Sutton Park line

The Sutton Park line is a freight-only railway line running from Walsall to Castle Bromwich and Water Orton in the West Midlands, England. It is an important and strategic route, as it enables most freight trains to avoid congestion at Birmingham New Street station. It gets its name as it runs through Sutton Park at Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands.
Opened in 1879, the line carried passenger services until 1965.
Construction and opening.
The line was constructed by the Wolverhampton, Walsall and Midland Junction Railway company, and was authorised on 6 August 1872. In 1874, the company merged with the Midland Railway.
The line was opened on 1 July 1879, and was served by trains between Wolverhampton High Level and Birmingham New Street via Walsall, although some services avoided Walsall via the direct link to the Wolverhampton and Walsall Railway.
Brownhills branch.
The Brownhills branch was authorised in two stages. Stage One was from Aldridge to Walsall Wood in 1876, and from Walsall Wood to Norton Canes in 1880.
It was opened for goods traffic between Aldridge and Brownhills Watling Street in April 1882, and the entire route followed in November 1882. Passenger services on the line began in 1884, although services terminated at Brownhills.
The branch was constructed mostly for the purpose of carrying coal traffic from five local pits. This output was sufficient to ensure that the route was double-track throughout.
Passenger trains were withdrawn on the line in 1930, and the branch closed completely in 1962.
Closure.
The line was closed for passenger services on 18 January 1965, although mail trains continued to call at Sutton Park after this date.
Re-opening.
In February 2008 it was announced that Birmingham City Council, Network Rail and Centro were launching a feasibility study to assess the possibility of re-opening the line to passenger services. In January 2015 the line was put on hold for reopening to passenger trains.
In March 2020, a bid was made to the Restoring Your Railway fund to get funds for a feasibility study into reinstating the line. This bid was unsuccessful.


City Road Goods Branch

The City Road Goods branch was a goods only branch serving the Lister Hills area of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England.
History.
Proposed as part of the Bradford and Thornton Railways Act (1865), later withdrawn but then incorporated (24 July 1871) and amalgamated with the Great Northern Railway (18 July 1872). The line to City Road from St Dunstans opened on 4 December 1876 and consisted of a branch from just east of Horton Park at Horton Junction travelling north for . It closed when goods services were withdrawn from the stub of the St Dunstans to Thornton line on 26 August 1972.
The warehouses were converted into offices of a haulage company however they were destroyed in a fire in the 1980s.


Colwick marshalling yard

Colwick marshalling yard, also known as Colwick sidings, was a large railway marshalling yard in Netherfield, Nottingham designed for the concentration of coal traffic from the Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Coalfield for transfer to other marshalling yards in London. It was built by the Great Northern Railway in the triangle formed by the Nottingham-Grantham line, and the Nottingham-Derby line, close to what would become Netherfield and Colwick station. It was built in stages from 1872 and was closed by British Railways in April 1970. The site has now been developed as the Victoria Retail Park.
History.
Until the 1870s the Midland Railway had a monopoly of the coal traffic from the Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Coalfield. In 1852 the Great Northern Railway (GNR) main line had reached Grantham railway station where it met the Ambergate, Nottingham, Boston and Eastern Junction Railway. The GNR agreed with this company to operate its services thereby giving it access to Nottingham from London. Eventually in 1861 the GNR leased this line and began to develop freight its services from the coalfield in conjunction with its planned extension into Derbyshire and Staffordshire.
In 1870 the GNR purchased of land at Colwick to create a new marshalling yard, motive power depot, repair workshop and staff accommodation. By 1876 sidings for 1150 wagons were complete. The GNR line from Nottingham to Derbyshire and Staffordshire was opened in 1878 and the new marshalling yard was situated in the ensuing triangle of lines. By 1879 of coal were being handled, and the continued growth necessitated further extension to the sidings in 1881. The completion of the GNR routes into the coalfield brought about further growth in 1890 and 1900.
Colwick was one of the largest marshalling yards of the London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) after 1923. The decline in its use of the facility began after the advent of British Railways (BR) in 1948. During the 1950s, the fortunes of the yard matched the decline in use of coal. In 1954 100,000 wagons were handled each month, but this had fallen to 90,000 by 1957 and 70,000 in 1959. The closure of Mapperley Tunnel after a rockfall in April 1960, further reduced the traffic using Colwick, so that barely 50,000 wagons were being handled by 1960. The yard was transferred to the London Midland Region of British Railways in 1966 and its remaining traffic was diverted to the nearby marshaling yards at Toton. The facility was almost entirely closed 12 April 1970 and is now the site of the Victoria Retail Park.
Motive Power Depot.
The first locomotive servicing depot at Colwick predates the marshalling yard and was opened by the Ambergate, Nottingham, Boston and Eastern Junction Railway in 1858. However, the GNR greatly extended the facility in line with the growth of the yard. Facilities included repair shops, coaling plant and a turntable. On 31 December 1922, when the GNR handed over to the LNER there were 231 locomotives allocated to Colwick (almost entirely heavy freight and suburban passenger locomotives). This number had declined to 197 by 31 December 1947 when BR took over. The depot was closed to steam in December 1966.


