The first section of a £2.5m bridge that will reunite two preserved stretches of the Great Central Railway is craned into place.
IN the early hours of September 3, the first section of a new £2.5 million bridge that will reunite two preserved stretches of the Great Central Railway was craned into place above the Midland Main Line at Loughborough.
Hundreds of enthusiasts gathered to watch as the bridge’s two main steel beams arrived on site on the back of a low loader and were then lifted onto concrete abutments by a 1,000-tonne crane, during an overnight possession granted by Network Rail.
Over the next few weeks, sections of the bridge deck will be lowered into place to complete the structure. It replaces a bridge demolished in 1980 following the closure of the route by British Rail in 1969.
The ‘Bridging the Gap’ project - funded by donations from GCR and GCR(N), a £1 million grant from the Leicester and Leicestershire Local Enterprise Partnership and £250,000 worth of shares purchased by Leicestershire County Council - is understood to be the first time a heritage railway has built a new bridge over a Network Rail- operated main line.
Some 500 metres of missing embankment and a second bridge will also be restored before the project can be completed to restore 18 miles of unbroken track between Great Central Railway’s southern terminus at Leicester North and GCR (Nottingham)’s base at Ruddington.
GCR Chief Executive Richard Patching said: “This is an exciting night for the GCR. For over 40 years, our supporters and friends have dreamed of work starting on the reunification of the line. We hope to continue raising funds to complete the project and finally join
the two railways.
RAIL Managing Editor Nigel Harris has been instrumental in the project since August 2010, when he was appointed as a director of GCR Development Ltd. He thanked NR for its long-standing support of the project, and its crucial non-financial role to facilitate it.
He added: “There’s certainly very little that anyone can tell me about engaging with the complicated interfaces across NR infrastructure, but my experience has filled me with respect for those who do this kind of thing day in day out, and on much bigger projects.
“GCR and GCR(N) have been fortunate to have enjoyed executive level support at NR from successive chief executives and Route Managing Directors, but somebody on the front line has to make these things happen. I cannot speak highly enough of the incredible efforts made over the last few years by (NR principal programme sponsors) Spencer Gibbens and Amanda Stowe.
“They have a difficult enough job already, but they made this happen with the support of London North Eastern & East Midlands Route MD Rob McIntosh. Thank you is too small a word.”