Some Early Lines, Old Railway Companies, Birmingham & Gloucester Railway, Birmingham West Suburban Railway

Some Early Lines

Old Railway Companies

Brighton Road station, Birmingham, was opened on 1 November 1875, and was just under 3 miles from the Birmingham & Gloucester Railway’s junction with the London & Birmingham Railway. A Midland Railway train hauled by a Johnson 0-6-0 No.3694 passes the timber platform during the second decade of the last century.

Birmingham & Gloucester Railway

Originally conceived to link Birmingham with docks at Gloucester, a lengthy debate on the route resulted in a line (authorised on 22 April 1836) which avoided Tewkesbury and Worcester, though public pressure forced a diversion to Cheltenham. Its main bugbear was the Lickey Incline, 2.5 miles at 1 in 37.5 – built as an economy, it kept the Company in debt for all of its independent life. The line opened from Cheltenham to Bromsgrove on 24 June 1840, Bromsgrove to Cofton on 17 September, Cheltenham – Gloucester on 4 November, Cofton – Camp Hill on 17 December, and to Curzon Street Birmingham, on 16 August 1841. It was leased by the Midland Railway with effect from 1 July 1845, which absorbed the Company on 3 August 1846.

Big Bertha – Lickey Incline

Birmingham West Suburban Railway

Incorporated on 31 July 1871 to build south from Albion Wharf to King’s Norton, with a junction with the ex-Birmingham & Gloucester Railway, the 6.75-mile single track was vested in the Midland Railway from 1 July 1875. It was opened on 3 April 1876, and widened and extended following authority of 18 July 1881; Midland Railway expresses were diverted along it from 1 October 1885. In 1892 a triangular junction was built at Lifford (authorised on 24 July 1888), to make a circular suburban service possible.

Bournville Station.
View northward, towards Birmingham New Street; ex-Midland Birmingham – Bristol main line (Birmingham West Suburban section), now electrified (to Redditch) — seen in pouring rain. Worcester & Birmingham Canal is beside the line on right, Cadbury’s Factory behind camera.
Date 4 September 1962  Source From geograph.org.uk  Ben Brooksbank  This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.

Some US Railroads from Railroad Glory Days

Railroad Glory Days

Former Denver & Rio Grande Western, K-37 class, 2-8-2 No. 491 awaits its next assignment pulling ‘The Polar Express.’ She is on the ready track beside the roundhouse at the Colorado Railroad Museum: http://RailroadGloryDays.com/CRRM/index2.html#transporttuesday #railfans #SteamySunday #RailwayWednesday

Railroad Glory Days

The first cable car ran in San Francisco in 1873, said to be a solution of the hardship hourses had pulling cars up hills such as the one ahead in the photo (Nob Hill) on the California Street Cable line. Soon similar lines were popular all across the US. Most however, were quickly replace with electric street cars when they became practical. San Francisco’s survived because of the steepness of the hills and later, the resistance of its citizens to the removal of what had become an icon for the city.#transporttuesday #railfans #SteamySunday #RailwayWednesday

Railroad Glory Days

New story on Railroad Glory Days: Denver Union Station Renewal,
The good, the bad and the ugly.Read it here: http://Railroadglorydays.com/DenverUnionStation

#transporttuesday #railfans #SteamySunday #RailwayWednesday

Denver Union Station

railroadglorydays.com

Railroad Glory Days

White Pass & Yukon Route: Three GE shovelnosed units and 13 cars on the way to White Pass summit. Much More at http://RailroadGloryDays.com/WhitePass#transporttuesday #railfans #SteamySunday #RailwayWednesday

Some Early Lines, Old Railway Companies, Bedford Railway, Bedford & Cambridge Railway

Some Early Lines

Old Railway Companies

Bedford St Johns railway station.

Cambridge – Bletchley line, which was closed on 1/1/68, view SW towards Bletchley (left), the connection to Bedford Midland Road being to the right. This station survived as a terminus until on 14/5/84 a replacement station was opened on the loop to Midland Road station and Bletchley trains then terminated there.
Date 4 June 1962  From geograph.org.uk  Author Ben Brooksbank

Licensed for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 license.

