Out of use lines where track remains

[Moodster020]

Bangor - Amwlch (Anglesey Central Railway)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nub6RIWJ8U&feature=channel_video_title

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nub6RIWJ8U&feature=channel_video_title

Are there not hoped-for plans to re-open this line as a heritage railway from Llangefni to Amlwch, that were spoken of in a recent posting on this forum?

 

[DarloRich]

Good point but enough track had been removed to suggest that it had not been stolen.

how far is enougth track to suggest it had not been stolen? I have seen the scrap metal pixies take several miles of twin track railway before they got caught!

 

[Moodster020]

Are there not hoped-for plans to re-open this line as a heritage railway from Llangefni to Amlwch, that were spoken of in a recent posting on this forum?

http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/nor...-railway-takes-a-step-forward-55578-29532021/

 

[Noguidedbus]

http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/nor...-railway-takes-a-step-forward-55578-29532021/

Very hopeful, by the look of the article.

 

[RichmondCommu]

how far is enougth track to suggest it had not been stolen? I have seen the scrap metal pixies take several miles of twin track railway before they got caught!

Apparently the track lengths were stored in a field for several days before being taken away by a truck. One would assume that the authorities would have been on to it by this stage if it wasn't legit?

 

[littleroe]

There is still many lines in Nottinghamshire that are not being used. Of course the High Marnham to Thoresby colliery junction is now in use with Network Rail as their RIDC and after spending up to 100 million pound and replacing 5+ miles of sleepers and tracks, i hope it stays used and open. The welbeck branch also remains intact. Same cant be said about the other lines in the area. The line from clipstone junction to Mansfield/clipstone/bilsthorpe colliery sites has been lifted by people other than Network Rail. The Calverton branch from Hucknall is 50/50, as a large portion of the line was removed by scrappies some time ago. Bolsover branch remains intact much of the way.

 

[ChrisCooper]

Also in Nottinghamshire there is the line from Netherfield up to the former Gedling Colliery which is still largely intact, then just further down there is the line off to Cotgrave Colliery, although that has mostly been taken up.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

On the disused Wisbech line in Cambridgeshire the level crossing across the A47 was removed overnight (10/11th September).

The rails and sleepers were removed and the area tarmacced. The crossing lights remain.

I went across there on the Friday and saw they were doing some work, then was surprised and annoyed to come back on the next saturday and find the track had gone. Got that big coldstore just Wisbech side of the crossing that I'm sure could be rail served. At least as they have the signs and lights it's still a crossing though, so could be re-instated quite easily.

 

[Tiny Tim]

The Portishead branchline still remains and is scheduled for reopening. I doubt the current track is good enough though.

Freight trains run on the line up to Portbury; but no further, i.e to Portishead.

Not only does most of the Portishead Branch survive with track, also the unused branch from this remains to Bristol Docks, including a substantial bridge over the River Avon. Although there is a big campaign to reopen the route to Portishead, a recent bid to get funding failed. No doubt they will try again. The report by Halcrow for North Somerset Council can be found at http://www.n-somerset.gov.uk/NR/rdo...808_NSCPortisheadRailLineStudyFinalReport.pdf

 

[Midlandman]

Skelton Junction to Glazebrook, there is still track down from the Skelton end towards Partington. They keep comong up with proposals to re-open this as a freight line to a new distribution depot.

On an only slightly related topic (that of not removing disused rails when roads are resurfaced), about 25 years ago, they were renewing the sewers under the main road where my parents lived. It caused chaos anyway, but it was made worse when, with an almighty clang, the bucket of one of the JCBs hit a complete scissors crossing formerly belonging to the Burton & Ashby Light Railway. This, a tramway operated by the old Midland Railway Co., closed in 1926 and had just been covered over by successive road resurfacing and forgotten about. The whole project got delayed by about a month while they dug it up! (Until not so long ago, and possibly still, you could see the old track at the terminus in the old Ashby station yard).

 

[WL113]

The South Staffs between Pleck/Bescot to Round Oak is officially mothballed as far as I know. Much of the track is still there but the route is severed at Bescot Curve Jn where a new underbridge was built. The track was not replaced on top of it. There is certainly no signalling on the route as all the boxes were burned down shortly after the line was last used and all the location cases and cables are stripped out. There are some signal posts still standing however.

 

[RPM]

Bletchley to Claydon is a bit gappy.

Most of the track is still in situ on the Bletchley - Claydon line although it is generally in very poor condition. The missing section stretches for about a mile from just north-east of Swanbourne station. Allegedly this track was removed by members of the travelling community around ten years ago.

Incidentally this line has the most amazing range of different track types, including various sections of jointed bullhead rail, continuous welded flat - bottomed rail and examples of just about every type of track fixing imaginable. I believe it was formerly used for p-way staff training.

