NewHeywood tram link ‘ will not affect East Lancs heritage line’ Crisis SOS appeals boosted by public
THE East LancashireRailway ( ELR) has promised thatanewstudy into restoring a long- defunctpartof the Bury to Rochdaleroutewill have no impact on its heritage services.
As reported last issue, Transport for GreaterManchester ( TfGM) has been awarded £ 50,000 by the Government’s Restoring Your Railway Fund to investigate the possibility of reopening a former section of line between Bury and Rochdale, and is working with the heritage railway, as well as Rochdale and Greater Manchester local authorities to explore the options available.
The study will explore the option of using cutting- edge tram- train technology, to allowcommunities in Heywood, Castleton, Rochdale and Oldham to join the wider Metrolink network. The route inquestion was last used in the 1960s, and will not impinge on the ELR’s current Heywood line.
ELR chairman Mike Kelly said:“We welcome the opportunity towork with TfGM on this proposal. The study is looking at running battery- operated tram- trains on a separate line which does not impact on ELR heritage operations. ELR could also benefit from an upgraded main line access to its northern curve, offering a chance to pursue a number of alternative revenue streams for carriage and freight storage.”
Benefits
KeithWhitmore, ELRPreservation Societyvice- presidentandchairmanof GreaterManchesterTransportHeritage Partnership, lastmonth revealedthat the tramline willbebuilt alongsidethe existing ELR track fromCastletonEast Junction toHeywoodonly. Hesaid: “Thetram- train proposal couldbeavery significantstepforward for theELR to achieveitsambition to connectdirectly with themainline atCastletontoopen upthe opportunitytoprovide visitors withanewgatewayto enjoyajoinedup heritagerailway.
“This proposal will also benefit all our heritage transport attractions in the region, including uniting the new state- of- the- art GreaterManchester Fire Services Museum in Rochdale and the GreaterManchester Transport Museum in Manchester. We are looking forward toworking with TfGM and the GreaterManchester Combined Authority to achieve a first class heritage transport offering.”
THE British public’s unswerving support for our heritage railways facing their biggest crisis in the 70 years of the heritage erahas continued, as financial help for lines battling for survival in the faceof the coronaviruspandemic continuedtoarrive by the day.
In advance of its August 1 reopening, the North Yorkshire Moors Railway ( NYMR) has been celebrating after receiving more than £ 350,000 in donations towards its crisis appeal.
The NYMR had been due to open on April 4, but as with heritage lines throughout the UK, to cover overheads during the Covid- 19 lockdown, it has been forced to ask the general public for financial support over recent weeks via its nymr. co. uk/ crisis- fund appeal which was launched inMarch. The fund has been boosted by silent auctions, a virtual shop launched at nymr. co. uk/ virtual- shop and Friday night quizzes, and generous donations, and a hugely significant amount of money has now been raised to help the heritage attraction steam ahead.
NYMR general manager Chris Price said: “The public support has been overwhelming and thanks to local companies, the railway sector, and the general public who have rallied together and demonstrated their support over the past three months, I’m optimistic about the railway’s future.
“However, with our plans to reopen come further costs. A broken locomotive spring costs about £ 1000 to replace; a new boiler pressure relief valve £ 2500; a live steam injector £ 5000; and to reprofile a locomotive’s tyres costs around £ 10,000. That is all essential if we are towelcome visitors aboard oncemore, so the next fewmonths are going to be a challenge for us.
“To help save vital funds where we can, we’ve had to make the difficult decision to cancel this year’s annual steam gala event, whichwas originally planned for September.”
Chris appealed for supporters to also join asamember at www. nymr. co. uk/ pages/ category/ join- our- membership
Public take- up
Railway officials havestressedthat even if they restart in the summerand any second spike of the virusdoes notmaterialise, there isnoguarantee as to the public take- up of services in the faceof social distancing measures deemed to be necessaryon trains, and incomewill be reducedbecause of lower capacityon trains. Therefore, it is likely that further outside financial assistance will be needed, at least in the short tomedium term, and so lines thathave launched appeals for help arehaving to keep themopeneven if their first targets are met.
The Bluebell Railway’s appeal donations via uk. virginmoneygiving. com/ fund/ support- bluebell have now soared past £ 350,000.
