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

[Captain Kernow]

I've remembered another one - exploring the remains of the old Cheltenham to Stratford line with Simon Castens in the late 1970s, after most of the track lifting had been done, but at Honeybourne, the connection to the Long Marston section via Honeybourne West Loop was still in place, although the North chord (a more direct connection taking away the need to reverse at West Loop) had just been reopened. Similar at Long Marston, where the box was just about intact, signal posts present, but all closed and the new connection in place at the south end of the site. All on a quiet, clear winters day, very evocative and hard to believe that this has once been a main line.

 

Fast forward 30 years, and my younger experiences at Honeybourne served to heighten the pleasure at being involved professionally in the Cotswold line redoubling and meeting with representatives of the Glos & Warwickshire line to discuss possible future reconnections at Honeybourne!

[roundhouse]

I've remembered another one - exploring the remains of the old Cheltenham to Stratford line with Simon Castens in the late 1970s, after most of the track lifting had been done, but at Honeybourne, the connection to the Long Marston section via Honeybourne West Loop was still in place, although the North chord (a more direct connection taking away the need to reverse at West Loop) had just been reopened. Similar at Long Marston, where the box was just about intact, signal posts present, but all closed and the new connection in place at the south end of the site. All on a quiet, clear winters day, very evocative and hard to believe that this has once been a main line.

 

Fast forward 30 years, and my younger experiences at Honeybourne served to heighten the pleasure at being involved professionally in the Cotswold line redoubling and meeting with representatives of the Glos & Warwickshire line to discuss possible future reconnections at Honeybourne!

Is this the box - taken in 1986.

[Karhedron]

Ingleton viaduct. Dominates the town which itself is a great place to visit for walking in the Yorkshire Dales.

 

Edited June 17, 2014 by Karhedron

[MRDEEDIESEL]

For me its anytime I return to Dundee and see the wasteland that was the freight yards,diesel depot,signal boxes and general sidings/buildings that have all been swept away.

Tay Bridge Station itself instead of being surrounded by a bustling railway scene is now an island in a sea of roads and it is now really quiet compared to my youth where there was a constant Sulzer sound under the roof!.

 

Also the remnants of Camperdown Jct,The removal of Broughty Ferry signalbox from its original location and the rapidly disappearing parts of the former Dundee to Forfar line really stir up sad feelings!

[Welchester]

I've remembered another one - exploring the remains of the old Cheltenham to Stratford line with Simon Castens in the late 1970s, after most of the track lifting had been done, but at Honeybourne, the connection to the Long Marston section via Honeybourne West Loop was still in place, although the North chord (a more direct connection taking away the need to reverse at West Loop) had just been reopened. Similar at Long Marston, where the box was just about intact, signal posts present, but all closed and the new connection in place at the south end of the site. All on a quiet, clear winters day, very evocative and hard to believe that this has once been a main line.

 

Fast forward 30 years, and my younger experiences at Honeybourne served to heighten the pleasure at being involved professionally in the Cotswold line redoubling and meeting with representatives of the Glos & Warwickshire line to discuss possible future reconnections at Honeybourne!

 

I remember looking around Cheltenham Racecourse Station in the early 70s, while the line was still in use as a diversionary route; it was a very dilapidated and forlorn place. Also very occasionally seeing a freight working crossing High Street bridge (from the bus which took me across the town to school), and once photographing a steam working through the remains of Malvern Road Station.

[dagrizz]

Whilst North of Ingleton on the way to Tebay you will find the Lune Viaduct, also known as Firbank Viaduct, near Sedbergh.

 

 

 

 

David, are you allowed to walk across the viaduct?

 

Graham

[sir douglas]

Although i havent been down there for a few years, i used to love going down into the cutting of the midland mainline at Kirkthorpe (just south of Goosehill Jnc), and sit in the only remaining gang hut for miles, and watch a kingfisher going about his business on the flooded track bed.

 

The temperature in the cutting never seemed to change no matter how hot the day actually was, so when you have spent a few hours down there and you dont know what its like out there, you get hit by the heat when you come from out of the trees (it happened to me once).

 

here are photos by me, and Bing maps aerial view screenshots

 

regards, Sam

Edited June 17, 2014 by sir douglas

[Reorte]

 are you allowed to walk across the viaduct?

 

Looking at the aerial view on Google there's no deck on the central span, so probably not!

