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NEWS
2010
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| Above:
The
neat little station at Fort Brockhurst on the former LSWR branch
from Fareham to Gosport was up for sale in June 2009, which explains
why the ground floor windows had all been boarded up.
Until the final freight-only years under BR, the branch was double
track throughout; this is the up platform, with the down one out
of view on the left. There was a third platform which started behind
the station house and despatched trains to Lee-on-Solent until New
Year's Eve, 1930. It survives beneath
the trees as one of the few tangible reminders that that there ever
was a railway to this little-known seaside destination. In the near
future, a 'rapid transit' bus route will take over much of this
former branch. 6th June 2009. (Jeff Vinter) |
March
2010. Bath to Midford, Somerset. Further
to our report last month (see below), work has now begun on
clearing
the
northern entrance into Devonshire tunnel
for the Two Tunnels Greenway, which will link Bath with Midford.
Sustrans says the cyclepath should be in use by 2011. Click
here to
read the full report from the BBC News website. (Ralph Rawlinson)
February
2010. Whitstable, Kent. There is good
news for anyone wishing to walk or cycle the Crab & Winkle
line in Kent, based loosely on the former Canterbury & Whitstable
Railway. Kent County Council has granted full planning permission
for
Sustrans to complete a virtually traffic-free route through
Whitstable, which will re-use sections of the C&WR long
rendered inaccessible by the removal of former bridges and
the construction
of new roads. Sustrans in turn will lodge a planning application
for new bridges
spanning
Old Bridge
Road, the
Network Rail line to Margate, and Teynham Road. Full details
are available via the link here.
Readers should note that relatively little of the Crab & Winkle
currently follows the old railway,
although moving more of the route on to the old trackbed
remains a long-term objective. Difficulties arise because
the line
closed to
passengers
in
1931 and to
freight in 1952. Consequently, the trackbed has had over
half a century in which to get re-absorbed back into local
farmland.
(Ralph Rawlinson and Jeff Vinter)
February
2010. Bath to Midford, Somerset. The
Bath Chronicle of Wednesday 17 February 2010 has just
reported that Bath & North East
Somerset Council is about to sign the paperwork for the
start of the Two Tunnels Greenway route. This will re-use
the trackbed
of the former Somerset & Dorset Railway between
Lower Bristol Road, just west of Bath Green Park station
(now restored), and Midford. At Midford, where the village's
substantial
viaduct has been restored already, an end-on connection
will be made
with
the existing railway path that leads on to just short of
Wellow. Between Wellow and Shoscombe Vale, most of the
trackbed has
been ploughed out and a diversion must be followed via
minor lanes,
but the
tracked can be rejoined at Shocombe Vale and followed
right
through
to
Radstock,
once a centre for coal mining in Somerset. (Ralph
Rawlinson and Jeff Vinter)
February 2010. Cheddar
to Wells, Somerset. David Mitchell, the Cycling Officer for Somerset,
has informed the
Cheddar
Valley Railway Walk Society that all the paperwork for creating
an
extension of the Yatton-Cheddar trail on to Wells is now
prepared and 'ready to go'. On 19th January, he briefed local
councillors prior to a meeting when this new multi-use path
was due to be submitted so that the consultation period could
begin. (Cheddar Valley Railway Walk Society)
February
2010. Shillingstone to Stourpaine, Dorset. The
North Dorset Trailway has now secured funding (including
a grant
from Railway Ramblers) to build a further section of the
Trailway which will include a new bridge over the River
Stour between
Gains Cross and Stourpaine. The estimated cost of the bridge
is £300,000, so this represents a major investment – but
one which makes it much more likely that, in time, the route
may be extended by negotiation into Blandford Forum along
the old railway alignment. (Graham Stanley, North Dorset
Ranger
Service)
January
2010. Percy
Main to
Byker, Tyneside. Virtually all of the NER branch
along the north bank of the River Tyne is now a railway path.
From Percy Main to Wallsend, the route is fragmentary although
what remains has been conveniently linked. However, from
Wallsend (NZ 305663) to Byker (NZ 267645), the route offers
four miles
of continuous trackbed walking or cycling. We realise that
this route has probably existed for several years, but it
is the first time that it has come to our attention – thanks
to the Webmaster investigating Ralph Rawlinson's report below.
