[TRIVIA] Bus routes following closed railway lines

[Flange Squeal]

I've been looking to start exploring now-closed railway lines and this got me thinking about bus routes that exist today that follow long stretches of former railway lines, whether they historically ran alongside eachother or bus routes that were introduced to replace the railway line when it closed. I was wondering what examples there are? I'm not looking for routes that happen to just run between two stations on a closed line, but routes that actually shadow a longer stretch. Say three or more consecutive stations, but the longer and most similar to the railway's path the better. Both "proper" bus routes or seasonal/tourist routes targeting walkers/leisure users are acceptable.

A couple of examples:

Stagecoach South 63: Guildford - Bramley/Wonersh - Cranleigh - Rudgwick - Slinfold - Horsham (approx 1hr 15mins)

Stagecoach South 64: Alton - Four Marks - Ropley - New Alresford - Winchester (although a fair chunk of this re-opened as the preserved Watercress Line, and the 64 omits Itchen Abbas between Alresford and Winchester) (approx 50mins)

Southern Transit 3: Did until 2021 shadow the closed 'Adur Valley Line' Horsham - Southwater - West Grinstead - Partridge Green - Henfield - Steyning - Bramber - Shoreham (approx 1hr 30mins)

 

[Brooke]

There must be dozens, however just to get things started: Lynx Bus 34/35/36 from Kings Lynn to Hunstanton.

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

There are some surviving rail replacement services/bustitutes such as the T3 (was D94) from Wrexham to Barmouth. The Excel from Norwich to Kings Lynn mirrors the former Dereham to Lynn rail line and even traverses the A47 which is built on the old trackbed near Dereham. Similarly, the X5 from Penrith to Cockermouth follows the old rail line and on it west of Keswick as the A66 is again built on the old rail alignment.

@Brooke is right - there will be loads

 

[GusB]

Stagecoach Bluebird route 35 follows the route of the former Moray Coast line (Great North of Scotland) between Portgordon and Portsoy. It continues through Banff and then goes on to Macduff, but those places aren't technically on the same line.

 

[rg177]

I was about to jump to the X95 Carlisle to Hawick, Galashiels and Edinburgh, but it takes a vastly different route after Longtown and heads for Langholm.

Instead it looks like the 127A Carlisle - Newcastleton and 128 Newcastleton-Hawick do the job...

 

[Open top 80]

The Tranpeak bus from Buxton to Derby via Bakewell

 

[NorthOxonian]

The X93 isn't perfect but does a reasonable approximation of the old Whitby to Scarborough line - running through Hawsker and Robin Hood's Bay before heading more inland and rejoining the route through Cloughton, Burniston, and Scalby. It even stops outside the Sainsbury's which now sits on the site of a former goods yard near the end of the line.

The X45 between Newcastle and Consett is another close approximation - calling very close to the site of the old Swalwell station before running through Winlaton Mill, Rowlands Gill, Ebchester, and Shotley Bridge up to Consett. The topography does mean any major road or railway is somewhat constrained in what it can do so I suppose it was inevitable you'd get some sort of decent service along there!

 

[pokemonsuper9]

The V1 and V2 follow the ex-Eccles, Tyldsley and Line (and the Leigh branch) between the Ex-Ellenbrook station (now Newearth Road) and the New Asley Street busway stop (V2) and the Ex-Leigh station (now East Bond Street Park and Ride)

 

[Simon75]

In Stoke-on-Trent,the section of the 3 and 3A between Hanley and Kidsgrove, which was part of the Potteries Loop

 

[Statto]

I think the T3 Wrexham - Barmouth (& the other numbers it's had through the years) is a replacement for most of the old Ruabon - Barmouth line

 

[randyrippley]

The Kirkby Lonsdale "Lune Villager" and "Craven Connection" complex of services together roughly follow the original Little North Western route

Timetables 580, 581, 583, 75, 81, 82

Kirkby Lonsdale Coach Hire

klch.co.uk

 

[dodecahedron67]

415 from York to Selby follows the old ECML and even runs on the A19 where the old trackbed has been re-used

291 from Tunbridge Wells to East Grinstead & Crawley follows that old rail line all the way from Tun Wells to Three Bridges

576 from Halifax to Bradford roughly follows the old Queensbury line

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

I think the T3 Wrexham - Barmouth (& the other numbers it's had through the years) is a replacement for most of the old Ruabon - Barmouth line

As I mentioned in msg 3

The X93 isn't perfect but does a reasonable approximation of the old Whitby to Scarborough line - running through Hawsker and Robin Hood's Bay before heading more inland and rejoining the route through Cloughton, Burniston, and Scalby. It even stops outside the Sainsbury's which now sits on the site of a former goods yard near the end of the line.

