Presumably via Birmingham (Snow Hill) and Wolverhampton (Low Level)?
I have been on a special, years ago, which ran from Euston to Pwllheli. We didn't actually go into Shrewsbury station but passed it on the Abbey Foregate avoiding line.
The original went from Wrexham through Ruabon, Chirk, Gobowen, Shrewsbury, Wellington, Telford Central, Cosford and Wolverhampton to Tame Bridge Parkway where it would then either go through Stechford, Birmingham International and Coventry, or Birmingham New Street and Solihull, before carrying along on the usual route via Warwick, Leaming, Banbury et al to Marylebone.
I kept meaning to take the journey to Shrewsbury as it made it very easy without multiple changes, but didn't get around to it in time. Another line I regret losing was the direct route to Portsmouth that went through Oxford. It was a great way of getting straight to the south coast.
The original went from Wrexham through Ruabon, Chirk, Gobowen, Shrewsbury, Wellington, Telford Central, Cosford and Wolverhampton to Tame Bridge Parkway where it would then either go through Stechford, Birmingham International and Coventry, or Birmingham New Street and Solihull, before carrying along on the usual route via Warwick, Leaming, Banbury et al to Marylebone.
Indeed so - the Open Access agreement meant it couldn't call at certain lucrative stations. I believe it was very slow around the Midlands.
In my post I was thinking of the erstwhile "Cambrian Coast Express" which, in its earliest incarnation, bypassed Shrewsbury, just like my special.
Another line I regret losing was the direct route to Portsmouth that went through Oxford. It was a great way of getting straight to the south coast.
I once caught a train from Southampton to St Albans (its whole route was from Bournemouth to Sheffield). Unlike most inter-regional trains of the time, this didn't go via Basingstoke, Reading and Oxford but via Kew Bridge, Acton Central and Brent.
Another line I regret losing was the direct route to Portsmouth that went through Oxford. It was a great way of getting straight to the south coast.
The Didcot Newbury and Southampton closure was, astonishingly, not one of Beeching's - it predated him.
Mad really, because containerisation/freightliner and all the many good things in Reshaping Britain's Railways (and there were many, actually) would have fitted it to a T as a specialist freight line from the south coast ports, which would undoubtedly have got a passenger service back by now.
There are a few lines were you could say they closed too early - the GC London Extension would be useful now, but only after about 30 years where it really wouldn't have been - but the DNS missed salvation by the narrowest of margins IMO. 18 months between closure and Beeching's report might have been enough.
The original went from Wrexham through Ruabon, Chirk, Gobowen, Shrewsbury, Wellington, Telford Central, Cosford and Wolverhampton to Tame Bridge Parkway where it would then either go through Stechford, Birmingham International and Coventry, or Birmingham New Street and Solihull, before carrying along on the usual route via Warwick, Leaming, Banbury et al to Marylebone.
For a family holiday in Llandrindod Wells in 1957 we travelled by train. Direct service from Paddington. First stop Shrewsbury. Then stopped at all the subsequent stations. The train back did not even stop at Shrewsbury (used the bypass). I cannot now remember the route to Shrewsbury.
About 10 years ago, my brother and his family went from Craven Arms (their nearest station) to Shrewsbury, from there to London (eventually), and then further by Eurostar and various other railways to Moscow.
After a week sight-seeing in Moscow, they went on via Irkutsk (and the Trans-Siberian Railway) to Ulan Baatar, to spend a couple of weeks on the Mongolian plains. I'm not sure if they had to change at Irkutsk, but there are certainly through trains from Moscow to Ulan Baatar these days.
Alas! my niece fell ill whilst in Mongolia, and so they had to abandon their plan to travel further by train into China...there are through trains from Mongolia to Beijing, though I guess they have to change the bogies of the coaches at the border, the Chinese railways being of English gauge, and the Mongolian railways being of Russian gauge.
Wow. What a fabulous journey. I'd love to take an interracial pass through Europe but it would require being very organized about planning. Also, Russia is out now, and probably best not to go too close to the eastern Polish border.
Wow. What a fabulous journey. I'd love to take an interracial pass through Europe but it would require being very organized about planning. Also, Russia is out now, and probably best not to go too close to the eastern Polish border.
Indeed - it made a great impression on my niece, who happily recovered quite quickly from her illness in Mongolia, and spent many pleasant hours riding horses, accompanied by Mongolian children, across the plain. I think she enjoyed that rather more than getting on the train again, and going to China.
At the time of their journey (2014) Russia was OK. The nearest I've ever got to a Russian train was by admiring a Russian sleeping-car at the Gare du Nord in Paris many years ago. Rather severe in outline, with Cyrillic lettering, and a splendid samovar visible though the attendant's window.
