Regional News

GREAT WESTERN

Norton Fitzwarren: The victims of the crashes of November 1890 ( ten killed) and November 1940 ( 27 killed), and the role of the now- demolished station, have been honoured with a Transport Trust memorial plaque in the village.

Princes Risborough: The interior of the largest surviving GWR signal box, recently renovated, is being divided into two sections. One will be a museum and visitor attraction, and the other a working area to work trains to and from the Chinnor & Princes Risborough Railway’s re- created Platform 4 at the Chiltern Railways station.

Sharpness: On November 9, the first vehicle to run over the branch for a quarter of a century was a hand trolley owned by the Vale of Berkeley Railway. Under a temporary licence from Network Rail, volunteers are clearing undergrowth in the 2½ - acre Oldminster sidings area next to the docks.

Weston- super- Mare: The town council wants to see more rapid progress made on reopening the Sunnyside Road station entrance, which closed in 2015 after problems caused by anti- social behaviour. Ticket barriers will be installed there.

EASTERN

Cleethorpes: The 1885 station clock tower is now fully working again, after being taken off- site to

replace severely rotted timbers. Reinstatement of the cladding alone has cost £120,000.

Durham: The former parcels office and waiting room on the northbound platform has been successfully turned into a micro- pub called The Waiting Room.

Haltwhistle: Double glazing has been installed in the station’s former booking hall, to make it more comfortable for its new tenants - the Tyne Valley Community Rail Partnership.

Lincoln: Empty space at the station is being converted into a pub, at a cost of £ 83,000. It will retain its original internal features.

Outwood: Wakefield Council has secured funding to enlarge the Leeds line station car park.

Worksop: The last bus service nominally in full railway ownership, the Sheffield Joint Omnibus Committee’s route 85, made its last journey 50 years ago on December 31.

MIDLANDS

Awsworth: The Railway Heritage Trust is sitting on an £ 85,000 grant to restore the old GNR Bennerley Viaduct over the Erewash Valley, pending a new application by Sustrans and Railway Paths for Heritage Lottery funding. It is now one of only two surviving multi- span, wrought- iron, lattice viaducts in England.

Boughton: The Northampton & Lamport Railway has been awarded £ 60,000 by Daventry District Council and the European Leader Fund, to help complete its half- mile southern extension and construct a five- coach platform next to the Windhover pub at the level crossing. The target opening date is early 2020.

Butterley: December 23 marks the 50th anniversary of the closure to coal traffic of the final section of the former Pye Bridge- Ambergate line. Three and a half miles between Riddings and Hammersmith have been reopened by the Midland Railway Trust.

Leamington Spa: Recent refurbishments at the 1938 station include the provision of GWR- style railings around the landscaped garden area, two old- style noticeboards, and replacement panelling inside the refreshment room.

NORTH WEST

Appleby: The erection of a new stone waiting shelter with a slate roof has been supported by a £10,000 donation from the Railway Heritage Trust.

Great Harwood: Railway Paths has carried out work to reopen the ten- span 1877 Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway Martholme Viaduct across the Calder Valley as a cycle route. Trains last crossed it in 1964. It has also been closed to the public for over a decade since a foot and mouth outbreak.

Newton Heath: A new home has been found at the Northern depot for the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway’s main war memorial roll of honour, which was discovered in the undercroft at Manchester Piccadilly, and which has been in store at the East Lancashire Railway. The Railway Heritage Trust is funding its restoration and the replacement of the missing mahogany frame.

Stoke- on-Trent: Private funding paid for two additional plaques to be added to the station’s 191418 North Staffordshire Railway war memorial arch, to honour fallen soldiers who were not mentioned on the original.

SOUTHERN

Battle: Southeastern is significantly increasing the station’s cycle space, with the area tastefully screened off with a stone wall and traditional railings so as not to spoil the area. The roof of the 1852 Grade 2- listed main building is also being repaired.

Dorking: A complete reconstruction of Deepdene station has been submitted to Network Rail by Dorking Town Forum. The £ 9m-£ 21m scheme includes relocating the platforms, and creating a 100- yard elevated link to the main town station.

Portslade: The £ 52,500 restoration of the smaller structure on the opposite platform has significantly enhanced the appearance of the Grade 2- listed 1881 LBSCR station. An earlier grant upgraded the main building’s interior and created a new waiting room, cafe and cycle facility.

Wateringbury: A survey is under way to considering turning the Grade 2- listed former South Eastern Railway red brick goods shed into an arts centre. However, there is concern about its poor structural condition.

ANGLIA

Attleborough: A tenant has been identified to take on the renovated station buildings on the Norwichbound platform, which had been abandoned. The total project has cost £120,000.

Great Yarmouth: The station forecourt has been redesigned at a cost of £ 710,000, providing better access to the river crossing and town centre, and a larger car park. It opened in mid- November.

Harwich: Training workshops are envisaged as another stage of the £ 2.5 million redevelopment of the seven once- empty rooms at the station that have been converted into the Mayflower Heritage Centre.

Lowestoft: The Railway Heritage Trust is contributing £100,000 towards the refurbishment of the old station parcels office for community use, and new gates at the entrance are being manufactured to the original design. While the surviving parts of the 1855 main building are not listed, they are safeguarded by being within the South Lowestoft Conservation Area.

SCOTLAND

Dunbar: The surviving entrance lodge at the approach road to the station, once one of a pair and used as a coal office, has been brought back from dereliction and converted into The Station Yard micro- pub.

Kilmarnock: The third phase of the station restoration programme has included the lower floor of the main building and returning redundant offices to public use. The Kilmarnock Station Railway Heritage Trust has already converted nine platformlevel rooms into a thriving community centre.

Nairn: The international Men’s Shed project is converting the disused Inverness- Aberdeen station waiting room and shelter on the south platform into a community skills centre.

Stirling: As a finishing touch to Caledonian Sleeper’s new station lounge, the Railway Heritage Trust funded the reinstallation of original- style doors.

West Calder: The old Caledonian Railway footbridge from the Shotts line station is being professionally restored at a cost of £ 55,000 for re- erection at Birkhill on the Bo’ness & Kinneil Railway. The Scottish Railway Preservation Society’s £15,000 appeal was oversubscribed by almost half.