What's your dream obscure railway restoration project?

We’ve all done it, haven’t we? Pored over maps and scanned Google Earth. Wandered around the edge of fields and fallen earthworks. Checked out the museums and behind the sheds to see what forgotten stock is left…

What’s your obscure railway restoration dream? The one that you know will never get rebuilt because it’s impractical, off the beaten track, too short, too passenger-unfriendly, or just too ridiculous… but still there’s that “what if” chink of light that’s still there in your mind. “If I won the Euromillions lottery…” kind of thing. Ridiculous but brilliantly optimistic. Certain threads on here of "wouldn't it be great if we rebuilt..." got me thinking...

Not the usual ones that are on the way or already have some form of backing (Viz Lynton & Barnstaple, Helston Branch, Clifton Rocks or even Folkestone Harbour) but those really unusual, pet-favourite little lines that fell into obscurity that you’d like to see brought back to life. Standard, narrow, miniature or broad. Or even funicular. Or perhaps monorail...

• Rye and Camber anyone?
  The Mumbles Tramway?
  Surrey Borders and Camberley?
  Nidd Valley?
  Lochaber Narrow Gauge?
  Ramsey Pier… or perhaps the Alton Towers Railway or even the Princetown Branch?

Go on. Share your dirty secret and the ideas you’ve had to restore them. What would you have to overcome (apart from funds, which of course are no object)? What would you do with the line? What would you do differently? Where would you deviate? There have to be some cracking ideas out there...

 

Snailbeach.

 

The Mumbles Railway is a particularly attractive line which, despite much new construction along the Swansea seafront, could still form a fantastic project. The trackbed I believe is a footpath/cycleway for most of its length, the station building at Oystermouth still existing as a Tourist Information Centre.

Even in a shortened format, the line would be a superb addition to the Swansea/Mumbles area. Many people still can't fathom out why the line closed in the first instance, so a re-opening would be guaranteed much support.

Nick.

 

I love the Somerset levels, so it would probably be something like the Lyng loop line. Nice big station site at Durston Junction, pretty village at Lyng, both embankments and cuttings, an overbridge, and maybe a short distance running alongside the Berks & Hants mainline to the headshunt at Athelney crossing. Tiny section of line, flooded a lot recently, and in the middle of nowhere, but this is a fantasy world. My little trainset. :smt001

http://www.multimap.com/s/AsZexzIT

 

Rebuild the railway back to ashburton from buckfastleigh into the original ashburton station.

 

My Euromillions would go towards restoring the Bennie Railplane.

http://www.rampantscotland.com/know/blknow_bennie.htm

 

Lyme Regis branch with a fleet of new build Adams Radials and Ivatt tanks to use on it :smt003

Regards,

Dan

 

My personal one would be to re-instete the Severn Valley from Bewdley to Stourport, and have a very early service in the morning, and a late one at night, for no better reason, than it would save me having to drive to Bewdley (unless I was rostered for the above mentioned services of course!)
In all seriousness, the Leek and Manifold Valley would be a nice, obscure one, or how about the line from Ludlow to Bitterly, then on up the inclines to Titterstone, Clee Hill?

 

The Bennie Railplane - what a railway! Think of the railplane vs loco speed trials...

How would you reinstate the Ashburton Branch - wasn't there a feasibility study done into this a couple of years back?

 

British Rail

 

Wennington - Lancaster Green Ayre - Morecambe Promenade. Compounds, Patriots, Flying Pigs, Black 5's and B1's on Bank Holidays; Green Peaks and brand new Brush Type 4's (47's) on running in turns from Holbeck.

 

The Peel Beach Mortuary Tramway...

No, seriously, the Rhiwbach Tramway, having walked it about 10 years ago in the company of Dr Michael Lewis who rode on it in the 1950s. A real railway on top of Wales and the formation all there.

Then as an encore, the Gorseddau to run my pet De Winton on. \/

 

One that I guess no-one else would vote for. The line right through the Elham Valley.

 

Mid Wales Railway from Three Cocks Junction (just think of the marketing potential...) to beyond Erwood and up the valley... Moat Lane Junction might be a bit too much though

 

So many to chose from it differcult to chose one.

How about one of the lines from Monmouth, buy a 14xx, some auto trailers, a pannier tank, a GWR railcar, and run some trains. Usk station seemed a pretty little station, and the trackbed is clear between Glascoed to the east of Usk were a A-road oblitares the course of the line. In fact the line still exists from Glascoed to the junction with the mainline from Pontypool Road.

Parts of the Ross-on-Wye line, Cowes-Newport, and the Kingsbridge branch all are intreseting as well.

 

Might not be obscure, but Callander to Crianlarich, or just the section up Glen Ogle and across the viaduct would do nicely for starters. I'd then get a resident Black 5 or two and persuade the SRPS to move the Caley tank from Bo'ness. I've always thought that the line would be a viable tourist operation as Callander is usually pretty packed at a weekend with central belt day-trippers, add in the Killin branch and you've got one hell of a scenic line.

Failing that, Penrith - Keswick would be good, and they're loads of interesting scenic lines in the Scottish Borders.

We can dream!

 

Ummm one for me, although not particularly obscure, would be double track running on the GCR from nottingham to leicester, with a roundhouse 'top shed', huge sidings at swithland, carriage and wagon workshops, and a nice big terminus station at either end with overall roof etc. Branch line to ruddington served by a junction station.

Either that or a really dilapidated col. stevens-esque light railway, with a couple of saddle tanks, plenty of mismatched wagons, a few victorian carriages, dumped flat wagons instead of platforms, and rails sunk into the grass.

Or the Titfield-Mallingford railway

 

The full extent of The Merioneth and Llantisilly Rail Traction Company Limited... :smt002

More seriously though, I've always had a thing for the Meon Valley line. And going off completely into the realms of uneconomic fantasy, Yelverton-Princetown.