Abandoned rails in the road.....(or elsewhere...)

[simontaylor484]

28 minutes ago, johnd said:

 

I very much doubt it as any existing track wouldn't be up to modern standards  and if any utilities were in the route used they would have had to be moved.

That is why i said track relaid and i am thinking the section from Pomona to the Trafford Centre

[montyburns56]

2 hours ago, simontaylor484 said:

I am happy to be wrong but wasnt a lot of the track in Trafford park re laid to become part of the tram system. Although there will still be a lot left over still

 

Not really as the route doesn't go over any of the existing line. The only place where it really crossed was at the Village Circle but it crossed the old line at right angles rather than followed it.

[montyburns56]

20 hours ago, 33C said:

It's amazing, here is an entire "preserved in aspic" railway system, which could become an amazing asset to the town for tourism and the local council will quote H+S because it's too much bother than their latest 100 yard cycle-lane, bus stop (with no buses), statue to the town councilors wife, 2 extra street lights or out of town super-market. (delete where applicable). No vision, no drive, no idea, no care.......

 

Unfortunately most of it has been lifted since then. I have actually thought that the old line to the Container base could have been used as a a preserved line as it runs parallel to the road for most of its length. It ends very near to the Trafford Centre so it could be like a creche for men while the other halves went shopping. They even could have used the engine shed that still remains  near the Kellogg's factory.

[33C]

2 minutes ago, montyburns56 said:

 

Unfortunately most of it has been lifted since then. I have actually thought that the old line to the Container base could have been used as a a preserved line as it runs parallel to the road for most of its length. It ends very near to the Trafford Centre so it could be like a creche for men while the other halves went shopping. They even could have used the engine shed that still remains  near the Kellogg's factory.

Absolutely, and why not! With these type of projects, private money and ideas can bring so much benefit to the community if local councils were more forward looking but while they are in the pockets of developers we get the communities THEY think we want. And the girls like railways too!!

[melmerby]

2 hours ago, montyburns56 said:

 

Unfortunately most of it has been lifted since then. I have actually thought that the old line to the Container base could have been used as a a preserved line as it runs parallel to the road for most of its length. It ends very near to the Trafford Centre so it could be like a creche for men while the other halves went shopping. They even could have used the engine shed that still remains  near the Kellogg's factory.

 

 

There was enough left in July 2019 to qualify for the "Abandoned Rails In the Road"

 

And here:

 

 

But neatly cut off away from the tarmac:

[melmerby]

And a bit more (Nov 2020):

[pH]

The title of the topic is "Abandoned rails in the road.....(or elsewhere...)", so here are some abandoned rails "elsewhere". They're disappearing into Renfrewshire moors - actually, since the photos were taken over a decade ago, they may have completely disappeared by now.

 

First, the Duchal Moor narrow gauge railway above Kilmacolm, built in the 1920s to transport grouse-shooting parties out onto the moor.

 

The "engine shed", where the petrol-engined trolleys were kept:

 

The lines leading away from there onto the moor:

 

There are some triangular junctions to branches:

 

This is the most substantial bridge on the line. Most others are just pipes over very small streams:

 

As I said, the pictures were taken in 2009. This shows a stretch of straight track - the darker green lines show where the rails are, under the turf. You probably would not be able to see even that now:

 

Then there are traces of a manually-powered narrow gauge line built (presumably) for the maintenance of one of the dams at Loch Thom, the source of Greenock's drinking water. 

 

When I first knew of it in the 1960s, it ran along the top of the dam in this picture. There was a wagon turntable at the far end of the dam, and a couple of wagons lying in the grass at the foot of the dam to the left:

 

That has all gone, but if you look closely, and squint a little, you can imagine a couple of impressions in the grass, running towards, and slightly to the right of the camera from the higher part of the wall in the foreground.

 

And indeed, there was still a short section of rail there:

 

 

Edited April 5, 2021 by pH
MIssing words

[Axlebox]

Love this thread, its Industrial Archaeology in the raw...and remember, one day nobody will be able to remember why those rails were there...

 

This one is seriously obscure, as you can see from this screen grab from 'Britain from above', the corner of this house in Durham has been chamfered to accommodate what looks like a narrow gauge railway...

