Heritage Railways running over Network Rail

Good news.
First NYMR, then North Norfolk. Now Swanage. Which heritage line will be next, I wonder?

 

Welsh Highland does! Quite literally!

 

Er....... Yes. OK.; next please.

 

Chinnor & princes risborough at next, they've already got their NR connection laid & just starting building a platform etc atm.

 

Dart Valley to Totnes in the 1980s, and it didnt last.

 

IIRC the mid norfolk are steadily making progress towards their NR connection.

ELR could happen in a few years if they can negotiate with network rail to build another platform at castleton. They occasionally run specials into the old engineering yard just the other side of the heywood road crossing.

 

I thought that the MNR already had a connection, and that it is in use for light engines, railtours, etc.

 

The Bluebell doesn't routinely run traffic on Network Rail infrastructure, but has transferred a significant amount of rolling stock, including a pre-grouping steam loco and numerous pre-grouping carriages, via NR as towed vehicles. For certain hire jobs, that has worked out to be the most cost-effective, or possibly only, way in which the hire could take place.

Didcot also I believe use a short transit on Network Rail in order to transfer vehicles in / out.

Tom

 

I think we need to distinguish between occasional use of an NR connection and regular running by heritage railway trains over NR. Apart from the short-lived Totnes workings in the 1980s, to my knowledge, the only lines either to do so or which are planning to in the near future are the NYMR, NNR and Swanage, plus as Matt 37401 has pointed out, the WHR's flat crossing where trains run over NR metals for a few feet only - and at a 90 degree angle.

I'm open to correction if others know something I don't!

 

Has the West Somerset abandoned hopes of running into Taunton?

 

Do Didcot still get their coal delivery's by rail due to no road access?

 

WSR is likely to be the other way round. There seem to be plans to run GWR trains as far as Bishops Lydeard to connect with WSR services (I'm guessing as an extension of the Bristol to Taunton stopping services?). I'm not sure what the latest status of this plan is (waits hopefully for more info).

 

I would be lovley to have the WSR having a cross platform mainline connection BUT with the current track formation in place on the run in to Taunton I would view that as extremely unlikely

 

Do Embsay's plans (see another thread elsewhere on NP) involve running over NR? And is it an active proposal or just a pipe dream at present?

 

Does freight still originate from the Middleton Railway?

 

NVR is connected to NR at Fletton Jct. The connection is used by visiting locos but I'm unaware of any plans to extend NVR services into Peterborough via the Fletton Loop.

 

Not in the last thirty-four years, no.

 

Steamport Southport ran some services from Chapel St Stn to Steamport via their connection in the 80s.
Does Ribble Railway at Preston count?
Also what about the Bodmin and Wenford with the Electrical gear from Fitzgerald's I think?

 

Not quite 34 years. The last transfer was in 1990, even though it is still technically a live connection. However, that was never a case of Middleton running over BR (now NR). Unless we were asked to shunt Balm Road yard for them, that is!

As has been pointed out, though, this thread is about heritage railways running over NR tracks, not just connecting with them.

 

It seems to me that - and with no disrespect to the NNR & NYMR that the Swanage arrangement is an extremely different set up to the other arrangements.

The Dart Valley arrangements were in a different era and I believe that there were agreements in place between the DVR and BR which allowed the DVR to run on BR metals.

However the Swanage Railway is now planning to run on a double track electrified main line which is a completely different set up to anything that has gone before.