What's your dream obscure railway restoration project?

Forgive me if this has already been mentioned, but the Lune Valley Railway from Clapham through Ingleton and beyond.

I would also like to get a choo choo train into Rothbury in Northumberland!

 

great idea, near me and i would be greatful for that one

 

The wye valley railway company are working on reopening the lines from grange court to hereford via ross on wye, then alos the line from ross on wye to monmouth asnd the line from monmouth to chepstow, seems sustrans will try and block this project i fee as they own land they were given and if we want the land it will cost us millions, so how does anyone f]get around sustrans craft land buying for pennies and selling for millions

 

Bala to Blaeneau Ffestiniog. A new route round the lake that now covers part of the route would be needed but that high ledge round the mountainside at Cwm Arenig would be spectacular. If the Llangollen Railway could fill the Corwen to Bala gap then it would be possible to do a sg/ng/sg/ng trip all the way to Porthmadog. Or if built to narrow gauge the WHR Garrets would be a fine sight.

 

Good grief, these ideas get sillier and sillier! Dangerously so if they suck resources from organisations which have some prospect of success.

PH

 

I would love to see that. Many times I have travelled by road through this area, I'd pay good money to be able to do the same journey behind a pannier or similar! The formation seems largely complete from what I can tell, until you get to the reservoir and then into Bala itself. When I win the lottery...

 

Llangollen to Trevor for me. The trackbed is intact from Trevor station through to the outskirts of Llangollen. This could be overcome by building along the river bank. (A large grant a la Welsh Highland would be required !). The platforms at Trevor are still there. This section is a very scenic part of the valley . Shame on the local council for allowing the property developer leeches to build on the track bed.

Bob.

 

It would indeed, the langollen canal along this part shows this. I wonder if it would be possible, having got to Trevor, to get to Ruabon and get a mainline connection. If ever possible, it would reduce the need for lowloaders and help passengers. That said a lottery win or two would probably be needed, we can but dream.

 

Had another idea.... Can be very easily described:

REBUILD STAINMORE!

 

A couple of us suggested this a few pages back but with SAR 3ft6 locos and stock. Class 24s, 19Ds, 25NCs and Garratts?

 

This would be a great line - i remember in the late 80s there was a brief article in the local press about a society who wanted to reopen the line, but nothing more was heard. Agree about the G and T set on the west side of the Wirral probably not being keen!

 

Sadly it would require a bit more than the work mentioned [I live about 200 yards from the line and walk and cycle along it frequently and would probably be the only non-NIMBY in town!]. The site of the station and yard at Neston is built over with housing as well as the bridge being missing. There is also a housing development on the site of the station at Heswall and no easy route for a diversion. There are numerous other bridges missing although not always obvious as the steel spans have been replaced by wooden ones ast several locations.

I have very fond memories of the line as my great-grandfather was stationmaster at Neston South having transferred there from Church Stretton. We still have a LNWR whistle that belonged to him - not sure if they had LNWR & GWR Joint whistles!Somewhere I also have a signal box log from Parkgate station. I recall my father's tales of going to school in West Kirby by train and the high jinx that went on in the train each morning. I also remember being taken to the beach at West Kirby by my grandmother. As I recall it, and I was very young, the locos were usually Stanier 3MTs or the GWR equivalent. There was a much earlier attempt to set up a preservation group as I remember going to a meeting while still at school in the 1960s. At that time the rails were still in place and the line used to store redundant wagons.Sadly it came to nothing.

 

For me it woud have to be the re-building of the Leek & Manifold Railway. Also construct replicas of the original locomotives and rolling stock.

 

Previously i posted that a museum /centre based on Ashford works would be a possible candidate, Well it looks that others are of the same mind because a group are trying to lease the former site including the sheds , its always been a popular idea to have an NRM of the south to display some of the southern engines and stock , at first eastleigh was mooted but then bruce knight took the site, and good thing too, but now Ashford has become availible There are a lot of engines that are currently out of ticket awaiting funds to overhaul them so if cosmetically restored could become short term exibits and free up siding space .

In addition there is the Lydd branch, this is only used by freight to dungerness and so could be used by mainline registered locos on several week ends in the year on short distance specials to and from Ashford and hastings/ london if the line could be extended to terminate next to the RHDR and a new station built , this would enable people to travel to the RHDR by train using dmu's , either as a part of the nation network or as a community railway the site would be large enough to have a workshop so restorations could also be done on site , and contract work from other local railways, if they still had a wheel lathe then that alone would make a good income as well as machining services .

 

I hope that comes about, would be ideal for housing the Brighton Belle Trust who are after a site for a museum.

Chris

 

For me would be to have the Corris Railway fully re-opened from Machynlleth to Aberllefenni. Shame about the houses on trackbed betweet Current Corris Station and Aberllefenni.

The whole line would be about 7 and a half miles long.

Jack

 

Actually, I would have to build the branchline that never was! The Vale of Rheidol Railway Aberaeron extension running from Aberystwyth to Aberaeron. A branchline running for 16 miles along Cardigan Bay...

 

rebuild the whole of the S&D of course. and that includes kicking sainsburys out of bath green park....

 

I'd like to see the Severn Valley extended north through Ironbridge and Builwas into Shrewsbury. It could then terminate in either the empty bay platforms on the bridge or even go into a rebuilt Shrewsbury Abbey station!

 

The full restoration of the entire Isle of Wight railway system - and any building foolish enough to sit on any former route or railway land - demolish 'em all!