On Saturday, June 27, a Virtual Track Trek version of the line’s annual sponsored walk along all or part of the running line in aid of a variety of causes, raised £ 5800. Because the railway was closed this time, supporters were asked to obtain sponsorship for walking a total of 4 ½ miles at a non- rail location of their choosing, equalling the distance fromSheffield Park to Horsted Keynes. Officials believe that the Bluebell is the first heritage railway to organise a virtual sponsored track walk.
Bluebell fundraising organiser Trevor Swainson said: “The money will be used to keep key heritage skills in Sussex and ensure we can reopen when it is safe to do so.
“We are still raising money because we don’t yet knowwhen the lockdown restrictions will be eased and what measures we will have to put in place to allow heritage railways to welcome visitors again safely.”
The Keighley & WorthValley Railway has reached £ 215,000 with its Worth Saving appeal at www. kwvr. co. uk/ worth- saving/ beating the initial target of £ 200,000, but as explained in our special feature on pages 42- 48, far more needs to be raised to ensure the line’s safety.
As we closed for press, the South Devon Railway had reached £ 217,329 with its www. southdevonrailway. co. uk/ fundraising/ appeal, nearly 44% of
the £ 500,000 target.
Central Devon MP Mel Stride has congratulated the line for its fundraising drive. He said: “In addition to preserving an important part of Buckfastleigh’s history, the SDR is a hugely important attraction that draws people to our beautiful part of Devon, benefiting other local businesses. I would encourage anyone who loves the railway and who is in a position to support its fund- raising appeal to do so.”
The Bala Lake Railway reached the midway point of its £ 25,000 emergency appeal when it staged an online virtual gala over June 13. ‘ Guests’were also able to take a virtual ‘ driver for a fiver’ ride. Further donations may bemade at bala- lake- railway. co. uk/ covid- 19donations
Welcome support
TheBodmin& WenfordRailway has raised around £ 10,000 through its appeal atwww. crowdfunder. co. uk/ bwrbackontrack which also lists meansof payment for thosewhodo not wish to donate only.
The Dean Forest Railway’s £ 50,000 appeal at www. dfrsociety. org. uk/ dfrs- emergency- fund has reached £ 41,500.
The East Lancashire Railway’s £ 200,000 emergency appeal accessed via www. eastlancsrailway. org. uk has now raised £ 122,000.
A contributing silent auction, which ended on June 20, raised £ 10,500 (£ 135,000 with Gift Aid).
Amongst the star items for auction were a guided tour of pop mogul and railway president Pete Waterman’s extensive O gauge model railway layout which sold for £ 640, and the chance to entertain up to 25 guests in his Waterman Saloon, which went for £ 1250. The nameplate East Lancashire
Railway from Class 37 No. 37418 went for £ 2020.
At the Epping Ongar Railway, around £ 30,000 had been donated via www. eorailway. co. uk/ therailway/ appeal/ towards the £ 200,00 target.
The appeal at www. festrail. co. uk/ appeal. htm to support the Ffestiniog& Welsh Highland Railways had passed £ 320,000.
The SevernValley Railway’s Fight Back Fund at www. svr. co. uk/ fightback has topped £ 750,000.
The Swanage Railway’s £ 360,000 appeal at www. saveourservice. co. uk topped £ 227,000 by early July.
The Talyllyn Railway’s original £ 75,000 target for its www. justgiving. com/ campaign/ talyllynappeal2020 has been broken, with more than £ 104,000 raised.
TheWest Somerset Railway’s appeal at www. west- somersetrailway. co. uk/ donations has passed £ 181,000, with a target of £ 500,000.
A recent appeal launched by the Pontpool & Blaenavon Railway at gofundme. com/ f/ supporting- usthrough- covid19 and bhrailway. co. uk/ covid19appeal had raised more than £ 2000.
Crich Tramway Village has joined the long list of heritage venues to launch appeals to compensate for the loss of vital revenue streams during lockdown. General manager Dr Mike Galer said: “Our losses this year will be immense and potentially crippling, whilst we are currently surviving on our reserves many of these have been given to us for specific purposes and cannot be used to support our ongoing viability.”
Donations may bemade at www. tramway. co. uk/ contact/ make- adonation
There are a range of incentives for those who are able to give larger donations to the museum. For