Local Lockdown Walks - with a railway connection, however tenuous

[Gilbert]

Spring is in the air...this was grabbed at our local station this morning.

The walk was actually carefully timed to coincide with this..

47749 0F94 0910 Eastleigh Works Gbrf to Leicester L.I.P.

[JeremyC]

The old South Queensferry Branch that ran between Dalmeny Junction and Port Edger. The viaduct is the south approach to the Forth Bridge.

 

No obvious railway connection, but the bridge over the Union Canal carried an industrial railway into the Philpstoun Shale Oil Works which closed in 1936. 

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The oil works was located in the area of trees to the left and the waste bing can be seen in the background. This photograph shows what the area looked like. The bridge in my photo is the one on the left. 

[john new]

Difficult for us to take a local walk without crossing one of the local disused lines or having one in view. Today's photo is the Castle Road bridge over the former Portland Branch. The track went through it on the skew, the tall flats are built over the alignment on that side of the bridge and the 2012 Olympic sailing athletes village and a road over the alignment on this side of the bridge. That became a school (currently out of use) and houses.

 

The line through it was originally built/worked as the Admiralty Railway (To the port only), then by the Easton and Church Hope (To Easton and the port), then LSWR/GWR joint and onwards into BR days. Closed 1965.

 

This bridge is one of the few remaining sections of the line in Underhill not built over although much of the rest of the branch is accessible and walkable; notably the Rodwell Trail.

 

 

Edited October 16, 2022 by john new
Image reposted after the crash

[john new]

1 hour ago, JeremyC said:

The old South Queensferry Branch that ran between Dalmeny Junction and Port Edger. The viaduct is the south approach to the Forth Bridge.

 

No obvious railway connection, but the bridge over the Union Canal carried an industrial railway into the Philpstoun Shale Oil Works which closed in 1936. 

.

The oil works was located in the area of trees to the left and the waste bing can be seen in the background. This photograph shows what the area looked like. The bridge in my photo is the one on the left. 

My wife’s family had connections with the Scottish shale industry, but not sure if it was that plant.

[JeremyC]

1 hour ago, john new said:

My wife’s family had connections with the Scottish shale industry, but not sure if it was that plant.

You might find this website interesting.

https://www.scottishshale.co.uk

This is a new version of their website and a work in progress. (I think the old site was easier to navigate!)

[john new]

Today’s walk was actually along one of the cliff top paths to see some wreck remains only visible at extreme low tides. In the process of getting to the start of the walk we drove across two of the closed lines I have mentioned before and one that hasn’t (the uncompleted Easton & Church Hope’s section to Church Ope). The walk itself started along part of the alignment of a short narrow gauge quarry line at Southwell and finished on another, the tramway at the Bill. A few stone block sleepers from the latter are still in situ.

 

 

Edited October 16, 2022 by john new
Replaced the photo (post crash)

[Gilbert]

I tried a new walk today near Chipping Sodbury....planned to coincide with this...although given the undergrowth and catenary I was lucky to get a picture.

Nice bridge though..

Edited March 30, 2021 by Gilbert

[iands]

Our latest "long" walk around the village yesterday took us along the old Selby-Market Weighton line again. This time walking in a general east-west direction. the old Bubwith station platforms still in-situ. It was nice to see a bit of colour returning to the trees and hedges.

 

A view looking west(ish) towards Selby.

[john new]

Yesterday a bit of a walk down part of the Easton & Church Hope's route down the Island's east side. My photo from roughly where this one (See Pinterest) was taken from. The original bridge over the cutting long ago demolished and part of the cutting filled in. 

 

 

 

Today's, 2nd image, shows the levels and inclines on the Merchant's Railway. I am on the upper level from the 1870s, which runs in a U shape and goes over the the middle bridge over the incline in the centre of the picture (the other two are roads). It then had a shorter incline running under the right hand of the skyline bridges. The original line is below me, also U shaped and the red car is on its' alignment. (also part walked today).

 

Edited August 19, 2022 by john new
Images restored Aug 2022