People power restoring Great Central Railway

THIS will be the year an epic heritage railway project leaps forward. The Great Central Railway has already completed two pieces of its ambitious reunification scheme and now there is plans to get a third one fixed by the end of the year.

Reunification will see two separate halves of the GCR reconnected to create an 18-mile heritage line with economic benefits to Loughborough and the wider East Midlands.

The next job is to overhaul the bridge that carries the railway over the A60 Nottingham Road, on the north east side of Loughborough. In a remarkable boost for the project, a consortium of funders has brought together a substantial sum of money towards the cost of the work.

Now, the Friends of the Great Central Main Line is setting out to raise £110,000 to top up the pot.

Fund-raising has also been under way for 18 months towards two further sections of the reunification scheme - a new bridge across “Railway Terrace” road, in Loughborough, and a short new section of railway to cross a factory car park. These two elements have been dubbed the “Factory Flyover”.

Money continues to be donated from across the country and around the world and the fund-raising work will continue towards this section alongside the new appeal for the A60 bridge.

It is hoped work can start on the Factory Flyover within the next two or three years.

This is an incredible chance to move our reunification scheme forward quickly. To have so much already committed towards the repair of the A60 bridge is phenomenal and I am sure that will encourage donors to help us reach our £110,000 target.

We have launched this appeal with the aim of finding the funds as soon as we can, so in turn contractors can get to work on the bridge.

The bridge over the A60 is unique in the reunification project. It’s the only structure which already has track on it.

Not only is it vital to reconnect the two separate sections of the Great Central but it also connects the GCR to the national railway network.

However, it is 120 years old and often struck by careless lorry drivers whose trucks are too tall to fit underneath it. It’s currently closed to trains and the bridge decks are life expired.

A programme of work over the next year will ensure it can be back in business and fit for another century of service.

The bridge is owned by the East Midlands Railway Trust as part of the nine miles of the Great Central Line north of Loughborough.

Every donation counts and is so welcome. Once we have got the funds raised for the A60 bridge and the work is under way we will continue the campaign to find the funds for the other parts of the reunification jigsaw.

We’re so humbled by the support we’ve received. Bit by bit, people power is making this project - once described as impossible - actually happen!

To make a donation to the A60 bridge overhaul fund, see the website below, or send a cheque 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. www.gcrailway.co.uk/unify

Andy Fillingham, chairman, Friends of the Great Central Main Line