Peterborough North

[Clive Mortimore]

Still thinking about which line BR should not have closed in Somerset and Dorset. It will not be the S&DJR, it was a loss maker from day one. The MR and LSWR saved it from finical ruin so they could transport goods to and from the midlands and the south coast without having to pay the GWR to take them through Somerset. It is high up on many puffer nutters "it should not have been closed" list thanks to the lovely photos that Ivor Peters took.

 

I will have to have a good think of one line that should not have been closed.

[great northern]

Would you like a plonk? We haven't had one for ages. I found this in a folder from 22nd December, and had forgotten all about it.

 

 

[jollysmart]

I have only one line I could choose, the S&DJR economic or not, like many things that have been lost there is a social side to railways and the isolation of communities  has just lead to a massive increase in road traffic and congestion. 

[Mallard60022]

S & DJR for social reasons and spectacular working from Bath for quite a long way.

 

7 hours ago, LNER4479 said:

... which I guess will spark the inevitable question as to whether the S&D was a short-sighted / stupid closure or (coldly) a hopeless case? Personally, I find that one very difficult to call, partly because it's not really my part of the world and I don't know much about the economic aspects of the railway.

 

Is Lyme Regis in Somerset, Dorset or Wiltshire? That seems like a nice place not to have a railway.

Lyme is in Dorset, just. However the route was short and the Station way out of the Town at the top of a long and steep hill so was never going to do much after the late 50s and only served one Station en route. Sorry matey.  Not a really viable line much like Seaton when the Holiday Camp closed.

P

[David Bell]

1 hour ago, great northern said:

Would you like a plonk? We haven't had one for ages. I found this in a folder from 22nd December, and had forgotten all about it.

 

 

A lovely plonk it is too

[mullie]

I know the S&D will win but my vote goes to the line from Maiden Newton to Bridport. There are now proposals to reopen it as they have realised how short sited it was to close it.

 

My own home line the Portland branch never made money though it would have been helpful to keep at least some of it open to keep the stone lorries off the roads. 

 

Martyn

[thegreenhowards]

I’d love to have ridden the S&D but it was clearly a hopeless case economically, so I don’t think it quite fits Gilbert’s criteria. I’m surprised nobody’s mentioned Swanage - that was in Dorset last time I checked and is a beautiful line which serves an area which is difficult to access by road. I know it’s semi reopened but it was still shut and therefore qualifies. 
 

Swanage gets my vote with Minehead second just to keep up the theme of preserved railways.

[great northern]

Deltic has a six minute stop here, and while it waits B17 Champion Lodge arrives with the Ely=Birmingham.

 

 

[Clive Mortimore]

OK I give up on thinking of a line in Somerset or Dorset that should have saved.

 

Did think of the MR lines to Bristol and Bath but as they were mainly in Gloucestershire that wouldn't have counted but had it not be for these lines the Slow and Dirty would not have lasted as long as it did.

[St Enodoc]

11 hours ago, TrevorP1 said:

Too many choices in those three counties Gilbert but I  can never understand why BR closed Taunton - Minehead. I appreciate the preserved line - it is one of my favourites - but in my view it was a very short sighted closure.

Over 50 years ago a school friend and I planned to build a model of Watchet. I built a Wills 2251 but that was as far as it got.

[Oldddudders]

14 hours ago, great northern said:

Would you like a plonk? We haven't had one for ages. I found this in a folder from 22nd December, and had forgotten all about it.

 

 

I am suspicious of the motives of the chap in the centre. Up to no good, or maybe looking for the loo. 

[great northern]

Duty done for Champion Lodge. The fireman will be doing the uncoupling, and a Midland loco will take over.

 

 

[great northern]

59 minutes ago, Oldddudders said:

I am suspicious of the motives of the chap in the centre. Up to no good, or maybe looking for the loo. 

Yes, that had occurred to me too, but I thought no-one else would notice. Have you been zooming in?

[great northern]

An easy win, and I suppose a predictable one, for the S&D. But I join with those who rejected it, as, nostalgia and scenery apart, it really was always an uneconomic and unprofitable railway. Can one really say it was a short sighted or stupid closure?

 

Anyway, onwards to Dorset and Hampshire, and, by request, another opportunity for Wiltshire too.

[TrevorP1]

Dorset and Hampshire. Choices, choices... or maybe that's because I know the area.

 

The Swanage branch would be good choice but I'm going to plump for (Southampton) Totton - Fawley. The 'Waterside' has seen exponential housing growth since the late 1970s with consequent traffic problems. The line was kept open for the oil trains so what piece of brain fade led the corporate muppets to take away the passenger service? 