Scout Green

Scout Green is a hamlet and small area of farm land near the village of Tebay in Cumbria, England.
History.
It is best known among railway enthusiasts as a location for trainspotting and photography on the West Coast Main Line between Penrith and Oxenholme, and has been a popular vantage point on the railway since soon after the opening of this section of the Lancaster and Carlisle Railway in December 1846. Northbound steam hauled trains were often banked up the 1 in 75 gradient towards Shap whilst southbound trains can be observed accelerating downhill from summit at Shap Fell. A signal box was located at Scout Green, but this was removed in the 1970s when then WCML was electrified.
An unusual feature of Scout Green is its access road — it involves travelling up a single track road which runs between the carriageways of the M6 motorway.


Chertsey branch line

The Chertsey branch line, opened in 1848, connects the Waterloo to Reading Line at to the South Western Main Line at . It is also referred to as the Weybridge branch line, or by its more accurate description since 1866, the Chertsey loop. For passenger services it has a terminus siding at Weybridge otherwise its other three stations are through stations and serve the modest-population settlements Chertsey, Addlestone and Virginia Water. Day trip steam excursions share in use of the line sometimes calling at London Waterloo, Staines, Woking and stations and others before Salisbury, Yeovil, Dorchester and/or Bath towards the far south-west of the country.
History.
On 16 July 1846, the London and South Western Railway (LSWR) was authorised to construct a railway line from to Egham, close to Staines Bridge. This was opened as far as on 14 February 1848. The planned section beyond was not built by the LSWR, because a different company – the Windsor, Staines and South Western Railway (WS&SWR) – was authorised on 25 June 1847 to build a line from Staines to Pirbright and a branch from that line to Chertsey, where it would connect with the LSWR branch from Weybridge. The WS&SWR line was not built, and the powers expired.
On 23 June 1864, the LSWR was authorised to construct an extension long from Chertsey to meet the Staines, Wokingham and Windsor Junction Railway (SW&WJR) at Virginia Water, and this line opened on 1 October 1866. The line was double-track, and at its northern end there was a single-track spur facing Reading; this spur was doubled on 4 August 1897.
The junction at the Weybridge end was also made triangular: the new curve was authorised on 20 August 1883, and opened on 10 August 1885; it was not regularly used until 4 July 1887. The junction of this curve with the down line near Byfleet was altered to a burrowing junction from 19 February 1903.
The spur at Virginia Water giving access from Chertsey towards Ascot was closed in 1966.
The line was electrified (660 V DC third rail) on 3 January 1937 by the Southern Railway.
Demand and population more especially have grown around the two stations exclusively on the line. In 2014–2015 financial years journeys made from or to Chertsey and Addlestone totalled 0.995 million. Being a loop and for tourist services and goods services being a corollary to the South West Main Line, the line many use restrictions, the most important being the three road level crossings in central urban Egham which have elicited strong opposition by way of petitions to prevent any proposed increased obstruction by trains. The Heathrow Airtrack proposal produced detailed, but abandoned, plans for direct southward Heathrow rail connections.
Services.
On Mondays to Saturdays, a half-hourly all-stations service to London Waterloo runs via and the Hounslow Loop Line. Travel time may be shortened by a few minutes by changing to a fast train at Staines or Weybridge. On Sundays there is an hourly all-stations service which, instead of going to Weybridge, takes the west curve at Byfleet Junction and terminates at . That curve is little used although from 2000 to 2002 the London Crosslink service of Anglia Railways from Colchester and Ipswich to Basingstoke via north London and Staines, which used Class 170 DMUs, took it.
Rolling stock.
Trains are generally operated by British Rail Class 707, but some British Rail Class 458 units work the line too.
Lyne railway bridge.
Between Virginia Water and Chertsey, the line crosses the M25 motorway by means of a cable-stayed bridge. The bridge is of note because it is one of few such bridges to carry a heavy railway required here as the railway approaches the motorway at an angle of 28 degrees. The bridge consists of two concrete towers set into the central reservation of the motorway. The concrete edge beams are suspended from the towers, and each is supported by a pair of cables linked to the towers. The edge beams support a concrete deck slab on which the tracks run. The bridge is long and high and was completed in 1979.


