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December 2002. Lavant,
West Sussex. After protracted delays, the extension to Centurion
Way (the rail trail from Chichester to Lavant) is now open. The
new section provides a traffic free route from Lavant to West Dean,
but the disused railway is followed only as far as Binderton. In
total, Centurion Way uses 4 miles of the old Chichester to Midhurst
branch line. See also entry for October 2002. (Jeff Vinter)
December
2002. Haltwhistle, Northumberland. The North Pennines Heritage
Trust has announced that work on restoring Alston Arches Viaduct
is likely to begin in July 2003. This will enable the South Tyne
Trail to be extended right on to the platform at Haltwhistle station,
but unfortunately the trackbed immediately to the south is dissected
by the new Haltwhistle bypass. When this road was built, there was
official talk of providing a bridge over it when the South Tyne
Trail was extended – it is to be hoped that this really will happen.
The restoration of Alston Arches will complete the re-opening of
the scenic Alston branch as a railway path, although a detour is
required at Lambley where negotiators were unable to secure a route
across a short section of privately owned trackbed. (Jeff Vinter)
December
2002. Torksey, Lincolnshire. Sustrans, the Bristol-based path-building
charity, has announced that it intends to take on the restoration
of the 22 span Torksey Viaduct over the River Trent. The company’s
announcement that it was interested in saving this Grade II listed
structure was met with overwhelming support, and it is now ‘applying
for a grant to undertake a detailed engineering inspection of the
viaduct and to negotiate access to the bridge for the benefit of
all user groups’. The viaduct, recorded on the English Heritage
‘Buildings at Risk’ register, is situated on the course of the former
Great Central line from Lincoln to Retford. (Jeff Vinter/Sustrans
Ltd)
October
2002. Willington, Bedfordshire. In September, the Station Master’s
house at Willington was advertised for sale with an asking price
of £399,000. The advert stated that it was built by British Rail
in 1906! (Ralph Rawlinson)
October
2002. Calstock – Callington, Cornwall. It was announced in October
that a project for a new 2ft-gauge steam-worked line was attracting
considerable support. Tagged the Phoenix Light Railway, it would
operate over a disused part of the standard gauge Bere Alston &
Calstock Light Railway which had been converted from the 3ft 6ins
gauge East Cornwall Mineral Railway in 1908. (Ralph Rawlinson)
October
2002. Axminster – Lyme Regis, Devon/Dorset. The Axminster –
Lyme Regis Railway Association has been formed to promote the reinstatement
of the branch. The scheme, estimated to cost £12M, has the support
of Axminster Town Council who are hoping to get the backing of Devon
and Dorset Councils. (Ralph Rawlinson)
October
2002. Skipton-Colne, North Yorkshire/Lancashire. Although their
ultimate aims are different, Skipton/East Lancashire Rail Action
Partnership (SELRAP) and West Craven Cyclepath Group have agreed
to campaign together to prevent further encroachment on the line
by developers. (Ralph Rawlinson)
October
2002. Wellington (Ketley Jn) – Buildwas, Shropshire. The
Telford Steam Railway, which at present operates trains over ½ mile
of track from
Horsehay & Dawley through Heath Tunnel, is making progress
north to a proposed new station at Lawley Common. It is also hoping
to
raise £5m to fund the re-opening of the line south to Lightmoor
Junction. The intention is to create a six mile Tourist Railway
that would
utilize part of the freight only line from Madeley Junction to
reach Buildwas and Ironbridge Gorge. (Ralph Rawlinson)
October
2002. Kingswinford Jn – Wolverhampton (Oxley Jn), West Midlands.
Whilst most of this line is well established as the Kingswinford
Railway Trail, track the over two miles between Kingswinford Jn
and the Industrial Estate at Pensnett is still in situ but
has seen no traffic since 1990. After twelve years of disuse it
has become so overgrown that plans by International Stockholders
LCP to move steel from its Pensnett site to other parts of the country
may be halted by conservationists keen to preserve the plants and
wildlife that have taken over. (Ralph Rawlinson)