[St Enodoc]

Definitely the M&SW Junction line. Its strategic importance was recognised in the War and, had it survived, it could have formed the backbone of a trunk freight route from Southampton to the Midlands and Wales.

Edited March 12, 2021 by St Enodoc

[TrevorP1]

3 minutes ago, St Enodoc said:

Definitely the M&SW Junction line. Its strategic importance was recognised in the War and, had it survived, it could have formed the backbone of a trunk freight route from Southampton to the Midlands and Wales.

 

The MSJW might have my vote but for my personal experience of living near Marchwood in the 1980s. Marchwood station was still there and I worked in the centre of Southampton. No trains and a poor slow bus service, so the only alternative was a painful journey by car.

[3rd Rail Exile]

Another potential trunk freight route from Southampton to the Midlands, I'll vote for the Didcot Newbury & Southampton

 

Whilst the redevelopment at Reading has eased congestion caused by/to North-South traffic, avoiding the Reading area totally would surely be an advantage...

 

Given the specific county limitations of the poll I guess I'm actually voting for the line north from Shawford Junction as far as a point somewhere between Highclere and Woodhay, where it leaves Hampshire and enters Berkshire - I'll vote for the Berkshire (and Oxfordshire, if we're being post-1974 modern with our counties) section later if Gilbert runs that poll...    

[Mallard60022]

Isle of Wight. Should have gone to Light Railway with Tram Trains with some pruning only.

Stuff that one up your Harbour entrance, mainland!!!!!!!

If Islands are to be discriminated against then  Alton to Winchester could have been retained.

Ar$£

[Metropolitan H]

As might be expected my vote goes to the M&SWJ route today.

 

If I had a separate "Hampshire" vote it would go to Alton to Winchester.

 

I'm hoping that IOW can be dealt with separately - in which case I would agree with Mallard 60022 above.

 

Regards

Chris H

[jazzer]

For me it has to be Swanage. I was there a few years ago. Not only is Swanage a popular resort now but Corfe Castle attracts a large number of  visitors. Obviously the preserved line is part of the attraction but a lot of visitors come from all over .  Parking is a problem in Bournemouth, Swanage and Corfe so I would think rail version of a park and ride scheme would be viable.

[Denbridge]

1 hour ago, jazzer said:

For me it has to be Swanage. I was there a few years ago. Not only is Swanage a popular resort now but Corfe Castle attracts a large number of  visitors. Obviously the preserved line is part of the attraction but a lot of visitors come from all over .  Parking is a problem in Bournemouth, Swanage and Corfe so I would think rail version of a park and ride scheme would be viable.

The park and ride service from Norden is extremely popular. Plus the preserved line runs a far more frequent service than i imagine a current day South West Trains would provide off of the main line.

[Clive Mortimore]

4 hours ago, TrevorP1 said:

Dorset and Hampshire. Choices, choices... or maybe that's because I know the area.

 

The Swanage branch would be good choice but I'm going to plump for (Southampton) Totton - Fawley. The 'Waterside' has seen exponential housing growth since the late 1970s with consequent traffic problems. The line was kept open for the oil trains so what piece of brain fade led the corporate muppets to take away the passenger service? 

Hi Trevor

 

I use to travel on the train on the branch off the Totton-Fawley line, the Marchwood military railway. There was a passenger service from the married quarters to the dock side, calling at the barracks and the workshops. 

[Clive Mortimore]

The line from Alderbury Junction to Broadstone Jucntion combined with the Ringwood line.

[LNER4479]

3 hours ago, jazzer said:

For me it has to be Swanage. I was there a few years ago. Not only is Swanage a popular resort now but Corfe Castle attracts a large number of  visitors. Obviously the preserved line is part of the attraction but a lot of visitors come from all over .  Parking is a problem in Bournemouth, Swanage and Corfe so I would think rail version of a park and ride scheme would be viable.

 

1 hour ago, Denbridge said:

The park and ride service from Norden is extremely popular. Plus the preserved line runs a far more frequent service than i imagine a current day South West Trains would provide off of the main line.

For those interested and maybe not previously aware, below is the link to the proposals that have passed the first round and are now being seriously considered as part of the DfT so-called 'Reversing Beeching' programme:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/938907/restoring-your-railway-successful-bids.csv/preview

 

Interestingly, Wareham-Swanage is on there. And so is Totton-Fawley.

 

On that basis, Swanage also gets my vote. Being a preserved line is one thing; being fully linked to the national network as a viable through journey opportunity is quite another.