Disused Lines With Track Still In Situ

[Fat Controller]

19 hours ago, WillCav said:

There used to be a 3'6" gauge tramway in Swindon. It ran from 1904 to 1929. One branch run under Rodbourne Road bridge (by the works / outlet village) MLN1 77m 79ch if my memory is behaving.

 

The road under the bridge has been closed to allow fibre optics to be run. These works overran as they found the trolley tracks buried under the tarmac.

 

Many of the locals knew that the tracks were still there.

 

Will

It seems to have been common practice to just leave tramway tracks in place, and just tarmac over them. I remember when they decided to relay the Hanley end of London Road in Stoke; the planing machine hit metal a few inches down, so they had to remove the rails before relaying. The tram-lines were a triangular double junction, which you'd have thought someone might have remembered.

[Smardale]

Thankyou everybody for your replies so far. Your insightful contributions have sent me down many internet rabbit holes! 😄

[keefer]

 

23 hours ago, melmerby said:

What about Alloa to Dunfermline?

 

Even the signals each end are still operational.

According to Traksy:

I thought it might've still been used to keep general freight away from the Forth Bridge but can't be the case if it has been shut off.

Edited June 5, 2022 by keefer

[FraserClarke]

On 04/06/2022 at 16:35, melmerby said:

What about Alloa to Dunfermline?

 

Even the signals each end are still operational.

 

It's used once a year -- usually by Flying Scotsman, though Mayflower is deputising this year...

 

https://www.srps.org.uk/railtours/rt-220617.htm

 

 

[melmerby]

15 hours ago, FraserClarke said:

 

It's used once a year -- usually by Flying Scotsman, though Mayflower is deputising this year...

 

https://www.srps.org.uk/railtours/rt-220617.htm

 

 

Do they have to recommision it each year as the signal berth at Dunfermiline end shows "Rust", which usually seems to suggest disused?

[FraserClarke]

No idea.  I was discussing the other day whilst driving past that it seems unlikely it is kept open just for occasional railtour use.  Presumably there is some other use for the route, but none of my local family seem to know what it might be, or ever see trains on the line. I'm not up there very often these days, but whenever I look the track bed always seems to be well maintained -- though RUST is a very accurate description of the railhead!

 

I notice the line down to Rosyth from Inverkeithing is marked OOU, which given the substantial size of some of the trees in the four-foot I would definitely agree with! 

[Michael Hodgson]

14 hours ago, melmerby said:

Do they have to recommision it each year as the signal berth at Dunfermiline end shows "Rust", which usually seems to suggest disused?

 

Or perhaps that's what the signaller thinks of 4472?  Not everbody working on the railway is a steam nutter,

[melmerby]

On 05/06/2022 at 09:58, Wickham Green too said:

Erm ....... Farringdon to Holborn Viaduct Low Level IS Thameslink - what may still have track on is the Widened Lines from Farringdon to Moorgate which had to be disconnected when Farringdon's Thameslink platforms were extended.

Trackmaps 2019 shows tracks from a double junction (installed around 2017) south of the TfL platforms to tracks into Moorgate platforms 5 & 6 via the Widened Lines as "Future Stabling"

You can see the junction here heading towards the disused trackbed across the site of the former stabling sidings:

 

 

Widened Lines tracks still in the Barbican station:

 

 

 

[rodent279]

On 05/06/2022 at 00:43, Northmoor said:

Over 30 years ago I walked the Tintern quarry branch from the quarry to the tunnel, which had laid disused for about a decade by then.  I'm not sure it was ever lifted North of Tidenham.

Think it has now. There's certainly no track from the wire works at Tintern for a good long way along the path towards Tidenham tunnel.

[TheQ]

On 04/06/2022 at 11:04, KeithMacdonald said:

 

I can neither confirm nor deny that RMWeb has security clearance to view this top-secret military stuff using a little-know web facility known as Google Maps.

 

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.2556414,-1.6272658,299m/data=!3m1!1e3

 

 

I didn't give you permission to show photos of My grandads old house, an uncles house, another uncles house, the great grandparents (other side ) coal yards, their house. where my old primary school was, where my old secondary school was..

PS there was a public foot path that used to go down the side of the church then goes across the what is now a housing estate  to cross tracks to the south entrance to the yards . I wonder what happened to that?

Edited June 7, 2022 by TheQ

[Morello Cherry]

What about Kingsway tram subway? Last used 1952 - tracks still in situ and in the middle of London.

 

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingsway_tramway_subway

[Class66s]

On 06/06/2022 at 09:30, melmerby said:

Do they have to recommision it each year as the signal berth at Dunfermiline end shows "Rust", which usually seems to suggest disused?

It does seem some use, although what these services convey I don't know. Seems to run about once a week that way, including today.

 

https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/service/gb-nr:B24089/2022-06-07/detailed

 

[KeithMacdonald]

3 hours ago, Morello Cherry said:

What about Kingsway tram subway? Last used 1952 - tracks still in situ and in the middle of London.

 

Is that where the Strategic Tram Reserve is hidden?

 

[KeithMacdonald]

3 hours ago, TheQ said:

I didn't give you permission to show photos of My grandads old house, an uncles house, another uncles house, the great grandparents (other side ) coal yards, their house. where my old primary school was, where my old secondary school was..

PS there was a public foot path that used to go down the side of the church then goes across the what is now a housing estate  to cross tracks to the south entrance to the yards . I wonder what happened to that?

