Trivia: Lines/stations planned but never built or built but never opened

matacaster · 24 May 2019

61653 HTAFC said:
The Midland Railway's Huddersfield to Kirkburton branch was planned at one point to be extended to Barnsley. Of course this never happened and the Lancashire and Yorkshire line to Clayton West sort-of cut it off anyway. I believe there were also aborted plans to extend that line to Barnsley.

There's demand for this line to be built ...(sic)..... well at least I would travel on it several times a week from Station Road, Lepton to Barnsley if it were built. Even better would be if line was extended by reinstating line to Worsbrough bank.

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61653 HTAFC · 24 May 2019

matacaster said:
There's demand for this line to be built ...(sic)..... well at least I would travel on it several times a week from Station Road, Lepton to Barnsley if it were built. Even better would be if line was extended by reinstating line to Worsbrough bank.

Huddersfield to Barnsley and especially Sheffield is slow enough as it is! I don't think the Kirkburton branch ever made much money from passengers, due to such a circuitous route out of Huddersfield. There's a reason the service never returned after being axed as a wartime (WW2) economy measure.
If it had been routed via Almondbury to Fenay Bridge rather than via Deighton, Dalton and Kirkheaton, it may have fared better. Would have been a tough ask even during "Railway Mania" though.

Of the two branches (Kirkburton and Clayton West) the latter would have been a better candidate for extending to Barnsley. The prospect of such an extension is why the branch was built to take double track (though only one was ever laid).

LAX54 · 24 May 2019

Mistley, on the Harwich Line to Thorpe le Soken, (or could have been Weeley ? ), started, but never finished

Dr_Paul · 24 May 2019

The Shepperton branch was intended to go through to Chertsey, hence the through platforms at Shepperton. Which way the junction was going to face at Chertsey -- towards Staines or Weybridge, or perhaps both -- I don't know.

Xenophon PCDGS · 24 May 2019

The Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway had plans to extend its branch line from Sowerby Bridge to Rishworth as a quicker route towards Rochdale, but this extension was never taken forward and Rishworth remained the terminal station on that branch line.

30907 · 24 May 2019

Cricketer8for9 said:
There are earthworks east of Kent House station for a curve round to the line between Crystal Palace and Beckenham Junction. The railway map of London suggests there may have been a siding but never a through running connection.

Hajducki's "Railways of Beckenham" says it (officially the Penge Loop) had signalled junctions at both end but probably never carried through traffic; it later became a carriage siding.

Xenophon PCDGS · 24 May 2019

Around the time of the first decade of the 20th century, the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway examined the possibility of taking the short Middleton branch line to a connectional point with the line from Manchester to Bury, but this was not taken any further.

Senex · 24 May 2019

There's a supplement on lines of this sort published with the Railway & Canal Historical Society's Railway Chronology Special Interest Group Newsletters for January and April 2004 (nos. 37 and 38) available to members of the R&CHS and, I believe, in some libraries such as that of the NRM.

AndyHudds · 24 May 2019

61653 HTAFC said:
The Midland Railway's Huddersfield to Kirkburton branch was planned at one point to be extended to Barnsley. Of course this never happened and the Lancashire and Yorkshire line to Clayton West sort-of cut it off anyway. I believe there were also aborted plans to extend that line to Barnsley.

Holmfirth was originally intended to link up to the Woodhead route. Now that would have been some feat of engineering.

lancastrian · 24 May 2019

There was once a plan to extend the Preston to Longridge line through Chipping to Long Preston.

krus_aragon · 24 May 2019

Jorge Da Silva said:
What lines or stations have been planned but never built (or built but never opened in some cases).

These do not include stations or lines which were planned/proposed for reopening only new builds.

Where were they meant to go from? Why was it never built? When was it meant to open? Who was meant to operate it?

There'll be oodles of these.

To take the Isle of Anglesey as an example (that I know well):

The three railways that got built were the Chester & Holyhead, the Anglesey Central (which ran from Gaerwen to Amlwch on the northern coast), and the LNWR's later branch to Red Wharf Bay and Benllech.

The very first railway, the Anglesea Railway, was authorised by Parliament back in 1812 (iirc) to run from the newly accessible coalfield in the centre of the island to Red Wharf Bay. The coal turned out to be of rather meagre quality, however, and there's no evidence that the line was ever built (even though a number of contemporary books assumed it had). The LNWR's later branch mirrored the route to a significant extent.