Mad really, because containerisation/freightliner and all the many good things in Reshaping Britain's Railways (and there were many, actually) would have fitted it to a T as a specialist freight line from the south coast ports, which would undoubtedly have got a passenger service back by now.
Yes and no - it was hardly a high-speed line, mostly single track, and (I guess) would have needed bridges and tunnels opening out to a larger loading gauge. Very expensive (but would have been extremely useful and busy).
Mad really, because containerisation/freightliner and all the many good things in Reshaping Britain's Railways (and there were many, actually) would have fitted it to a T as a specialist freight line from the south coast ports, which would undoubtedly have got a passenger service back by now.
Yes and no - it was hardly a high-speed line, mostly single track, and (I guess) would have needed bridges and tunnels opening out to a larger loading gauge. Very expensive (but would have been extremely useful and busy).
I'd agree with that, but given the other solution was 'stick it all on the A34' it'd very much help!
A few other cross-country lines might have proved useful if they'd lasted until today - the Somerset & Dorset Joint, and the Midland & South-Western Junction (both roughly north-to-south) come to mind, along with the erstwhile Stratford-upon-Avon & Midland Junction (east-to-west).
, along with the erstwhile Stratford-upon-Avon & Midland Junction (east-to-west).
As I look up from typing this, I can see the GC Extension and the SMJ from my window...
although probably worth saying that the SMJ wasn't massively direct. Theoretically you could use it get from Banbury to Bedford, but only if you packed a sleeping bag. Did lead to tiny villages like Moreton Pinkney and Helmdon (neither with a population of more than a couple of hundred) possessing two railway stations each though!
A few other cross-country lines might have proved useful if they'd lasted until today - the Somerset & Dorset Joint, and the Midland & South-Western Junction (both roughly north-to-south) come to mind, along with the erstwhile Stratford-upon-Avon & Midland Junction (east-to-west).
I think the clues lie in words such as "joint" and "junction". Even in British Railways days there was a great deal of regional imperialism and no co-ordinated national pattern. There is an interesting article in the latest "Backtrack" magazine about the creation of Table 51 in the (very first!) National Timetable in 1974, the result of strategic thinking over inter-regional passenger services which had taken some years to mature.
Conversely there were some stupid practices, in the Grouping days at least, such as freight being routed in a roundabout way rather than taking the obvious route, as that would mean running over other companies' territory and reduce revenue. It's alleged that this happened once the Western Region took over the S&D and diverted freight away from it; whether that's really true I don't know, as the S&D was an expensive line to work and others, though longer, may have been more cost-effective.
, along with the erstwhile Stratford-upon-Avon & Midland Junction (east-to-west).
As I look up from typing this, I can see the GC Extension and the SMJ from my window...
although probably worth saying that the SMJ wasn't massively direct. Theoretically you could use it get from Banbury to Bedford, but only if you packed a sleeping bag. Did lead to tiny villages like Moreton Pinkney and Helmdon (neither with a population of more than a couple of hundred) possessing two railway stations each though!
No, the SMJ certainly wasn't known for fast or direct passenger services, which were rather minimal, anyway, and mostly withdrawn in the early 50s. However, AIUI, it remained in use for cross-country goods trains until the 60s, and that, maybe, would be where it might be valuable today IF there was a massive resurgence in rail-hauled freight traffic.
The two stations on the Olney -Towcester section (Salcey Forest and Stoke Bruerne) must hold some sort of record for the shortest time of being open to passenger traffic - between 1st December and 31st March 1893! The line (and the stations) survived until the construction of the M1 in 1958.
The two stations on the Olney -Towcester section (Salcey Forest and Stoke Bruerne) must hold some sort of record for the shortest time of being open to passenger traffic - between 1st December and 31st March 1893! The line (and the stations) survived until the construction of the M1 in 1958.
Now there's a challenge! I can't think of any others, although there are quite a few which never opened: Lullingstone, Seaton Sluice, North End (aka Bull and Bush) - I'm sure there are others. The stations on the Newmarket and Chesterford Railway didn't last long as the line closed in 1851!
, along with the erstwhile Stratford-upon-Avon & Midland Junction (east-to-west).
As I look up from typing this, I can see the GC Extension and the SMJ from my window...
although probably worth saying that the SMJ wasn't massively direct. Theoretically you could use it get from Banbury to Bedford, but only if you packed a sleeping bag. Did lead to tiny villages like Moreton Pinkney and Helmdon (neither with a population of more than a couple of hundred) possessing two railway stations each though!
No, the SMJ certainly wasn't known for fast or direct passenger services, which were rather minimal, anyway, and mostly withdrawn in the early 50s. However, AIUI, it remained in use for cross-country goods trains until the 60s, and that, maybe, would be where it might be valuable today IF there was a massive resurgence in rail-hauled freight traffic.
