Heritage rail line offers glimpse into its future
A60 BRIDGE ON
THE group trying to create a mainline heritage railway between Leicester and Nottingham has released images of the next key stages of the project.
A brand new bridge over the A60 in Loughborough is set to be built in October as part of Great Central Railway’s Reunification project.
Thanks to sponsorship from the Friends of the Great Central Main Line, computer visualisations of the new bridge have now been produced, by HBPW, of Retford, the consulting engineers for the scheme.
Andy Fillingham, chairman of the friends, said: “Friends has driven forward the fund-raising for the Reunification project.
“As a thank you to everyone who has donated money for the work to replace the A60 bridge, we’re delighted to have these images produced.
“They show the bridge, which is sure to become a local landmark.”
He said the existing 120-year-old structure has been struck many times by lorries.
Replacing it with a twin-track structure will allow freight trains from the national rail network to use the line again as well as paving the way for heritage trains to run between Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire.
This will reconnect two halves of the GCR to create an 18-mile heritage line for steam and diesel tourist trains.
Two parts have already been completed. The A60 bridge is the third.
The bridge will cost more than £1 million and has been part-funded by public donations and the David Clarke Railway Trust.
An appeal, launched by the friends at the start of the year, raised £220,000 towards the A60 bridge.
“With costs of raw materials rising, we were delighted to receive such strong and timely support from so many people,” said Andy.
“Their generous donations helped close a funding gap between what we had available and the total cost of the new structure.
“The reunification project has captured imaginations. We said 2022 would see another piece of the jigsaw in place.
“The superb images show what it will look like. We hope they will inspire others to support this part of the project or find out more about the rest of the reunification.”
Donations can be made via cheque through the post, made payable to the David Clarke Railway Trust, to DCRT, Lovatt House, 3 Wharncliffe Road, Loughborough, LE11 1SL.
Please write on the back of the cheque “A60 / Reunification”.
Donate online at:
County loco restoration, Page 22