(Jeff Vinter)
January 2010. South
Gosforth to Wallsend, Tyneside. A two mile section of waggonway
on North Tyneside was re-opened as a cycle trail in October last
year. The waggonway, known variously as the Coxlodge Waggonway,
the Kenton & Coxlodge Waggonway and the Gosforth & Kenton
Waggonway, was opened in 1808 and connected pits in the South
Gosforth area with coal staiths on the River Tyne at Wallsend.
The new
route is 3 metres wide and has been fully lit, signposted and
landscaped; it runs from NZ 256682 to NZ 279673. (Ralph Rawlinson
and Jeff Vinter)
January
2010. Strathblane to Kirkintilloch, East Dunbartonshire.
In October 2009, Sustrans and East Dunbartonshire Council
finished
a £130,000 six year programme to upgrade
the 7½ mile Strathkelvin Railway Path, formerly part
of the NBR's line from Gartness to Lenzie. The opening of
the
section from Strathblane to Lennoxtown
completed a process of upgrading the path in its
entirety from Strathblane to Kirkintilloch, connecting
Kirkintilloch to the West Highland Way. (Ralph Rawlinson) January 2010. Harrogate
(Pannal Junction) to Northallerton, North Yorshire. The former
NER line from Bilton to Ripley was earmarked in Sustrans'
Connect2 proposals for a cycle route, and on 14 December 2009
North Yorkshire County Council
and Harrogate Council agreed to complete a Bridleway Creation
Order and construct the route. However, there remains considerable
concern about the level of possible compensation payments to
landowners. (Ralph Rawlinson)
January 2010. Belmont
Junction to Aykley Junction, County Durham. Re-opening Belmont
Viaduct to the north of Durham as part of a cycleway was another
of Sustrans' Connect2 schemes, but it has been revealed that
the cost of restoring this spectacular listed structure has
rocketed from £800,000 to £1.785m, leading Durham
Council officials to reconsider whether they should back the
project.
(Ralph Rawlinson)
January 2010. Woodhall
to Horncastle, Lincolnshire. Most of the trackbed of this
former branch line has been converted into the Spa Trail. In
October
2009, it was reported
that £226,000 is to be spent on re-surfacing
the trail and providing car parks at each end. (Ralph Rawlinson)
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Left: On
a crisp afternoon in late January, members of the
local community walked from Toller Porcorum (plain 'Toller'
in railway
parlance)
to
Powerstock Common and back along the trackbed of the former
Maiden Newton to Bridport railway in West Dorset. The whole
of this former GWR branch is set to become a railway path,
with Sustrans providing the management and engineering input.
30
January
2010. (Jeff Vinter) |
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January
2010. Maiden Newton to Bridport, Dorset. On Saturday
30 January, a party was held to celebrate the opening of the
Toller to Powerstock Common section of the railway path being
developed along this former GWR branch line. The project is
being led by Sustrans Ltd., the Bristol-based path-building
charity. Currently, the path is open for walkers only, with
the above photograph making it obvious why. The trail
diverts to the north of the trackbed just before Toller to
avoid a
privately owned section; fortunately, a supportive local farmer
and West Dorset District Council own the adjoining land, so
the route here parallels the old railway. The party was
attended by over 100 supporters with a raffle raising over
£4,500 for the project; all the
prizes, including a superb £2,000 road bike, were donated
by local businesses. (Ralph Rawlinson and Jeff Vinter)
January 2010. Cambridge
to St. Ives, Cambridgeshire. The guided busway along this 15½ mile
former railway line (known locally as the misguided busway) is
still not operational, despite having been scheduled to open
in April and then November 2009. The parallel cycle trail is
not fully complete either, especially at the Cambridge end where
the surface is loose chippings – 'quite hard work for a
regular commute', in the words of one recent user. The latest
news is that the county council is in dispute with the contractors
and nothing is resolved, so they may end up in court. (Ralph
Rawlinson)
January 2010. Pontllanfraith
to Nine Mile Point, Gwent. This line has been converted into
a cycle trail, the Sirhowy Valley Railpath, and forms the eastern
part of the 353 mile Celtic Trail (NCN47). However, in August
2008 it was blocked by a landslip between Ynysddu and Cwmfelinfach.