October
2002. Millerhill – Riccarton Jn (Waverley Route), Borders.
In September the Scottish Executive awarded Scottish Borders
Council
£250,000 towards the cost of developing the parliamentary bill
for re-opening the line between Edinburgh and Galashiels. At Whitrope,
four panels of track have been relaid by the Waverley Route Heritage
Association and our Scottish member, Alisdair Wham, reports that
two coaches have been delivered. Borders Transport Futures, which
is promoting reinstatement of the Waverley route, says that a
single
track could be relaid through the tunnel, but meanwhile the Forestry
Commission has applied for permission to block off both portals
to keep out trespassers. (Ralph Rawlinson)
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October
2002. Dinas Jn – Porthmadog (Welsh Highland Railway),
Caernarfon. Work is continuing on the six-mile extension
from of the present
railhead at Waunfawr. Track is being laid south from Rhyd Dhu and
by September had reached Glan-yr-afon. The next working site
will
be Snowdon Ranger, from where they plan to reach Castell Cidwm
at the north end of Llyn Cwellyn. The site for the new station
at Rhyd
Ddu had been substantially cleared, levelled and prepared. Target
date for introduction of services to Rhyd Ddu is still Easter
2003. (Ralph Rawlinson)
Meanwhile
the Welsh Highland Railway (Porthmadog) is seeking planning permission
to extend its present Porthmadog – Pen-y-Mount Halt line north to
Pont Croesor in two stages. The first step is to reach Portreuddyn,
where a temporary loop will be installed, providing a longer run
for its existing line, hopefully during the 2004 season. (Ralph
Rawlinson)
October
2002. Burry Port – Cwmmawr, Carmarthen. The Gwendraeth Valley
Railway propose to open a narrow gauge railway over the route of
the former Burry Port & Gwendreath (sic) Valley Railway between
Burry Port and Cwmmawr with a cyclepath alongside. A three-mile
green-field extension to Cross Hands is also under consideration.
(Ralph Rawlinson)
October
2002. Ceredigion and Pembroke, Wales. Many developments have
been reported by John Grimshaw, chief engineer with the cycle charity
Sustrans:
- NCN 47 Cardigan Branch:
Cilgerran to Cardigan is now open after building a new tidal sluice
gate.
- NCN 4 Johnston – Neyland:
a new section alongside the operational line at Johnston is now
open.
- NCN 4 Saundersfoot to Amroth:
the tramway has been much improved with a balustrade against the
sea.
- NCN 4 Milford Haven: a path
has been built along the shore railway.
- NCN 81 Aberayron Branch:
Aberaeron – Llanaeron. It is hoped to improve and extend this
section. (The GWR called this town ‘Aberayron’ whereas the modern
OS uses the spelling ‘Aberaeron’.)
October 2002. Bailey’s
Tramway, Gwent. In Clydach Gorge, a new 40ft footbridge has been
built over a gap in the tramway where a retaining wall had fallen
away. (John Grimshaw)
October 2002. Willersley
to Broadway, Gloucestershire. A planning request has been submitted
to build a new cycle trail along this one mile section of the former
GWR main line from Stratford to Cheltenham. (John Grimshaw)
October 2002. Newport
to Sandown, Isle of Wight. A continuous route from Newport to Sandown
will open later this year. Much of this line has been open officially
for some time, but this new development will join together previously
isolated sections. (John Grimshaw)
October 2002. Lavant
to West Dean, West Sussex. An extension to Centurion Way, which
follows the former Midhurst branch from Chichester to Lavant, is
due to open at the end of this month. The extension will use the
old railway line between Lavant and Binderton, before swinging west
to join a newly constructed cycle trail alongside the A286; this
continues as far as West Dean. It is not obvious that the route
through Lavant follows the old railway line because it has been
used as the ‘spine’ road for new housing development. (Jeff Vinter)
September 2002. Canterbury
to Whitstable, Kent. Plans have been announced locally to move more
of the ‘Sprat & Winkle’ trail on to the former railway, although
the attitude of landowners will be crucial. The plans include re-opening
Tyler Hill Tunnel, which passes beneath the University of Kent at
Canterbury. Prospects for the success of the tunnel part of the
project look good. (John Simmons)
September 2002. Ventnor
West to St. Lawrence, Isle of Wight. Most of Ventnor West station
still stands, but it is now situated at the start of a residential
road rather than a railway line. The road occupies the old trackbed
for about half a mile towards St. Lawrence, but where the road ends,
a newly dedicated right of way allows walkers to continue along
the track for another half mile as far as a demolished bridge. At
this point, steps allow walkers to leave the embankment and continue
via existing public footpaths. (Roger Mayo and John Elson)
May 2002. Okehampton
to Tavistock, Devon. Devon County Council’s North Dartmoor route
is now open from Okehampton station to Lydford, with a short diversion
around Bridestowe station. Even this diversion will be removed,
if negotations with local landowners are successful. A signed
walking and cycling route continues from Lydford to Tavistock, although
a local newspaper report suggests that this is ‘off-railway’ until
just north of the town, where the trail rejoins the trackbed before
crossing Wallabrook Viaduct, and then passing behind Kelly College
on an embankment. It continues on the old formation right
up to Tavistock North station, which is now a private residence.
A detour skirts around this property, after which the route continues
as the ‘Town Trail’ over Tavistock Viaduct, passing through a deep
rock cutting and ending a mile further on at Crease Lane. (This
is just before the missing bridge over the A390 on the south side
of the town.) The newspaper did not state who was behind the project,
but it is a safe bet that the partners include Sustrans, Devon CC
and West Devon DC. The total distance is 20 miles, with just over
half of that on the old railway. There are predictions that this
route will become as popular as Cornwall’s Camel Trail from Padstow
to Bodmin and Wenford. If anything, it has the scenery and railway
engineering to surpass that route. (Chris Cook, Jeff Vinter and
Ralph Rawlinson)
April 2002. Rodney Stoke,
Somerset. The first mile of a new railway path has been completed
at Rodney Stoke, heading towards Cheddar where it will meet the
existing Cheddar Valley Railway Walk, which links Cheddar with Yatton
on the Bristol-Taunton main line. The objective is to create a through
walking and cycling route from Yatton to Wells, using as much of
the original GWR trackbed as possible. For further details, see
entry for September 2001. (Cheddar Valley Railway Walk Society)
April 2002. West Cornwall.
