Author: rradmin
Nov 2020. Keswick – Threlkeld, Cumbria
Do we wish to have online discussion/debate in Railway Ramblers?
Is the time right for RR to introduce a discussion thread facility? Will it work for us? Are there benefits? Are there risks? Is it unfair on non-website users? Do we need rules?
Smardale Gill Viaduct
The Viaduct stands 90ft above Scandal Beck in the Westmorland Dales in Cumbria. It has re-opened to walkers
October 2020 – Sandsend, North Yorkshire
Oct 2020 – Droxford, Hampshire
The fabulously restored Droxford Station on the Meon Valley line is advertised for sale for £1.6 million.
Oct 2020 – Lowdham, Nottinghamshire.
**UPDATED** Oct 2020 – Future of Railway Paths Ltd
Railway Paths is making new plans for the future and is interested in your views on who is best placed to look after ex-railway assets
Oct 2020 – Future of Railway Paths Ltd
Oct 20 – Queensbury Tunnel
Oct 2020 – Wendover – Great Missenden, Buckinghamshire
This perhaps does not meet the criteria for Vinter’s Gazetteer, but here is a trail with a difference: inspired by HS2 and running alongside a live railway. Greenways and Cycleroutes (G&C) have reported on a proposal to create the Misbourne Greenway, a path for walkers and cyclists alongside the Chiltern Line between Wendover and Great […]
Consultation on proposed changes to the Highway Code affecting walkers
Have your say in the government consultation clarifying pedestrian and cyclist priority. The consultation closes on 27th October
Oct 2020 – Catesby, Northamptonshire
According to a report in Rail magazine, the 1.7 mile-long Catesby Tunnel on the ex-Great Central route is to be opened to cyclists on Sundays, after the completion of the testing facility. It is expected the tunnel could be opened up in this way by next spring. (David White)
Oct 2020. Alnwick, Northumberland
Colin Davidson, an Alnwick resident since 1969, is behind a project to create a trail on the old railway from the Greensfield area of the town (roughly where new development ceases) to Mossy Ford on the B6341, the Alnwick-Rothbury road. The total length on the trackbed would be just over two miles, and the route would […]
Sep 2020 – Gedling, Nottinghamshire.
The former railway mineral line from Netherfield to Gedling Colliery (now Gedling Country Park) has been designated as a potential cycle and walking route in the local council’s development plan. Tracing further back, the line was part of the Great Northern Railway extension from Derby which takes a circular route around the north of Nottingham. […]
Sep 2020 – Dudley, West Midlands.
An engineering innovation and test centre to develop the next generation of Very Light Rail coaches is to be built on the site of Dudley Station and, according to the Construction Enquirer, there will also be a 1½ mile test track ‘along a disused railway line’. The article does not specify which line this might […]
RR Magazine Autumn 2020 – Out Now
Sep 2020 – Royds Park (nr. Liversedge) – Heckmondwike (station site), West Yorkshire.
Between grid references SE 201247–SE 217237, a path exists along a 1½-mile section of the former Leeds (New Line) and utilises the superb Heckmondwike Cutting, which is no ordinary cutting thanks to the five stone overbridges and short tunnel which take it through the town. Most of the path is on the trackbed and, at […]
Sep 2020 – Wye Valley Cycleway, Tidenham, Gloucestershire.