The two stations on the Olney -Towcester section (Salcey Forest and Stoke Bruerne) must hold some sort of record for the shortest time of being open to passenger traffic - between 1st December and 31st March 1893! The line (and the stations) survived until the construction of the M1 in 1958.
I'm seeing an SMJ fireman tonight actually so there are some still out there. The Northamptonshire confluence of the SMJ and GC did lead to some great potential for confusion.
The SMJ built a station in the tiny village of Moreton Pinkney. Then the GC pitched up and built one too - but to avoid confusion they called it Culworth, the name of a village 2 miles away. Then the GC built the Woodford Halse to Banbury Branch which included a station actually in Culworth, at the bottom of the main street, but they already had a Culworth station, so they called the station in Culworth 'Eydon Road Halt' after a village 1.5 miles from Culworth in another direction.
A local would probably know which station on which line he wanted to get to a particular village, a visitor to the area? No chance.
On Marylebone Station again, there is a story in one of told by Canon Roger Lloyd about it (hoping I haven't posted it here before):
Of Marylebone terminus, for example, the prevailing impression is of quietude - nothing particular ever seemed to be happening. It is essentially peaceful, and when some rather fussy penitent told his father confessor (Mgr Ronald Knox, I think) that he could find nowhere in London where he could meditate in quiet and peace, he was astonished to hear the caustic answer, "Have you tried Marylebone station, my son?"
On Marylebone Station again, there is a story in one of told by Canon Roger Lloyd about it (hoping I haven't posted it here before):
Of Marylebone terminus, for example, the prevailing impression is of quietude - nothing particular ever seemed to be happening. It is essentially peaceful, and when some rather fussy penitent told his father confessor (Mgr Ronald Knox, I think) that he could find nowhere in London where he could meditate in quiet and peace, he was astonished to hear the caustic answer, "Have you tried Marylebone station, my son?"
That tale may tie in with Knox's comment about Marylebone and birdsong, which I mentioned earlier.
The two stations on the Olney -Towcester section (Salcey Forest and Stoke Bruerne) must hold some sort of record for the shortest time of being open to passenger traffic - between 1st December and 31st March 1893! The line (and the stations) survived until the construction of the M1 in 1958.
Now there's a challenge! I can't think of any others, although there are quite a few which never opened: Lullingstone, Seaton Sluice, North End (aka Bull and Bush) - I'm sure there are others. The stations on the Newmarket and Chesterford Railway didn't last long as the line closed in 1851!
I daresay there are many instances of stations being open or closed at various times in their career, but for Salcey Forest and Stoke Bruerne, that four months in 1892-93 was their lot as far as passenger services were concerned!
There we are, team - your mission (should you choose to accept it) is to find another place whose entire life as a passenger station was less than four consecutive months, whilst the line serving it remained open for freight traffic
I don't think that I count as a train nerd, although I do enjoy a trip on a steam train. My brother-in-law is certainly one - when we took him to Swanage recently, he was desperate to get photos of various steam engines and was very annoyed that one in particular was hidden in a shed.
Not long ago, we went up to London and did one of the guided tours in hidden parts of the London Underground. We were shown around some really interesting parts of Euston Station. I would love to go back and explore other stations - I am particularly interested in the stations that had deep level accommodation for people during the Blitz (I hear that South Clapham is a great place to visit for this).
I have come late to the TV show Secrets of the London Underground and am gradually working my way through the episodes via the UK TV Play app. I can only watch one episode at a time because although I enjoy them, I can't take too much of the uber-nerdiness of Tim Dunn, much as I love him. Even Siddy Holloway's fascination with coloured tiles can only be taken in small doses.
I would love to go back and explore other stations - I am particularly interested in the stations that had deep level accommodation for people during the Blitz.
I have come late to the TV show Secrets of the London Underground and am gradually working my way through the episodes via the UK TV Play app. I can only watch one episode at a time because although I enjoy them, I can't take too much of the uber-nerdiness of Tim Dunn, much as I love him. Even Siddy Holloway's fascination with coloured tiles can only be taken in small doses.
Yes, there are some fascinating nuggets to be gleaned from the series, but you do have to sit through an awful lot of enthusiasm about ventilation shafts. Which is not my thing so I've only seen about three episodes.
There was a droll statement, I know not where, that the GC London branch was built solely to convey country gentlemen to Lords'. It was, of course, very convenient for that purpose. Also for conveying - this it certainly did - hunters and their horses to various hunting locations. There were dedicated specials for this traffic.