Bolton, Blackburn, Clitheroe and West Yorkshire Railway


Carlisle Kingmoor Marshalling Yard

Carlisle Kingmoor Marshalling Yard is a stabling point located in Carlisle, Cumbria, England. The depot is situated on the West Coast Main Line and is near Carlisle station.
History.
From 1950 to 1982, Class 03, 04, 08, 09 shunters, and Class 11, 17, 25, 27, 28, and 40 Diesel Locomotives.
Present.
From 2013, the depot has no allocation. It is, instead, a stabling point for EWS Class 66 and Freightliner Class 70 locomotives.


Wellingborough Loco Shed

Wellingborough Loco Shed was a stabling point located in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, England. The depot was situated on the Midland Main Line and was located just north of Wellingborough station.
The depot code is WO.
History.
The sidings at the north end of the loco sheds once served the Finedonhill Tramway a narrow-gauge railway that carried iron ore from quarries to the south of Finedon to the sidings. The tramway was in operation from 1875 to 1926. Another narrow gauge tramway, the Wellingborough Tramway passed under the railway immediately north of the Finedon Road overbridge. This line operated until 1966 and was the last narrow-gauge railway operating in The Midlands iron fields.
Before its closure in 1984, Class 08 shunters, 25, British Rail Class 31, 45 and 46 locomotives, British Rail class 47 could be seen at the depot.


Upwey railway station (England)

