• Our booking engine at tickets.railforums.co.uk (powered by TrainSplit) helps support the running of the forum with every ticket purchase! Find out more and ask any questions/give us feedback in this thread!

Trivia: Redundant railway infrastructure built post WW2

Status
Not open for further replies.

Mcr Warrior

Veteran Member
Joined
8 Jan 2009
Messages
11,648
Any examples of significant investment in GB railway infrastructure opened since the Second World War but now closed / largely redundant.

For example...

The "new" double track Woodhead Tunnel (Opened 1954, closed 1981).

Waterloo International (Eurostar) platforms. (Opened 1994, closed 2007).

Must be a few others out there...
 
Sponsor Post - registered members do not see these adverts; click here to register, or click here to log in
R

RailUK Forums

LowLevel

Established Member
Joined
26 Oct 2013
Messages
7,543
Cotgrave Colliery branch, Rectory Junction, near Nottingham. Built 1960 including a large concrete viaduct, out of use since the 1990s following the closure of the colliery.

Bletchley Flyover - technically in use but never really as intended.
 

SynthD

Member
Joined
4 Apr 2020
Messages
1,137
Location
UK
Waterloo International is in use, but the junctions connecting it to HS1 (Queenstown Road and Fawkham) are redundant.
 

SargeNpton

Established Member
Joined
19 Nov 2018
Messages
1,308
Cotgrave Colliery branch, Rectory Junction, near Nottingham. Built 1960 including a large concrete viaduct, out of use since the 1990s following the closure of the colliery.

Bletchley Flyover - technically in use but never really as intended.


Bletchley Flyover will come back into use with East-West rail. Some of the spans are currently being renewed.
 

SargeNpton

Established Member
Joined
19 Nov 2018
Messages
1,308
Most hump-shunting marshalling yards.

Most Parcels Concentration Depots.

Several Modernisation Plan Diesel Depots.
 

Tomos y Tanc

Member
Joined
1 Jul 2019
Messages
640
There must be plenty of old industrial lines that were constructed post war. Just round here I can think of the Ford Motor Company branch in Bridgend built in the 1970s and the branch lines and sidings at Aberthaw power station built in the late 1950s, both now redundant.
 

yorksrob

Veteran Member
Joined
6 Aug 2009
Messages
38,818
Location
Yorks
The route between Cheriton and Folkestone Central was quadroupled as part of the Kent electrification scheme in the early 60's. Since then, two tracks have gone, along with some of the new stabling sidings at Folkestone junction, whilst the up island platform at central is now out of use. Due mainly to the loss of boat train traffic.
 

HowardGWR

Established Member
Joined
30 Jan 2013
Messages
4,983
How this subject qualifies as 'trivial' defeats my understanding of English. Many of the aforementioned projects were huge investments, later seen as money wasted. Some thought so at the time.

Portbury dock was for a long time a white elephant, but made it, eventually, just about. This was more due to it having been built and thus not to waste an existing asset, so the branch line was upgraded.
 

yorksrob

Veteran Member
Joined
6 Aug 2009
Messages
38,818
Location
Yorks
Grain station was rebuilt in 1958 (I think) with quite a substantial island platform then closed in 1962. I don't think it was a vast investment though.
 

bluenoxid

Established Member
Joined
9 Feb 2008
Messages
2,459
How this subject qualifies as 'trivial' defeats my understanding of English. Many of the aforementioned projects were huge investments, later seen as money wasted. Some thought so at the time.

Portbury dock was for a long time a white elephant, but made it, eventually, just about. This was more due to it having been built and thus not to waste an existing asset, so the branch line was upgraded.

It is trivia, not trivial :)
 

Ianno87

Veteran Member
Joined
3 May 2015
Messages
15,215
Stafford mail platform.

Willesden Railnet is only in partial rail use.
 

ashkeba

Established Member
Joined
13 May 2019
Messages
2,171
One famous example is the tightest curve on the UK railway at Themelthorpe. Built 1960, closed 1985, now part of a hiking and cycling trail called Marriott's Way
 

30907

Veteran Member
Joined
30 Sep 2012
Messages
17,866
Location
Airedale
Grain station was rebuilt in 1958 (I think) with quite a substantial island platform then closed in 1962. I don't think it was a vast investment though.
1951, replacing Grain Crossing Halt and Port Victoria, allowing the latter to fall into the Medway be closed. Probably paid for itself.
Your Folkestone example just upthread is interesting, as it's a relatively rare example involving passenger trains.
 

yorksrob

Veteran Member
Joined
6 Aug 2009
Messages
38,818
Location
Yorks
1951, replacing Grain Crossing Halt and Port Victoria, allowing the latter to fall into the Medway be closed. Probably paid for itself.
Your Folkestone example just upthread is interesting, as it's a relatively rare example involving passenger trains.

The Folkestone example was part of the Kent electrification scheme, which was an excellent investment as a whole. The Folkestone bit just got superceded by the channel tunnel.
 

Philip Phlopp

Established Member
Joined
31 May 2015
Messages
3,004
Any examples of significant investment in GB railway infrastructure opened since the Second World War but now closed / largely redundant.

For example...

The "new" double track Woodhead Tunnel (Opened 1954, closed 1981).

Waterloo International (Eurostar) platforms. (Opened 1994, closed 2007).

Must be a few others out there...

Woodhead Tunnel is neither closed nor largely redundant, and it's more useful to the railway now than it would be if it still had trains running through it.

It carries the power lines that eventually reach the Stalybridge substation and the Heyrod feeder.
 

Mcr Warrior

Veteran Member
Joined
8 Jan 2009
Messages
11,648
Woodhead Tunnel is neither closed nor largely redundant, and it's more useful to the railway now than it would be if it still had trains running through it.
Repurposed certainly, but as railway infrastructure, it was redundant I would suggest.
 

Dr Hoo

Established Member
Joined
10 Nov 2015
Messages
3,910
Location
Hope Valley
The Gelderd Road Curve in Leeds was a new passenger line initiated in the Beeching era (albeit opening after he had left) that didn't last very long.
 

squizzler

Established Member
Joined
4 Jan 2017
Messages
1,903
Location
Jersey, Channel Islands
Anything designed to handle coal (except perhaps the odd bunker on a heritage railway). So all the merry-go-round loops, loading and unloading facilities.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Top