There were through trains and in later days a through carriage, from Marylebone to Stratford-on-Avon. It was the shortest route in miles, but I'd not swear to it being the fastest. There were also various schemes to extend to Worcester and Birmingham. What stopped them (apart from lack of money) was a concordat with the GWR that the GC would not promote or support new railways west of a certain point. GC/GW relations were, after this, exceedingly cordial. I would go so far as to call them allied companies. An interesting 'what if' would be the effect of the GC going into the GW group in 1923. In many ways, it would have made sense.
There was a droll statement, I know not where, that the GC London branch was built solely to convey country gentlemen to Lords'.
I thought it was built as part of Sir Edward Watkins' grand scheme to link the north of England with Paris via the Metropolitan and South Eastern Railways and the Channel Tunnel.
But your idea is nicer, and it certainly did cross some prime hunting country!
I have enough teenage train nerd still remaining that, even with the brief glimpse I got as it rattled through Penrith station on Monday, I could see the locomotive on question was an unrebuilt Bulleid pacific with a single coach in an LMS scheme behind it.
Sir Edward's grand scheme never quite made it (at least until the Channel Tunnel was eventually built, about a century later...), but the initial work at Shakespeare Cliff led to the discovery of coal, and the subsequent slow, painful, and never really lucrative, development of the Kent coalfield.
An entertaining result of this was the eccentric, if not bizarre, East Kent Light Railway, one of Colonel H F Stephens' famous empire*. Part of it continued to serve Tilmanstone Colliery until that closed during the miners' strike of 1984, but the short section from Shepherdswell to Eythorne is now a heritage railway. Without wishing to criticise that valiant enterprise, it doesn't really convey much of the former Stephens/Austen atmosphere, though IMHO it's well worth a visit.
*run from his offices at Salford Terrace, Tonbridge, not far from the station there, and close to the house in Priory Road which he kept up for many years. Had he lived at least another 20 years (he died in 1931, aged only 63) he and I might have been neighbours, as his house was in the same street as ours...
There was a droll statement, I know not where, that the GC London branch was built solely to convey country gentlemen to Lords'.
I thought it was built as part of Sir Edward Watkins' grand scheme to link the north of England with Paris via the Metropolitan and South Eastern Railways and the Channel Tunnel.
But your idea is nicer, and it certainly did cross some prime hunting country!
Well, it was.
But this is what some Edwardian humorist (I forget who exactly) said about it. According to Dow, in the early years, Marylebone was very quiet indeed, with only a few trains. It got busier once Sir Sam got to work.
There was a droll statement, I know not where, that the GC London branch was built solely to convey country gentlemen to Lords'.
I thought it was built as part of Sir Edward Watkins' grand scheme to link the north of England with Paris via the Metropolitan and South Eastern Railways and the Channel Tunnel.
Not quite - although it's a nice story. Watkin's Channel Tunnel was killed off in about 1882. The GC opened in 1897. He was basically a man of ideas. I'm sure he did conceive 'Manchester to the continent' but in reality (chronologically) the continent bit was long dead by the time a shovel went in the ground on the London Extension.
Coal traffic to London was always the key. Passenger traffic was a nice to have - their expresses were smartly timed but very short (IIRC typically about 4 coaches and we're in the bogie era) - and aside from Rugby, Nottingham and Leicester, there was a huge gap south of Rugby until Aylesbury where no one lived (comparatively speaking, and with apologies to Brackley).
They almost built stations more in hope than expectation.
There was a droll statement, I know not where, that the GC London branch was built solely to convey country gentlemen to Lords'. It was, of course, very convenient for that purpose. Also for conveying - this it certainly did - hunters and their horses to various hunting locations. There were dedicated specials for this traffic.
There were through trains and in later days a through carriage, from Marylebone to Stratford-on-Avon. It was the shortest route in miles, but I'd not swear to it being the fastest. There were also various schemes to extend to Worcester and Birmingham. What stopped them (apart from lack of money) was a concordat with the GWR that the GC would not promote or support new railways west of a certain point. GC/GW relations were, after this, exceedingly cordial. I would go so far as to call them allied companies. An interesting 'what if' would be the effect of the GC going into the GW group in 1923. In many ways, it would have made sense.
Would have made total sense - the GC mainline was of course to the west of the west coast mainline for a long way, and operated by the LNER. AIUI giving it to the GWR was a serious consideration, and would have made for spicier north south competition...
Re hunting, a hotel specifically for railborne hunters and their horses was built at Woodford Halse - the Hinton Gorse Hotel - ideally situated for hunting with a different pack within hacking distance every day for about 4-5 days.
After WW2 it became the British Railways staff club, and is now the village social club. There's a fantastic (and enormous) OO model of the station and yards at Woodford up in the roof, built over the past 50 years by former railwaymen.
There was a droll statement, I know not where, that the GC London branch was built solely to convey country gentlemen to Lords'.