Bedford Railway

An 1836 plan for a line between Cambridge and the London & Birmingham Railway via Bedford was dropped, but in 1844 George Stephenson visited Bedford to discuss a branch which, when authorised on 30 June 1845 and opened on 17 November 1846, was a line from Bletchley to Bedford. It was built by the London & Birmingham Railway, and absorbed by the London & North Western Railway on completion as provided for by the authorising Act, though the Company was not dissolved until 21 July 1879. It became the basis for the Bedford & Cambridge Railway.

Bedford & Cambridge Railway

The fine Midland-type canopy of the Bedford & Cambridge Railway at Potton, Beds. When this picture was taken, in July 1987, restoration was in hand with a view to use as a museum

Incorporated on 6 August 1869 as a 29.5-mile line between the two towns, the route used the track-bed of the Sandy & Potton Railway which the Company bought out. Opinions differ on the date of opening, some citing 1 August 1862, others October of that year. The Company had close ties with the London & North Western Railway, with which Working Agreements were made under an Act of 23 June 1864, and which absorbed it on 5 July 1865. The line closed to passengers on 1 January 1968.

Disused Stations:Millbrook Station
http://www.disused-stations.org.uk
The attractive blue paviours were also used at a number of stations on the Bedford and Cambridge Railway.

Some Early Lines, Old Railway Companies, Bangor & Caernarfon Railway

Some Early Lines

Old Railway Companies

Bangor & Caernarfon  Railway

Incorporated on 20 May 1851 to build between the two towns, the junction with the Chester & Holyhead Railway, which was authorised to work the line, was actually a Menai Bridge. It was an 8.5 single line, with a one-mile branch to Port Dinorwic (Y Felinheli), which opened on 1 March 1852 for goods. The line opened throughout for passengers on 1 July and for goods on 10 August. Agreement to lease the line to the Chester & Holyhead Railway for 999 years was made with effect from 1 July 1852, but the Company was instead transferred by an Act on 10 July 1854; dissolution was delayed until 15 July 1867. The line was doubled in 1872, re-singled in 1966, and closed to goods on 4 August 1969, though there was a respite when Caernarfon became a temporary freight terminal during the rebuilding of the Britannia Bridge in 1970-72.

The old Britannia Bridge on a postcard from the private collection of Jochem Hollestelle

Andrew Dixon.
Location: Britannia Bridge taken from the Nelson memorial on the Menai Strait, Anglesey – 2005

Britannia Bridge is a bridge across the Menai Strait between the island of Anglesey and the mainland of Wales. It was originally designed and built by Robert Stephenson as a tubular bridge of wrought iron rectangular box-section spans for carrying rail traffic. Following a fire in 1970 it was rebuilt as a two-tier steel truss arch bridge, carrying both road and rail traffic.

A view looking west from the island platform at Menai Bridge in August 1964. The goods train is standing at the up Afon Wen line platform which was used by passenger services travelling towards Bangor. To the left can be seen the down Afon Wen line platform. The platform that can be seen to the right served trains travelling towards Holyhead.
Photo by Bevan Price

JOHN POWELL COLLECTION
http://www.6g.nwrail.org.uk640 × 452Search by image
Caernarfon Station, 10th August 1962. Engine No 42487 arrives with a train for Afonwen.

Caernarvon railway station was a station on the former Bangor and Carnarvon Railway between Caernarfon, Gwynedd and Menai Suspension Bridge near Bangor. The station was closed to all traffic in January 1972. The station has since been demolished and the site redeveloped.

 

Steam Preservation on the 1980s and 1990s, The final few railway photos from December 17 1993

Steam Preservation on the 1980s and 1990s

The final few railway photos from December 17 1993

Steam Preservation on the 1980s and 1990s, A few more railway photos from December 1993

Steam Preservation on the 1980s and 1990s

A few more railway photos from December 1993

Foreign Lines – North Queensland

RailwayWednesday

In 1999 1079 is at Barron Falls Station during its climb up the range to Kuranda in tropical North Queensland.This was the first time a mainline loco worked the line as the track was in the process of being upgraded.

