New heritage railway route miles

Add the Pontypool and Blaenavon Railway to this

1.5 added last year to Blaenavon
0.3 to be added with the opening of the Big Pit Branch this month
0.3 waiting to be done this winter/next year south of Blaenavon

Long term there's another 3 miles to Waunavon and Brynmawr going North and at least 5 or so going south to Abersychan and Wainfelin!

 

How many lines are there like the NYMR that operate beyond their own boundary?
As the Whitby running on the NYMR adds a further 6 1/4 mile to the route.

 

And running to Battersby adds an extra 18 miles on top of that!!

 

In answer to your question and using Steam Railway Magazine's Railway Listings and not including the Frodingham steelworks line there are 342.75 miles of SG operational preserved lines against 273.5 miles 10 years ago,an increase of 69.25 miles Main contributors to the increase.... Wensleydale, Weardale, Epping Ongar, Keith and Dufftown, Strathspey, East Lancs and Gloucs Warwicks in no particular order. For NG lines not including the IOM there are 152 miles of railway against 129 miles 10 years ago, the WHR being the significant contributor. So in total......just about 5 miles short of 500 miles! Not bad for a bunch of 'amateurs' Well done to all.

 

About 7 miles per year. And it's still going on, with Shillingstone starting to lay another km. So far, the heritage track would get us from London to well into Scotland on the WCML. As you say, pretty good for a bunch of mainly 'amateurs'.
Steve

 

Shillingstone now has 120ft of Bullhead on the Up line ready for packing, a further 60ft attached and ready for bolting and 240 ft in place awaiting! I hoped to lay the full 1/2 mile in our 'track-laying week'....but, as it says at the top....."I'm new". Never done trackwork before and found out...Track laying is hard, heavy work.....but the thrill of using a permanent-way trolley to deliver chairs over 120ft of track for the next panel was well worth it.
It may still be in the platform but it was the furthest rail movement south since closure and there is more to come.

 

You will find that nothing about the P Way is lightweight.
Have fun and hope you get it done in the end.

 

Excellent news DL-J. As Ploughman says, it's not lightweight stuff so I hope the evident enthusiasm is also matched by the presence of safe working practices - no more events like that recently at the Telford Steam Railway. I see Helston is about to lay another length of track, and the Rother Valley Railway is engaged in (for the heritage sector) monumental civil engineering multi-bridge works for the push east from Robertsbridge. Exciting times!
Steve

 

Thanks for concern,(Belgrade), appreciated. I may be "new" but most of the gang have been track-laying for years - professionally.
As of yesterday Shillingstone has 420ft of line running down past the end of the up platform.

More sleepers due and we should be out of the station, to the south.

 

http://www.wsr.org.uk/cgi-bin/gallery8a.cgi?h=Snapshot&p=2011/09/110911_1_man

Steve

 

The Eden Valley Railway does not appear in these lists. Although no new track has been laid on the running line (the whole of the track from Appleby to Warcop having remained in situ since last used by BR in 1990) an enormous amount of resleepering has been done, and the current operating line (approx 1.75 miles) came into use in 2006.

Work is progressing well on a half-mile extension which will hopefully be in use next year.

 

Which direction is your next half mile going in - Appleby or Kirby Stephen? I guess it's more likely to be Appleby. If so, how far out from Appleby will you then be? I can't tell on Google Earth how much is in use as the latest image is 2003! Is progress to meet up with Kirkby Stephen just a pipe-dream or realistic?
Steve

 

The extension is towards Appleby (should have made that clear in my last post). We are currently running as far as the bridge over the B6259 near Sandford: the extension will take us to what is known as Sandford Mire. On Google maps it is in the vicinity of the wooded area where the line veers from a north-westerly direction to a more westerly course. I am not sure where the exact limit of operation will be as I have not been down the line for several months.

The extension will leave us something like three and a half to four miles from Appleby East Station: it will take a lot of money and effort and a resolution of our dispute with Sustrans before we can run trains all the way.

Joining up with the Stainmore Railway is, I suppose, a long term ambition. It is more likely that Stainmore will link to us, as we are concentrating on the Warcop to Appleby section and they are progressing towards us at Warcop. Between Warcop and Kirkby Stephen there is no track and a missing viaduct to contend with which is going to make it a very expensive task.

 

Thanks RSH8343. Ah, so still quite a way to Appleby, but every bit helps. I hadn't realised the problem with Sustrans was still unresolved. I assume the missing viaduct is the one over the river Eden. As you say, with the track lifted it'll be an expensive job, although apart from the missing bridge the trackbed looks pretty intact. Leave it to the Kirkby Stephen people slowly pushing west!
Steve

 

Whitwell and Reepham is documented to have 1/2 a mile of track. Im sure that will grow in the new year.