Railway??

[davidd]

Interesting article on the local news last night regarding the Cambridge - Colchester line. It seems there is a study to see if it is feasable to reopen it, initially from Cambridge to Haverhill...

That would be good and certainly help the 1307 traffic issues, but what are the chances?? Very low I would have thought...

D.

[Linton Observer]

Davidd

You beat me to it! I was going to start a new thread on the railway, and I'm glad you bought the subject up. What we want now are some ideas where the line will be. Is it going to really be that easy to install the new line where the old one was? If Linton were to have a station, any ideas where it would (ideally) be? Where would be the funniest place to put it? Where would the train start from in Haverhill, and where would it go to in Cambridge? Land is a premium all over the place, and I think 2 years before it is up and running (as was suggested in the news report) is very optimistic indeed!
Not many people know I used to be a diesel fitter. I used to walk into Marks and Spencers and say 'Diesel fit me Ma, diesel fit me Brother, diesel fit me Dad'. (The old jokes are the best).
I wonder how Dr. Beeching would feel about the railways if he were alive today?
 
Tony.

[alfie]

I  was just looking back over past posts and came accross this one from David

regarding a proposed survey to look at re-opening the railway; it obviously never got very far as the post was from 2004

Dr Beeching certianly has a lot to answer for.  Looking back it was a very short sighted decision closing all the rural railways.  They would be a solution to a lot todays problems with traffic and the enviroment.

As one who can remember when trains still passed through the village i was getting all nostalgic

 

[albaniana]

My son recently made a model-village version of Linton using toy houses.  He told me it was 'Linton in the olden days' - he had included a railway line.  He is a great rail enthusiast and very determined, and I'm sure given encouragement he will at some point lead a successful campaign to restore a rail link to Linton.  However you may have to wait awhile as he is only 6.

[Zanussi]

not going to happen!
Goverment is only comitted to keeping existing lines open and limited investment in them.
Anyhow, Cambus couldn't justify a 15 minute bus along the route so no way is anyone going to splash out the serious money for a railway.

[JPM]

The line of the old railway is not exactly free of obstructions, is it? You'd have to knock down quite a few houses in Haverhill plus a good bit of the grip industrial estate to restate it. Not forgetting the A11 which goes right over the top of the old Pampisford station.

Albaniana - did you never take Jamie to see Linton Station? The old platforms etc. are still there; it was in use as a nursery last time I was there and they'd fenced it off so the toddlers couldn't fall down onto the trackbed, but it still looked like a station. I think the nursery has gone now.

Bartlow Station has been converted into housing (the ticket office is a house called "Booking Hall"), but you can still see the line of the tracks etc. Ashdon station (on the Bartlow - Audley End line) has an old wooden carriage as a waiting room which is still there.

[albaniana]

It's not impossible that by the time my boy has grown up cars will be obsolete and trains will be the future.  Roads are no good, turn 'em into railways!  But sorry to those people in Haverhill who will be forced to move for the greater good...

[Slabster]

On the subject of Railways!

The WHRS East Anglian Group hold regular meetings in Hildersham.

The WHRS EAG exists to support and promote The Welsh Highland Railway http://whr.bangor.ac.uk/whr.htm
which will run through Snowdonia, North Wales in 2009.

Volunteers first started on the project to reopen the spectacularly scenic narrow gauge railway in the late 60's. In 1997 with help from the neighboring, equally famous, Ffestiniog Railway trains where once more restored to the first section from Caernarfon.
Trains are now running to Rhyd ddu ('Rith thee', not 'ride do'!) 12 miles from caernarfon. Work is in hand and the rails wind there way down to Bedgelert and through the Aberglaslyn Pass towards Porthmadog to a conection with the Ffestiniog Railway

Our next meeting is on Thursday 17th April at Hildersham village Hall (we meet in the Pear Tree PH for food and natter from 6.30)

Regards

Slabs

[Slabster]

Our next meeting is on Thursday 17th April

Alan Hardy, Adrian and Derrik Dyer are Speaking about the old Saffron Walden Railway and the section of the old Stour Valley Railway from Shelford to Haverhill.

There will also be selection of pictures from the Railway in Wales.

If you know someone who is interested in all things trains etc let them know about this meeting.

Many thanks

Mark (aka Slabs)

[mrs jellyby]

On the subject of Railways!

 Work is in hand and the rails wind there way down to Bedgelert and through the Aberglaslyn Pass towards Porthmadog to a conection with the Ffestiniog Railway

That's good news.
         ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 One of the most pleasant things to do is sit and watch the world go by as you tuck in to your sandwiches on board a little train in Wales.
The last one I boarded was the on the Tall-y-Llyn line. I believe a considerable amount of the restoration over the years was carried out by people from the Cambridge area.

I also boarded the Aberystwyth-Devil's Bridge train on a particularly sunny day last Autumn. There were many good photograph opportunities as it passed through the Rheidol valley.

[Slabster]

Rebuilding the railway is not feasable on most of its old alignment IMO.

However an extention of the Cambridge guided bus scheme to haverhill might... I'l get my coat!

Slabs

[alfie]

Rebuilding the railway is not feasable on most of its old alignment IMO.

However an extention of the guided bus schem to haverhill might... I'l get my coat!

Slabs

I must admit i was not too sure what you meant by guided bus, at first i thought it was some sort of tram.
However i looked it up on wikepedia.  Was quite surprised to see there are quite a lot more of these systems in the UK than i thought and quite a lot more planned, notably a 20km from cambridge to st Ives.  I thought they would be more suitable for urban areas that rural.  To follow the present road  route from cambride to haverhill there area lot of steep gradiants to overcome and as has been stated it would not now unfortunately be ablle to use the old railway line.  to me they look a good idea but as a route from linton to Cambridge/Haverhill i do not think it would be practical to implement.   

[Slabster]

Guided bus

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guided_bus

Slabs