Closed LNER Railway Lines

[R. pike]

This whole misguided busway thing gets on my wick somewhat. Just what are they thinking? At least with the St Ives line we got some of the track to good homes. I did receive some help from the demolition guys obtaining a few artefacts too. They seem completely baffled as to why anyone would want lumps of concrete.. I have a copy of the LNER 1947 concrete articles catalogue. My quest to find one of each item is a little nearer...

[hq1hitchin]

So that's the end for any hopes of reopening the Luton to Dunstable branch - the latest news:

Government approves £85 million public transport scheme
It's full speed ahead for the Luton-Dunstable Busway after the scheme received the government seal of approval.

Luton Borough Council, which says the project will allow more people to use public transport and leave their cars at home, announced yesterday that the official green light has come from Whitehall.

The Department for Transport approved the £85million busway - jointly run by Luton Council and Bedfordshire County Council - and agreed to provide a £78million grant, with the remainder of the cash secured through additional investment.

Town Hall officials say the busway is a key component of the councils' commitment to improve public transport. Running between Houghton Regis, Dunstable and Luton, it will make getting to work, going to the shops and travelling around town easier and more affordable, claim traffic experts.

Providing a fast, frequent and efficient alternative to travelling by car, it will also help to combat congestion and enable people to do their bit for the environment, says the council.

The busway will be within easy reach of an estimated 184,500 people, catering for an emerging growth in employment and housing in the area, when it is formally opened in 2011.

Welcoming the government's decision, Councillor Roy Davis, who has special responsibility for regeneration, said:

"By giving people the option of travelling to work or going to the shops without the hassle of endless traffic jams or the expense of high fuel prices, we can make our roads safer and our environment cleaner.

"The busway has consistently proven to be the most cost-effective option on the table and this decision takes us a step closer to completion. Now we can get to work on building and delivering it."

Councillor Tom Wootton, Bedfordshire County Council cabinet member for highways and transport, said: "The busway will help to reduce congestion in the Luton/South Bedfordshire area and give people a real, sustainable and green alternative to the car. It is good to hear that it will definitely be going ahead."

The next step is to invite bids from potential private partners to build the busway. This will happen over the coming months, during which the council will continue to prepare the site for construction.

[redtoon1892]

The whole juist of this "busways" thing is that town halls get huge govt grants for any scheme that involves public transport or cycling. I have always wondered why huge amounts of public money are poured into what is private enterprse, bus companies dont provide or maintain shelters, flags and poles, special road marking and signing of bus lanes, this all comes from the public purse via PTE or PTA quangos as in Tyne & Wear, having said that the same organisations provide free over 60 bus travel so maybe its swings and roundabouts.

[richard]

In the case of Leeds, it was Leeds and WYPTA that wanted a light rail system. The plan was scuppered by the lack of national-level funding - hence the half-baked guided bus because it is cheap.

Leeds Council have been talking about light rail or an alternative for 20+ years. I even did a GCSE project on the subject back in the 80s!

It seems different here in Texas with Fort Worth planning a new scheme, Dallas undergoing a huge expansion, and Houston planning an expansion, but I then remember that there were huge arguments for many years with both Houston and Dallas.


Richard

[R. pike]

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=bvAHgwNkbHU

Lets reinvent the wheel. I wonder if the new systems will have as many safety features as rail like TPWS etc. Do misguided buses have automatic failsafe brakes? Remember Armargh?

[52D]

http://www.subbrit.org.uk/sb-sites/stat ... ndex.shtml
Please look at the above sent to me by my workmate Nigel, i wasnt even aware of a Haverhill station on this site i do service work at a company almost on the station site. I will have to study GER and related lines further.

[CVR1865]

Ah yes good old Haverhill South. It stands out at the end of the wonderfully named Colne Valley Rd. I went to the scouts on that street for many years.

There wasn't much to say about it now or then. There is also a footpath through most of Hollands Rd industrial estate that runs into the site. I think it is block only by the Genzyme works.

Haverhill South was also the reason that the Hamlet Road viaduct was built so that the CVR trains could miss their station and run into Haverhill GER (North) Station. That was the centre of the town in those days with the Colne Valley Rd end being out in the country.