Now, after 18 months out of commission, Caerphilly Council hope
to begin work on clearing the route in the spring. A £315,000
grant from Sustrans will help to finance the work. Full details,
as published by the South Wales Argus, can be viewed by clicking
the link here.
(Ralph Rawlinson)
January 2010. Tavistock
to Bere Alston, Devon. John Skinner (a local resident whose grandfather
was station master at Bere Alston for 21 years) has contacted
us to advise that, contrary to the suggestion in our September
2009 report, there is definitely going to be a cycle trail
and footpath along this route, to run parallel with the proposed
reinstated railway line which will be single track. In fact,
Richard Burningham, who is the Devon and Cornwall rail partnership
officer dealing with this issue, has said that the trail will
happen regardless of whether the railway is reinstated or not.
The net result is that residents of Tavistock will soon have
two cycle trails running south from the town – this one,
and Drake's Trail on the old GWR route to Yelverton and Plymouth.
John adds: 'The line should never have closed at all, of course,
but at least it seems as if things are moving to an extent to
put right the follies of the past.' The railway could re-open
as early as 2013-14, although the big issue will be the political
will to see the project through. (John Skinner). |
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| Above: A
wintry scene on the recently completed section of the Great
Northern Greenway between Breadsall and the A608 bridge
at the top of Brookside Road, Breadsall – possibly
the only picture on this website to show snow. For further
details, see the story below. January 2010. (John Swan) |
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January
2010. Derby
to Ilkeston, Derbyshire. New member John Swan has just supplied
corrections to our November 2009 entry for this route, which
now reads as follows.
Sustrans and Derbyshire County
Council via contractors Pugh-Lewis are
converting
the 13 miles of Great Northern trackbed between Breadsall
and Ilkeston into a cycle trail known as The Great Northern
Greenway (NCN672). The current status is as follows:
- The trackbed within the Derby
conurbation has been re-developed and so the Derby-Breadsall
section runs alongside local roads.
- SK 363385–SK 381395,
1½m. The trackbed commences at The Paddock public
house and curves around the south of Breadsall, passing
the site of Breadsall Station at SK369394 and continuing
as far as the A608 bridge (filled in). This section was
opened officially on 22 November 2009.
- SK 381395–SK 398400,
1m. An extension from the A608 bridge to Lime Lane is scheduled
to be completed this year, the latter point being where the
line went under the lane via the 276 yard Morley Tunnel (buried).
This section is partly an
SSSI – Breadsall Railway Cutting – and the greenway
will be created running parallel to this as far as Lime Lane
and
the tunnel.
At the moment,
the route is signed only over the second section above. The Paddock
is significant because this is where Breadsall Viaduct commenced
until it
was demolished
in the early 1970s. It has been hinted that the impressive
Bennerley Viaduct, to the east of Ilkeston, might one day be
included in the scheme. (Ralph Rawlinson and John Swan) |
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| Above: This
now demolished bridge at Braunstone Gate, Leicester, once carried
trains of the Great Central Railway on their way from London
to Nottingham. It fell into disuse when the railway closed
but was then converted into part of the Great Central Way.
As such, it carried walkers and cyclists until the local authority
closed it a few years ago for safety reasons. Now that it has
gone, we presume that users of the GCW are expected to take
their luck with the local traffic. We apologise that the picture is
not better – if
the Webmaster can find the original colour slide, he will have
it converted into a digital colour image which can be posted
here instead.
August 1989.
(Jeff
Vinter) |
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January 2010. Leicester
to Whetstone, Leicestershire. Years of campaigning and protests
came to nought on 9th November 2009 when work started on dismantling
the bowstring
bridge over New Park Street and the canalised River Soar at Braunstone
Gate in Leicester. Work was delayed for 12 hours
when a 39 year old woman chained herself to the top girder,
but this famous bridge and local landmark has now gone. (Ralph
Rawlinson)
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