KCL

The locations at Kempston Hardwick were subject to a development plan some years ago. It was for a mixed residential site of 1000 homes and business park. The plans included replacing the two level crossings with bridges and a new railway station. 

In the last six months, Universal Studios have acquired the site and intend building a 450 acre theme park between the Marston Vale line and the Midland mainline.  The planned station of Wixams on the Midland mainline and a new station close to Kempston Hardwick could be used to service the site. More detailed plans from the developers are expected later this year.

On 08/03/2024 at 22:26, phil-b259 said:

 

Actually its not as bad as you are trying to claim! Firstly several of the crossings are more or less in open country / have no settlement around them  (Stewartby, Kempston Hardwick, Milbrook etc)

 

Secondly options exist in some locations to provide bridges away from the current crossing sites for motor vehicles (which could also help remove traffic from the centre of the settlements.

 

Thirdly in some cases alternative routes for motor vehicles that bridge the railway already exist (albut with some minor alterations needed to the road network).

 

Granted there are a couple of tricky spots - Woburn Sands being the biggest one where there doesn't look to be any easy way to by-pass the crossing area with new roads and in that case a overbridge could well be said to be intrusive - BUT if the majority of the other crossings were got rid of then having one crossing on the whole line would not cause that much of a problem.

 

But take a look at these - and by the way I would love to know just how you can claim that bridges at the likes of Broadmead Road are going to be hideously intrusive when there isn't a single property anywhere near it!

 

Unfortunately not due to no defined funding. 

I was walking to the south of Newcastle station today in Forth Road. The land to the south of this is now known as the Stephenson Quarter. This was where Robert Stephenson & Co. Locomotive Works, established in 1823 as the first manufacturing facility of its kind in the world and where Rocket was built. Two of the original works buildings on the east side (alongside South Street) still exist as Arts and Music Venues. 

Later the Forth Banks Engineering complex was built. This was rail served via two inclines and a return incline. The return incline is till present with two short lengths of track as it re-enters current Railway land. Halfway up is the 1891 NER water tower that served Newcastle Central station.  I would assume that wagons descended the inclines via a capstan mechanism as the drop is about 30 feet and then horse power to move around the site.  Today, beneath the site runs the Newcastle Metro from Gateshead into Newcastle central. 

Attached are an extract from NLS maps (Copywrite acknowledged) and two photos of the remaining track and one of the inclines.  

map.pdf

Three years ago I bought the following computer desk to use as a workbench that slips nicely under the layout. 

Cherry Tree Furniture 2-In-1 Extending Folding Computer Office Desk PC Workstation Table with Storage Shelf & Rolling Castors (White) : Amazon.co.uk: Home & Kitchen

Sorry link does not copy for some reason. 

Not had a problem with advance purchased. Booked a couple of weeks ago on LNER for Huntingdon to Edinburgh (and return 4 days later) for mid December.  Using Senior railcard as well. £68 return standard class or £96 First class.  

1 hour ago, GNR Dave said:

Rails have replied to my email (thanks Heather !) Order history for completed orders cannot be transfered, but everything else has been or will be sorted soon. Emails have been sent to all account customers apparently, and the headline message is.........  'DON'T PANIC !' 

 

Seems everything is under control, although one or two may have issues as is to be expected form a new system.

It sounds like they are using a new database to underpin the new website, and took a decision not to move the completed orders. This maybe due to a large volume of data that needed to be transferred and the chances of it being accessed in the future are low and did not warrant the amount of effort and data space required.   

I have a 9' x 15' Heavy duty Workshop (Barnwell) supplied by Addison Ouesbank now based in Louth. The product ordered was with 15mm T&G redwood cladding with 50mm insulation and lined with 9mm MDF. Floor is 18mm thickness V313 moisture resistant caberboard floor (now overlaid with carpet tiles). The workshop was installed onto a pre-existing paved surface.  Todays cost would be £4753 - including installation to a MK postcode.  Additionally there is a side door installed on mine that was about £160 extra. I do not use the main double doors since the base boards were installed.  

Heating is supplied by a Dimplex PFH30E 3kW Garage Fan Heater with Bluetooth Control. Cost is about £155. This is fully programmable with background level heating, and the ability to program a start time and temperature. It automatically brings the room up to that temperature by the specified time. 

Additionally, I also have a Tubular Heater 1500mm 190w Slimline Eco c/w Built-in Thermostat. Cost was about £40. I tend to use that for overnight heating in the winter.  This is attached to a wooden frame so that it can be position in the middle of the shed and moved out of the way when the room is being used. 

Lighting is 6x Slimline LED Batten lights (4000K). This is more than ample. Costs were about £20 each.  These I installed into the slope of the roof (i.e. from side wall to roof apex). 

It would be interesting to see the data for question "Which statement best describes your current activities?" broken down by age group. 

1 hour ago, Ron Ron Ron said:

In reality, East West Rail is a completely new railway built from scratch, but using existing, disused railway land, with minimal extra land take involved.

