Trivia - how many electrified railways in the UK have closed and been abandoned?

[AlistairCowell]

Balloch Central to Balloch Pier closed in September 1986. Surplus overhead gantries were then re-used on the new Drumgelloch branch which opened three years later.

 

[Train Maniac]

Hellingly Hospital railway.
Opened fully in 1903, Closed 1959

 

[Ianno87]

The surface alignment to Island Gardens on the DLR.

The Manchester Metrolink route avoiding Oldham Town Centre.

Bury Bolton Street to Buckley Wells Jn too (1200v DC third rail) - albeit now part of the East Lancs Railway.

 

[Dr Hoo]

Balloch Central to Balloch Pier closed in September 1986. Surplus overhead gantries were then re-used on the new Drumgelloch branch which opened three years later.

Despite having been closely involved with the Drumgelloch re-opening (including ‘walk through’ inspection) I had never heard that before. Do you have a source, please?
I am well aware that some equipment was transferred from the Dalreoch-Balloch line in the early 1970s, when the route was singled, to reduce the cost of electrification of the Hamilton Circle.
There was also an assumption that equipment from the Neilston line could be re-deployed to the East Kilbride line as part of the reconfiguration under the 1983 Strathclyde Rail Review but that was soon shown to be completely impractical. (There was a particular issue in that the Neilston line was used for trials with a variety of experimental mast designs around 1960 so the kit was largely ‘non-standard’.)

 

[30907]

[QUOTE="30907, post: 4164272, member: 17239".]
Norwood Jn to Selhurst.

Not abandoned. Still electrified and still in daily use (though I'm not sure there's ever been a scheduled passenger service.)[/QUOTE]
I was referring to the passenger service on the running lines which went with the remodelling 40 years ago. There is a route into the depot at each end of course.

 

[Mag_seven]

There was a particular issue in that the Neilston line was used for trials with a variety of experimental mast designs around 1960 so the kit was largely ‘non-standard’.

Ah that explains the unusual looking OLE masts that I've seen on the Neilston line!

 

[Scotrail84]

Winchburgh Electric Railway. Used for shale mining.

http://www.elmrc.org.uk/winchburgh.php

 

[Ken H]

Does Point Pleasant Junction to East Putney count? No passenger service (I think) but is used for ECS

 

[Journeyman]

Winchburgh Electric Railway. Used for shale mining.

http://www.elmrc.org.uk/winchburgh.php

Wow - I never knew about that. I live in Winchburgh!

 

[Scotrail84]

Wow - I never knew about that. I live in Winchburgh!

Footage of this exits on a DVD somewhere.

 

[AlistairCowell]

Farringdon to Moorgate Thameslink branch closed in 2009.

Apparently this was to allow the platforms at Farringdon to be extended to accommodate longer trains.

 

[markindurham]

Tyne & Wear Metro at South Shields - it's now been shortened twice. First move was from the original station to King Street, and now to a new interchange at Keppel Street.

(Apologies if already mentioned - a quick scroll through didn't have a mention leaping out at me...)

 

[Ken H]

Bury Bolton St and approaches. When they opened Bury Interchange.

 

[cav1975]

Hounslow West original station;
The Volks "Daddy Long Legs" railway on the Brighton seashore.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

I believe there was an extremely short section of electrified track in Healey mills yard but not certain, not sure whether it was energised or not. Can anyone clarify please?

From what I've been able to find out, it was never energised. Apparently it was there for training OHLE engineers, but given the intermittent "feast and famine" nature of how electrification has taken place I don't it was used for that all that much... not least because for a long time there were abandoned wagons in the way!

 

[Dr_Paul]

Does Point Pleasant Junction to East Putney count? No passenger service (I think) but is used for ECS

There are a couple of regular passenger services on that line; one of them is a late-night Basingstoke service. I caught it once and it takes about half an hour to reach Wimbledon, with a stop at Clapham Junction, as it has to follow District Line stoppers from East Putney, and then has to wiggle its way across when it gets to Wimbledon. Someone suggested on this site some years back that it's routed that way for driver training purposes, so that drivers know the road in case of emergencies. It's certainly not for passenger or operational convenience.

 

[PaxVobiscum]

EDIT: Already mentioned in post #6, sorry.

*Shettleston spur - the stub of the former Glasgow, Bothwell, Hamilton and Coatbridge Railway which was electrified for sidings at Shettleston Junction at the time of the North Clyde electrification.
https://www.railscot.co.uk/img/35/603/

 

[Taunton]

There are a couple of regular passenger services on that line; one of them is a late-night Basingstoke service. I caught it once and it takes about half an hour to reach Wimbledon, with a stop at Clapham Junction, as it has to follow District Line stoppers from East Putney, and then has to wiggle its way across when it gets to Wimbledon. Someone suggested on this site some years back that it's routed that way for driver training purposes, so that drivers know the road in case of emergencies. It's certainly not for passenger or operational convenience.

