Rail connected

Stretching a point, Appleby Frodingham is classed as a heritage line in the Wiki list. Surely a frequently used connection there. Not many incoming railtours though.

 

The section on our side is signalled from us to NR but permission to go forward is via the divisible staff key method which I believe is unique now for this type of operation

Technically permission from NR to us is via agreement and possession of the divisible and / or PR staff depending on what's required

 

Will Peak Rail be the first Heritage Railway to be network-connected at both ends?

 

See comments about the Ffestiniog / Welsh Highland

 

Yes we run on NR land at Cholsey - the boundary is the 10mph board near the top of Cholsey bank (http://www.cholsey-wallingford-railway.com/images/Martello3.jpg). The run-round loop and the siding adjacent to the up relief the other side of the overbridge are all on NR land which we rent.

You'll note in this picture how close we get to the 100mph up relief line - http://www.cholsey-wallingford-railway.com/images/Ivor093.jpg. There isn't enough clearance for a fence which can be a bit of a pain.

 

The West Somerset Railway connection with Network Rail was used over 700 times in 2013, nearly all for freight trains. On one memorable day we had three freight trains operated by three different Freight companies using 5 different Class 66s all on the line at the same time, due to snow and ice causing delays on the mainline.

This year we have also had over 30 or so passenger train movements including visiting railtours and FGW units. I've lost count of the stone trains, plus the NR engineering trains of various types which come in to be turned on Norton triangle.

David

 

My money would be on the Bluebell beating them to it with the planned connection at Ardingly but I'm not holding my breath. Ray.

 

EOR. Just had a letter today from LUL about the nearby works this weekend. Says the engineering vehicles will be loaded to rail at North Weald, the connection must now be permanent then?

 

Technically (very technically and probably out of date now anyway), but for many years the ELR had a connection to Metrolink at Buckley Wells, and until very recently there was unused point work connecting the Bury Line to the BR line on the bank out of Manchester Victoria ...
I did say technically..

 

I know it's not connected at the moment, but would the Plym Valley be able to reconnect easily? Could prove a useful servicing facility for mainline steam to Plymouth if there was a connection.

 

Bit in the Beano concerning the re -connection of the Embsay and Bolton Abbey to the Grassington Branch and thence to skipton.... £2.6 Million
Guessing that most of this is to do with signalling and control rather than a few metres of track and a set of points...

 

There would also need to be track realignment work at Skipton in the platform.
When we remodelled Skipton for electrification in 1994 the track was deliberately designed to give greater clearance away from the platform.
Not impossible to correct though.
Along with bringing back the platform and subway into a decent condition.

 

Its severed now at Buckley Wells but was used on many occasions for contract work and memorably an early hours trip with msc 32 Gothenburg to Manchester with a brake van in tow. It was in Thomas guise so startled many a late night reveller leaving the clubs of north east Manchester. Great fun!

 

The Buckley Wells link is still there and is used regularly, the last being about two weeks ago when T68 1003 was moved onto ELR metals by the SPV. This returned to Metrolink a couple of days later.

 

Good to hear. It seemed daft to have the connection undone.

 

I am quite excited at the prospect of Embsay and Bolton Abbey possibly getting access to Skipton and maybe even occasionally the line to the Quarry which is no short distance. It goes through some lovely scenery towards Threshfield & Grassington and the track always seems to be in excellent condition.

 

It is a lovely line, ive never seen one of the quarry services actually running on it from Swinden Quarry but clearly they still do.
I should maybe check out RTT to see when they run, good to see bulk goods on the rails and not the Roads
Maybe one day some accomodation to use the line with a small halt at Cracoe and a runaround in the quarry sidings might come to pass...

 

Ridden over the Grassington branch many times in a tamper.
The line has just about been fully relaid between 1995 and 2003, nearly all in CWR.

 

Didn't 75014 do a charter on the branch or is that a dream of mine?