Work on the Pier to Pier Way is proceeding which incorporates a section of the former Weston Clevedon & Portishead Railway route between Weston Super Mare and Clevedon known as the Tutshill Greenway and this is due to open in the summer. The complete length of the Pier to Pier Way may well be open […]
Author: rradmin
May 2022 – Tavistock, Devon
The Tavistock Herald has reported Devon County Council’s plans to re-open the line from Tavistock to Bere Alston, and provide an hourly service from Tavistock to Plymouth. A recent engineering survey found the trackbed almost completely unobstructed, and the structures (bridges, tunnels and viaducts) in sound condition. Devon CC has now submitted a funding bid to […]
May 2022 – Bridge emergency “deceit” exposed
May 2022 – Creating digital trails of former railway lines in the East Midlands
May 2022 – The Lias Line, Warwickshire
The Lias Line, Warwickshire (named after the Blue Lias cement works at Long Itchington, which kept the branch open to goods traffic until 1985). In October last year, work began to extend the Offchurch Greenway to Marton Junction, and thence along the Weedon Junction branch to the Grand Union Canal (SP 410645) near Long Itchington. […]
Apr 2022 – Engineers reject bridge infill “emergency”
Apr 2022 – Walk Report; Pleasley East (GN) to South Kirkby Junction – 9/04/22
Report by Walk Leader & Area Co-ordinator Bob Prigg on the walk from the colliery museum site along the old Leen Valley Extension, Great Northern route on what is now The Skegby Trail, a multi use path terminating at New Cross.
Apr 2022 – RR has lodged an objection to the infilling of the bridge at Musgrave
Apr 2022 – Campaigners rally opposition to bridge infill “vandalism”
Plans to link two Cumbrian heritage railways could be sunk unless objectors convince a local council to reject a planning application to make the infilling of a Victorian bridge permanent.
Apr 2022 – Walk Report – Elan Valley walk 26/3/22
Postponed from October because of a severe weather warning, the walk went ahead on a perfect spring day. It may have made a bit of club history as the majority of participants – 4 out of 7 – were Wales residents, a first for any RR walk to the best of my knowledge. The route […]
April 2022. Great Musgrave, Cumbria.
Regular readers will be aware that last year National Highways (NH) ‘temporarily infilled’ a bridge in the village which lies between two heritage railways that hope, eventually, to join up. Graeme Bickerdike, a member of The HRE Group which is trying to halt a nationwide infilling and demolition programme of legacy rail structures, said: ‘National […]
April 2022. King’s Cliffe, Northamptonshire.
A newly extended path has been opened on the trackbed of the ex-LNWR Market Harborough to Peterborough line at King’s Cliffe. A local information leaflet says the ‘disused railway’ path was fully opened in 2019, providing a 1.5 mile route across the north of the village, connecting Fineshade Woods to Apethorpe and Old Sulehay. It […]
April 2022. Wye Valley Greenway, Gloucestershire/Monmouthshire.
In April last year, Tidenham Tunnel was opened as the finishing stage of a multi-use trail from Tintern to Sedbury (east of the River Wye from Chepstow), which uses the trackbed of the former Wye Valley Railway (WVR). During the autumn and winter period (1st October to 31st March), when the tunnel is closed to […]
April 2022. Shepton Viaducts Trail, Somerset.
This summer, John Grimshaw’s charity ‘Greenways and Cycleroutes Ltd’ will be running a number of workcamps in order to construct a new railway path from the A37 on the east side of Shepton Mallet (ST 626437) to the north end of Ham Woods Viaduct (ST 609454), where a connection will be made with footpaths that […]
April 2022. Wells to Dulcote, Somerset.
There has been a railway path from Wells to west of Dulcote for some years, although it had become very overgrown before members of the Strawberry Line Society took it in hand a few years back. On 4th March this year, Annie Maw (Lord Lieutenant of Somerset) opened the ‘Dulcote Link’, a new section of […]
March 2022 – Elan Valley Rockfall
Elan Valley Railway. Powys (Radnorshire): The closure of the NCN 81 foot/cycle path through the Devil’s Gulch cutting because of rock falls is to be made permanent and a diversion constructed around the side.