This picture shows one of the sections of CWR, now badly distorted because the track had been severed and the tension lost:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rpmarks/3546528547/

A few other pictures of the line:

Swanbourne Sidings
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rpmarks/3536507291/in/set-72157607208861151

Swanbourne Station
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rpmarks/4557930628/in/set-72157607208861151

Between Claydon Station and Claydon Loop
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rpmarks/3549290098/in/set-72157607208861151

Winslow Station
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rpmarks/3536377549/in/set-72157607208861151

I believe the Akeman Street branch is still intact, albeit no longer connected.

Indeed, the rails are still in situ but as you say, Grendon Junction has been disconnected.

This picture shows the line looking towards Akeman Street from bridge 3 near Grendon Underwood. It was taken in 2003 but it looks little different today. As can be seen, the former up line remains in situ.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rpmarks/2885518039/in/set-72157607208861151

 

[AntoniC]

You can get onto it via a junction to the Bootle-Edge Hill line. It's not owned by Merseyrail AFAIK. It's a few years since I've visited the area so I don't know what state it's in or if any trains have used it recently.

By the way Spain seems to abound in long stretches of rusty track that haven't seen a train in years.

It was proposed that the line be reopened when Liverpool FC were supposed to build their new stadium, so there would be a station near the ground.

Like all things associated with my beloved LFC its a pipe dream !

 

[SSL1990]

They seem to have started removing some of the vast amounts of vegetation from the South Staffordshire Line I noticed, when going through Dudley Port on the train and looking down towards the Lower Level. Can't confirm it 100% but thats how it appeared. Perhaps they're clearing it to check out the condition of the track?

 

[aylesbury]

Ryhope Grange junction - Sunderland South Dock hasn't been used since about 1997 but is still there. There's a barbed wire fence across the track at Grangetown Crossing.

Saw this junction in a dvd Nunthorpe to Newcastle looks very rusty and unloved plus quite a few other abadoned lines in the general area.

 

[Muzer]

There's a length of track from the North side of the island platform at Andover to the military depot in Ludgershall IIRC that is little-used (I believe it is used for military use, but I've only seen a train on it once from about 7 years of catching trains from there). There are/were vague ideas from GOOP about a light rail service running along these lines, but this has so far not gone anywhere from what I can see. I don't know how this will be affected by the planned works at andover to introduce a North entrance and car park.

 

[Noguidedbus]

I think the tracks are still there in the undergrowth right to the tunnel under the A38.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Ashton Gate former sidings to behind M Shed in Bristol is still there. It was disconnected from the (now) goods line to Portbury dock, and the sidings were lifted, some years back. Part of it is used by the Bristol Harbour railway, and was also used as a test-bed for the Parry People Movers, now successfully operating to Stourbridge as Class 139. There is a bridge over the New Cut that would need strengthening, but with that done, and an extension to a nearby park-and-ride, it would be an excellent light rail route into the centre of Bristol. A new Ashton Gate halt on a re-opened Portishead line would link to it. Which is why the local councils want to rip it up, and build a guided busway, so they can try to emulate some of Cambridgeshire's success with the concept.

By way of evidence, I offer this:

which is alongside the new cut of the river Avon, heading towards the City Centre.

Sadly, this will be destroyed soon, to make way for the Bus Rabid Transit scheme. Just through the bridge in the second picture is the city docks, within a 2-minute stroll of the city centre.

 

[Phil6219]

A bit of the old Manchester Ship Canal railway is still around, albiet pretty much all out of use. By comparison to what it once was (the largest private railway in the world) there is practically sod all of it there but there are bits and pieces.

Barton Dock Road still has track in situ and this is still in use with GBRF's 4L18/4M29 running along it (although the GBRF loco is removed at the EWS yard and replaced with a class 08 which is more suited to the tight corners). The Northern portal by Eccles Station still exists and is "still in use" although the last time I saw a train along there it was Jan 2011, it was in use to serve Blue Circle Cement at their works (pretty much directly adjacent to my own workplace) although that plant has been inactive and abandoned since Feb 2011 (it is worth pointing out that a few individuals have been seen on site doing some cleaning and preparation so perhaps it could be coming back online).

Adjacent to the entrance to Blue Circle was a number of lines which crossed "Danial Adamson Road" and "entered" a shed of which only one wall remains. Those tracks were removed in mid 2010 to install a new road and bridge, the shed wall still remains though.

There are tracks alongside "Trafford Park Road" and these did see traffic until a few years back, they run to what was "Cerestar" (I can't think of it's current name) and do run fully to one of the three freight terminals. There is some track along "John Gilbert Way" although connected to the previously mentioned line it runs for about half a mile before stopping and clearly serves no purpose any more.

If you take a walk along "Ashburton Road - West" you will find several miles of track running alongside, pretty much stopping a few hundered meters from "The Trafford Centre", this is severed in many places from when industrial units were added and access roads made. It continues on and would have joined up with the track on Trafford Park Road however a number of industrial warehouses have been built on the track though there is a neat line of abandoned track running behind a load of buildings for most of the way.