The project to take the Wye Valley Cycleway through Tidenham Tunnel is gathering pace after months of uncertainty (concerning bats!) which ended when planning permission was finally granted. Workcamp No 2 was established with wigwam accommodation, track-lifting commenced both north and south of the tunnel, as did clearance work along the line. The tunnel works […]
Sep 2020 – West Dean – Cocking Hill, West Sussex
A planning application by the South Downs National Park Authority (SDNPA) has been made for a 3½ mile extension to Centurion Way from West Dean to Cocking Hill. The proposed works to create a shared path for pedestrians and cyclists include replacement bridge parapets, an earth ramp on Drovers Estate, a bridge deck at Littlewood […]
Sep 2020 – Camden – Kings Cross, London
An international competition has been announced to convert a 0.7 mile stretch of abandoned railway into a £35 million raised linear park connecting Camden Town with King’s Cross. The Camden Highline project, planned to open in phases from 2024, will create a new London park and linear walking featuring seating areas, cafés and spaces for […]
Sep 2020 – Christ’s Hospital, West Sussex
A low-key photo shoot was held in September to mark the opening of the ‘missing mile’ of the Downs Link in Christ’s Hospital, which runs between Mill Lane and Christ’s Hospital Station. The works included repairing two bridges, vegetation clearance, surfacing, drainage and platform repairs. A traffic-free route is now open right through to the […]
Sep 2020 – Devon and Cornwall
The MP for North Cornwall, Scott Mann, is looking into a project which could link the Camel Trial (Bodmin to Padstow, via Wadebridge) with the Granite Way (Lydford to Okehampton), and on to the Tarka Trail in North Devon (which can be picked up in Okehampton). The obvious means by which to link the Camel […]
RR Facebook Post – Monsal Trail
Controversial plans to turn the Monsal Trail and the Viaduct back into a railway See FB post » For non-FB users, click here for link to BBC article
Aug 2020 – Tidenham, Gloucestershire
Aug 2020 – Bennerley Viaduct, Notts/Derbyshire
Aug 2020 – Appleby – Warcop, Cumbria
At long last, the new route for the A66 in this area has been finalised and a final round of consultations is due to start. The route of the road will avoid the trackbed of the old railway, which the DfT must regard as some kind of asset, despite the ‘final solution’ inclinations of the […]
Aug 2020 – Winchester, Hampshire
Recently our correspondent just managed to find a space in Garnier Road Car Park next to the old GWR trackbed just south of Winchester. This is because last September a new refreshments establishment, called The Handlebar Café, was built on the trackbed – increasing footfall considerably, but not necessarily onto the old line. (Richard Lewis)
Aug 2020 – Weymouth, Dorset
RR Magazine Summer 2020 – Out Now
Jul 2020 – Athlone, Republic of Ireland
A 25-mile rail trail has been created between Athlone and Mullingar in the Republic of Ireland. A route map with access points may be found on the Westmeath County Council website. The trail, which was opened in October 2015, uses a converted stretch of the Midlands Great Western Railway and is intended eventually to form […]
Jul 2020 – Keswick, Cumbria
£8 million project to rebuild the Keswick – Threlkeld railway path in Cumbria remains on target for completion by the end of the year.
Jul 2020 – Upton & North Elmsall, West Yorkshire
A local group want to reinstate Upton and North Elmsall Station near Wakefield, which was once a stop on the Hull and Barnsley Railway and closed in 1959. The line, which was built to transport coal to Hull’s docks, ran through what is now Upton Country Park, and the group plan to lay a single […]
Jul 2020 – Fawley, Hampshire
Last month a ‘fact-finding’ passenger train traversed the Fawley branch – also known as the Waterside line – carrying, among others, Network Rail Chairman, Sir Peter Hendy, and Rail Minister, Chris Heaton-Harris, as plans for a large new residential development at Fawley have revived hopes of restoring the rail link. The line could also give […]
Jul 2020 – Shepton Mallet, Somerset
Jun 2020 – Preston, Lancashire
Further to the report in RR 166 on the Longridge path extension to Deepdale, there is also a private promoter plan, reported optimistically for over a decade now, for a new tram on the old formation from the city via the Deepdale area to a Park & Ride in the area of the former Courtaulds […]
Jun 2020 – Upper Wensleydale, North Yorkshire