Arguably, if you're talking Whitby, the X4 to Saltburn follows the route even more closely to the former rail line.

It runs parallel at West Cliff, crossing on the edge of town and then running parallel to Sandsend. Whilst the rail line then went via Kettleness, and the bus goes up Lythe Bank, they're running parallel by Ellerby with the bus crossing over by Runswick Bay and then parallel up to Boulby Mine. Of course, from there, the line is still in situ but for freight only and the bus follows in parallel through Easington and Loftus before crossing the line again at Carlin How Bank. The line avoids the hill in the main but bends round into Brotton where the X4 cuts across it again. However, from here the bus takes the direct route into Saltburn via the beach whilst the rail line heads via North Skelton.

The 36 from Ripon to Harrogate follows the old line very closely on the first bit before the bus heads to Ripley and Killinghall.

There must be dozens, however just to get things started: Lynx Bus 34/35/36 from Kings Lynn to Hunstanton.

From Hunstanton to Wells Next The Sea, you're also parallel near Holkham Hall


It's really not surprising when you consider that both roads and rail would've been linking the same places, along the same contour lines etc

 

[Mgameing123]

I've been looking to start exploring now-closed railway lines and this got me thinking about bus routes that exist today that follow long stretches of former railway lines, whether they historically ran alongside eachother or bus routes that were introduced to replace the railway line when it closed. I was wondering what examples there are? I'm not looking for routes that happen to just run between two stations on a closed line, but routes that actually shadow a longer stretch. Say three or more consecutive stations, but the longer and most similar to the railway's path the better. Both "proper" bus routes or seasonal/tourist routes targeting walkers/leisure users are acceptable.

A couple of examples:

Stagecoach South 63: Guildford - Bramley/Wonersh - Cranleigh - Rudgwick - Slinfold - Horsham (approx 1hr 15mins)

Stagecoach South 64: Alton - Four Marks - Ropley - New Alresford - Winchester (although a fair chunk of this re-opened as the preserved Watercress Line, and the 64 omits Itchen Abbas between Alresford and Winchester) (approx 50mins)

Southern Transit 3: Did until 2021 shadow the closed 'Adur Valley Line' Horsham - Southwater - West Grinstead - Partridge Green - Henfield - Steyning - Bramber - Shoreham (approx 1hr 30mins)

Arriva High Wycombe 5 and 7 and maybe 6 follow the old Wycombe Railway between High Wycombe & Bourne End but 7 continues on duplicating the Marlow branch to Maidenhead.

 

[Falcon1200]

In East Renfrewshire the 395 (formerly McGills, now ARG travel) provides a link between Neilston and Uplawmoor, and is still shown on Scotrail route diagrams (albeit recently the service was reduced with half turning at Neilston rather than Uplawmoor). The line between these places closed in 1962....

 

[Magdalia]

I've been looking to start exploring now-closed railway lines and this got me thinking about bus routes that exist today that follow long stretches of former railway lines

From Cambridge North to St Ives there is more than 10 miles of guided busway on the old railway trackbed.

There is also a much shorter section of guided busway to the south of Cambridge on the trackbed of the Bedford line.

 

[JKP]

Borders Buses 60 between Galashiels, Duns and Berwick upon Tweed was once marketed as a Rail Link with through fares onto the rail network. The route more or less parallels the former line from Leaderfoot (on the Waverley Line) to Reston on the ECML as far as Chirnside

 

[NorthOxonian]

Borders Buses 60 between Galashiels, Duns and Berwick upon Tweed was once marketed as a Rail Link with through fares onto the rail network. The route more or less parallels the former line from Leaderfoot (on the Waverley Line) to Reston on the ECML as far as Chirnside

There is an evening service that runs to Ayton and Eyemouth before Berwick - still not a perfect parallel but a bit better (and as with all Eyemouth - Berwick routes will also head along the Eyemouth Branch on the way down to Burnmouth and the border).

 

[RDP]

Stagecoach South East service 17 Canterbury-Folkestone follows close to the course of the former Elham Valley railway for much of its route and service 51 Eastbourne-Tunbridge Wells follows close to the route of the former Cuckoo line between Polegate and Rotherfield.

 

[Trainguy34]

The Stagecoach SE route 5 mostly follows the Crab and Winkle Way from Whitstable to Canterbury.