Disregarding an early CHR plan for a branch to Llangefni (which got served by the ACR), the next failed plan was that of the ACR to extend their line from Amlwch/Rhosgoch along the northern coast, then down to Valley on the CHR. The intention here was to serve more of the northern portion of the island, though this part was mainly agricultiural in nature. The crash of 1867 left the ACR in dire straits, and the plan was shelved.

The LNWR considered a small branch line along the Menai Straits from Llanfairpwll to Beaumaris in the early 20th century (iirc), to serve the growing tourist trade. They decided to go for the Red Wharf Bay branch instead.

Another scheme, promoted independently in the latter portion of the 19th century, advocated a branch from Gaerwen south-west towards Newborough, with a number of little loop lines to serve the villages down there, and a connection with a ferry service to Caernarfon. The locals couldn't get the LNWR to sow any interest, and those with experience of running the ACR before it was bought by the LNWR had already had their fingers burnt, and didn't want to know. The scheme never made it beyond a few town-hall meetings and newspaper articles.

If you want more detail of any of these particular lines, let me know and I'll dig out some of my notes.

DerekC · 24 May 2019

big all said:
dont know if it counts
during the war there where earthworks to form a triangle at shalfords between the portsmouth/london and reading/redhill lines
there was also earthworks at dorking to connect the deepdene to betchworth tunnel section

this would have the ability if fully installed with the required trackwork and bridge to give you a horsham rounder branch off at christ hospital via cranleigh to shalford via a few yards on the portsmouth main line then via deepdene and betchworth tunnel back to horsham

The 1872 OS map shows both these links, so they are much older than WWII. The connection at Dorking had track on it and looks fully connected (in fact from memory I think it was the original route of the line from Horsham, before the route to Leatherhead was completed). The east to south connection at Shalford Junction was just earthworks in 1872, but is marked "Railway, dismantled" so probably that one did exist in the early days too.

There was another connection of this kind which was definitely not completed, between the Didcot, Newbury & Southampton and LSWR West of England lines at Whitchurch, facing north to west.

DerekC · 24 May 2019

"Railways of Hertfordshire" by F.G Cockman (1983) has details about sixty unrealised schemes from the 1830s to the 1900s. just in the Hertfordshire area. The same book says that 1500 schemes were promoted in the UK between 1825 and 1925, of which about 400 were successfully completed, so you are looking for over a thousand, without minor chords and links such as those in some previous posts. I's a pretty tall order to find them all - more of a life's work than one thread on this forum! Some of the interesting ones in the Hertfordshire book:

Cheltenham, Oxford and London and Birmingham Union Railway (1836) - joining the L&B at Tring.
Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire & Essex Junction Railway (1845) - Luton to Maldon via Welwyn, Ware, Harlow and Chelmsford
Northern & Southern Connecting Railway (1845) - Hatfield to Reigate via Watford and Weybridge
Tring, Reading & Basingstoke Railway (1845)
Uxbridge & Rickmansworth Railway (1860)

big all · 24 May 2019

DerekC said:
The 1872 OS map shows both these links, so they are much older than WWII. The connection at Dorking had track on it and looks fully connected (in fact from memory I think it was the original route of the line from Horsham, before the route to Leatherhead was completed). The east to south connection at Shalford Junction was just earthworks in 1872, but is marked "Railway, dismantled" so probably that one did exist in the early days too.

There was another connection of this kind which was definitely not completed, between the Didcot, Newbury & Southampton and LSWR West of England lines at Whitchurch, facing north to west.

ok fair enough was only going from what the old boys would tell me as a second man in the early 70s

i suppose over a 100 years folklore and "telling interesting tales with poetic licence " can change a tale many a time

although the drop through betchworth tunnel is quite severe so a level tunnel would put the track at this end above the reading road not below so perhaps with the direct london route in mind as the final setup it was set to below it?
the age off the reading over dorking north line bridge may give a clue

61653 HTAFC · 24 May 2019

AndyHudds said:
Holmfirth was originally intended to link up to the Woodhead route. Now that would have been some feat of engineering.

I'd heard that... not surprised it never happened both due to the small matter of Holme Moss in the way. Upon meeting the Woodhead either going West towards Manchester or East towards Sheffield wouldn't be a huge market as neither would be a very direct route.

Perhaps in a parallel universe there's a north-south mainline via Bradford, Huddersfield, Holmfirth, Glossop and so on!

apk55 · 25 May 2019

Two I know of
Alston Branch was intended to join with the St Johns Chapel branch. (A lot of the formation on the Alston branch was built for double track so there was plans for expansion there) Would have involved a long tunnel and steep gradients.
Dyserth branch was intended to continue to Trelawnyd. Some earthworks were were built near Marian Mill.

