Wye Valley.Chepstow to Monmouth.
And the route onwards to Ross and Hereford. Thats a big area of rural communities with a very poor rail service.
Wye Valley.Chepstow to Monmouth.
The OP clearly means 'scenic' by his word 'best', judging by his own examples. I would choose an entirely different category, namely 'useful'. To that end I would choose Bristol East Junction to Yate (was Midland Railway). The amount of expense incurred since then, just to try and replace what was, in effect, a grade-separated route from Bristol to Birmingham, is huge. 'Parkway' interchange station could have been at that grade-separated site south of Yate, with multi-level platforms, as at Tamworth or Retford (for example),The thread on the best stretch of railway had me wondering about the best ones that have been lost
- The line Southern main line route through Devon
- The heads of the Valleys with the spectacular Crumlin Viaduct
- The Waverley route
- The LOR
- The Woodhead route
These are just a few I can think of but I have a feeling there may be more spectacular and scenic lines that have been closed than remain open.
Threads like this always being out the sentimentalist in all of us but let's be honest, if any of these lines had been making a profit they would have stayed open. Private companies aren't interested in pretty scenery, just cold hard cash!
Bombed yet rapidly repaired as it provided essential transport for thousands working on the docks. The costly repairing of the corroded iron trestles sounded the death knell of the Overhead railway in 1956.
All that remains is a short stretch of tunnel and the (underground) terminus station at Dingle.
But it would have been a cheaper way of providing the north-south link than the Moorfields-Central tunnel.was heavily bombed during ww2 and repair costs would of gone through the roof.
You can still do that on at 70mph (up to)or if (un)lucky at walking paceDunton Green - Westerham
Who should have paid for loss making lines to be kept open ?
Nottingham Victoria station and it's approaches.
It was clearly the far superior station for the city, looked a lot better, and with appropriate selection of surrounding trackwork, could have provided equivalent connections to the Midland station without substantial additional expense.
(It is one of those things that makes me wonder if there was not really a 'Midland conspiracy' during the Beeching era)
The OP clearly means 'scenic' by his word 'best', judging by his own examples. I would choose an entirely different category, namely 'useful'. To that end I would choose Bristol East Junction to Yate (was Midland Railway). The amount of expense incurred since then, just to try and replace what was, in effect, a grade-separated route from Bristol to Birmingham, is huge. 'Parkway' interchange station could have been at that grade-separated site south of Yate, with multi-level platforms, as at Tamworth or Retford (for example),
That's still there...Coleraine to Derry..
Most useful? Closing the Woodhead was very quickly shown to be downright stupid
I travelled on the Liverpool Overhead Railway in the mid 1950's. Getting on at Pier Head you could do a round tour up to Sandhills back down to the Dingle and then return to Pier Head. It was fascinating to see ocean liners from all over the world in the docks. As for connecting the LOR with Merseyrail, there were Overhead trains that ran through to Southport during peak periods, although I think that BR stock wasn't allowed on the Overhead.But it would have been a cheaper way of providing the north-south link than the Moorfields-Central tunnel.
Bombed yet rapidly repaired as it provided essential transport for thousands working on the docks. The costly repairing of the corroded iron trestles sounded the death knell of the Overhead railway in 1956.
All that remains is a short stretch of tunnel and the (underground) terminus station at Dingle.
it might have been useful today for a handful of weekends a year when the Hope Valley line is closed
If a railway line is going to run that far then it seems a wasted opportunity not to continue a bit further and give Redditch and Alcester people connections to Worcester and Oxford at Evesham. A single line can probably be squeezed in along most new road alignments, but at the cost of new level crossings at junctions.I would extend the Redditch branch to Alcester. they want to build loads of houses there. But they have built a road on it. Don't see the point of going any further tho.
Dunblane - Callander - Crianlarich