 

This is the same house today...

https://www.google.com/maps/@54.7749761,-1.5751966,3a,75y,323.88h,86.45t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s2d9plDAFLqyV2cpG08bJ1Q!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

 

The house in Owengate in Durham and backs onto the castle...

https://www.google.com/maps/@54.7750438,-1.5750921,3a,75y,300.26h,87.43t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sNj9_-QEZ1BdQZAv4i3lcZA!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

 

...and if we zoom in we can see what looks like a blocked up door into the castle (with 2 pipes coming out)...and you can just make out a length of rail infront of the door...

https://www.google.com/maps/@54.7750438,-1.5750921,3a,15y,302.1h,93.1t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sNj9_-QEZ1BdQZAv4i3lcZA!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

 

This was a tramway built to load coal into the boiler room of the castle (for the central heating system). The rails are still there and next time you walk up to the Palace Green in Durham, lean over the wall and you should be able to make out the rails still in situ... 

 

 

 

Edited April 6, 2021 by Axlebox

[33C]

11 hours ago, pH said:

The title of the topic is "Abandoned rails in the road.....(or elsewhere...)", so here are some abandoned rails "elsewhere". They're disappearing into Renfrewshire moors - actually, since the photos were taken over a decade ago, they may have completely disappeared by now.

 

First, the Duchal Moor narrow gauge railway above Kilmacolm, built in the 1920s to transport grouse-shooting parties out onto the moor.

 

The "engine shed", where the petrol-engined trolleys were kept:

 

The lines leading away from there onto the moor:

 

There are some triangular junctions to branches:

 

This is the most substantial bridge on the line. Most others are just pipes over very small streams:

 

As I said, the pictures were taken in 2009. This shows a stretch of straight track - the darker green lines show where the rails are, under the turf. You probably would not be able to see even that now:

 

Then there are traces of a manually-powered narrow gauge line built (presumably) for the maintenance of one of the dams at Loch Thom, the source of Greenock's drinking water. 

 

When I first knew of it in the 1960s, it ran along the top of the dam in this picture. There was a wagon turntable at the far end of the dam, and a couple of wagons lying in the grass at the foot of the dam to the left:

 

That has all gone, but if you look closely, and squint a little, you can imagine a couple of impressions in the grass, running towards, and slightly to the right of the camera from the higher part of the wall in the foreground.

 

And indeed, there was still a short section of rail there:

 

 

Great pics and very welcome! 

[33C]

16 minutes ago, Axlebox said:

Love this thread, its Industrial Archaeology in the raw...and remember, one day nobody will be able to remember why those rails were there...

 

This one is seriously obscure, as you can see from this screen grab from 'Britain from above', the corner of this house in Durham has been chamfered to accommodate what looks like a narrow gauge railway...

 

This is the same house today...

https://www.google.com/maps/@54.7749761,-1.5751966,3a,75y,323.88h,86.45t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s2d9plDAFLqyV2cpG08bJ1Q!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

 

The house in Owengate in Durham and backs onto the castle...

https://www.google.com/maps/@54.7750438,-1.5750921,3a,75y,300.26h,87.43t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sNj9_-QEZ1BdQZAv4i3lcZA!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

 

...and if we zoom in we can see what looks like a blocked up door into the castle (with 2 pipes coming out)...and you can just make out a length of rail infront of the door...

https://www.google.com/maps/@54.7750438,-1.5750921,3a,15y,302.1h,93.1t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sNj9_-QEZ1BdQZAv4i3lcZA!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

 

This was a tramway built to load coal into the boiler room of the castle (for the central heating system). The rails are still there and next time you walk up to the Palace Green in Durham, lean over the wall and you should be able to make out the rails still in situ... 

 

 

T

Great detective work! You would never know..... this is what i like!

[Brian Harrap]

I know this is cheating a bit but I found this half abandoned scissors crossover in the street at QUAI:87

[Moxy]

Several links here to Hessel Street, Weaste, Salford.

 

https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/1865568

 

Photos date from 2000 & 2010, not sure whether there is anything still visible today.  This was an entrance/exit into Salford Tram depot, which was last used by trams in 1947.

 

The modern Metrolink runs in front of where the old tram depot was.

Edited April 6, 2021 by Moxy
Clarification

[Ian Morgan]

Does anyone know if there are any remains in the Slough Trading Estate?

 

There is a very short section of the line to the Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE) Farnborough in the grass on a corner where the line curved from the goods yard into the middle of the road before heading south.

 

 

[montyburns56]

Abandoned rails in footpaths?

 

Near Tan House Lane, Widnes

[phil_sutters]

These bits of track, formerly used for shingle extraction by LBSCR, have been up-loaded elsewhere in RMweb, but as they fit the bill..........

