Bridge that Gap: Great Central Railway News

I don't think the music could be regarded as particularly intrusive. If you find it intolerable, why not turn the sound off and turn on the subtitles?

 

There was music? I was only interested in the content and how well it would sell the concept to the those who were new to the project and might be persuaded by the video to contribute ie not old enthusiasts like us.


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That really is a great video, well done to the GCR. Ideal for sharing with corporate stakeholders as well as supporters. Unfortunately no matter what you do you’ll never please all of the people all of the time, you should be rightly proud of what has been produced.

 

At least some railways understand the value of good PR ! See how the cash keeps rolling in. I bet there has been another surge since that video was released.
A lesson there for certain other lines that are struggling but refuse, or don't know how, to engage with potential donors.
No names, no pack-drill !

 

I wasn't aware of that possibility and I may try it. But subtitles aren't ideal. I would prefer to be able to listen to the commentary and any sounds that are naturally present, such as train noises, without the addition of entirely extraneous music.

 

I thought it was a good film, and (for someone like me with only a hazy understanding of the geography) did a really good job of setting all the various parts of the project into a single linear whole.

I was dryly amused that, on an ex-LNER bit of line, the archive footage showed a Merchant Navy and the stylised locos waiting at either end for the tracks to rejoin were a "King" and a "Pannier Tank"! But it would be churlish to hold those against a really professional presentation.

Tom

 

Hi Tom
The GCR MN footage was notable for two reasons - it was taken actually where the Gap is ie the Factory Flyover section, the Midland main line bridge and the A60 bridge, and that MN 35030 Elder Dempster Lines was hauling one of the last through trains along the full length of the line in 1966 I believe.

 

I was excited to see work happening in the compound North of the MML bridge!


Was it for the A60 bridge? or the missing bit of the embankment? ....... Neither - it is apparently for NR to do some work associated with the brook under the Midland Main Line!

 

I was able to visit North of the engine shed and saw that the area has been cleared of some clutter and it looks like the canal bridge is being prepared for some more work on the deck and approaches. There is a lot of "behind the scenes" work going on re the A60 bridge so that could well be the next major development.

 

The good news is that the A 60 bridge is to be replaced by a new concrete precast structure (Similar, but longer to the recent Quorn replacement bridge 341). Also the fundraising is going ahead, lead by the East Midlands Railway Trust (EMRT). I'm sure the DCRT/GCR will also be involved. This could proceed quite quickly so that the Gypsum trains can restart.
Of course, this also means that 4 more out of the 7 sections for Re-unification are about to happen. 3 and 4 are the factory flyover, 5 is the infill Northern embankment, 7 is the A 60 bridge. That only leaves the 300m embankment by Preci-Spark to the canal bridge, section 6.

 

At the GCR AGM today it was announced that the GCR is to manage the bridge 326 (A 60) replacement project with EMRT raising the funds and working with other stakeholders. The project is expected to cost approx £1M. There was a general feeling that this needs to be completed in the near future......

 

GCR managing works on the GCR(N)….maybe for the greater good / bigger picture but it does have a undertone of “they can’t handle it, so we’ll have to do it for them” about it.

Another log on the fire of the South gaining much more from the link than the North ever will.

It wouldn’t surprise me one of the South came to an agreement to “manage” just enough of what is the North to allow trains to access the South without bothering them up North.

 

Since they are two parts of the same organisation with one aim, what does matter who does what? It is not a competition, it is a co-operation.

 

That would be the ideal, but they are in fact separate organisations, and there have been strong hints at least of some differences of emphasis and possibly differences about their objectives or how to reach them.

 

As Mellish says they are separate organisations.
In fact there are four basic parts - GCR, GCR(N), DCRT and EMRT which have all stated that they want an 18 mile heritage railway and are supporting that vision with the "Bridging the Gap" between the present South and North operations. That they work together should not be a surprise. That there are sometimes difficulties should not be a surprise. That they making steady concrete progress should be a source of congratulation. "Forward" was the Great Central motto.....and it continues to be true.

 

People who are more concerned about who's doing a thing rather than be pleased that a thing is happening in my view have lost sight of what's important. Unfortunately I feel there are sometimes a few too many people like that knocking around being awkward to the detriment of the organisations they supposedly support.

 

Agreed, provided that all are genuinely working towards that objective. I hope they were all storms in a teacup, but there were indications last year that organisational loyalties were also representative of differing visions for what the project is for. From that perspective, sadly, the role of GCR in this project will raise warning flags to some. I hope they are unjustified, and that the work on the ground will prove them to be unjustified.

 

Thanks for the clarification. I must admit I was puzzled by the recent references to the EMRT and had assumed that this was a renaming of GCR(N). AIUI the two GCR entities were set up together to protect the lines North and South of the "Gap" respectively but with the acknowledged intention of bringing the two together if and when the Gap could be bridged. A prospect which is now reaching its conclusion. It is hard to understand why members of either society should be resentful of the other as I would expect them to amalgamate into one once the physical reunion of the rails is achieved. It seems to be all win and no lose to me.

Just to complete the picture could somebody please explain who the EMRT and the DCRT are and how they fit into the scenario ?

 

I realise that I forgot to mention possible the most important part of the "Bridging the Gap" project....all those thousands of supporters who have, to date, contributed around £3,000,000 so that the MML has been bridged, The Canal bridge refurbished, the detailed plans drawn up and the factory flyover fund well established.
They know what they want and are digging deep to see it achieved. "THANK YOU ALL!"

 

Hi Dainton Banker
Basically the DCRT is the David Clarke Railway trust which is a charity set up to raise and distribute funds to projects, largely, but not exclusively, on the Great Central Railway - which is essentially the operating company of the GCR. The East Midlands Railway Trust (EMRT) does the same function for the GCR(N) but is also the land owner of the railway and Ruddington. They all have websites which give more information on their history.