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Road replacement train

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Scotty

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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-south-scotland-36702107

A "replacement" train service is being offered by a narrow gauge railway between two remote villages in southern Scotland during a road closure.

The B797 between Leadhills in South Lanarkshire and Wanlockhead in Dumfries and Galloway is shut for resurfacing.

The rail service is being run to help people from Wanlockhead to get to the doctor's surgery in Leadhills.

It is also being offered as a "commuter service" for some workers at the Museum of Lead Mining in Wanlockhead.

"This service will be unique in that it is usually the other way round, with bus replacements for trains," said David Winpenny of the Leadhills and Wanlockhead Railway.

The trains are usually run at weekends during the summer months on what bills itself as "Britain's highest narrow gauge adhesion railway" reaching 1,498ft (456m) above sea level.

They link Leadhills to a terminus at Glengonnar which is less than a mile from Wanlockhead.

The road is shut for resurfacing for up to a fortnight with a diversion in place via the A76, B740, B7078 and A702
 
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me123

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Brilliant idea. When you go rural, a simple road closure can have a devastating impact on locals due to a lack of diversionary routes. Shows great innovation from the railway operators, and a brilliant contribution to their local community. And very clever marketing.

The timetable ain't bad either. Hourly throughout the day (limited options for a trip to Glasgow, but plenty of options for a trip the other way).
 

Clip

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Rather amusing story this morning
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-south-scotland-36702107

A "replacement" train service is being offered by a narrow gauge railway between two remote villages in southern Scotland during a road closure.

The B797 between Leadhills in South Lanarkshire and Wanlockhead in Dumfries and Galloway is shut for resurfacing.

The rail service is being run to help people from Wanlockhead to get to the doctor's surgery in Leadhills.

It is also being offered as a "commuter service" for some workers at the Museum of Lead Mining in Wanlockhead.

"This service will be unique in that it is usually the other way round, with bus replacements for trains," said David Winpenny of the Leadhills and Wanlockhead Railway.

The trains are usually run at weekends during the summer months on what bills itself as "Britain's highest narrow gauge adhesion railway" reaching 1,498ft (456m) above sea level.

They link Leadhills to a terminus at Glengonnar which is less than a mile from Wanlockhead.

The road is shut for resurfacing for up to a fortnight with a diversion in place via the A76, B740, B7078 and A702.
 

Old Yard Dog

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My wife and I were once put on a train by National Express after our Birmingham - Ellesmere Port coach took so long to get to Stafford, due to road works in Birmingham and the M6, that the driver ran out of hours. Sadly National Express is the only sensible way to get from Heathrow to the north when you are old and have heavy luggage.

Had we waited for the driver to sort out travel warrants, we would have missed the London Midland working to Liverpool, which I knew would be quieter than Virgin and we might get seats. So we just bought our own tickets and claimed the money back later.
 

me123

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The reason it isn't more common is that, generally, railways are active and people use them. So where a railway is a viable alternative to a road closure, there will often generally be stations and a service anyway. This is very much the exception. This heritage railway normally only operates at weekends in the Summer.

Building railways for a road closure is obviously not feasible - you'd be better off building a new road. Furthermore, most road closures are short and have a much easier diversion. You generally have to go to rural areas like this (which have small populations) to find instances where a road closure adds fifty miles onto a journey - and the rural geography and low passenger volume makes replacement trains again unviable.

This is essentially a very unique solution to a unique problem.
 

londonerhere

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Just a warm, fuzzy story I read this morning.

In a rare, perhaps unique, moment in British railway history, a replacement train service has been put on to make up for a closed road. It is normally the other way round. And this service is run by amateurs.

Launched 30 years ago by a small group of single-minded rail enthusiasts high on the barren, rocky moors of south-west Scotland, the Leadhills and Wanlockhead Railway (L&WR) is ordinarily a weekends-only summertime attraction for tourists.

Then South Lanarkshire council decided to resurface the only road connecting the two villages that vie for the title as Scotland’s highest.

The B797 was to be closed for up to two weeks, cutting off Wanlockhead from the area’s only shop and doctor’s surgery two miles away in neighbouring Leadhills, stopping tourists from reaching the Leadhills mining museum in Wanlockhead and cutting off its lifeline bus routes.

Full story can be accessed here: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news...ockhead-railway-history?CMP=oth_b-aplnews_d-2
 

arabianights

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When I lived on the Isle of Man there was a bus replacement service on the steam railway - and even a temporary station built for the school in Castletown.

Roads weren't shut as such, but the bus drivers were on strike.
 

Dr Hoo

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Another Manx angle; during road closures for the Southern 100 motorcycling event today bus tickets in the Port Erin to Castletown area were valid on the scheduled steam railway service.
 

47271

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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-16457431

There are similarities here too - remember the 2011-12 Stromeferry bypass landslip?

Wester Ross school pupils to take train after road closure

About 60 pupils in Wester Ross are expected to travel by train on Monday because their normal route by road continues to be at risk of landslides.

The youngsters from the Lochcarron and Applecross areas will not arrive at Plockton High School until after 11:16 because of the train timetable.

However, the school day will be extended. The high school reopens this week after the holidays.

The section of A890 Lochcarron to Kyle road at Stromeferry remains closed.

More than 100 tonnes of rock came down on 22 December.

There was a further landslide a few days later.

Until the area is deemed safe, driving between Lochcarron and Kyle involves a 140 mile (225km) diversion via Inverness and then the A82 to Invermoriston.

The nearby railway was not affected.

The 60 pupils would travel by train from Strathcarron and Kyle to Plockton.

Last week, Highland Council said it was also hoping to hire two ferries to help ease travel in the area.

The local authority has proposed bringing in a 61-passenger ferry to operate between North Strome, near Lochcarron, and Plockton from the middle of this week.

Before its introduction the slipways to be used will be checked and floodlighting will be installed.

A six-car ferry could also operate between North and South Strome.

The council said travel would be restricted to vehicles under 10 tonnes and priority would be given to emergency vehicles and local traffic.
 

gray1404

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Another Manx angle; during road closures for the Southern 100 motorcycling event today bus tickets in the Port Erin to Castletown area were valid on the scheduled steam railway service.

Thats useful to know. A cheaper way of doing the steam railway perhaps?
 
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