Edited April 6, 2021 by phil_sutters

[melmerby]

Nobody has mentioned the High Line in NY.

The abandoned rails have been incorporated in the pathway in some areas and landscaped in others

 

 

 

[Ben B]

1 minute ago, melmerby said:

Nobody has mentioned the High Line in NY.

The abandoned rails have been incorporated in the pathway in some areas and landscaped in others

 

 

 

 

I have the excellent (and now sadly out of print I believe) book doccumenting the line, prior to conversion, by the photographer Joel Sternfeld. A fascinating record of a fascinating place

[Axlebox]

On 01/04/2021 at 08:16, cctransuk said:

 

..... and in all the minor road crossings further up the Camel valley.

 

John Isherwood.

...Helland crossing from Neil Smith's flickr site.

 

The same crossing today, pity about the shutters.

https://www.google.com/maps/@50.5105725,-4.7300259,3a,75y,218.33h,78.85t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s2xENl18m3fS9Q3v-p5Swjw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

 

more here...

http://www.cornwallrailwaysociety.org.uk/boscarne-jct-to-bodmin-northalso-the-wenford--ruthernbridge-branches.html

[Ben B]

I've been having a look through my folders for some more suitable pics;  a trip back in time to Christmas 2005, and the line from Oswestry to Blodwell Quarry at Llynclys.

 

 

 

This is one of two crossings on the fledgling Cambrian Railways preserved set-up; my understanding is the line have been told they have to replace this one with a bridge (somehow), effectively killing off the prospective running of heritage services.

 

 

Its been a while since I've been this way, but I travelled it regularly from about 2005-2015, and these rails seemed to get periodically buried in tarmac during re-surfacing work, then exposed again by the weight of traffic passing by.  

[AndrueC]

https://goo.gl/maps/uzwTtHsyxKTYYeoY6

This is another (somewhat lower, lol) section of the line I posted about before. On the right is the entrance to a drive leading (eventually!) to Cairnsmore House (there's also a couple of very nice holdiay cottages up there that I've rented in the past). The left leads eventually to Kirroughtree Visitor Centre.

 

The railway used to cross the A75 at Palnure:

https://goo.gl/maps/nUETqJYX25yHfpej7

 

You'd have no idea it was there from the ground, but from the air it becomes fairly obvious.

https://goo.gl/maps/615wo5RSa5B6CyCX9

[Grovenor]

Here's a nice crossover.

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.5023338,0.0591529,35m/data=!3m1!1e3

and still some track alongside the platforms here

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.4993294,0.0625024,70m/data=!3m1!1e3

Edited April 7, 2021 by Grovenor

[C126]

20 hours ago, Ben B said:

 

I have the excellent (and now sadly out of print I believe) book doccumenting the line, prior to conversion, by the photographer Joel Sternfeld. A fascinating record of a fascinating place

 

For anyone interested in the book, the details are:

 

Walking the High Line / Joel Sternfeld ; with essays by Adam Gopnik and John Stilgoe. : Göttingen : Steidl; London Thames & Hudson, 2002.  I.S.B.N.: 388243726x.

 

I see a new ed. is to be published in June:

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Joel-Sternfeld-Walking-High-Revised/dp/3958297641/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Walking+the+High+Line&qid=1617804357&s=books&sr=1-1

 

[Ben B]

4 minutes ago, C126 said:

 

For anyone interested in the book, the details are:

 

Walking the High Line / Joel Sternfeld ; with essays by Adam Gopnik and John Stilgoe. : Göttingen : Steidl; London Thames & Hudson, 2002.  I.S.B.N.: 388243726x.

 

I see a new ed. is to be published in June:

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Joel-Sternfeld-Walking-High-Revised/dp/3958297641/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Walking+the+High+Line&qid=1617804357&s=books&sr=1-1

 

 

Thanks for posting the details- I meant to do it, but forgot when I got home that day :)  Good to see it's getting a new edition!  There's a few places in the UK planning on copying the concept, I heard Camden and Leeds mentioned as possibilities for it, elevated parks on old railway viaducts.

[melmerby]

1 hour ago, Grovenor said:

and still some track alongside the platforms here

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.4993294,0.0625024,70m/data=!3m1!1e3

Hard to believe that station was in use until 2006 as part of the North London Line, complete with electric trains.

[Keith J]

This is where the old Preston to Longridge line crosses Skeffington Road in Preston

 

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@53.7687128,-2.6832562,3a,75y,160.89h,71.4t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sYiHqU3IoIPZN0rcUPSG7wg!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en