I thought it was built as part of Sir Edward Watkins' grand scheme to link the north of England with Paris via the Metropolitan and South Eastern Railways and the Channel Tunnel.
Not quite - although it's a nice story. Watkin's Channel Tunnel was killed off in about 1882. The GC opened in 1897. He was basically a man of ideas. I'm sure he did conceive 'Manchester to the continent' but in reality (chronologically) the continent bit was long dead by the time a shovel went in the ground on the London Extension.
Coal traffic to London was always the key. Passenger traffic was a nice to have - their expresses were smartly timed but very short (IIRC typically about 4 coaches and we're in the bogie era) - and aside from Rugby, Nottingham and Leicester, there was a huge gap south of Rugby until Aylesbury where no one lived (comparatively speaking, and with apologies to Brackley).
They almost built stations more in hope than expectation.
Yes, good points. The Channel Tunnel work of 1882, to which I referred earlier, did indeed predate the London Branch Line Extension by many years. Today's Great Central heritage railway shows how high the standards on that line were, though.
There was a droll statement, I know not where, that the GC London branch was built solely to convey country gentlemen to Lords'.
I thought it was built as part of Sir Edward Watkins' grand scheme to link the north of England with Paris via the Metropolitan and South Eastern Railways and the Channel Tunnel.
Not quite - although it's a nice story. Watkin's Channel Tunnel was killed off in about 1882. The GC opened in 1897. He was basically a man of ideas. I'm sure he did conceive 'Manchester to the continent' but in reality (chronologically) the continent bit was long dead by the time a shovel went in the ground on the London Extension.
Coal traffic to London was always the key. Passenger traffic was a nice to have - their expresses were smartly timed but very short (IIRC typically about 4 coaches and we're in the bogie era) - and aside from Rugby, Nottingham and Leicester, there was a huge gap south of Rugby until Aylesbury where no one lived (comparatively speaking, and with apologies to Brackley).
They almost built stations more in hope than expectation.
Yes, good points. The Channel Tunnel work of 1882, to which I referred earlier, did indeed predate the London Branch Line Extension by many years. Today's Great Central heritage railway shows how high the standards on that line were, though.
Indeed - the sheer quantity of derelict blue engineering brick structures is testament to the GC building things to last. It was abandoned with indecent haste. There are still signal posts and platelayers huts standing in the middle of nowhere near me.
Photos from the last days show lovely (and recently laid) flat bottomed rail... Helmdon viaduct (certainly, but probably some of the others) still stands, showing the alterations made in preparation for OHLE.
sorry - overhead line equipment. Essentially, not long before they closed the route, they relaid the track and got some structures ready for it to be an electrified trunk route. At who knows what cost.
Not quite - although it's a nice story. Watkin's Channel Tunnel was killed off in about 1882. The GC opened in 1897.
Ah, well ...
They almost built stations more in hope than expectation.
True, but (I guess) also for operational reasons, like on the Settle & Carlisle.
Interesting that the early evening express was non-stop to Finmere. "Where?" you might well ask, but the GC thought it was convenient for Buckingham, a "mere" 5 miles away! I suppose, if you had someone meeting you with a carriage, it would be quicker than travelling via Verney Junction.
Not quite - although it's a nice story. Watkin's Channel Tunnel was killed off in about 1882. The GC opened in 1897.
Ah, well ...
They almost built stations more in hope than expectation.
True, but (I guess) also for operational reasons, like on the Settle & Carlisle.
Interesting that the early evening express was non-stop to Finmere. "Where?" you might well ask, but the GC thought it was convenient for Buckingham, a "mere" 5 miles away! I suppose, if you had someone meeting you with a carriage, it would be quicker than travelling via Verney Junction.
I think it wasn't just Peter Denny's imagination (though his model was the only time it was built) - the GC had hopes of a branch to Buckingham from Finmere, so the station was more of a statement of intent.
In typical GC style though was Finmere station in Finmere (itself a tiny and unremarkable village)?
Of course not, it was at the end of the street (indeed crossing it) in the tiny and unremarkable nearby village of Newton Purcell...
sorry - overhead line equipment. Essentially, not long before they closed the route, they relaid the track and got some structures ready for it to be an electrified trunk route. At who knows what cost.
Thanks! I didn't know about that - what a waste...
I think it might have been none other than Cyril Freezer (longtime editor of Railway Modeller) who said he found it hard to realise that Buckingham wasn't actually served by the Great Central, as imagined by Rev Peter Denny...
Indeed so. Incidentally Finmere station, a few years ago, was home to a putative railway museum with a Class 73 locomotive, Southern BIG/CIG units and some Tube cars, among other stuff. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5jBHat6dZQ. All gone now due to HS2.