Xenophon PCDGS · 25 May 2019

As part of the grandiose scheme of the Manchester and Milford Railway to connect Manchester to the deep-water port of Milford Haven, work commenced on the Llangurig branch line in 1872 with groundworks being effected in the Llangurig area which would connect two existing rail routes, but naught came of it and the 1.5 mile line that was already constructed was lifted in 1882.

Xenophon PCDGS · 25 May 2019

In 1894, a proposal was floated under the name of the Leigh and South Central Lancashire Railway which would have made a direct rail connection from the Walkden and Mosley Common area, linking to existing colliery rail lines in that area, to facilitate the export of coal from the Lancashire Coalfield from the newly-opened Manchester Ship Canal Partington handling facility, but such was the opposition from both the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway and the London and North Western Railway that the project fell by the wayside.

341o2 · 25 May 2019

Redruth & Chasewater railway - Earthworks were constructed, then the railway suddenly just seemed to give up EDIT - referring to the Chasewater branch
Dorchester to Exeter. Proposal did not get beyond the station, due to an agreement with the GWR, in return trains instead ran to Weymouth
Helston to the Lizard, buses used instead, the only construction being the layout of Helston station (rather like Dorchester)
Solent tunnel which would have linked the Lymington branch to the Isle of Wight near Yarmouth. Trial bore at Keyhaven,
Lakeside to Ambleside, Windermere. Local opposition including William Wordsworth. Did not get beyond proposal
LUL Cockfosters to Potters Bar.
Exeter to Newton Abbott avoiding sea wall at Dawlish

As mentioned, must be thousands, will probably think of more

Helvellyn · 25 May 2019

The PicVic link would have been a good line if built - https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Picc-Vic_tunnel#/search

DerekC · 25 May 2019

London's Victoria Line was originally intended to be to main line dimensions and link Lea Valley suburban services with the southern network somewhere in the Streatham area.

2392 · 26 May 2019

OK here's a part built but abandoned line "Paddy" Waddell's Railway. John "Paddy" Waddell had planned and received authority to build a line from Glaisdale on the Esk Valley line Middlesbrough - Whitby to Moorsholm near Saltburn By the Sea. The idea being [I believe] to tap into the iron ore seams in the Cleveland Hills. Sections of earthworks were built but the whole project came to zero. Speaking of Glaisdale, when you're traveling towards Middlesbrough you can glimpse an over-bridge that bridges nothing. The following link gives a pot history of the line:-

http://www.rotaryclubofredcar-dip.com/PaddyWaddell/index.htm

Pyreneenguy · 26 May 2019

I hope you don't mind me mentioning these projects that are local to me in south-west France , but foreign for most of you !

There was a project to extend the line from Castelsarrasin to Beaumont de Lomagne to join the Toulouse- Auch line at Gimont. A good deal of work had been carried out - earth works, bridges, level crossings, even the crossing keepers houses were built - before work ceased. The houses are still there and are easily recognizable, all being the same design and already numbered ! Both of these lines are still open, the first for freight only, the second for both.

The line from Auch to Lannemezan, at the foot of the Pyrénées was less advanced but part of one important bridge at Chelan survives and is preserved to commemorate the resistants who lost their lives in action against the enemy on 6 June, 1944. The bridge abutments provided an excellent belvedere to ambush the German troops.

https://www.ladepeche.fr/article/20...nau-magnoac-l-histoire-du-pont-de-chelan.html

AndyHudds · 26 May 2019

61653 HTAFC said:
Huddersfield to Barnsley and especially Sheffield is slow enough as it is! I don't think the Kirkburton branch ever made much money from passengers, due to such a circuitous route out of Huddersfield. There's a reason the service never returned after being axed as a wartime (WW2) economy measure.
If it had been routed via Almondbury to Fenay Bridge rather than via Deighton, Dalton and Kirkheaton, it may have fared better. Would have been a tough ask even during "Railway Mania" though.

Of the two branches (Kirkburton and Clayton West) the latter would have been a better candidate for extending to Barnsley. The prospect of such an extension is why the branch was built to take double track (though only one was ever laid).

Obviously Almondbury is on a massive hill making a railway nigh on impossible.

In hindsight closing the Clayton West branch was a bad idea, would have allowed maybe a service through to Leeds.

61653 HTAFC · 26 May 2019

AndyHudds said:
Obviously Almondbury is on a massive hill making a railway nigh on impossible.

In hindsight closing the Clayton West branch was a bad idea, would have allowed maybe a service through to Leeds.