Upwey railway station serves the urban areas of Broadwey, Upwey and Littlemoor which are northern suburbs of Weymouth, Dorset, England. The station is situated on the South Western Main Line, from , and on the Heart of Wessex Line.
History.
The first station near this location, simply named "Upwey", was opened in 1871 by the Great Western Railway (GWR). On 19 April 1886 that station was replaced by the current station, then named "Upwey Junction", a railway junction that opened south of the original station to provide access to the single track Abbotsbury branch. The branch was absorbed into the GWR and survived for 66 years before closure under British Railways in 1952. On the closure of the branch Upwey Junction was renamed "Upwey and Broadwey" on 1 December 1952, and took its current name, "Upwey", on 12 May 1980.
During the Network SouthEast era, the station was refurbished with the trademark red lighting poles, station benches and monitor screens for train arrivals. Rubble from the rebuilt Weymouth station was used to fill in the former Abbotsbury platform for use as a car park. This was done in time for the extension of electrification from Bournemouth to Weymouth in 1988.
Two further stations had Upwey in their name. To the north of Upwey Junction existed a halt called Upwey Wishing Well Halt, while around the bend on the Abbotsbury branch was a station which had originally been called Broadwey. However its name was changed to Upwey as it kept being confused with Broadway, Worcestershire, also on the Great Western Railway.
Thomas Hardy wrote a poem "At the Railway Station, Upway", about waiting for a train at a country station. In the days of steam, a favourite excursion was from Weymouth to Upwey, and then on to tea at the Upwey Wishing Well by charabanc.
Services.
South Western Railway operate half-hourly services between London Waterloo and via Southampton Central. South Western Railway run an additional service running once to twice on a Saturday between Weymouth and London Waterloo via Yeovil operating from late May to early September each year.
Great Western Railway operate services between and via and Bristol Temple Meads (8 per day Mon–Sat, 3–5 on Sundays depending on the time of year).


Kirkdale TMD

Kirkdale TMD is a traction maintenance depot located beside Kirkdale railway station in north Liverpool, England. The depot is the largest on the Merseyrail network; it is located on the Northern Line and is used primarily for stabling units, heavy maintenance and cleaning units both internally and externally.
Operation of Kirkdale depot was transferred from Merseyrail to Stadler Rail Service UK in October 2017. The depot is Stadler Rail's United Kingdom headquarters and the majority of the company's UK workforce will be based at this site. At Kirkdale, Stadler Rail will also be responsible for their maintenance setup and staff at the Norwich Crown Point maintenance depot, Glasgow Subway and the future Tyne and Wear Metro maintenance and staff.
The site was extended and uprated. Work finished on an extensive re-build in November 2019, allowing the depot to become the main maintenance hub for the new Class 777 fleet.
Although Kirkdale is the largest Merseyrail depot, most heavy maintenance is currently carried out at Birkenhead North TMD. This will be reversed once the new Class 777 fleet is fully introduced.
History.
Bank Hall depot.
The site was originally used for the Bank Hall motive power depot, which closed in 1966. The original depot was adjoined by a large area of sidings with more than thirty roads but, following the cessation of express trains operating to and from station in May 1970, the sidings were rarely used.
Rebuild as Kirkdale depot.
In 1976, when the new Loop and Link tunnels were being constructed to replace the surface station at Liverpool Exchange, the sidings were lifted and transformed into a modern maintenance depot, which was named after the nearby station. A new shed with four roads was constructed, with inspection pits under the tracks. Each road is long enough to house two three-car sets coupled together. A new carriage wash plant was also built so that units could be driven through and cleaned in a very short amount of time. This is the only active washing plant on Merseyrail, with the other washing plant at Birkenhead North being destroyed by consistent vandalism.
In 2006, a brand new wheel lathe was installed at Kirkdale in an area of the depot which was formerly used for the storage of departmental equipment. The commissioning of the new wheel lathe subsequently ended the long running necessity to tow any units requiring wheel turning to the lathe at Allerton depot (located near ) behind a Class 08 diesel shunter, with units transferring from and back to the Merseyrail network via the crossover at .
Second rebuild.
Merseyrail's fleet of and 508 units is scheduled to be replaced between 2019 and 2021 by a fleet of units built by Stadler Rail at Bussnang, Switzerland. As part of the overall fleet replacement project, which will cost £460 million, both Kirkdale and Birkenhead North depots will be upgraded to a standard which will be capable of maintaining the new trains.
In March 2017, Camberley-based construction company BAM Nuttall announced that they had been successful in winning a £20 million contract to refurbish Birkenhead North and rebuild the depot at Kirkdale. The depot is operated by Stadler Rail Service UK, a subsidiary of the new fleet's manufacturer, and has a driver training simulator, maintenance shed and washing and stabling facilities for up to 30 trains. Construction of the new facilities commenced in October 2017, with work completed by November 2019, in time for the delivery and testing of the new fleet.
Allocation.
Currently, and electric multiple units are based at Kirkdale depot, and regularly stabled in the back sidings near station. In 2006, a new small diesel shunter was allocated to the depot to take sets into the new wheel lathe. From 2021 onwards, units will be allocated here.
Previously, battery locomotives and Class 73 locos have been stored at the depot in the past for sandite duties in the winter. Network Rail stables its MPV diesel unit(s) here occasionally during the leaf fall season.