The Upper Wensleydale Railway project is a plan to reopen the section of line from Garsdale on the West Coast Mainline, to the market town of Hawes. It is hoped that a reinstated junction with the existing Leeds – Settle – Carlisle railway line at Garsdale will allow ‘through’ trains to run from Hawes via […]
Jun 2020 – St. Margaret’s Loop, East Grinstead, East Sussex
May 2020 – Merthyr Tydfil, Mid Glamorgan
An online survey regarding Merthyr Tydfil and Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Councils’ joint proposals to reopen Merthyr (aka Abernant) Tunnel to walkers and cyclists has received almost 800 responses. The tunnel would form part of a 4-mile traffic free route linking Merthyr and Aberdare. Merthyr councillor Geraint Thomas said ‘The consensus appears to be […]
May 2020 – Bennerley Viaduct, Nottinghamshire/Derbyshire
The restoration of Bennerley Viaduct on the Notts/Derbs border was suspended on 24th March, just as the coronavirus lockdown was introduced. However, Bill Tomson, who oversees this project on behalf of the charity Railway Paths Ltd., has informed the club that the contractors re-started their work on Monday 18th May. The intention is to develop the […]
May 2020 – Newquay to Perranporth, Cornwall
The former Newquay to Chacewater railway between Newquay and Perranporth is due for a new lease of life as a rail trail thanks to a Cornwall Council project to create four new walking and cycling routes under the name ‘The Saints Trails’. Outline details and a high quality map can be found at the first […]
May 2020 – Weymouth to Portland, Dorset
Work continues in Rodwell, Weymouth, at the Buxton Road overbridge (grid reference SY 675779) on eponymous The Rodwell Trail, which re-uses the northern part of the former joint LSWR and GWR branch line from Melcombe Regis to Easton. The work, which should be finished in June, is an ‘inspection on steroids’, in which any faults […]
May 2020 – Moretonhampstead, Devon
Apr 2020 – Yesterday TV Channel
With such far-reaching restrictions in place as a result of the pandemic, readers may be interested in a series entitled ‘The Architecture the Railways Built’, starting on ‘Yesterday’ at 8:00 pm on Tuesday 28th April. Although this may be a repeat from another channel, it provides something of railway historical interest at this time of […]
Apr 2020 – ‘Country Walking’ Magazine
Subscribers to ‘Country Walking’ received the latest edition of the magazine on 21st April, and what did they find within its pages but an article entitled ‘Got the Railway Rambling Bug?’ This multi-page spread features a number of disused railways which can now be walked or cycled, and it gives this club a good plug […]
Apr 2020 – Nationwide
Despite the good news reported in the story below, most railway path developments are currently on hold due to the Covid-19 Pandemic, including two big projects being managed by Railway Paths Ltd – the restoration of Bennerley Viaduct as an aerial walkway and visitor attraction, and the basic restoration of the GCR’s gothic-styled Levenshulme South […]
Apr 2020 – Whitby to Scarborough, North Yorkshire
Scarborough Council is to receive a combined grant of £583,000 for improvements to the surface of the popular ‘Cinder Track’ on the 4 mile section form Burniston to Scarborough. The council announced that its planned work will ‘vastly improve users’ access and experience, promote environmentally sustainable methods of travel, facilitate active lifestyles and help to […]
Apr 2020 – York, North Yorkshire
One unexpected consequence of this winter’s excessive rain and recent storms was that the large flows of water have moved around the silt on the River Ouse in York to reveal the tracks of a lost 18″ narrow gauge railway. These have been revealed near the city’s Millennium Bridge, and formed part of a horse-drawn […]
April 2020. Birmingham, West Midlands
Archaeologists working at the site of the proposed HS2 Curzon Street Station in Birmingham have unearthed what is thought to be the world’s oldest roundhouse. Curzon Street was once the northern terminus of the London and Birmingham Railway, which opened throughout in 1838. According to Industrial Archaeology, the roundhouse was built ‘to a design by […]
Mar 2020 – Daventry to Braunston, Northamptonshire
Anyone hoping that the 1½ mile section of railway-based cycle trail from Daventry towards Braunston would continue along more of the old LNWR trackbed will be disappointed to learn that, although Daventry District Council has set aside £730,000 for an extension to Braunston, it will follow the towpath of the Grand Union Canal and not […]