March 2022 – Yorkshire Dales National Park Announces Proposals for Garsdale to Hawes Bridleway
The Upper Wensleydale railway trackbed being proposed for a footpath/cycleway/bridleway, as several attempts to reinstate the railway have failed
Lines of Duty – Sat 19th March at 8pm Archive on BBC Radio 4
Tim Dunn and Toby Jones present the extraordinary untold story of the man who saved Britain’s railways by leaking official secrets and putting his life and liberty at risk.
Mar 2022 – Report reveals active travel potential of at-risk historic bridges
RR Magazine Spring 2022 – out soon
March 2022 – ‘Urban explorers’ open Queensbury can of worms
The New Civil Engineer reported that ‘National Highways’ long-running battle with disgruntled campaigners in West Yorkshire has boiled over, with the police called in to investigate an alleged case of trespass.’ Photos taken by three ‘urban explorers’ of the ‘work’ carried out in the tunnel by NH engineers, were released by campaigners who are fighting […]
March 2022 – Leven is next
News arrived this month that the first rails have gone down on the five-mile Levenmouth Link, a branch which will connect Leven with the Fife Circle Line at Thornton North Junction. As well as the terminus at Leven, a station will be opened at Cameron Bridge, where the platforms and four tracks survive, though seriously […]
March 2022 – The magnificent seven?
Is it time for some cautious optimism regarding the Restoring your Railway Fund (RRF) and whether it really can kick-start some serious rail reopenings? The recent Okehampton reopening shows that it can be done, albeit – in that case – involving the upgrade of an existing freight line. So, what next? The New Civil Engineer […]
March 2022 – Fawley reopening scaled back
Network Rail has said it will continue to work on the scheme to reopen the former Fawley branch line, but only as far as Hythe, where a new station would need to be built. The original plan was to open a park-and-ride station at Hardley, just outside Fawley Oil Refinery, but the cost of the […]
March 2022. Garsdale – Hawes, North Yorkshire/Cumbria.
The Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority has announced its proposal to create a multi-user route or bridleway on the railway trackbed, thus precluding reinstatement of the railway for the foreseeable future. The Upper Wensleydale Railway (UWR) said in response that while it ‘has been aware for some time of the interest in a bridleway from […]
**UPDATED Mar 2022 – Plans to demolish Burghclere Signal Box
Feb 2022 – Bennerley Viaduct – World Monuments Watch Day
This Sunday, a wet but wonderful World Monuments Watch Day was hosted by The Friends of Bennerley Viaduct to mark the end of the two year World Monuments Fund Watch cycle.
Feb 2022 – Interested in walking the Cross Britain Way from Boston in Lincs to Barmouth in Gwynedd?
An open invitation from RR Area Coordinator Bob Prigg to join a long distance walk project kicking off on Mon 28 Feb 2022 on the Cross Britain Way from Boston in Lincs to Barmouth in Gwynedd.
Feb 2022 – Steaming back to Kirkby-in-Ashfield, Notts (first walk on 19th Feb)
The first of a series of Kirkby-in-Ashfield railway heritage walks takes place as part of the National Lottery Heritage Fund funded ‘Steaming Back to Kirkby’ heritage project
Gallery Group – Isle of Wight
The renovated Yarmouth Station on the Isle of Wight is now a popular café and bistro on the railway path from Thorley Bridge to Freshwater. 2015 (Brian Loughlin)
Gallery Group – Lundy Island
North Light Tramway on Lundy, a rocky outcrop which stands in the Bristol Channel about 10 miles north of the Devon coast. The island is about 3½ miles from north to south, and ½ mile across. Lundy’s northern lighthouse and a pair of rails from the tramway which we believe was used to transport building […]
Gallery Group – Isle of Man
Ballaugh goods shed on the Isle of Man was opened officially in 2014 after restoration as a heritage centre. The former railway ran across the front of the picture, from left to right. 2014 (Neil Hebborn) This is a typical overbridge on the route, and its diminutive proportions reflect the Isle of Man Railway’s 3 […]
Gallery Group – Outside UK
La Belle France and the once extensive narrow gauge network which centred on Carhaix in Brittany. This bridge over the River Aulne, formerly used by narrow gauge trains, is now part of a multi-use trail based on the trackbed.. 2010 (John Fisher) Vias Verdes, Spain. Like all European countries, Spain has suffered its share of […]
Interested in 5 days Railway Rambling in Donegal in September?
