Did BR try to sell closed lines?

[MarkyT]

The ability and appetite for the WSR to run direct have both now diminished.

Like many heritage railways they have come to the realisation that their main leisure business doesn't require ever longer runs alone with associated costs and operating difficulties manning additional signalboxes etc. A specific objective like the GWSR's Broadway project can make sense however where it adds a particular popular destination or otherwise plugs into an additional market.

The dedicated route would have still fitted after all the re-signalling, until they built Silk Mills Bridge and the support post was put on the available alignment on the Up side. The lines have also been slewed for higher speed running in the last 42 years

I'm sure the cable route, a number of signal structures and equipment cabinets were erected foul of the old up relief alignment. I was an S&T trainee at the time and saw their construction. A new independent alignment might have been possible further out within the railway fence, but would have required a lot of work creating it's foundations. I don't believe space under the Silk Mill bridge is an issue. The steel truss bridge has no intermediate pillars and spans a massive 42 metres or thereabouts between its abutments (measured on Google Earth). The mains may have moved a little but not significantly enough to make any material difference.

 

[tiptoptaff]

I'm sure the cable route, a number of signal structures and equipment cabinets were erected foul of the old up relief alignment. I was an S&T trainee at the time and saw their construction. A new independent alignment might have been possible further out within the railway fence, but would have required a lot of work creating it's foundations. I don't believe space under the Silk Mill bridge is an issue. The steel truss bridge has no intermediate pillars and spans a massive 42 metres or thereabouts between its abutments (measured on Google Earth). The mains may have moved a little but not significantly enough to make any material difference.

I've no reason to doubt you, that was from memory of a discussion had a few years ago with the former Chief Mech Eng, of the WSR, whom, in one form or another, had been involved from Day 1 to Retirement. I may misheard or misunerstood some bits. It may have been the abutments that took up the room, but I distinctly remember him saying that Silk Mills was the nail in the coffin

 

[Cowley]

From what I remember the bridge is wide enough, but the mainline would need to be slewed over to create room for a separate WSR running line. This along with signals and cabling also needing to be moved would make the costs eye watering.

 

[duffield]

There's no doubt that in the short to medium term the only realistic option is extending some GWR Cardiff/Bristol to Taunton stoppers from Taunton to BL (no infrastructure changes needed, has actually been done for special events), in fact I'm sure I've seen various posts claiming it's likely to happen 'this year' or 'next year', but it seems to have gone quiet recently - anybody got any up to date news about this, in particular any possibilities for 2019?

 

[MarkyT]

There's no doubt that in the short to medium term the only realistic option is extending some GWR Cardiff/Bristol to Taunton stoppers from Taunton to BL (no infrastructure changes needed, has actually been done for special events), in fact I'm sure I've seen various posts claiming it's likely to happen 'this year' or 'next year', but it seems to have gone quiet recently - anybody got any up to date news about this, in particular any possibilities for 2019?

Well at least technically that can be done routinely now there is a properly signalled connection suitable for passenger trains. Provision of that had to wait until Silk Mills crossing had closed as the remote control channels formerly used for the barriers were reassigned to the new routes. The previous Taunton Cider connection was not strictly speaking suitable for routine passenger movements although it was allowed for limited numbers of excursions with additional special measures. The unique panel processor and telemetry system at Exeter panel had previously prevented major reconfiguration or expansion in the Taunton area due to the technology no longer being supported by its manufacturer.

 

[6Gman]

Hi,
Just had a nostalgic visit to Whitby and walked along the track bed near West Cliff station that I used to traverse by train when I was 7 years old. I imagine that the coast line to Scarborough would have made a profitable preserved railway.
I was wondering if any railways closed in the Beeching cuts were offered for sale to private buyers (preservation societies) or was the first action to remove the fixtures and fittings (track etc)?

Thanks

Mike

Is there such a thing as "a profitable preserved railway"?

Are they not dependent on voluntary effort and fundraising?

 

[Dai Corner]

Is there such a thing as "a profitable preserved railway"?

Are they not dependent on voluntary effort and fundraising?

Dartmouth Steam Railway?

Unusually amongst heritage railways, it is a commercial operation which does not rely on volunteer labour or charitable donations, although a few volunteers help at Churston railway station.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dartmouth_Steam_Railway

 

[tiptoptaff]

Dartmouth Steam Railway?


https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dartmouth_Steam_Railway

But their overall operation is much larger than just the steam railway

 

[krus_aragon]

Is there such a thing as "a profitable preserved railway"?

Are they not dependent on voluntary effort and fundraising?

A "tourist railway" rather than a "preserved railway", but the Snowdon Mountain Railway is to my knowledge profitable without any tin rattling or fundraising etc.

 

[Dai Corner]

But their overall operation is much larger than just the steam railway

Do the boats and buses subsidise the trains? I don't know.

 

[Cowley]

Do the boats and buses subsidise the trains? I don't know.

I wouldn’t have thought so, the railway was profitable before the ferries became part of the business.

 

[yorkguy]

I would have thought many preserved lines operate as “not for profit charitable trusts” enabling tax efficiency

 

[Journeyman]

Was that actually the case?

I'd suggest that the view was more likely that BR Management were professional railway managers; if they said a line wasn't viable, it wasn't, so the only thing to do was to break it up. If cash was king, and I see no reason why that wouldn't be the case, then I'd be very surprised if a serious offer to take over a line as a working proposition wasn't at least considered.

Yeah, I'm not buying the conspiracy theories here, as has been previously posted, most of BR's acts in the Beeching era were driven by desperation. They had absolutely no money to spare and had to try and (a) stem the losses as quickly as possible and (b) recover as much cash as they could from redundant assets. They simply didn't have the time, manpower or money to be generous to preservationists.

 

[Journeyman]

Lines like the GC, S&D removed revenue from the intended remaining lines and could not be allowed to survive.

Nah, the GC was an absolute financial disaster from start to finish. In its final decade, it was not unknown for long-distance trains to leave Marylebone with no-one on board.