Our ancestors were less deterred by a long walk than we are. Indeed one might argue that a functioning station, with waiting rooms and staff some miles from home is better than no public transport at all. (The situation that preceded the railways and is now once more quite common in the UK.)
In my lifetime, I recall visiting relatives who lived a good country mile from their village station. We walked to their house, and at the end of the visit, a whole posse of them - maybe half a dozen or more individuals - would walk with us to the station to see us off. This was seen as quite natural at the time, but I can't conceive of anyone doing it now.
The arrival of buses (mostly after WW1) which were cheap and took people more or less to their doorstep, robbed the railways of a lot of local passenger traffic. Trams in towns and cities did an even more devastating job, from about 1900.
An interesting 'what if' would be the effect of the GC going into the GW group in 1923. In many ways, it would have made sense.
The Great Western at Cleethorpes. That's certainly an interesting thought.
Ha.
Been a while since I've looked at this but from memory - and one of the reasons it didn't happen - at the Grouping they weren't considering giving the whole GC to the GW, but making the GC the only company that got carved up - ie the GW would have got Marylebone round to Wrexham, and points east would have still gone to the LNER.
You can see why they baulked at doing that, and why they - equally - didn't want to give the GW the whole GC either, so unsurprising that we ended up where we ended up. But it rankled with the Midland/LMS, and there was no little measure of spite in the minds of some at BR(LM) when they finally got their hands on the extension in 56/7(one of those).
The Great Western at Cleethorpes. That's certainly an interesting thought.
And the London & North Eastern at Mallaig ...
Indeed. AIUI, there was a proposal at the Grouping to incorporate all the railways in Scotland into one company, separate from the LMS and LNER, but the financial prospects for such a company weren't promising.
Comments
I have been on a special, years ago, which ran from Euston to Pwllheli. We didn't actually go into Shrewsbury station but passed it on the Abbey Foregate avoiding line.
I kept meaning to take the journey to Shrewsbury as it made it very easy without multiple changes, but didn't get around to it in time. Another line I regret losing was the direct route to Portsmouth that went through Oxford. It was a great way of getting straight to the south coast.
In my post I was thinking of the erstwhile "Cambrian Coast Express" which, in its earliest incarnation, bypassed Shrewsbury, just like my special.
The Didcot Newbury and Southampton closure was, astonishingly, not one of Beeching's - it predated him.
Mad really, because containerisation/freightliner and all the many good things in Reshaping Britain's Railways (and there were many, actually) would have fitted it to a T as a specialist freight line from the south coast ports, which would undoubtedly have got a passenger service back by now.
There are a few lines were you could say they closed too early - the GC London Extension would be useful now, but only after about 30 years where it really wouldn't have been - but the DNS missed salvation by the narrowest of margins IMO. 18 months between closure and Beeching's report might have been enough.
For a family holiday in Llandrindod Wells in 1957 we travelled by train. Direct service from Paddington. First stop Shrewsbury. Then stopped at all the subsequent stations. The train back did not even stop at Shrewsbury (used the bypass). I cannot now remember the route to Shrewsbury.
After a week sight-seeing in Moscow, they went on via Irkutsk (and the Trans-Siberian Railway) to Ulan Baatar, to spend a couple of weeks on the Mongolian plains. I'm not sure if they had to change at Irkutsk, but there are certainly through trains from Moscow to Ulan Baatar these days.
Alas! my niece fell ill whilst in Mongolia, and so they had to abandon their plan to travel further by train into China...there are through trains from Mongolia to Beijing, though I guess they have to change the bogies of the coaches at the border, the Chinese railways being of English gauge, and the Mongolian railways being of Russian gauge.
Indeed - it made a great impression on my niece, who happily recovered quite quickly from her illness in Mongolia, and spent many pleasant hours riding horses, accompanied by Mongolian children, across the plain. I think she enjoyed that rather more than getting on the train again, and going to China.
At the time of their journey (2014) Russia was OK. The nearest I've ever got to a Russian train was by admiring a Russian sleeping-car at the Gare du Nord in Paris many years ago. Rather severe in outline, with Cyrillic lettering, and a splendid samovar visible though the attendant's window.
Yes and no - it was hardly a high-speed line, mostly single track, and (I guess) would have needed bridges and tunnels opening out to a larger loading gauge. Very expensive (but would have been extremely useful and busy).
I'd agree with that, but given the other solution was 'stick it all on the A34' it'd very much help!
As I look up from typing this, I can see the GC Extension and the SMJ from my window...
although probably worth saying that the SMJ wasn't massively direct. Theoretically you could use it get from Banbury to Bedford, but only if you packed a sleeping bag. Did lead to tiny villages like Moreton Pinkney and Helmdon (neither with a population of more than a couple of hundred) possessing two railway stations each though!