[Steve Purves]

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned the solitary signal pole standing on an isolated section of GCR viaduct on the approach to Leicester central from the north

 

Signal post, Great Central Railway, Leicester by andyk37, on Flickr

[big jim]

speaking of the great central im currenly lodging in brackley for my claydon jn job, i've just come back from a drive around trying to find bits of the old line, i managed to trace where it crossed the main road north of the town centre and while heading out towards buckingham i spotted the top of a bridge abutment which is now level with the road so the line must have been backfilled

 

also worked out where the banbury-buckingham line used to pass through the town, there is a cafe called cafe locomotive pretty much on the trackbed.

 

if i get a chance tomorrow i'll grab some pics of the bridge abutment as its quite eerie!!

 

i may well have a drive out to woodford halse and finmere too

[Captain Kernow]

Is this the box - taken in 1986.

Yes, that's it. Here are some of my photos from the early 1980s:

 

Simon's Marlin sits outside the old signal box at Long Marston:

 

Old signal post, this would have been the Up Starter, I think:

 

The remains of Honeybourne West Loop Jct, with the signal box (a BR 'plywood' structure) lurking to the left beyond the bridge in the distance. The tracks diverging to the right in this photo would have let up to Honeybourne station on the OWW line, those to the left would have gone on to Long Marston and Stratford-on-Avon:

[bike2steam]

Evocotive, the Stratford-Upon-Avon to Cheltenham line - you bet, long closed, but once so busy that iron-ore trains were held for hours at Clifford Sidings, just outside Stratford on the old S&MJR, waiting for a path on to South Wales. Copped many a Woodford Halse ( and other shed based) WD's on those trains, plus a couple of L1's on route learning trips.

[PatB]

Yes, that's it. Here are some of my photos from the early 1980s:

 

Simon's Marlin sits outside the old signal box at Long Marston:

C&W229.jpg

 

Old signal post, this would have been the Up Starter, I think:

C&W215.jpg

 

The remains of Honeybourne West Loop Jct, with the signal box (a BR 'plywood' structure) lurking to the left beyond the bridge in the distance. The tracks diverging to the right in this photo would have let up to Honeybourne station on the OWW line, those to the left would have gone on to Long Marston and Stratford-on-Avon:

C&W222.jpg

 

Interesting pics as always.

 

Is/was the Marlin yours?

[Captain Kernow]

Interesting pics as always.

 

Is/was the Marlin yours?

Thanks.

 

The Marlin (now long sold) used to belong to Simon Castens (aka 'Not Jeremy' of this forum), who now runs The Titfield Thunderbolt railway bookshop in Larkhall, Bath.

[alant]

speaking of the great central im currenly lodging in brackley for my claydon jn job, i've just come back from a drive around trying to find bits of the old line, i managed to trace where it crossed the main road north of the town centre and while heading out towards buckingham i spotted the top of a bridge abutment which is now level with the road so the line must have been backfilled

 

also worked out where the banbury-buckingham line used to pass through the town, there is a cafe called cafe locomotive pretty much on the trackbed.

 

if i get a chance tomorrow i'll grab some pics of the bridge abutment as its quite eerie!!

 

i may well have a drive out to woodford halse and finmere too

There's a footpath along the old trackbed for Banbury-Buckingham line through Buckingham itself. It goes through the old station site and over the viaduct in the old town. It's a while since I walked it but worthwhile if you get the chance. There's heavy roadworks on the Buckingham by-pass at the moment though.

['CHARD]

Well worth looking for relics around Brackley, Jim.  Plenty of back-filled overbridges, the station still survives in modified form, and north of the town there's a fair amount to see around Charwelton too.

 

I used to enjoy a scenic home run from Wolverton via GC territory during summer evenings.

[The Stationmaster]

Looking at Google Maps I see the site of the level crossing in Brackley on the LNWR line is now a major-ish road junction and, regrettably, I know from experience of driving on the by-pass the GCR viaduct is long gone.

 

One area where trackbed was quite traceable when I last looked a year or two back is between Quainton Road and Verney Jcn - quite surprising considering how long it is since that line was closed.