After years of development, the Coast to Coast Mineral Tramway,
running 14 miles from Portreath on the north coast to Devoran (between
Truro and Falmouth) on the south coast, is finally open. The main
components of the route are the Redruth & Chasewater Railway,
and the earlier Portreath Tramroad. Both of these lines were built
for transporting minerals such as copper and arsenic rather than
passengers. When the cycle route was constructed, several sections
of tramway, including a passing loop, were found beneath the surface.
Walkers or cyclists intending to access the route by public transport
should travel to Perranwell on the Truro-Falmouth branch: Devoran
lies about one mile south east of the station, and is reached by
relatively quiet country lanes. (Richard Lewis)
March 2002. Spain. Since
1993, all the Spanish Regions and more than 180 municipalities have
become involved in the Greenways Programme, which seeks to convert
disused and abandoned railways into walkways and cycleways. To date,
over 530 miles of old railways have been converted. A European Greenways
Association has been formed to address the same issues at regional
levels. (Railway
Ramblings magazine)
March 2002. Gosport
Station, Hampshire. The grade II listed Gosport station, designed
by William Tite and closed to passengers in 1953, is now just a
derelict shell. The owner, Hampshire County Council, is keen to
hear ideas as to how its restoration can be funded (contact The
Chief Executive, Hampshire County Council, The Castle, Winchester,
Hampshire). The old trackbed from Gosport to Fort Brockhurst, south
of Fareham, is now a walk and cycle trail. A tram system between
Fareham and Portsmouth, given the go-ahead in May 2001, will utilise
the old Fareham-Gosport trackbed, but bypass the former Gosport
terminus. (Ralph Rawlinson)
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March 2002. Various
locations. The following details have been gleaned from recent newsletters
published by Sustrans Ltd., the Bristol-based path-building charity:
- North Water Viaduct (on
the closed line from Bervie to Montrose) has been acquired by
Railway Paths Ltd. so that it can be restored as part of a long
distance cycle route from Aberdeen to Berwick upon Tweed.
- The ‘first section of path’
between Irvine and Kilmarnock has been completed to a high standard
and is proving popular already with users. It is assumed that
this refers to a 4 mile section of the former Glasgow & South
Western Railway from the A78 in Irvine to Crosshouse station.
- A new railway path between
Mickleover and Etwall, on a former Great Northern line, is now
open in Derbyshire. (Sustrans Ltd.)
January 2002. West Lothian
and North Lanarkshire local authorities are seeking support for
a study into re-opening the line from Bathgate to Airdrie, most
of which has been converted into a cycle trail. (Ralph Rawlinson)
January 2002. Cleckheaton,
West Yorkshire. A rail user group has been set up to press for the
re-instatement of the line from Mirfield to Low Moor, which re-opened
in May 2001 (albeit to walkers and cyclists only) as the Spen Valley
Greenway. The group’s objective is to put the intermediate town
of Cleckheaton back on the railway map. (Ralph Rawlinson)
January 2002. Hayling
Island, Hampshire. The ‘Hayling Billy’ trail, which uses most of
the former branch line from Havant to Hayling Island, is to be re-surfaced
at a cost of £90,000 to make it accessible to the less mobile. (Ralph
Rawlinson)
January 2002. The Wannie
Line, Northumberland. A ‘Wannie Line Project Group’ has been established
to promote access to the former Wannie Line, which runs from Scotsgap
to Bellingham. A ‘Rothbury Branch Line Group’ has similar hopes
for the branch line from Morpeth to Scotsgap and Rothbury. The objective
is to negotiate with landowners for access to these old trackbeds,
using, in the case of the Wannie Line, funds from the English Rural
Development Partnership. (Northumberland Railway Walks Society)
January 2002. Leadgate,
County Durham. The old steel-carrying line from Consett to Ouston
Junction (near Chester-le-Street) was converted, by Sustrans Ltd.,
into a cycle trail some years ago. It is sad to relate that, since
the conversion, ‘virtually all’ of the surviving bridges east of
Consett have been demolished. The latest to be threatened with this
fate is the ‘ugly railway bridge’ known as the Garden Place Bridge
in Leadgate. While a new road crossing will be installed in its
place, there is concern that the destruction of these bridges removes
the segregation of trail users from ever increasing traffic flows.
If you feel that this is a step in the wrong direction, write to
Sustrans Ltd at 35 King Street, Bristol, and/or Durham County Council
at County Hall, Durham. (Northumberland Railway Walks Society)
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