I think the clues lie in words such as "joint" and "junction". Even in British Railways days there was a great deal of regional imperialism and no co-ordinated national pattern. There is an interesting article in the latest "Backtrack" magazine about the creation of Table 51 in the (very first!) National Timetable in 1974, the result of strategic thinking over inter-regional passenger services which had taken some years to mature.
Conversely there were some stupid practices, in the Grouping days at least, such as freight being routed in a roundabout way rather than taking the obvious route, as that would mean running over other companies' territory and reduce revenue. It's alleged that this happened once the Western Region took over the S&D and diverted freight away from it; whether that's really true I don't know, as the S&D was an expensive line to work and others, though longer, may have been more cost-effective.
No, the SMJ certainly wasn't known for fast or direct passenger services, which were rather minimal, anyway, and mostly withdrawn in the early 50s. However, AIUI, it remained in use for cross-country goods trains until the 60s, and that, maybe, would be where it might be valuable today IF there was a massive resurgence in rail-hauled freight traffic.
The two stations on the Olney -Towcester section (Salcey Forest and Stoke Bruerne) must hold some sort of record for the shortest time of being open to passenger traffic - between 1st December and 31st March 1893! The line (and the stations) survived until the construction of the M1 in 1958.
I'm seeing an SMJ fireman tonight actually so there are some still out there. The Northamptonshire confluence of the SMJ and GC did lead to some great potential for confusion.
The SMJ built a station in the tiny village of Moreton Pinkney. Then the GC pitched up and built one too - but to avoid confusion they called it Culworth, the name of a village 2 miles away. Then the GC built the Woodford Halse to Banbury Branch which included a station actually in Culworth, at the bottom of the main street, but they already had a Culworth station, so they called the station in Culworth 'Eydon Road Halt' after a village 1.5 miles from Culworth in another direction.
A local would probably know which station on which line he wanted to get to a particular village, a visitor to the area? No chance.
But surely all the information would have been online? What, it wasn't?
TBF, Bradshaw sometimes did tell you that kind of thing.
Of Marylebone terminus, for example, the prevailing impression is of quietude - nothing particular ever seemed to be happening. It is essentially peaceful, and when some rather fussy penitent told his father confessor (Mgr Ronald Knox, I think) that he could find nowhere in London where he could meditate in quiet and peace, he was astonished to hear the caustic answer, "Have you tried Marylebone station, my son?"
That tale may tie in with Knox's comment about Marylebone and birdsong, which I mentioned earlier.
I daresay there are many instances of stations being open or closed at various times in their career, but for Salcey Forest and Stoke Bruerne, that four months in 1892-93 was their lot as far as passenger services were concerned!
There we are, team - your mission (should you choose to accept it) is to find another place whose entire life as a passenger station was less than four consecutive months, whilst the line serving it remained open for freight traffic
Proper station, intended to be permanent, brick buildings, gas lighting, etc.
Managed 3 weeks in 1874 before total closure and no replacement.
Not long ago, we went up to London and did one of the guided tours in hidden parts of the London Underground. We were shown around some really interesting parts of Euston Station. I would love to go back and explore other stations - I am particularly interested in the stations that had deep level accommodation for people during the Blitz (I hear that South Clapham is a great place to visit for this).
I have come late to the TV show Secrets of the London Underground and am gradually working my way through the episodes via the UK TV Play app. I can only watch one episode at a time because although I enjoy them, I can't take too much of the uber-nerdiness of Tim Dunn, much as I love him. Even Siddy Holloway's fascination with coloured tiles can only be taken in small doses.
It was very easy!
Yes, there are some fascinating nuggets to be gleaned from the series, but you do have to sit through an awful lot of enthusiasm about ventilation shafts. Which is not my thing so I've only seen about three episodes.
I was at university with him. I doubt at this distance he'd remember me, but he seems very much the same.
There were through trains and in later days a through carriage, from Marylebone to Stratford-on-Avon. It was the shortest route in miles, but I'd not swear to it being the fastest. There were also various schemes to extend to Worcester and Birmingham. What stopped them (apart from lack of money) was a concordat with the GWR that the GC would not promote or support new railways west of a certain point. GC/GW relations were, after this, exceedingly cordial. I would go so far as to call them allied companies. An interesting 'what if' would be the effect of the GC going into the GW group in 1923. In many ways, it would have made sense.
But your idea is nicer, and it certainly did cross some prime hunting country!