Phil

 

[Tiny Tim]

There's a length of track from the North side of the island platform at Andover to the military depot in Ludgershall IIRC that is little-used (I believe it is used for military use, but I've only seen a train on it once from about 7 years of catching trains from there). There are/were vague ideas from GOOP about a light rail service running along these lines, but this has so far not gone anywhere from what I can see. I don't know how this will be affected by the planned works at andover to introduce a North entrance and car park.

The 7 mile route from Andover to Ludgershall is the remaining stub of the old Midland and South Western Junction Railway. There are very substantial sidings and warehousing at Ludgershall, extending a short way up the Tidworth Branch. These facilities are rumoured to hold vast numbers of Army vehicles. Although trains may be infrequent it appears to be quite well used, every time I pass there's a new selection of freight wagons to distract me from driving safely. Although tanks now appear to be moved by road there still seems to be enough traffic to justify keeping this line open. I believe Network Rail maintain the line on behalf of the MOD. I haven't heard about the light rail idea, it sounds interesting.

 

[Muzer]

Ah, right - perhaps it's just I'm never there when it's being used, for whatever reason...

 

[Tiny Tim]

Ah, right - perhaps it's just I'm never there when it's being used, for whatever reason...

I haven't actually witnessed any movements at Ludgershall, and I pass through fairly regularly during the day, but assuming the pixies don't mischievously move rolling stock about, there must be the occasional train!

I've just looked at the GO OP website, not only are they talking about a passenger service from Andover to Ludgershall, but also extending along the old trackbed to Tidworth. Very ambitious. They're also looking at the (also OOU) line to Radstock, as mentioned elsewhere in this thread.

 

[Hydro]

I believe it's still used, fairly infrequently as I think a lot of MoD traffic is quite "as-required". It's a fairly regular feature in our test program, I've been up there a few times now with a test train.

 

[DarloRich]

I believe it's still used, fairly infrequently as I think a lot of MoD traffic is quite "as-required". It's a fairly regular feature in our test program, I've been up there a few times now with a test train.

that line does not exisit and i was never here

(NR maintain it i think )

 

[Tiny Tim]

I didn't know about the proposed use of the Bristol Docks Branch for a Rapid Bus scheme. Considering that the Portishead line is likely to be re-opened to passenger traffic at some stage it seems mad not to allow access to the city centre via the docks branch. Temple Meads is a long way out of the centre, the docks branch could deposit commuters slap bang in the middle.

 

[83G/84D]

There's a length of track from the North side of the island platform at Andover to the military depot in Ludgershall IIRC that is little-used (I believe it is used for military use, but I've only seen a train on it once from about 7 years of catching trains from there). There are/were vague ideas from GOOP about a light rail service running along these lines, but this has so far not gone anywhere from what I can see. I don't know how this will be affected by the planned works at andover to introduce a North entrance and car park.

I may be wrong but I believe the MoD have pulled out of this place and it is empty.

 

[Tiny Tim]

I may be wrong but I believe the MoD have pulled out of this place and it is empty.

The army are still very much in residence at Ludgershall. This area of Salisbury Plain is now the MOD's biggest training area, and the railway is clearly, if only sporadically, in use. The various depots are all being used for something.

 

[ole man]

There is still track at Bolsover, think it might have come from the colliery? was it on the Chesterfield to Mansfield line?

 

[Noguidedbus]

I didn't know about the proposed use of the Bristol Docks Branch for a Rapid Bus scheme. Considering that the Portishead line is likely to be re-opened to passenger traffic at some stage it seems mad not to allow access to the city centre via the docks branch. Temple Meads is a long way out of the centre, the docks branch could deposit commuters slap bang in the middle.

'Fraid so, Tiny Tim. See http://travelplus.org.uk/best-and-final-bids for detail, including plans etc. The route had been preserved since the early 1980s for the oft-mooted, but never organised, Avon Metro project. That goes to show how little can be achieved when neighbouring authorities can't agree on relatively trivial details of grand schemes. So what would have been a wonderful route for a tram-train in the future will become a bus lane from a park-and-ride built for people who can't get a train from Portishead, amongst others, to a stop fairly near Temple Meads to service a derelict site. Come the reopening of the Portishead line, the case for which is gathering unstoppable momentum, the route may well get substantially quieter!

The glimmer of hope is the inclusion of railway track for part of the way, to avoid closure of the harbour railway. Unless that proves to be unfeasible, like the associated cycletrack already has.

 

[thelongestroad]

Whilst we're on the subject, anyone know what this place is?

http://g.co/maps/se9hv

From Google Street View the gate just says AMCO on it; and usually frequented by sheep and asbestos.

----
Seems I might have found my answer after all..

http://www.28dayslater.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=66630

 

[plymothian]

And I forgot the former Plym valley line, which has been partly taken over by a preserved railway, but the connection to NR network still remains (just) for heritage stock movements.