 

Rather than OTT, it should be being built to suitable high standards to allow for upgrades and potential increased usage in future years.

Whatever the NIMBY's and other doubters think, there are going to be something like another million residents living in that corridor, within a few more decades.

 

 

.

 

Unfortunately between Bedford and Cambridge the proposed route is all non railway land and is not minimal land take.  Instead of following the existing A421 corridor that has minimal elevation change, it is intended to go north of Bedford via the existing Bedford Midland station through a challenging landscape with several deep cuttings and high embankments and/or viaducts being required prior to crossing the ECML. This option in 2019 was the most expense proposed by EWR, but in 2020 revised figures made it the cheapest and DFT selected this as the preferred route option. However, despite numerous requests by both local people and the areas MP,  EWR has been unable to provide the costings for this route or why the North Bedford residents and those in the affected villages were not included in the 2019 consultation process.  Bedford Borough Council is supporting the northern route for its own political reasons. On the 28th June there is going to be a House of Commons adjournment debate on the EWR Route Selection Process by the Local MP (Richard Fuller).  

Great work !

These 25 pin connectors are available on Amazon. Available in male version , and also 9, 15, and 37 pin versions available.

SIENOC D-SUB DB25-M2 Female 25Pin Plug Breakout To PCB Board Terminals Connectors

I used the 4ft slimline batten led lights in my shed from TLC direct @ £15 each.  

full range at

https://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Main_Index/Lighting_Menu_Index/Lighting_Fluorescent_Index/LED_Battens/index.html

Perspex/acrylic is available in varying thicknesses  (and colours) starting at 2mm  and can be cut to customer sizes from a number of suppliers.  Can also be etched using a supplied diagram or you can use something like mylar 3mm wide self adhesive tape for the track layout. 

https://www.kilburntimes.co.uk/news/brent-cross-thameslink-station-gets-green-light-1-6661764

Barnet councillors give green light to new station in Brent Cross.

The new Thameslink station will connect the Brent Cross redevelopment to St Pancras in the south and to Luton and St Albans north of London.

It is due to be built by 2022 and will be served by eight trains per hour at peak times.

The approval marks a step forward for Barnet Council’s flagship Brent Cross regeneration plan, which is designed to provide 7,500 new homes and more than 20,000 new jobs.

Feasibility studies show the station could also link up to the West London Orbital route – a proposed rail link running between Hendon and Hounslow.

The Thameslink station, which had already received outline planning consent, had its detailed designs approved at a meeting of the planning committee on May 13.

Early provision of the station – which is being funded by government grants and the council’s capital budget – is designed to act as a spur to the delivery of the wider Brent Cross scheme.

My pre-order of ADS-2Sx from Hattons delivered on Tuesday. 

If you have a Dremel, then  the following attachment can cut up to 12 inches in diameter.

Dremel Line & Circular Cutter Attachment 130mm (4348R)

https://www.screwfix.com/p/dremel-line-circular-cutter-attachment-130mm/4348r

Other retailers can supply.

Keith

Great looking layout. What size is it ?

thanks,

Keith

The station prior to Higham Ferrers was Rushden.. Plan and pics  of both stations in the Middleton press book Bedford to Peterborough. (Midland Main Lines). Rushden had reasonably sized goods yard, private siding and is a through station. Station buildings still exist as part of the Rushden Transport Museum & Railway.  A short stretch of line is still in use. http://rhts.co.uk/visitor-information/the-rushden-higham-and-wellingborough-railway/

Also might be worth looking at are Wellingborough London Road and Irthlingborough on the LNWR line between Northampton and Peterborough (both closed in 1969). Both had ironstone workings close by and Wellingborough had coal traffic from the Welsh coalfields to Corby steel works via the loop to the Midland railway just north of the station. Close to Wellingborough London Road were a Tannery and Flour Mill. The latter was rail served from the goods yard using a wagon turn table. The flour mill is still in use by Whitworths today. The rest of the site has been obliterated by the A45 Dual carriageway. 1925 map shows three wagon turntables in use. Both locations are documented in the new Middleton Press book Northampton to Peterborough as part of the Country Railway Routes Series.

Keith

Item on BBC east - west edition tonight (18.30)  that Network Rail today has selected the Bedford - Sandy - Cambridge option as their preferred route with details to be published in May 2016. a longer item will be on their bulletin at approx. 22.30 tonight (Tuesday)

There is also an item on the Rail Magazine website http://www.railmagazine.com/news/network/2016/03/29/bedford-sandy-backed-for-east-west-rail-central-section which says much the same.

Local paper (Bedfordshire on Sunday) this week (23rd May) had a report from villagers being kept awake due to railway works involving overnight piling to put "poles" in the ground between Clapham and Oakley villages as part of the electrification works. Apparently Network rail state they are starting from Bedford and working northwards. Will take a look this weekend.

An alternative route has been proposed by Rail Future east of ECML from St Neots following the A428 corridor linking up the new town of Cambourne and then south east to join the old Sandy to Cambridge line near the M11.