True Preservation

The Manx Electric Railway? Strictly speaking, it's not in the UK, but it has run continuously since it was built and still relies solely on the original tramcars, now all more than 100 years old

 

Whilst the Manx ER is unique and has a special place in history it is not a preserved railway surely. It has just kept going and going and going.

In previous posts track and structure have been mentioned but no locos. It seems that many preserved railways operate locos that never ran on their rails before preservation - most noticeably the plethora of ex GWR locos on 'foreign' rails. On that basis I think few could pass muster.

 

I think most, if not all, standard gauge lines that were built for regular passenger traffic and freight, but now operate as tourist attractions, are going to fail the "reality test" for the reasons others have articulated - the tension between "preserving" the railway, while giving yourself enough infrastructure (catering, shop, maintenance, storage facilities etc) to sruvive as a stand-alone rather than part of a much larger system. (That's not to say that within such railways, there aren't individual areas, such as single stations) that can do a pretty good job of conjuring up the past).

On those grounds, lines originally built essentially as isolated tourist attractions (or similar) are probably closest to their "original" selves. 21B has nominated the RHDR, to which I'd add Volk's railway in Brighton - largely original route and original stock from when it was built.

Tom

 

I agree with Desert Songster about the NNR. To pause on Dead Man's Bridge in high summer with a gentle breeze swaying the corn, skylarks chirping invisibly aloft, to watch a green MetCam DMU rattling past, followed after a quick doze on the scorched grass by a gently burbling '31 with a few maroon coaches... Who needs a Tardis to experience rural East Anglia in the 1960s?

 

spot on, that's the kind of memory I'd like to see re-created.

 

That's just a snap shot though. Many lines can do that. I thought this thread was about the overall experience.

 

is there a station that comes close to re-creating a country station complete with goods yard?

 

Kingscote Station on the Bluebell is certainly heading in that direction.

 

The East Kent Railway, very atmospheric.

 

I was there, and it is close but no cigar. Really just random stock parked in a siding. No coal drops, cattle pens etc

 

Corfe Castle still has a working coal yard

 

any cattle in them? By coal drops I mean the sort of facility a coal merchant would have within the yard, definitely a feature of most goods yards, Western or not. One of the G&WR stations has a lovely cameo coal merchants hut...can't remember off hand which one

 

Oh come on I think that's asking a bit much! Probably animal cruelty now anyway! I've only seen Carrog yard through the trees walking along the canal, (well, I assume it was Carrog yard) and from that angle it just looked like any other heritage railway yard, things covered up in tarps, rusting away or still in blue and grey - nothing special from that angle.

 

IIRC the LLangollen Canal joins the Dee near Berwyn so if you were on the canal towpath, the yard you most likely saw was Pentrefelin.

 

Oops, just looked on google earth ! I was looking at the yard sandwiched between the river and the canal, I must have walked a lot less than I imagined oh well...

 

I missed that bit of canal...will have to visit again next year (and check out the cattle pens )

I did visit the very high level canal at Llangollen and the viaduct too. Llangollen is a great place for a preserved railway, it's a shame the passenger can see so little rail-wise though. Perhaps that will improve.