An entertaining result of this was the eccentric, if not bizarre, East Kent Light Railway, one of Colonel H F Stephens' famous empire*. Part of it continued to serve Tilmanstone Colliery until that closed during the miners' strike of 1984, but the short section from Shepherdswell to Eythorne is now a heritage railway. Without wishing to criticise that valiant enterprise, it doesn't really convey much of the former Stephens/Austen atmosphere, though IMHO it's well worth a visit.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Kent_Light_Railway
*run from his offices at Salford Terrace, Tonbridge, not far from the station there, and close to the house in Priory Road which he kept up for many years. Had he lived at least another 20 years (he died in 1931, aged only 63) he and I might have been neighbours, as his house was in the same street as ours...
Well, it was.
But this is what some Edwardian humorist (I forget who exactly) said about it. According to Dow, in the early years, Marylebone was very quiet indeed, with only a few trains. It got busier once Sir Sam got to work.
Not quite - although it's a nice story. Watkin's Channel Tunnel was killed off in about 1882. The GC opened in 1897. He was basically a man of ideas. I'm sure he did conceive 'Manchester to the continent' but in reality (chronologically) the continent bit was long dead by the time a shovel went in the ground on the London Extension.
Coal traffic to London was always the key. Passenger traffic was a nice to have - their expresses were smartly timed but very short (IIRC typically about 4 coaches and we're in the bogie era) - and aside from Rugby, Nottingham and Leicester, there was a huge gap south of Rugby until Aylesbury where no one lived (comparatively speaking, and with apologies to Brackley).
They almost built stations more in hope than expectation.
Would have made total sense - the GC mainline was of course to the west of the west coast mainline for a long way, and operated by the LNER. AIUI giving it to the GWR was a serious consideration, and would have made for spicier north south competition...
Re hunting, a hotel specifically for railborne hunters and their horses was built at Woodford Halse - the Hinton Gorse Hotel - ideally situated for hunting with a different pack within hacking distance every day for about 4-5 days.
After WW2 it became the British Railways staff club, and is now the village social club. There's a fantastic (and enormous) OO model of the station and yards at Woodford up in the roof, built over the past 50 years by former railwaymen.
Yes, good points. The Channel Tunnel work of 1882, to which I referred earlier, did indeed predate the London Branch Line Extension by many years. Today's Great Central heritage railway shows how high the standards on that line were, though.
Indeed - the sheer quantity of derelict blue engineering brick structures is testament to the GC building things to last. It was abandoned with indecent haste. There are still signal posts and platelayers huts standing in the middle of nowhere near me.
Photos from the last days show lovely (and recently laid) flat bottomed rail... Helmdon viaduct (certainly, but probably some of the others) still stands, showing the alterations made in preparation for OHLE.
True, but (I guess) also for operational reasons, like on the Settle & Carlisle.
Interesting that the early evening express was non-stop to Finmere. "Where?" you might well ask, but the GC thought it was convenient for Buckingham, a "mere" 5 miles away! I suppose, if you had someone meeting you with a carriage, it would be quicker than travelling via Verney Junction.
I think it wasn't just Peter Denny's imagination (though his model was the only time it was built) - the GC had hopes of a branch to Buckingham from Finmere, so the station was more of a statement of intent.
In typical GC style though was Finmere station in Finmere (itself a tiny and unremarkable village)?
Of course not, it was at the end of the street (indeed crossing it) in the tiny and unremarkable nearby village of Newton Purcell...
Thanks! I didn't know about that - what a waste...
I think it might have been none other than Cyril Freezer (longtime editor of Railway Modeller) who said he found it hard to realise that Buckingham wasn't actually served by the Great Central, as imagined by Rev Peter Denny...
In my lifetime, I recall visiting relatives who lived a good country mile from their village station. We walked to their house, and at the end of the visit, a whole posse of them - maybe half a dozen or more individuals - would walk with us to the station to see us off. This was seen as quite natural at the time, but I can't conceive of anyone doing it now.
The arrival of buses (mostly after WW1) which were cheap and took people more or less to their doorstep, robbed the railways of a lot of local passenger traffic. Trams in towns and cities did an even more devastating job, from about 1900.
The Great Western at Cleethorpes. That's certainly an interesting thought.
Ha.
Been a while since I've looked at this but from memory - and one of the reasons it didn't happen - at the Grouping they weren't considering giving the whole GC to the GW, but making the GC the only company that got carved up - ie the GW would have got Marylebone round to Wrexham, and points east would have still gone to the LNER.
You can see why they baulked at doing that, and why they - equally - didn't want to give the GW the whole GC either, so unsurprising that we ended up where we ended up. But it rankled with the Midland/LMS, and there was no little measure of spite in the minds of some at BR(LM) when they finally got their hands on the extension in 56/7(one of those).
And the London & North Eastern at Mallaig ...
Indeed. AIUI, there was a proposal at the Grouping to incorporate all the railways in Scotland into one company, separate from the LMS and LNER, but the financial prospects for such a company weren't promising.
At least the LMS went right up to the Far North!