There was a derailment of the inbound equivalent at Wimbledon a couple of years ago, just as it passed from NR to TfL tracks, where each party expected the other to maintain it, with eventually predictable results. It was about 04.50 from Basingstoke, passing Wimbledon at 06.00, and more than 300 had to be detrained. I recall initial disbelief from non-Londoners here that there could be 300 passengers on any train at such a time early in the morning.

 

[swt_passenger]

There are a couple of regular passenger services on that line; one of them is a late-night Basingstoke service. I caught it once and it takes about half an hour to reach Wimbledon, with a stop at Clapham Junction, as it has to follow District Line stoppers from East Putney, and then has to wiggle its way across when it gets to Wimbledon. Someone suggested on this site some years back that it's routed that way for driver training purposes, so that drivers know the road in case of emergencies. It's certainly not for passenger or operational convenience.

The public longer distance services that way definitely are for training of drivers from other depots, there have been a few weekends when a significant mainline service has operated via East Putney, with the District line thinned out.

But there are far more ECS moves each day, because down direction access to Wimbledon depot via Earlsfield would cause conflicts crossing the main fasts.

Of course originally there was a full grade separated flyover junction with the up Windsor lines, so i suppose it is 50% closed...

 

[d9009alycidon]

Shettleston spur - the stub of the former Glasgow, Bothwell, Hamilton and Coatbridge Railway which was electrified for sidings at Shettleston Junction at the time of the North Clyde electrification.
https://www.railscot.co.uk/img/35/603/

see post#6

 

[PaxVobiscum]

see post#6

Indeed. My apologies - I did read the whole thread but somehow missed that bit.

 

[Dr_Paul]

There was a derailment of the inbound equivalent at Wimbledon a couple of years ago, just as it passed from NR to TfL tracks, where each party expected the other to maintain it, with eventually predictable results. It was about 04.50 from Basingstoke, passing Wimbledon at 06.00, and more than 300 had to be detrained. I recall initial disbelief from non-Londoners here that there could be 300 passengers on any train at such a time early in the morning.

Many years back I was on an up service to Waterloo which was diverted from Wimbledon via East Putney for operational reasons (the up slow was blocked for some reason). It took about three times as long to get to Clapham Junction, which annoyed some of the passengers, but I was happy as it meant going along a line that I'd never been on before. What was noticeable was the rough ride from East Putney to the down Windsor main, presumably the track was not maintained to a passenger service standard.

The public longer distance services that way definitely are for training of drivers from other depots, there have been a few weekends when a significant mainline service has operated via East Putney, with the District line thinned out. But there are far more ECS moves each day, because down direction access to Wimbledon depot via Earlsfield would cause conflicts crossing the main fasts. Of course originally there was a full grade separated flyover junction with the up Windsor lines, so i suppose it is 50% closed...

A good point about ECS workings, I'd forgotten about them. It's less trouble for them to enter the yard from Wimbledon Park than from the main line. And you're right about the dismantled up line at East Putney. I've heard that the span over the Windsor lines was badly corroded, but the amount of traffic was such that it was not considered worthwhile to replace it, but rather to have the down chord made bi-directional with a crossover across the down Windsor lines to reach the up lines.

 

[Peter Fox]

A very early one: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carstairs_House_Tramway

 

[yorksrob]

Don't know if anyone has mentioned the Frimley curves yet. Apparently after the track was lifted from one of them, the third rail was left in place for a few years as it linked one of the routes with the sub-station !

 

[Dr_Paul]

A very early one: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carstairs_House_Tramway

It can be seen on this map and this one. It's shown as disused on both of them.

 

[Bringback309s]

Who remembers back in the 80s there was a stretch of electrified track, around 100 yards, completely detached from the mainline hidden near Colchester signal box? I seem to remember to see it you had to walk through from the Bures road near Woods air movement. It must have been used for training or testing

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Who remembers back in the 80s there was a stretch of electrified track, around 100 yards, completely detached from the mainline hidden near Colchester signal box? I seem to remember to see it you had to walk through from the Bures road near Woods air movement. It must have been used for training or testing

Sounds a bit like the isolated stretch of catenary that used to be in Healey Mills yard. Don't think it was ever energised but I think it was used to train maintenance workers.

 

[Recessio]

Does Newhaven Marine count?

 

[Ianigsy]

Only yesterday I found out about Liverpool Gladstone Dock - served by a shuttle from Aintree L&YR timed to match the dockers' shifts.

 

[GrimShady]

Did the old Ardrossan station have the wires before it was dismantled?