Honeybourne - without the mystery!

[Captain Kernow]

I was up at Honeybourne on another site visit again a couple of weeks ago, and here are some photos of that visit. First of all we inspected the site of some old sidings, which are due to be renovated and brought back into use as part of the Cotswolds redoubling project. There are a total of three viable sidings in this yard, which will be refettled and reconnected to the running lines:

 

 

 

 

 

On the way back, we saw that a freight train had come down from Long Marston and was waiting a path to get onto the main line and continue on it's way towards Worcester:

 

 

 

 

 

[Simon_R]

Those sleepers look a bit manky, has rott set in or is it just moss. And some of that track looks worse than mine

[The Stationmaster]

Perhaps the answer to the good Cap'n's devilish shots of Honeybourne would be to put up some of mine taken 17 years ago in b&w and see if he can recognise the place...tehehe

[Taigatrommel]

That would be really interesting Mike, especially if they're from similar viewpoints.

[The Stationmaster]

That would be really interesting Mike, especially if they're from similar viewpoints.

 

 

The viewpoints aren't the same as mine concentrate on the ground frame area - now I'll have to try to find them!

[Gwiwer]

Those of us who remember Honeybourne Junction would have trouble recognising today's station as the same place. At last some common sense has prevailed and the main line is to be re-doubled over some of its length. Although the time interval isn't recorded the fact that a freight has to wait two passenger trains which may have crossed at a distance from Honeybourne, either Evesham or Moreton-in-Marsh, and with the implications for delay which that involves shows that there are capacity issues there. While the Vale of Evesham line may never have been the busiest on the former GWR it certainly didn't deserve the fate of singling and reduction to an apologetic branch which - at one time - was a possibility for outright closure.

 

Now if Cheltenham could be linked to Stratford-upon-Avon once more ............ Tyseley locos could steam through onto the G/WR!

 

Many's the place where the mighty have fallen. Anyone else remember Haddiscoe in its glory days? Much the same as Honeybourne both then and now. The last time I stood on an open Honeybourne station there was a timetabled succession of passenger workings; D843 "Sharpshooter" on the up Paddington followed quite closely by a dmu (a 117 I think, but possibly a 116 in that area) triple on the Worcester - Honeybourne all stations then another on a Worcester - Stratford working. In between which there was a Hymek on the down Paddington - Hereford followed by another on vans.

[The Stationmaster]

Regrettably it's a sad fact that in the case of some routes - including the OWW - it was single or die, and do it as cheaply as possible because the investment money simply didn't exist to allow any other course.

 

In most cases it was all politically driven to reduce the money going into the country's railways. And it didn't make over much difference what colour the politicos were who were pulling the purse strings. Some of the singling schemes I devised in the early 1980s would (and did) make most people's hair stand on end, but they drove off the politicos' baying hounds.

 

Equally the doubling work now in hand also has a 'political' element, the users' groups on the OWW have made more noise than those in the Kemble area and Stroud Valley so they get (some) double track back first. Par - Burngullow has been redoubled as an equally largely 'political' act, and so it goes on.

 

Fortunately over the last few years, partially due to privatisation (with speciaI thanks to Rober Adley's contribution to the Privatisation Bill) we have seen something of a railway renaissance and an emerging understanding that at least an efficient (sometimes) passenger carrying railway can contribute to the economy. We should perhaps be thankful that we are getting back some of what we lost and that a sensible scheme is in hand on the OWW (even if the signalling budget has reportedly been trimmed).

 

But one thing none of it will ever be is like the way it used to be - a different world means a different railway in the land of 1:1 scale.

[Captain Kernow]

Regrettably it's a sad fact that in the case of some routes - including the OWW - it was single or die

I also found out the other day that there was a serious scheme many years ago to completely close Evesham to Moreton-in-Marsh, thus effectively creating two seperate branch lines!....