The right project at the right time
Iwas honoured to attend a VIP reception held by the Great Central Railway Rolling Stock Trust at Nottingham Transport Heritage Centre, Ruddington, on Saturday, July 23, at which a new appeal for funds and volunteer resources was launched with a view to having one of the group’s three Edwardian classic Barnum coaches restored and running within three years.
The group has been the custodian of the trio for a considerable number of years, ensuring that they remain safe from the scrap man. However, there is a growing feeling that their time to shine again is now appearing on the horizon.
The Bridging the Gap project at Loughborough, which aims to link both heritage-era GCRs, continues to make progress in raising funds, and as reported in issue 293, the life-expired Bridge 236 spanning the A60 at Loughborough opposite the town’s Brush Works is to be replaced in October at a cost of £1 million. Once the gap over the Midland Main Line is fully bridged, the Great Central Railway at Loughborough will have main line access for the first time.
In the meantime, attention is turning to rectification work needed to bridges on the Nottingham Heritage Railway, the heritage line formerly known as the GCR (Nottingham), which leads to the Ruddington site. The overall aim is to have services running from Ruddington through Loughborough to Leciester North and back.
Economic benefits
An inter-city heritage line of this calibre would quickly become a major tourist destination for the East Midlands, both by rail and car, and offer truly enormous potential for the local economy. However, how much more magnificent would it be if it could offer exclusive rides of a complete pre-Grouping train, comprised of a rake of Barnums, for instance?
During its 71 years of existence, the volunteerled railway revival movement has too often been dismissed as the exclusive haunt of enthusiasts. Nothing could be now further from the truth.
The Stockton & Darlington Railway 200 celebrations in 2025 is poised to highlight how Britain opened up and reshaped the globe through its invention of the self-propelled railway locomotive; railway heritage is no less than an integral part of British history and its culture.
Living history
The Barnums are particularly special, in that they have a dedicated local relevancy to the GCR main line and its modern-day heritage manifestations. To support their restoration, both through public donations and local grant aid, and hopefully through skills training schemes, is to enhance awareness of history on our doorstep.
We are now approaching the centenary of the January 1, 1923 Grouping of Britain’s railway companies into the Big Four, which marked the next big step forward in rail travel. The pre-Grouping coaches that survived in second-hand use as bungalows or farm buildings and have since been retrieved for restoration are priceless windows into our past, whether you are a rail fan or not.
One the first of the three Barnums, No. 228, is restored, and I cannot have been but extremely impressed with the craftsmanship and attention to historical detail that was in evidence or being planned. The methods employed will be used as a blueprint to tackle the other two. Not only will a Barnum train, maybe hauled by Robinson O4 2-8-0 No. 63601 after its second heritage-era overhaul, become a byword for preservation excellence and a tourist magnet, but also an invaluable educational resource. I eagerly look forward to the day I can ride in a Barnum carriage over all those bridges into Loughborough. If you share my vision, turn to News, page 24 to find out more.