 The Barron Falls (Aboriginal: Bibhoora) is a steep tiered cascade waterfall on the Barron River located where the river descends from the Atherton Tablelands to the Cairns coastal plain, in Queensland, Australia.

Barron Falls near Kuranda, Australia

Date 27 January 2005 Source  Wikipedia
Author  Ashlsimm  Permission  (Reusing this file)
The copyright holder of this file, Ash Simmons, allows anyone to use it for any purpose, provided that the copyright holder is properly attributed. Redistribution, derivative work, commercial use, and all other use is permitted.

transpressnz.blogspot.com

Queensland Railways steam at Barron Falls

 

Nynäshamn Railway Museum

Kjell Strandberg

 

 

Nynäshamn Railway Museum

One of the dilemmas of the preservation of the railway heritage is the wish to save vehicles and installations for the future versus the cost (in dollars and manpower) to prevent it from gradually disappearing.
Luckily, groups of enthusiasts have joined and continue join to create associations with purpose to collect, preserve and show this heritage to the public, often in live operation. These voluntaries then not only contribute to the preservation of the heritage but also contribute to the tourism in the area (not always being thanked for it!). But all this means a lot of work …
This panorama photo from 2013 shows a typical situation for an association:  Many vehicles being worked on; many more collected in various states of degradation, waiting for their turn …

We must not forget, that it’s only thanks to these enthusiasts that we now and in the future have an opportunity to enjoy and take photos of our railway heritage!

Read more on:

http://www.njm.nu/english.pdf

Some Early Lines, Old Railway Companies, The Ashby and Nuneaton Joint Railway

Some Early Lines

Old Railway Companies

Ashby & Nuneaton Joint Railway

The Ashby & Nuneaton Joint Railway was the only joint MR/L&NWR project. Market Bosworth station, now used as a garage, was, at this time, also the southern limit of the Battlefield Line, which aimed to extend along the track-bed beyond the station towards Shenton and Bosworth battlefield.

The London & North Western Railway proposed a line from Ashby to Nuneaton via Market Bosworth in conjunction with the Nuneaton – Wigston line opened in 1864, but the Midland Railway had already obtained powers for an identical line in 1846, which had lapsed at the time of the purchase of the Leicester & Swannington Railway. Now, however, it revived the plans the result being a joint project, authorised on 1 September 1873, was worked by both partners, becoming part on the London, Midland & Scottish Railway in 1923. Three miles of track-bed between Shackerstone and Market Bosworth are now part of the preserved ‘Battlefield Line’.

Midland Railway train behind 0-4-4 tank No. 2081 at Market Bosworth in around 1905
http://spellerweb.net

The Battlefield Line is the last remaining part of the former Ashby and Nuneaton Joint Railway which was opened in 1873. It runs from Shackerstone via Market Bosworth to Shenton in Leicestershire and is operated by the Shackerstone Railway Society.

Shackerstone Station is at the northern end of the line, and is the headquarters of the railway with museum, Victorian tea room souvenir shop, loco shed and main rolling stock located here. There is ample free parking, and the Ashby Canal is just a stones throw away.

Our remarkable railway captures the very essence of a country line, with steam, diesel and railcar train services along with small stations meandering along a single track line. It really does convey something of the feeling and atmosphere of heady days past.

For anyone who retains a sense of nostalgia for times gone by, you’ll be pleasantly surprised at this place – one of Leicestershire’s best kept secrets, not just a train ride but a journey into history as well.

http://www.battlefield-line-railway.co.uk/

Railways in Preservation in the 1980s & 1990s, Churnet Valley Railway, December 1993

Railways in Preservation in the 1980s & 1990s

Churnet Valley Railway, December 1993

Super D Consall 2005

Knotty Unveils 3- Stage Plan

Churnet Valley Railway, at the dawn of turning a 20-year dream into reality in North Staffordshire, have revealed their operational timetable.
A Light Railway Order application was lodged nearly a year ago which has generated only a limited number of objections.
Now the ‘Knotty’ have identified three distinct stages of development.

Consall

2014 – Hasn’t the Knotty done well??!!