Old Warden Tunnel

Old Warden Tunnel is an abandoned railway tunnel near the village of Old Warden in Bedfordshire.
https://www.abandonedengland.com/oldwardentunnel
History.
The tunnel was built as part of the Midland Railway connecting Bedford and Hitchin, and from there to London between 1853 and 1857. Contrary to popular belief the line lost its passenger services before the cuts of Dr. Beeching, they were withdrawn on 1 January 1962 along with goods services between Hitchin and Shefford. Goods services between Shefford and Bedford succumbed to the Beeching Axe on 28 December 1964. Built of blue engineering bricks, the tunnel is ovoid in shape and runs at a very slight gradient to allow drainage; however, it is perfectly straight.
The tunnel has no blast relief ducts, due to its lack of curves and relatively short length, allowing good air passage. Regular niches were cut into the wall to allow maintenance on the permanent way during running hours. Finally, both portals were capped with stone and it covers a total length of 882 yards.
The tunnel today.
The tunnel has lain derelict for over 40 years, but is in fair condition, with the Hitchin end back-filled to within 7 feet of the tunnel roof and the Bedford end bricked up with gratings for local bats. However, public access holes have been closed at both ends. Entrance to the tunnel is not recommended, due to bats and standing water accumulation. The Bedford Portal is still visible in its cutting, but the Hitchin Portal is entirely covered in undergrowth.
Nature reserve.
The land above the tunnel is Old Warden Tunnel nature reserve, which is managed by the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire.
The tunnel in fiction.
The tunnel makes a brief appearance in Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines. This scene was filmed shortly after the tunnel had been closed to traffic, before the rails were lifted. The now-demolished Bedford Power Station can be seen in the far distance.
References.
https://www.abandonedengland.com/oldwardentunnel


