Gwili Extention to Carmarthen?

Bit of an update after I had the camera with me today. Work is pencilled to restart at the railhead very shortly, in the meantime a couple of catch up jobs are ongoing.

The photo below shows 3 panels of track being replaced about 1/4 mile south of Bronwydd. This section was originally laid with wooden sleepers as a temporary storage siding in the 1990's. As the sleepers were now life expired, the opportunity is bing taken to regrade the trackbed and relay with concretes.
The container on the left will beused to store equipment arriving from the Swansea Vale Railway.

 

It looks an exciting project.

Re the fact that the Railway has increased its commercial activities to raise cash for future development, wouldn't it be a good idea if something was said about this on the website ? I went there and looked in vain for future plans/route maps/station pictures etc. A link to some photos of the work thats been done so far and a note about whats planned for the future and the fact that donations are always welcome would really help your cause.

The scenery really does look very nice and its now on my list of railways to visit in the next couple of years.

 

Certainly looks as though thinks are moving forwards steadily! looking forward to having a look in the summer during my week there! the workers are a real credit to the railway =D> =D> =D> =D> =D>

 

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Yes this a bit of a failing on our part...nothing on the web (apart from this thread!) to show our plans. Hopefully we can rectify this shortly.

Yes there is nothing like an extension to generate interest for a railway of our size. Hopefully with the good progress we have made there will be something definitive to show in the not too distant future. However extensions are a massive undertaking for any railway, with lots of money to raise in addition to those sums required to run the existing operation. We are lucky in this respect to have secured track materials from various sources at favourable rates, and as indicated in the thread we are fortunate to have some dedicated volunteers who are determined to see the head of steel advance towards our goal. We are under no illusions though, there are still several hurdles to jump through before we can consider openning even part of the extension. But we'll press on.... \/

 

When are they aiming for i have heard a rumour of when the gwili would like?

 

I'm not aware of any definite 'timescale', there are so many factors involved. Relaying the track is only one part, the other involves the access road car park and station. The latter part is still in the 'red tape' stage at the moment.

I couldn't put a timescale on the whole lot if I wanted to, but it might be feisable to open part of the line in the near future on a shuttle type service (handy things, DMU's...) as long as we get the S and T done and track ballasted. This is not official policy, just my own view.

I'm all for breaking down what is a large extension into more manageable chunks, and I would be very interested to hear views from other railways about openning part of the way before the whole lot i.e GWSR ran to Gotherington before Cheltenham, DFR ran to Whitecroft before Parkend, etc.

 

Bit of an update. The rails have now been inserted into both the 6 panels at the end of the track and the bit further back which I posted a photo of previously.

At the Swansea Vale Railway arrangements are in hand to start track dismantling for movement to the railhead ready for further laying this summer.

hopefully some more photos to follow shortly.

 

Any further news or developments on the planning application at Carmarthen?

Dave W

 

The application for renewal is with the Council. It is still being considered at the moment....hopefully it won't be too long before we get a decision.

 

For those interested I have included below the link to the Carmarthen County Council web page for Planning applications showing the railway's application. In PDF format you will find the plans for the station, car park and access road to give some idea of the size of the development.


http://www.ukplanning.com/carmarthenshi ... er=W/19935

 

Nice proposals....and even a Headshunt towards the Network Rail Connction... =P~ =P~

ian h

 

If planning is received, what is the latest on funding for the non trackwork parts of the project?

Dave W

 

negotiations with various bodies are 'ongoing' at this stage

all takes time I'm afraid

 

Some photos of the latest work. Although only 6 panels long it includes a new occupation crossing which should be a photogenic spot in years to come. Everything now set up for the summer track bash =D>

 

One tihn that this thread does seem to show is that for a small line the Gwili does seem to generate some interest, and perhaps it does need to post it's ambitions and progress on it's website. Or maybe even have a Yahoo Group Presecence similar to the Vale of Glam guys.

 

Gwili now has a Yahoo Group, see link below

http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/bronwydd/

there are lots of photos too, 4566 visit, Carmarthen Extension etc

Look forward to seeing you on there, P Morgan_cym!

 

Just joined awaiting approval, nice to get some updates as Gwili news/messenger seems to arrive infrequently and randomly these days

Peter

 

Yes last issue was delayed a bit (Editor's just had a baby- well not him, his wife you know what I mean #-o )

The next issue is due out on time (end of June) as we have a new Editor.

 

Latest news: 40 length of rail delivered from the Swansea Vale Railway today, after loading they were taken immediatley to the railhead by Haulwen, more news and pictures to follow as the tracklaying team install the next 15 panels.

 

Nice to hear that the 'works train' was steam hauled. Surely this must be a claim, to having what is technically a revenue-earning freight/p-way train being hauled by steam?

Great to hear though. Are there any pics available?