The Haverhill historical society have some really good old books on the towns stations and also pictures of the town from the 20s and 30s.

It is definately worth further reading and 'From Construction to Destruction: An Authentic History of the Colne Valley and Halstead Railway' by Edward P Willingham. is probably the most comprehensive work so far.

The line received special J15s in LNER days with back cabs and side windows, after it was rebuilt by the LNER to take the heavier locos.

[charlesi]

On the subject of the guided buses , I think you should look closely at some of the manouvering that has been going on to get these snowcem pachyderms /chocolate teapots to the advanced stage that they are now. I worked for over a decade in central asia and got rather good at sniffing out iffy stuff ( rather too good for some of the locals ) and there is a slight nasty niff , especially with the cams one , however it is already 6 months late , one of the brand new buses failed ( on he open road ) "one expects there to be probelms when there are 20 of these new.. blah , blah" the contractors have gone over the rather excessive budget ( 116milion Quid and rising) and stuff is being cut out .

No doubt when the gongs are dished out all can see the slime trail

[52D]

Cambs - St Ives Concrete plant has to be sold as a going concern or returned to a green field site. No one wants to buy in this climate what a waste of money.

[lincolnian]

In the case of Leeds, it was Leeds and WYPTA that wanted a light rail system. The plan was scuppered by the lack of national-level funding - hence the half-baked guided bus because it is cheap.

Leeds Council have been talking about light rail or an alternative for 20+ years. I even did a GCSE project on the subject back in the 80s!

Richard

It caused quite a lot of local amusement several years ago when Leeds had the 'guided bus' route installed along what was originally the central island of the York Road (A64) dual carriageway - installation was delayed for quite some time when excavation of the central island revealed the tram tracks which had been covered over when that particular form of transport was done away with in the late '50s!
Paul M.

[PinzaC55]

The rationale for closing the Leamside was that the new signalling between Newcastle and Darlington allowed for Bi directional working.That would have been OK but it didn't take into consideration what would happen if both lines were closed. Behold privatisation, several fatal accidents and the increasingly draconian Health And Safety regulations which more or less mandate closure of both tracks during a possession. Even if the Leamside were reopened ( I don't think it will be) it would cause problems since ALL NXEC , Northern Rail and Crosscountry Drivers and Conductors would require Route Learning OR Route Conductors (for Drivers and Conductors) which would have to be hired from a freight company - which would cost a fortune.Since NXEC and Crosscountry (Arriva) are both largescale bus operators it is more convenient (for them) and cheap to put on replacement buses - bad for the punters though.

[PinzaC55]

Oh and....since the vast majority of NXEC services are Class 91 hauled, diversion over Leamside would entail hire of diesel locomotives unless Leamside was also electrified.Since NXEC would be the main beneficiary of this (the other companies use diesels) would NXEC be likely to pay for it instead of using their own buses? In British Rail days none of this would have been an issue.

[Deltic18]

With regards to the use of conductors, as nobody will now sign the route as it is more than 6 months since anybody worked a train over that route, everybody that needed to go via the Leamside route, should it ever be resurrected, would need to go on route learning specials anyway.
As for the 91's, why not use the Thunderbird 67's that NXEC have on hire to drag them from Newcastle to Darlington. As there are some HST services, they should be able to manage that logistical problem.
As long as they would reinstate the line as double track, except for Penshaw Viaduct of course, there wouldn't be many pathing problems. Having worked many freight services over the old route, I'm very much in favour of the line being reinstated. It's only a matter of time before somebody 'higher up the food chain' realises this.
Keith.

[Trestrol]

With regard to the Leamside, provision was made for the signalling to be controlled from Tyneside IECC and the stub at Pelaw appears on the Signalmans screen at this box.(although labeled out of use). I am sure that if it were reopened Nissan would be very interested in moving their cars out by rail(I have been told this by someone in Network Rail) as their factory is right next door.

[PinzaC55]

As I said earlier what advantage would it be for NXEC to go to this vast cost? As it is , they put their buses on from Newcastle to Darlo and they get exactly the same revenue from the tickets.How many T-birds would they need to hire, and at what cost, to get the trains south? It's ironic that Grand Central have a distinct advantage because they only use HSTs so they are far less affected by engineering work.