Summit Tunnel

Summit Tunnel in England is one of the world's oldest railway tunnels. It was constructed between 1838 and 1841 by the Manchester and Leeds Railway Company to provide a direct line between Leeds and Manchester. When built, Summit Tunnel was the longest railway tunnel in the world.
The tunnel, between Littleborough and Walsden near Todmorden, was bored beneath the Pennines, a natural obstruction to most forms of traffic. The tunnel is just over long and carries two standard-gauge tracks in a single horseshoe-shaped tube, approximately wide and high. Summit Tunnel was designed by Thomas Longridge Gooch, assisted by Barnard Dickinson. Progress on its construction was slower than anticipated, largely because excavation was more difficult than anticipated. On 1 March 1841, Summit Tunnel was opened by Sir John Frederick Sigismund Smith; it had cost of £251,000 and 41 workers had died.
On 20 December 1984, the Summit Tunnel fire occurred. No lives were lost and five months later, the tunnel reopened after repairs. The tunnel has remained in continuous use with little interruption since it opened.
Development.
Summit Tunnel, between Littleborough and Todmorden is the highest section of the long Manchester and Leeds Railway, which was built parallel to the Rochdale Canal. When built, it was the world’s longest railway tunnel and a critical element of the first trans-Pennine line.
The tunnel was designed by the civil engineer Thomas Longridge Gooch, a collaborator of George Stephenson and his son Robert Stephenson on several railway schemes. Between spring 1835 and 1844, Gooch was the engineer for the Manchester and Leeds Railway on behalf of George Stephenson, who was working on other projects. In September 1837, during Gooch’s tenure, work commenced boring the tunnel. Gooch was assisted by Barnard Dickinson. When speaking about the tunnel, Dickinson exclaimed: "This tunnel will defy the rage of tempest, fire, war or wasting age".
The tunnel is long and tall; the horseshoe-shaped bore is wide and accommodates a pair of tracks. It was driven by hand through shale, coal and sandstone, after which the walls were lined with six courses of brick, using more than 23 million bricks. The bricks were handmade locally and up to 60,000 were laid in a single day. Mortar, commonly referred to as Roman cement, was used for its impermeability to water. It has been estimated that about 8,100 tonnes (dry weight) of cement was transported to the tunnel from Hull. During August 1838, James Wood, the chairman of the Manchester and Leeds Railway, laid the first brick in a ceremony.
The original contractors were Evans, Stewart and Copeland. At the peak of construction, a workforce of between 800 and 1,250 men and boys was active, aided by about 100 horses and 13 stationary steam engines, which were used to remove material from the shafts. The bedrock was hewn using physical strength and hand tools, illuminated only by candlelight. At an early stage of track laying, the rails were laid directly onto excavated rock, but conventional wooden sleepers were also used. The spoil was used for other purposes, including in the construction of Blackpool Promenade.
Alignment of the tunnel was achieved by drilling 14 vertical shafts to provide survey points. When the tunnel was complete, two shafts were sealed and the remaining 12 were retained as ventilation. The ventilation shafts were up to deep. During the tunnel's service life, No.6" was sealed after rock falls.
Progress on construction was slower than expected; the bedrock and blue shale through which it was bored proved to be harder to excavate than anticipated. In March 1839, because of slow progress, the original contractors were dismissed and George Stephenson took over, after which the pace of work increased until a strike of the bricklayers occurred in March 1840. The last brick was laid on 9 December 1840.
Summit Tunnel should have opened on New Year’s Eve 1840; but the opening was delayed after the discovery of a defective invert, from one end which had displaced the central track drain. After repairs, the tunnel was officially opened by Sir John Frederick Sigismund Smith, the government inspector of railways on 1 March 1841. Summit Tunnel cost £251,000 and the loss of 41 lives. The cost was far greater than the railway company expected.
The tunnel has remained in continuous use for passenger and freight services since it opened. Monitoring movements within the tunnel is achieved via Ebi Track 400 system track circuits.
Incidents.
The tunnel closed for the first eight months of 1985 following a fire that generated sufficient heat to vitrify sections of its outer brickwork. The build up of heat in the surrounding ground led to a 'false spring'; many plants produced flowers and buds as the warm soil triggered new growth. Damage to the tunnel lining was minimal which was attributed to heated gases from the fire escaping through the ventilation shafts. Restoration involved replacing of track and sleepers before it re-opened to traffic on 19 August 1985.
On 28 December 2010, a passenger train travelling from Manchester to Leeds was derailed when it struck ice that had fallen onto the tracks from one of the ventilation shafts. The ice had built up during exceptionally cold weather and fell into the tunnel when it started to thaw. The train was the first to use the tunnel in three days as a result of a temporary break in services around Christmas. It collided with the tunnel wall, but remained upright and no injuries were reported.


