Evocotive railway remains, what derelect or abandoned structure stirs your emotions?

[caradoc]

23 minutes ago, Arun Sharma said:

I thought that when watching Rob Bell's walk along the Cheltenham to Banbury railway on TV yesterday. I'm sure that if the route had been flattish with few tunnels or viaducts, it would still be with us today.

 

I'm not so sure about that.... As Rob Bell said the route was a latecomer, hence no great traffic for it earlier, and was only ever a glorified branch line. Having said that, maybe Kingham/Chipping Norton would have been worth saving (or might have made an excellent preserved line ?), but not IMHO the rest. 

 

[down the sdjr]

Stourpaine and Durweston halt on the S&DJR May 2019.

 

[eastglosmog]

16 hours ago, Arun Sharma said:

What occurs to me is that the routes selected for closure in 'Reshaping' were chosen not because of their poor goods or passenger patronage but more because of the financial element of upkeep of the route.

I thought that when watching Rob Bell's walk along the Cheltenham to Banbury railway on TV yesterday. I'm sure that if the route had been flattish with few tunnels or viaducts, it would still be with us today. Similarly, that might explain the differing costs said to have been claimed for essential repairs to the Ribblehead viaduct when those were proposed as a cause for closure.

Note that I am not suggesting a degree of collusion between BR's civil engineers and MoT but with limited funds in the repair budget at a time of new diesel classes coming into service, there may have been subtle pressures applied.

As far as the eastern half of the Banbury and Cheltenham, went, the passenger service between Chipping Norton and Banbury had been withdrawn in 1951, due to lack of use.  The main traffic on this part of the line had also disappeared by 1958 due to the closure of the iron mines.