Lots of places got railways despite being inaccessible, obviously any Almondbury station wouldn't be in the village centre, but the urban sprawl down the hill would provide a solid user-base... and far crazier lines were built.

The reason Clayton West closed was that once the pits closed, the maintenance of the line then had to be covered by the revenue from the sparse passenger service (which was largely run for schools traffic). WYPTE refused to support it as running school buses were cheaper, so it closed. When you say a Leeds service would be ideal today, do you mean running through via Huddersfield or via the proposed but never built extension? This would probably have met the Wakefield to Barnsley line around Kexborough/Darton. I suppose if it had been built it could connect with the Barnsley line in both directions.

DerekC · 26 May 2019

Near me, the Bishops Waltham and Petersfield Railway (1860s) would have been interesting although doubtful if it would have survived Beeching. Alternatively the LSWR in the 1880s (long before the Meon Valley Line) promoted a route from Alton to Petersfield with a branch to Bishops Waltham.

Not quite on-topic but worth noting in passing that there was a serious proposal to site the LSWR's locomotive works at Bishops Waltham rather than Eastleigh.

pitdiver · 26 May 2019

DerekC said:
"Railways of Hertfordshire" by F.G Cockman (1983) has details about sixty unrealised schemes from the 1830s to the 1900s. just in the Hertfordshire area. The same book says that 1500 schemes were promoted in the UK between 1825 and 1925, of which about 400 were successfully completed, so you are looking for over a thousand, without minor chords and links such as those in some previous posts. I's a pretty tall order to find them all - more of a life's work than one thread on this forum! Some of the interesting ones in the Hertfordshire book:

Cheltenham, Oxford and London and Birmingham Union Railway (1836) - joining the L&B at Tring.
Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire & Essex Junction Railway (1845) - Luton to Maldon via Welwyn, Ware, Harlow and Chelmsford
Northern & Southern Connecting Railway (1845) - Hatfield to Reigate via Watford and Weybridge
Tring, Reading & Basingstoke Railway (1845)
Uxbridge & Rickmansworth Railway (1860)

The "Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire & Essex Junction Railroad fascinates me. As having an interest in both Luton & Maldon I'm wondering the reasoning behind this proposal. All I can think of is freight from Maldon offloaded from the Thames Barges that have made Maldon famous.

AndyHudds · 26 May 2019

61653 HTAFC said:
Lots of places got railways despite being inaccessible, obviously any Almondbury station wouldn't be in the village centre, but the urban sprawl down the hill would provide a solid user-base... and far crazier lines were built.

The reason Clayton West closed was that once the pits closed, the maintenance of the line then had to be covered by the revenue from the sparse passenger service (which was largely run for schools traffic). WYPTE refused to support it as running school buses were cheaper, so it closed. When you say a Leeds service would be ideal today, do you mean running through via Huddersfield or via the proposed but never built extension? This would probably have met the Wakefield to Barnsley line around Kexborough/Darton. I suppose if it had been built it could connect with the Barnsley line in both directions.

I meant a service through Huddersfield to Leeds, give the Penistone line, well the Huddersfield stations anyway, a second service an hour and a service straight through to Leeds for commuters, also a second hourly service for the Huddersfield line stations. I'm sure it would have been a popular service with commuters the only problem would be where to accommodate it at Leeds!!

61653 HTAFC · 26 May 2019

AndyHudds said:
I meant a service through Huddersfield to Leeds, give the Penistone line, well the Huddersfield stations anyway, a second service an hour and a service straight through to Leeds for commuters, also a second hourly service for the Huddersfield line stations. I'm sure it would have been a popular service with commuters the only problem would be where to accommodate it at Leeds!!

Getting it through Huddersfield would be tricky too. Prior to the 1989 modernisation there was no platform 2 in use, so Platform 4 was used for services towards Sheffield, Clayton West and Marsden. Once the upgrade was done, if CW was still open it would have to run in the opposite half hour to the Sheffield (the new P2 wouldn't allow 2 units which could otherwise split at Shepley), and a through service to Leeds would have to use P4.

That would also be a very indirect route, you could probably count the number of regular through users without taking your socks off. If you live in Clayton West and want to get to Leeds, you'd catch the 435/436/437 bus to Wakefield and get off at Westgate.

LUYMun · 27 May 2019

The Jubilee line (or the Fleet line as it was called back then) was meant to go through Charing Cross, the Fleet financial district, and into South-east London. This was scrapped due to high costs and the movement of the financial district to Canary Wharf resulted in the diversion of the line from Green Park, which the Jubilee's Charing Cross platforms are closed.

Trivia: Lines/stations planned but never built or built but never opened

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