Plans are in place for a Railway Ramblers trip for walks along part of ‘The Swilly’ in the scenic County Donegal in the Republic of Ireland over 5 days in September.
Jan 2022 – Smardale Gill Viaduct, Cumbria.
The ‘Cinderella’ of the three structures owned by the Northern Viaducts Trust (NVT), Smardale Gill Viaduct, on the ex-NER Barnard Castle & South Durham line between Tebay and Kirkby Stephen, is the intended recipient of funds raised by the 14 Peaks for 14 Arches Challenge. This is asking people to walk 90 miles in 14 […]
Jan 2022 – Campaigners condemn “crass” bridge request
Jan 2022 – Anger as bridge fencing blocks wildlife corridor
HRE Group Press Release on steel fencing around an historic railway bridge fencing blocking a wildlife corridor
Jan 2022 – Ashbury, Devon.
The Pegasus Way is a 15-mile route between Meldon and Cookworthy, much of which uses the former railway line from Meldon Junction to Bude (via Halwill Junction). It will eventually link the Granite Way (Okehampton – Lydford) with the Ruby Way (Hatherleigh – Bude). The rail-related sections run from East Bowerland, near Meldon, to Venn […]
Gallery – Gem viaduct under construction
These pictures below show Gem viaduct in Dartmoor under construction. It was opened officially in 2012. This was the scene at the site of the new Gem Bridge in January 2011. The slope down from the trackbed (constructed by DCC) can be clearly seen, as can the temporary, low level bridge over the River Walkham. […]
Jan 2022 – Petition; council refusing access to our railway history
Jan 2022 – Nottingham.
The city of Nottingham lost its famous Victoria station in 1967 – and a significant amount of railway heritage has been obliterated from the city since then. However, Thurland Street Tunnel, which brought the Great Central Railway into the station, remains intact. A local history group, Nottingham’s Railways Remembered, arranged three visits to the tunnel […]
Jan 2022 – Bennerley Viaduct reopens
Jan 2022 – Barcombe bridge, petition on ecological considerations
The campaigners for Barcombe bridge have set up a petition calling on the Government to commission independent ecological studies of the dismantled railways spanned by infill-threatened HRE bridges
Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway
The Somerset & Dorset Railway between Shillingtone and Stourpaine & Durweston. In October 2010, the long-demolished Hodmoor bridge over the River Stour north west of Stourpaine was finally replaced – at a cost in excess of £300,000 – thus enabling the North Dorset Trailway to link Sturminster Newton with Stourpaine Walkers, cyclists and horse riders gather […]
Gallery Group – Eastern
Gedney Station photographed in 2009, was situated on the Midland & Great Northern Joint Railway’s line from Little Bytham to Melton Constable, where branches fanned out to Cromer, Great Yarmouth and Norwich City (Alan Simpson) Louth station as it appeared in 1989. Fortunately, this building (the finest on the line) was Grade II listed, but […]
Gallery Group – Yorkshire
Thornton Viaduct near Keighley in west Yorkshire, situated on the former line from Keighley to Queensbury. (Graeme Bickerdike) Thurgoland Tunnel on the former Great Central line from Penistone to Wortley Junction – now part of NCN6, the Trans Pennine Trail (Richard Lewis) The western end of Earlsheaton Tunnel (Peter Martin) The eastern portal of Earlsheaton […]
Jan 2022 – S&W Midlands Walk Report – Harborne Branch
Dec 2021 – Infill threat lifted from historic bridge
Campaigners have welcomed National Highways’ commitment to reprieve a historic railway bridge in East Sussex following robust opposition from the community and local council.
Gallery Group – North East
Lambley Viaduct viewed from the south, i.e. heading from Alston to Haltwhistle. Described as ‘one of the most impressive railway viaducts anywhere on the Tyne’, this huge Victorian engineering feat consists of 13 spans rising to 100 ft. It was built in 1852 and restored in 1996 by the North Pennines Heritage Trust (NPHT), which […]
Gallery Group – Midlands
Bennerley Viaduct at Awsworth (near Nottingham), which carried the Great Northern Railway’s line from Awsworth to Ilkeston over both the Erewash Valley, and the Midland Railway’s Erewash Valley line. The viaduct is to open again in Spring 2022 carrying a cycle pathway (Bob Prigg) A view of the main station buildings at Alton Towers from […]