 

[Roilshead]

First West Yorkshire X63 Bradford-Huddersfield service pretty much duplicates the old Lancashire & Yorkshire Pickle Bridge line between Halifax and Huddersfield, and follows route of the latter quite closely between Bradford and Brighouse.

Transdev Keighley 64 Ilkley-Skipton parallels the old Midland Railway line between Ilkley and Skipton. And Transdev keighley 72 Skipton-Grassington parallels the old Midland Railway's Grassington Branch/Yorkshire Dales Railway between those towns.

Transdev Team Pennine 502 Halifax-Keighley is branded Great Northern after that railway's Halifax-Keighley service that formed part of the Queensbury-Halifax/Bradford/Keighley network, but it does differ quite significantly in its routing (most significantly missing Queensbury) and oly meets the "three consecutive stations" suggstion at either end of the route.

Transdev Keighley 67 Keighley-Cullingworth-Bradford more closely follows the Great Northern's Keighley-Bradford route, except that it again misses out Queensbury.

On the other hand Transdev Team Pennine 526 Halifax-Ovenden-Holmfield-Queensbury (Hunger Hill Estate) follows a very similar routing between those station points as the Great Northern's Halifax-Queensbury line - in fact it's presentish routing via Holmfield, rather than Illingworth, was introduced (under Halifax JOC) in c1956 as a rail replacement service following the withdrawal of the Halifax-Queensbury passenger service.

Given the decimation of Northern Ireland's railways by the Ulster Transport Authority - the post-nationalisation closure of most of the Belfast & County Down, and the subsequent closures following the Benson Report - I'd have thought there must be quite a few in that Province . . . the Derry Road between Belfast, Omagh, and Londonderry (don't ask me the Translink Goldline service number) come to mind.

576 from Halifax to Bradford roughly follows the old Queensbury line

It does serve Halifax and Bradford by running through Queensbury, but the route between Halifax and Queensbury is completely different (omitting Ovenden and Holmfield) as is the the route between Queensbury and Bradford (omitting Clayton and the area served by the GNR's Great Horton station). The railway kept to the lower ground, such that Queensbury station was in the valley quite removed from the village, whilst the trams/buses were able to follow the route over the hills. I note you wrote "roughly", but I think it's really just end-to-end, as Quennsbury station was closer to Yews Green than Queensbury.

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

Borders Buses 60 between Galashiels, Duns and Berwick upon Tweed was once marketed as a Rail Link with through fares onto the rail network. The route more or less parallels the former line from Leaderfoot (on the Waverley Line) to Reston on the ECML as far as Chirnside

Borders Buses 67 parallels the old rail line from Berwick to Cornhill

 

[DunsBus]

The Borders Buses 60 still is a Rail Link service, though not promoted as being one (which is a shame, in my opinion).

The route is also on the trackbed of the former Berwickshire railway for a short stretch south of Earlston. Until the completion of the Melrose bypass at the end of 1995, and the associated road changes, it passed under the line of the railway at Leaderfoot.

 

[Roger1973]

London Transport route 63 (the southern end is now London Buses 363) was extended from Honor Oak to Crystal Palace as replacement for the Crystal Palace (High Level / former LCDR) branch in 1954, and runs fairly close to the former intermediate stations at Lordship Lane and Upper Sydenham.

 

[SteveHFC]

Various routes between Luton & Dunstable make use of the busway that was built on the old Luton to Dunstable railway line, including A, B, C, CX, E, F70, F77, Hi - there may be one or two others.

 

[LUYMun]

Stagecoach South's 520 runs through Tongham and Ash Green, which then connects with Wanborough (still open) and into Guildford (yes I am aware the route's Woking branch hasn't been part of a railway, technically speaking).

 

[kijeta]

In Hereford, Stagecoach West 33 follows the disused "Hereford-Gloucester" line.
Nick Maddy 34 follows the disused "Monmouth-Ross railway"
Half of Stagecoach West 35 follows the "Monmouth-Coleford" line
Adventure Travel 68 follows half of the "Monmouth-Pontypool" line
Phil Anslow 69 follows the "Wye Valley railway"

 

[Roger1973]

(edit - had missed previous post saying the same thing)

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

And part of the Cambridge guided busway is also built on the track bed of a closed railway line.

See #16

 

[DunsBus]

One from Edinburgh. Lothian's 22, 30 and X25, together with Lothian Country's X27 and X28 run along the West Approach Road which is built on the trackbed of the former Caledonian Railway, closed in 1965.