Regional News
WESTERN
Buckfastleigh: It was 50 years ago ( on September 8 1970) that the then- Dart Valley Railway acquired the first BR diesel locomotive to be sold into preservation - Class 03 shunter D2192. It is now at the Dartmouth Steam Railway.
Castle Cary: Although it was not needed because this year’s Glastonbury Festival was called off, Network Rail installed a temporary footbridge to handle the expected crowds. The unsafe current structure is due for repair.
Mortimer: The Reading- Basingstoke line station may get 150 new car park spaces.
Swindon: Signal Point, the empty 1970s former Western Region headquarters next to the station, and which was once considered for demolition, is back in railway ownership. Network Rail took possession on August 10 and will now work with the borough council to find new uses for the 12- storey landmark.
EASTERN
Elsecar: The future of the Elsecar Heritage Railway is under review, after the trustees surrendered their lease to Barnsley Council in mid- August. The authority says closure is not being considered, and that it is committed to securing the system’s future.
Morpeth: The Railway Heritage Trust is contributing £120,000 towards the repainting of the station canopies in North Eastern Railway colours, to complement the rest of the restored building, and towards the replacement of seven rectangular steel supports with cast iron.
Newcastle: Listed building consent has been secured to revise the station frontage, to create two new entrances.
MIDLANDS
Bourne End: September 30 will be the 75th anniversary of the UK’s seventh worst railway accident, which occurred between Berkhamsted and Hemel Hempstead on the West Coast Main
Line. Forty-three people were killed and 63 injured when a Perth- Euston express was diverted onto the 15mph slow line at four times the speed limit. The locomotive and the first six of 15 coaches tumbled down an embankment. Driver error was blamed.
Burton- on-Trent: Repairs to the station’s front entrance, including a like for like canopy, have been sanctioned. It was struck by a coach in mid- March and has been cordoned off ever since.
Oakham: The dilapidated station footbridge is to be renovated and strengthened without compromising its historic appearance.
Redditch: Improvements to the rundown station are seen as the important first stage of plans to remodel the town centre, with £1 million found to speed up the programme.
NORTH WEST
Buxton: Proposals to reinstate the former Manchester- Derby line face opposition from 5,000 petitioners who want to see the Buxton- Bakewell section retained as the 8½ - mile Monsal Trail cycleway and footpath. It attracts 330,000 visitors a year.
Colne: There is concern that diverting freight over a reopened link with Skipton will cause problems over the already heavily congested route into Leeds.
Lancaster: Efforts are being made to find uses for empty space at the station, including the first floor of the main building and the ground floor of the structure on the disused platform.
Newtown: Restoration of the New Mills line station footbridge has benefited from a £ 25,000 grant from the Railway Heritage Trust.
SOUTHERN
Coulsdon South: The new £ 3 million bridge and lifts have been completed at the Brighton Main Line station.
Eridge: The Railway Heritage Trust has made a grant of £ 30,000 towards refurbishing derelict space at the station as a waiting room.
ANGLIA
Sutton Bridge: The Grade 2- listed former M& GN swing bridge keeper’s house is up for sale. Believed to date back to the 1840s, it still has many of its original features. The asking price is £ 365,000.
LONDON
East Ham: Although it was widely reported that the June 25/ 26 lineside fire occurred at Manor Park, this is the general term for this part of the London Borough of Newham. The incident in fact took place alongside the London Underground tracks just east of East Ham station, affecting District and Hammersmith and City Line services.
Sutton: The London Tramlink extension from Wimbledon is another project that has been placed on the back burner by Transport for London until its cash flow improves.
SCOTLAND
Arbroath: Kerr’s Miniature Railway is to close at the end of September after 85 years, because of falling passenger numbers. While it is hoped that the local authority may take it over, the track and fittings have attracted interest from several potential buyers.
Glasgow: The long- awaited redevelopment of High Street station on the North Clyde Line has received £10 million support from the city council. It is in poor condition and considered inadequate for the expected growth in passenger numbers from today’s 400,000 to 1.5 million by 2043. Large- scale housing developments and a new hotel are planned nearby.
Granton: The station due for conversion to offices ( RAIL 910) is the former private Granton Gasworks station served by workers trains on the North Leith branch, operated by the Caledonian Railway and
LMS until 1942. The ex- North British station, closed in 1925, was removed many years ago.
Motherwell: The closed signalling centre has been turned into an emergency standby electrical control room, to support the equipment at Cathcart.
WALES
Abergele & Pensarn: The Railway Heritage Trust has awarded a £125,000 grant to renovate the listed North Wales Line station for community use. The money will pay for new and restored doors and windows.
Crumlin: Three weekend closures of the Ebbw
Vale line during September will allow the £ 5 million replacement of the single- track river bridge with a wider structure. It is part of the five- mile Cross KeysAberbeeg doubling scheme.
Henllan: The Teifi Valley Railway has relaid the track on its northern extension as far as Pontpretshitw, after it was controversially lifted in 2014 after being declared unfit for use by the Office of Rail and Road. Work is now heading for Llandyfriog.
Llandudno: There are plans to create a community area at the station. The Railway Heritage has awarded a grant of £ 21,000 towards the cost.