Northern Hub

The Northern Hub is a rail programme in Northern England to improve and increase train services and reduce journey times between its major cities and towns, by electrifying lines and removing a major rail bottleneck in Manchester. It is predicted to stimulate economic growth in the region. The project has several elements but the prime objective is to eradicate the bottleneck in Manchester and allow trains to travel through the city at speed without stopping. The project was announced as the Manchester Hub in 2009. The project's steering partnership involves Network Rail, Deutsche Bahn, First TransPennine Express, Northern Rail, East Midlands Trains, CrossCountry, Freightliner, the Department for Transport, Transport for Greater Manchester and Merseytravel.
Services from Liverpool to Leeds and beyond will be diverted from the Liverpool to Manchester line southern route, via Warrington Central and Manchester Piccadilly, to the more direct electrified Liverpool to Manchester northern route, via Newton-le-Willows and Manchester Victoria; this will provide a fast route to and through Manchester. The construction of two through platforms at Manchester Piccadilly will allow 4 more trains per hour through the station. The refurbishment of Manchester Victoria station was completed in October 2015, so it can become an east-west rail interchange and through station between Liverpool and Leeds. Trains from North-East England to Manchester Airport will use the £85 million Ordsall Chord, between Manchester Victoria and Manchester Oxford Road, to access Piccadilly and will continue to the airport without reversing at Piccadilly.
The Manchester Hub Study, outlining the project, was released by Network Rail in February 2010. Costs were estimated at £530 million, subsequently reassessed to £560 million. Chancellor George Osborne approved expenditure of £85 million for the Ordsall Chord in his budget on 23 March 2011 and other aspects of the scheme were reviewed to ensure best value. A further £130 million was committed in Osborne's budget of March 2012 and approval for the full scheme was confirmed by the government on 16 July 2012. The first train ran on the chord on 10 December 2017 and the project was completed by 2018.
Support for the scheme has been vociferous from civic and business leaders, due to the high benefit-to-cost ratio, and from politicians, such as George Osborne; but has also been criticised for being incremental and only improving the rail network in Northern England to "where it should have been a decade ago". The scheme has a benefit-to-cost ratio (BCR) of £4 for every £1 invested - double that of Crossrail in London and the proposed High Speed 2 project which have BCRs of £2.10 and £2.30 respectively.
The project may be followed by or merged with High Speed 3. In November 2015, Transport for the North (TfN) proposed a four-track trans-Pennine railway line to link with the HS2 line to London, and a new Liverpool-Manchester Airport-Manchester railway line also linked to HS2. A feasibility study of the west to east rail line and its branches into HS2 will be published in March 2016.
Background.
The Northern Hub was proposed in February 2010 to resolve problems around Manchester city centre that restricted route capacity and caused delays.<br>
Network Rail concluded that no single intervention would unlock the bottlenecks but that greater efficiency and enhancement to services was possible. A proposal to use Piccadilly primarily for north-south services and Victoria for east-west services was agreed as the most effective course of action.
The re-alignment of services commenced in May 2014 when First TransPennine Express services between Liverpool and Newcastle were routed through Manchester Victoria rather than Piccadilly. It is expected most TransPennine Express services will pass through Victoria after the May 2018 timetable change after the opening of the Ordsall Chord in December 2017.
Station improvements.
Major stations will be improved to include new platforms, station layout re-configuration and redevelopment. Most improvements will be in Manchester aimed at alleviating bottlenecks that delay passing services and restricts routes.
Manchester.
Victoria station will be re-configured as the Northern England hub for east-west rail services. Once voted the worst station in the United Kingdom, it has received a £44 million transformation including a £20 million roof covering the concourse and four platforms.
Piccadilly's through platforms, 13 and 14, will be modernised and two through platforms, 15 and 16, will be built over Fairfield Street to alleviate congestion.
Oxford Road's platforms will be lengthened and a footbridge will be built. The Grade II listed timber grid-shell roof will be incorporated into the new station design. The surrounding site could be redeveloped with office, residential and leisure space.
Salford Crescent station will be redeveloped at a cost of £12 million and further development could occur should extra capacity be required.
At Manchester Airport station a new platform will be built creating extra capacity and access for direct services from other cities in Northern England. Construction of the platform began in February 2014.
Huyton and Roby stations will have two new tracks through the stations to allow faster trains to pass and provide two additional platforms.
Burnley Manchester Road station will receive a £2.3 million upgrade before the reinstatement of a direct rail service to Victoria via the re-opened Todmorden Curve in 2015.
Dore and Totley railway station will get a second platform and a footbridge for access. The single track will be doubled.
Leeds.
At Leeds Station two platforms will be built at a cost of £13.6 million to alleviate congestion.
Infrastructure.
Northern Hub plans include:
Electrification.
Electrification for rail lines out of Manchester is underway or has been approved. While independent of the Northern Hub scheme, they complement it:
Service improvements.
Northern Hub is expected to deliver the following improvements:
As part of the Northern Hub scheme; electrification of key lines will enable faster electric trains increasing capacity and lowering journey times. Typically, diesel trains that operated between Manchester and Liverpool such as the Class 142 and Class 156 had a maximum speed limit of . Following electrification, Class 319 trains reach a top speed of with greater acceleration from stations.
Network Rail has published target times from Manchester to be achieved after the completion of the Northern Hub projects.
Timeline.
Network Rail's original aim was for all schemes - including electrification, station upgrades and track work - to be completed by the end of 2018, though this timescale will not be met for the Transpennine electrification.
Heritage threat.
The historic first passenger railway station, Manchester Liverpool Road, a Grade I listed building, is threatened by the plan. After this project is completed, it will no longer be possible to run trains into or out of the station. The Manchester Museum of Science and Industry management objected to the scheme and an inquiry was set up in 2014 to investigate potential damage to the historic structure.
Future.
The Northern Hub may be merged into or superseded by a larger project being called High Speed 3. David Higgins, chairman of the HS2, stated in March 2014 that the Northern Hub scheme is incremental and the benefits of the High Speed 2 will not be fully felt if rail links between Northern cities are not improved. In June 2014, George Osborne, Chancellor of the Exchequer stated his vision to see improved transport links between Liverpool, Manchester, Sheffield and Leeds to increase economic productivity. Osborne's proposals were referred to as 'Crossrail of the North' and 'High Speed 3'. In November 2015 Transport for the North (TfN) proposed a four-track trans-Pennine railway line that would link with the HS2 line to London, and a new Liverpool-Manchester airport-Manchester railway line also linked to HS2. A feasibility study of the west to east rail line and its branches into HS2 will be published in March 2016.


