Great Central Railway General Matters

Is there a need for 18 mile running other than galas? 18 mile return trip at 25mph is a full day out. From experience, go over a couple of hours for the round trip and the kids are bored and the parents climbing the walls.

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with regard to the location of the loco dept... would a two road extended running shed with access from both ends be possible if it was located along side the coach works allowing the origonal up/down formation to be used for the connection.... it would also be possible to fit a restoration and enginnering facility closer to the canal bridge...again up against the taxi office....

 

I think you have a good point there. Perhaps one option for the "unified future" is to continue operating day to day as they do now, with a series of joint events several times a year where it all joins up as one massive trainset for all us enthusiasts to drool over!

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18 miles is no problem but you have to have a destination. Witness the NYMR/Whitby and WSR/Minehead. As far as I can see, the GCR doesn't have any destination, whichever way you go. Its only attraction is itself and that soon gets boring for Joe Public.

 

But if the GCR did extend north to the green field site next to the A52, it certainly would have a destination. The terminus would have a shuttle service by tram into the centre of Nottingham just a few minutes away.

 

I'm sure that the service will evolve, starting from very much as now, to through-running specials to whatever the market demands and the operations people can provide. Will there be enough platform capacity at Loughborough for services to from the north to interleave with existing services to the south? Maybe an extra platform will be necessary if the railway is to operate as two halves for the majority of services?

Andy

 

a bay with a tank and two or three non corridor should do it!

 

With an 8 chain curve you fall into the requirement for having check rail fitted.
You need to be above 10 Chain or 200 metre radius.
Even then Flange wear will be a problem and greasers will be essential.
Possibly even greasers fitted to the check rail, these are quite rare but do exist on NWR .
One location being Crimple Curve on the Leeds - Harrogate line where 2 sets of flange greasers and 2 sets of Check rail greasers are fitted to a 200m rad curve. On both Up and Down lines.

 

An extra platform, though, would be rather detrimental to the authenticity of the station.

 

Is Loughborough classed as being "Authentic"?
If it was still include in a National network would it have altered in any way to suit varying traffic needs?
Is there space to develop another platform?

 

If running the service in two 'halves' really required an additional platform at Loughborough (which I don't know), surely this is the best argument for not running the service in two 'halves'?

 

It would, but then it isn't very authentic to the north anyway, with the loco shed where it is currently located.

 

Having some scenery and a decent route helps too. NYMR, WSR, SVR, WHR, all long lines but very attractive/stunning scenery (and some hills for the locos to make a bit of noise occasionally). An hour long trundle on a flat, straight line from somewhere near Leicester to somewhere near Nottingham is a bit different!

 

Swithland viaduct?

 

What the GCR has currently to compensate for its lack of outstanding scenery is its proximity to potential customers (being located in the middle of the East Midlands, and easily accessible from a motorway / national rail), and its unequalled "big railway" feel. And to be fair to the GCR, they are addressing the lack of a destination at the southern end by building the NRM annex at Leicester North.

The flat, straight nature of the line has its advantages too: one of my favourite ever preservation experiences was getting off a night time train at Quorn and Woodhouse or Rothley, just in time to see Butler-Henderson came hammering through on the other line, headlamps lit, whistle blowing and the TPO set in tow. The GCR's ability to offer up experiences like this - which stem from it being a flat, fast mainline - are pretty much unparalleled.

 

As requested by Andy, see one possible route for the Southern curve at Ruddington. A director of GCRN did confirm elsewhere that a 8.5 chain curve is possible within existing land.

 

Isnt the Gloswarks just a flat trundle from somewhere near Cheltenham to somewhere that's admittedly pretty but not much going on.

 

This is precisely what was originally planned for Leicester North. However ...

... scuppered it.

 

Great for enthusiasts, but very little appeal for any preserved railway's core market of 'normal' family visitors who 'want to ride on a steam train'.

Hence 43009's post #21, above.

 

There's some really steep 1:150 at a couple of points! And we all think the scenery is dashed nice. Obviously once we get to Broadway we'll have more of a destination as well.

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