[big jim]

There's a footpath along the old trackbed for Banbury-Buckingham line through Buckingham itself. It goes through the old station site and over the viaduct in the old town. It's a while since I walked it but worthwhile if you get the chance. There's heavy roadworks on the Buckingham by-pass at the moment though.

i've walked along that back in 2007, i took my car to 'superchips' which is on the industrial estate near the tesco south of the town and as i had a day to kill i went for a walk into town, back then i'd never been to buckinghamshire in my life so didnt have a clue where i was yet alone what line i was walking along to get into town

 

when i took the freshly chipped car for a test run round the area i remember seeing road signs for calvert and claydon and thinking to myself that i'd heard of those places knowing about the bin trains etc, fast forward 3 years to 2010 and i ended up living in buckinghamshire for 6 months and gained a bit more knowledge about the closed local lines from the disused station website and moving on another 3 years i end up working trains to and from claydon jn, funny how things go!

 

going back to brackley the old GC station entrance is now an ATS tyre centre and as mike says the LNWR station has completley been wiped off the face of the map

[alant]

I remember being slightly disappointed that the old station in Buckingham wasn't like Peter Denny's famous EM version!

[big jim]

a few pics from brackley.....

 

top of a backfilled great central under bridge on the buckingham road

 

the old GC goods shed south of brackley GC station

 

the old station building is now an ATS

 

and looking from the back from track level

 

you can even see where the platform overbridge has been cut back

 

moving back towards the LNWR station this is looking out of the town at the point where the line crossed the main road into town

 

and looking back towards the town (on the right) the line looks to have run along what is now hinton road

 

turning 180 degrees there is new fire station on the trackbed

 

this is hinton road looking back towards the last photo location, the fire station is in the distance, this area appears to have been back filled, hinton road appears to be a new road on the trackbed, my white van is parked in the station as it were

 

then turning 180 degrees you can see the footpath dropping down a bank from the existing road level down to the old track level

 

personally i find the great central remains more interesting than the lnwr parts

Edited June 19, 2014 by big jim

[PinzaC55]

In 1983 when I moved to London it gave me a chance to explore some southern branch lines. I walked the former Bluebell line from East Grinstead to Horsted Keynes and saw the sad remains of West Hoathly station, seen here looking north. Although the track has been relaid , trains do not stop here.

West Hoathly Station 1983 par PinzaC55, on ipernity

Nearer East Grinstead was Kingscote which was empty and semi derelict

Kingscote Station (3) July 1983 par PinzaC55, on ipernity

Seen here beautifully restored with the hideous conservatory banished to history

http://www.bluebell-railway.co.uk/bluebell/kingscote/kpic/kc_ras_01i04_0010h.jpg

[Gwiwer]

 

 

The last passenger trains ran in July 1981 when the opening of the Humber Bridge rendered the ferry redundant and MV Farringford made her last voyage. Since closure an industrial concern has taken over and installed a conveyor but the station buildings at the pier end survive, as does the signal box

 

I am surprised to hear the station survives.  It was falling down in 1981 a few weeks before closure.

 

MV Faringford (a former Sealink Isle of Wight car ferry) approaches from Hull while both connecting trains are in; back in the day one unit ran in from Cleethorpes and another from Barton-on-Humber.  When the pier closed trains were through-routed via the previously "rare" south side of the New Holland triangle.

 

The images aren't great as they were taken in poor lighting conditions and on an elderly Halina Paulette, also in some haste in order to make the boat connection!

 

 

 

 

 

[PhilJ W]

The buildings may have been refurbished to provide accommodation for the staff working on the pier. Can anybody identify the wreck in the foreground of Dave's pics?

[jamie92208]

Today I drove out of Wakefield on the A636 towards Denby Dale and passed under the viaduct that carried the Royston Junction to Dewsbury section of the Midland's never completed West Riding Line.  It's a poignant reminder of what might have been but for the outbreak of WW1.  I always imagine seeing a Compound with a rake of immaculate Maroon and gold Clerestories, going full out across there heading for Carlisle and gathering speed for the troughs that would have been installed a little bit further on.

 

Jamie

[PinzaC55]

In 1980 I braved the heat to try and walk the old Woodhall Junction - Firsby line which had closed as recently as 1970. Stickney station served a tiny village but typically for the GNR it had a very large building which 10 years after the Axe had an alarming bend in the canopy. In the heyday of the railways it must have served a purpose but by 1970 I doubt many people used it.

 

Stickney Station 3.8.80 par PinzaC55, on ipernity

 

The nearby signalbox had fared a little better except for the odd missing window pane. There were some old 1950's road signs in the locking room, just visible. It's all gone now of course.

 

Stickney Signalbox  3.8.80 par PinzaC55, on ipernity