Weymouth Quay Heritage Campaign

Oh God, I asked for that!

There are a lot of things in railway preservation that are an infernal nuisance to someone and a lot more that are of no use to anyone and a huge waste of money to boot.

We are (well, some of us are) quite happy to see £millions spent on extending obscure former branch lines from nowhere to nowhere much, or building replicas of locomotives which most of us, in our train-spotting days, wouldn't have given a second glance. Yet here is something that still exists, is unique and of real historic significance and we simply dismiss the scheme and characterise the lad who has championed it as a silly boy. My old adversary goldfish often takes us to task for our attitude to youth and I'm beginning to wonder if he might not have a point. Mind you, in order to get goldfish going, the Weymouth lad would need to be a immigrant.

By the way, anyone know what's happened to goldfish?

 

Looking at the Google map the trackwork does seem to be fine, if filled with grit! I did not follw all the line however. But as the track for some distance runs in the centre of a busy road I am sure opposition would be certain.

 

People said that about the WHR crossing Britannia Bridge. As far as I am aware everyone now accepts the situation as part of the town's unique character.

 

I suspect the quay (dreadful pun fully intended ) to this one is the attitude of the Local Authority, and whether they consider the (managed? occasional?) disruption to traffic is more than outweighed by the potential gain in tourism. Were I a proponent, I'd be sounding out the Economic Development function of the council with a proposal based around the economic benefit that might arise from having a unique heritage attraction in the town. I've no idea whether it would be a viable scheme, but it certainly has negligible chance without backing from the Council.

Tom

 

The track I believe is still owned by Network Rail and its up to them if they want to sell it. Like Swanage if NR wanted to sell it they would transfer it to Dorset county council to then sub lease it to the person. The cost to repair the harbour walls is 2 million and that's without the quay and the track. The ORR and Health and Safety executive may not even grant permission for trains to operate on the quay for safety reasons. Finally most of the line is a one way street, making it hard for a train to go in the other direction without drivers being blocked in between cars that won't move backwards and a train.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

I agree wholeheartedly but still require a lot of convincing that the Harbour Tramway would be a viable scheme in it's own right. I have fond memories of both watching a train on the branch in the early 1980s, and of being on trips down to the Harbour a few years later. Those memories are why I can't see it being viable.

It is disruptive in the town, and prone to blockage by parked cars, fishermen mending nets, etc. The journey is short and the interesting part can be walked. And, worst of all, it's more interesting to watch than to travel.

 

Those things occurred because of infrequent use. With frequent use they would disappear.

 

The Track Bed is owned by the Council.
They had thoughts of ripping the track up.......had they the dosh.

I can not see them ever backing this proposal..........
I think W&P Council is way down the bottom of The Richest Council league.


Nick

 

The (de)merits of this proposal have nothing to do with the age of those putting it forward. There are silly old gricers as well as silly young ones. The old ones have less excuse for their silliness!

There is absolutely no parallel with the WHR through Porthmadog. It is not as if the view of the somewhat grim back end of that town is the raison d'etre of the railway; it is just the means of accessing (much) greater things. The trains do not trundle all along a principal thoroughfare of that town creating prolonged disturbance. This would be the case in Dorset.

One established tourist railway in Dorset, with its narrow gauge associate at Norden, is quite enough.

PH

 

In its favour, it is an example of something that is not represented elsewhere AFAIK

Against:

It's a line from nowhere to nowhere with only a platform at one end

It runs down a busy road and has a level crossing across a busy road at one end, unless it ends short.

The track is in bad condition. I doubt any of the points would work without major work.

The line is officially out of use and I believe Network Rail have turned down all attempts to run anything on it for many years.

There is nowhere to store and look after any stock.

It is too short to be able to charge enough to recoup operating costs.

 

I note that the OP is the same chap that claims to have made the sole donation to Mr Reader's 3 Fags hallucinations.

 

Oh well, fair enough.

I still think it's a great shame though. Having seen similar interesting lines disappear at Colchester, Gt. Yarmouth and Ipswich, I would have liked just one to survive somewhere. Geoff Silcock and I had a plan to take 03 399 to the Ipswich dock tramway some years ago, but were thwarted by the line's premature closure. The loco had also been a regular at Weymouth, so that might have been a possibility, but not according to you lot.

Anyway, what's wrong with creating mayhem among the road users? Railway enthusiasts ought to see that as a major selling point.

It looks as if those who want to experience real street running will have to decamp to France. Apart from St. Valery-sur-Somme, I recommend le Fayet, where trains on the Tramway de Mont Blanc suddenly appear running towards you on the wrong side of the road. It seems that we British can no longer handle interesting stuff like that.

 

Or the Mollibahn on the Baltic coast of eastern Germany.

 

http://simonwhittinghamphotography.zenfolio.com/p829271116/h637fac89#h637fac89

 

The view is even better from the bar.

 

Er how common exactly was the set up on the Weymouth Harbour Tramway?? Main line trains - in particular passenger ones, doing a long run through the streets

 

Love the hang basket on the coach - does the guard have to take them in for tunnels, or are the collected like mail bags?

 

A few more photos here of the tramway.

http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/w/weymouth_quay/index1.shtml

If the tramway was to be put back in to use. I wonder if the loop could be reinstalled along commercial road/custom house quay.

 

Tongue in cheek I know but whilst the Mollibahn may have many interesting aspects, none of them are a tunnel.

 

Why when the school gives this out to the children https://uk.news.yahoo.com/can-you-spot-all-the-spelling-mistakes-in-132007933.html