Bridge that Gap: Great Central Railway News

Besides Bob and Ray, I was involved as well in the re-installation at Steamport.
Assisting Derek Foster in digging the pit out.
How many ex Steamport bods are registered on Nat Pres?

Back to GCR
To avoid the reversal at Ruddington.
Is it possible to build a new station on the line nearby and convert Ruddington into a Museum / Workshop facility?

 

I'm not sure how many 'tables have been removed from the NRM, but the NYMR has one, a 60 ft example rather than 70ft, that is installed at Pickering. It isn't vacuum operated either, though crews who don't manage to stop their loco at, or close to, the balance point are made to wish it was!

 

Development and Engineering assessment has been in progress for some time on the design of a 'South Cord' to give down trains direct access to Ruddington Fields without reversal. If you want to be part of building a brand new piece of railway in the not too distant future than this project will be the place for you. The final layout with the existing junction and the South Cord will therefore include the means to turn locomotives on the triangle that will result, another benefit.

 

The GCR are planning on using the Quorn turntable this weekend at the Winter Steam Gala. Turntable repairs were completed late last summer.

 

Well you need to do more repairs now duck, 'cos there is a couple of hundredweight of iron broken off and lying in the bottom of the pit as I type this. I wouldn't count on it being in work this weekend . . .

 

Apologies if the answer is buried somewhere in this thread...

Once the 'Bridge the gap' project is complete, what is the plan for Loughborough shed/works...which currently straddles the track?

I imagine moving this/building a new shed will be an expensive job in itself?!

 

Yes, the answer is indeed buried way back in this thread, but I'm happy to re-post my contribution from June of last year:

"My understanding too was that there is sufficient clearance around the current shed for a single line to connect the two halves. As the new bridge itself is to be single track - and the new embankment too - then it really makes no difference if it is single along side the shed as well. Therefore the current location of the shed is not a short-term problem.

However, I think there is still a long-term plan to relocate the shed to another site. When built in the early 70s it was surrounded by either industrial or derelict land. Forty years on it is now surrounded by residential houses, hence the need agreed by both GCR and Charnwood Borough Council to find a new site.

The proposal was to re-locate to the landfill area near the MML via a chord off the new link, but that idea had to be dropped after investigations proved the landfill site couldn't support the weights required - or something like that!"

The latest "Main Line" magazine has an excellent detailed feature about the scheme and some of the technical aspects, but it does confirm that the initial intention is to run a single track along the western side of the existing shed.

Again, I hope this helps!

 

Exactly. Although I'm not too hopeful - many lines seem to see their magazines as income generators, and seem to feel that if they hand out the content for free, they'll lose that income. And there may be something to that, but...

Having a major online presence can draw in people who might not otherwise feel enough 'part' of the line, to the point where they are willing to help out. A classic example of this is the GWSR, who have a very broad (and much-updated) online presence, enough to allow distant people feel like they are part of the line. This has paid off for them very well - I know of one very distant follower who gave them a large chunk for the Bridges share-offering as a result.

So hopefully other lines will get the message, and start putting the magazine content online - after a suitable delay (weeks or so), to provide a benefit for those who pay up for the magazine.

Noel

 

A sensible delay is a good idea - every time I see the latest news item on the update for P&O on the GWSR website I always get a sense of De Ja Vu until I realise it's the same as in the Cornishman! Half of the department updates in the magazines are pretty much summaries of the blogs, which is definitely no bad thing, gives you a bigger picture and of course for the people who can't be bothered to check up on them every day (I mean, who would be sad enough to look at all of them every single day... )

 

The 'gap' appeal has now reached £750k. There is also a 'Money Match March' campaign whereby donations in March (up to total of £50k) will be matched pound-for-pound by one of the railway's supporters. So it's a good time to donate, if you'd been putting it off!

http://www.gcrailway.co.uk/unify/
http://www.gcrailway.co.uk/news/#13819

 

'Money Match March' added £110k to the total so it's up to £860k, and that's before the gift aid is worked out and added. A fantastic achievement.


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Now up to £900k according to GCR website.

 

Link to the latest news:

Bridge to the Future appeal reaches £900k | Great Central Railway – The UKs Only Main Line Heritage Railway

 

Ignore

 

Is the news of delays in the electrification of the Midland Main Line likely to effect this bridge construction project?

 

No, if anything, it will give the GCR more of an opportunity to complete the bridge construction work, well possibly.

 

Update taken from the latest GCR newsletter:

 

I wonder why they can't just delay the bridge work until electrification is done, then?

Of course, if they want to finish closing the gap before the electrification is done, then I can understand not waiting, but if not, why not delay the bridge to match?

(This is not a criticism, despite the phrasing - it's just curiousity.)

Noel

 

I think that "saving money" must relate to the possibility of joint possessions. Personally I would want to get the abutments up and the span across well before electrification works. I am sure that there will be NR track-related possessions that can be made use of.