Reopenings

[Stuart Galbraith]

The Cheltenham end is a bit of a problem with the Waitrose, but it does look like you could squeeze the line back in. It would seem a shame to demolish the footbridge that has been built but I suppose if it was really seen as a good idea to reopen the line then that would not be the biggest obstacle.

If HS2 gets built then Leicester to Rugby would be good, make use of some of the capacity that would emerge on the classic WCML and provide more useful links from Leicester to Northampton and MK

I think the line would fit at Cheltenham, but a new bridge isnt going to be cheap. Connecting up at the south end of Cheltenham Spa Station also looks just about doable, though there is a building obstructing part of the trackbed. You could single track here, but you have problem of where to put the station. I know there was one originally on Cheltenham high street, but parking clearly would be a problem. Im sure in the interim there will be running gun battles with Sustrans who I think own part of the trackbed here.

Personally I think their strategy is the right one, get into Honeybourne and then think about the future. I cant help but think if they do that, Network Rail is surely going ot have to look at the line again as a possible access to the cotswold line. If nothing else, I expect Gloucester-Cheltenham-Oxford would be popular with the tourists.

Im not sure about Stratford, whilst In a ideal world it ought to, I gather they have been talking about building a station outside stratford to replace the one in it, so cars can access it easier.:roll: If that happens, one wonders if they would go the whole hog and put a bypass line round the town, rather than go the unpopular road of putting a line back very close to a housing estate.

 

[AndyJB]

Mangotsfield? It would be a great transport interchange with the bypass nearby, and they could convert the old LMS line into Bristol either into a guided bus route (snicker) or in the longer term, it might just encourage them to put a tramway in.

I'd rather see the Avon Valley railway find it's way back there. It's probably fair to say that the potential for reopening sections of the old Midland Bath - Mangotsfield route is considerable, since the trackbed is largely unaltered (save the fact it's a cycleway) and most of the stations are intact. Though it may be wishful thinking, I love the idea of seeing Mangotsfield with a train in one of it's platforms again!

 

[Stuart Galbraith]

I'd rather see the Avon Valley railway find it's way back there. It's probably fair to say that the potential for reopening sections of the old Midland Bath - Mangotsfield route is considerable, since the trackbed is largely unaltered (save the fact it's a cycleway) and most of the stations are intact. Though it may be wishful thinking, I love the idea of seeing Mangotsfield with a train in one of it's platforms again!

Ive often thought the same. Its probably utterly impractical now to get back to green park, but the southern end of the line is a stones throw away from the GWML. If there WAS a requirement to put the line back, that end would be relatively straightforward (if expensive) to connect up. You could then run trains into bath central.

The problem is the northern half, which some pillock dropped a bypass and interchanges on. Its probably doable, but It would be hellishly expensive just to connect up to westerleigh junction. On the positive side the tunnel under the motorway is still there, so if you got past the bypass it would be fairly straightforward.

I dont know about going west from mangotsfield. Whilst Im sure that would be a valid commuter line, I think sustrans would have something to say about it. As would the bus companies which are rumoured to want to turn it into some strange thing called guided busway.:roll: Also the LMS route into Dr Days junction is completely built upon. To get access to Temple meads you would have to do a neat 90 degree turn at the old bridge over the GWR line at Lawrence Hill, which whilst it would probably would mean losing any ability to quad the lines North out of Bristol on the old GWR formation. Maybe it would make more sense to use this line for a high speed if they ever build one to Bristol.

In short, its a line that should never have shut, and nobody has the bottle to stump up the cash to reopen. With the area getting ever more built up, it will probably occur to someone one day. if someone doesnt build a housing estate on it, or turn it into a tramway which knowing Bristol is entirely possible.

I must have a walk round Mangotsfield some day. Did you know its the inspiration for the film (and play) 'The Ghost Train?'

 

[The Planner]

Im not sure about Stratford, whilst In a ideal world it ought to, I gather they have been talking about building a station outside stratford to replace the one in it, so cars can access it easier.:roll: If that happens, one wonders if they would go the whole hog and put a bypass line round the town, rather than go the unpopular road of putting a line back very close to a housing estate.

Stratford will stay where it is, Stratford Parkway is an entirely new station and in no way meant to replace the existing one.

 

[Stuart Galbraith]

Stratford will stay where it is, Stratford Parkway is an entirely new station and in no way meant to replace the existing one.

Thats good to know. The station from what pictures ive seen still looks very GWR, and it would be a shame to see it go.

 

[LE Greys]

Sadly, unlikely to happen - small sections of it may reopen, but the attempts to have a section of the line reopened to get china-clay lorries off Cornwall's highly unsuited (to HGV's) roads and back onto rail were dropped due to strong oposition from cyclists, since the trackbed now forms the Camel Trail.

Strongly suspect that the Bodmin & Wenford may have the same problem if they attempt expansion.

Surely it's possible to modify the course of the cycleway somewhat. The viaduct over Little Petherick Creek would be the biggest problem, but I think it might be possible to do something along the same lines as the Millennium Bridges at Charing Cross.

Really, we need an answer to the problem of footpaths and cycle tracks. They are probably easier to relocate than the railway itself. On double-track lines, it should be less of a problem (assuming that the reopened line is single-track). It wouldn't be ideal to have a path 6ft from an active railway, but it's a good temporary solution. Single-track lines in open country are not too bad (divert into the next field), but cuttings, embankments and especially bridges are major problems. Still, we can't let a cycleway block a railway.

 

[AndyJB]

Surely it's possible to modify the course of the cycleway somewhat. The viaduct over Little Petherick Creek would be the biggest problem, but I think it might be possible to do something along the same lines as the Millennium Bridges at Charing Cross.

Really, we need an answer to the problem of footpaths and cycle tracks. They are probably easier to relocate than the railway itself. On double-track lines, it should be less of a problem (assuming that the reopened line is single-track). It wouldn't be ideal to have a path 6ft from an active railway, but it's a good temporary solution. Single-track lines in open country are not too bad (divert into the next field), but cuttings, embankments and especially bridges are major problems. Still, we can't let a cycleway block a railway.

As I noted, that is exactly what happened in the case of the China Clay traffic. It was some years ago, but I defintely recall there being interest in switching the china clay transport in that area back to rail due to the roads in the immediate area being highly unsuited to HGV traffic. Since the Camel Trail is (or possibly was - not up-to-date on this matter) NOT a public right of way, North Cornwall District Council own(ed?) the trackbed and deliberately left small sections of rail in place, which can still be seen embedded in the roads in certain spots. However, local oposition stymied the idea due to the trackbed having become the camel train, and it therefore never happened.

And that was somewhere around 2002 I think - certainly since then the Camel Trail has become an even more well-established tourist attraction - no group or company trying to return rails there would stand a chance, regardless of who owns the former trackbed.