thus need to provide catering, children's play areas and interpretative displays plus, ideally, something to keep individuals in s group, who cannot stand trains, occupied. However this does not mean you have an excuse to turn your rural branch line into some version of the West Coast main line.
Whatever you do, the end result must be kept clean and tidy for its present purpose. Alas this is not always the case.
Whatever you do, the end result must be kept clean and tidy for its present purpose. Alas this is not always the case.
Sounds like the Midland Railway at Butterley to me. Not been there for a number of years, but I'm aware they make a lot of their money through photo charters, especially at Swanwick Junction which is a great and evocative location.
Yes, and don't forget Peak Rail (Matlock to Rowsley) too.
xotGD
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Northern land, 2018.
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