 

@TheQ - I refer my honourable colleague to the Ludgershall Inhabitation / Parish Occupancy Standard Undertaking (Civil Transfers Immediate Order Nisi) - a.k.a.  LIPOSUCTION

 

By the way, did you know Alan Gardner, the butcher? He told me some of the local history.

 

[melmerby]

47 minutes ago, Class66s said:

It does seem some use, although what these services convey I don't know. Seems to run about once a week that way, including today.

 

https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/service/gb-nr:B24089/2022-06-07/detailed

 

It's 6K61, a freight/ track machine and it's pulled by 66510.

 

It's had a trip down to Ravenstruther where it spent a couple of hours and and is now retracing some it's journey back to Mossend before heading off to Millerhill.

 

Maybe somebody might know what it's up to?

 

EDIT RTT is now confused because it's updating the time of the return journey to the outward one and showing wild errors.

Edited June 7, 2022 by melmerby

[roythebus1]

On 05/06/2022 at 09:58, Wickham Green too said:

Erm ....... Farringdon to Holborn Viaduct Low Level IS Thameslink - what may still have track on is the Widened Lines from Farringdon to Moorgate which had to be disconnected when Farringdon's Thameslink platforms were extended.

I'm talking about the 1970s. The line to Snow Hill hd track lifted from Farringdon but the signals remained lit for many years. New track was laid for Thameslink. I'm also aware of the remaining track from Farringon to Moorgate which is to be re-used as stabling sidings for the sub-surface stock.

 

[Wickham Green too]

Apologies - I thought this thread was about the present day situation. 🙂

[melmerby]

1 hour ago, roythebus1 said:

I'm talking about the 1970s. The line to Snow Hill hd track lifted from Farringdon but the signals remained lit for many years. New track was laid for Thameslink. I'm also aware of the remaining track from Farringon to Moorgate which is to be re-used as stabling sidings for the sub-surface stock.

 

If you are going to use that as qualification there will be loads of places where track was left in place for ages before being recovered, after the last service finished.

 

[Wickham Green too]

..... and you'd have to quantify what minimum period counted ........ I don't know how long the Waverley Line survived between closure and demolition, for instance ( It was still intact when my brother and I walked to Riccarton Junction from the nearest road - but I've no idea of the date ! ).

Edited June 8, 2022 by Wickham Green too

[melmerby]

2 hours ago, Wickham Green too said:

..... and you'd have to quantify what minimum period counted ........ I don't know how long the Waverley Line survived between closure and demolition, for instance ( It was still intact when my brother and I walked to Riccarton Junction from the nearest road - but I've no idea of the date ! ).

I can remember a line running under the M1 near Luton (or thereabouts) that had long lines of withdrawn coaches on it for years, before they were finally cleared away and the track lifted.

Another that suffered a similar fate was the line from Nuneaton to Measham and onward. (part is now the Battlefield Line)

It ran alongside what is now MIRA.

[Lacathedrale]

Reading "Inside British Rail" he talks about the deplorable state of Bricklayers Arms by the end of its time, and that the descent down to it was retained as a headshunt for reversing trains from S to SE until it was determined that somewhere else could be used more efficiently - and even after that, the signals were still extant and lit up at London Bridge(?) for a long time after it was abandoned. Coming out of New Cross Gate and New Cross I was always fascinated by the vestigial lumps of the Old Kent Road loop viaducts/etc. and the tracks down to ground level, imagining (before the internet) of where they might have led.

[roythebus1]

There's still track at Bingham Road on the closed Sanderstead-Elmers End line. there was an article on it fairly recently on one of the "London Explorer" type websites.

 

There's also disused tram track at Weest on the way from Manchester to Eccles. It's part of the original system next to the old tram depot which is now flats. There's a bit on that on the "trams and tramway modelling" section further down the page.  

 

 

Edited June 9, 2022 by roythebus1

[pharrc20]

What about the Madeley to Silverdale line? Looks as if the track is still in situ from the former chord from the WCML running towards Silverdale but beyond that has gone now and the link to WCML taken out.

 

Not much left of the Skelton Jn to Glazebrook line now only runs to Broadheath ish.

 

Cheers Paul

[phil-b259]

On 06/06/2022 at 09:30, melmerby said:

Do they have to recommision it each year as the signal berth at Dunfermiline end shows "Rust", which usually seems to suggest disused?

 

More likely a reminder to the signaller that the rail heads are so rusty that track circuits will not detect a train - and as such special instructions need to be adhered to when a train is sent / received from that route.

 

There is no need to 'recommission' anything unless the line itself has been formerly secured O.O.U. (which usually involves plain lining the points so nothing can get onto it in the first place) - but that is a costly procedure due to the legal protections* put in place upon privatisation of BR to reassure people Railtrack couldn't asset strip everything it could for profits.

 

* If something is to be permanently secured out of use / removed then a 'Network change' consultation MUST be undertaken with ALL TOCs & FOCs and any of them objecting invokes all sorts of expensive legal hurdles. Far easier to leave it in place for years just in cased someone wants to use it again until bigger changes like resignalling schemes happen and a 'Network Change' procedure has to happen anyway.

 

 

Edited June 9, 2022 by phil-b259

[phil-b259]

On 05/06/2022 at 16:26, keefer said:

 

According to Traksy:

I thought it might've still been used to keep general freight away from the Forth Bridge but can't be the case if it has been shut off.

 

It was (and given an extensive rebuild around a decade to bring it back to use from a near derelict condition) - but in recent years the main freight movement it was needed for (coal) ceased.