Moretonhampstead and South Devon Railway

The Moretonhampstead and South Devon Railway was a broad gauge railway which linked the South Devon Railway at Newton Abbot railway station with (in the town of Bovey Tracey, and , Devon, England.
History.
In 1861 the Moretonhampstead and South Devon Railway company was formed at the Globe Hotel in Exeter, and in 1862 the bill for making the railway was given Royal Assent. Work on the line commenced in 1863, and the major earthworks (with cuttings and embankments, many still visible today) were complete. All the granite used for construction of the bridges was cut from Lustleigh Cleave. The line was 12 miles, 28 chains (20 km) long.
Following a Board of Trade inspection, the branch line opened to the public on 4 July 1866 although the directors had a ceremonial opening on 26 June. A public holiday was observed, with people turning out to witness the first journey from to .
In 1892, the broad gauge line was replaced by a standard gauge format, taking only 32 hours and 60 men to complete - part of the wider conversion of the whole network.
The railway brought tourists to the area. Other users of the service were local industries: farmers' produce, nursery plants and blacksmiths' products were sent by train.
Traffic grew from 1866 to the 1930s and then went into decline. Despite a significant summer tourist trade, featuring in many contemporary guide books, traffic on the branch over the year was not enough to cover rising costs.
The Lustleigh station was used in 1931 for the film 'Hound of the Baskervilles', its name being temporarily changed (Ewans 1964).
Closure.
In 1957, the possibility of closure was reported in the Mid Devon Advertiser and on 28 February 1959 the last passenger service ran down the line, although a freight operation still ran. The line closed on 6 April 1964.
The last special passenger train ran as far as Bovey Tracey on 5 July 1970; by 8 September the lifting of the track north of Heathfield had been completed. The section of line around the town was converted to use as a road bypass on the A382 road, opening in 1987. The former Bovey railway station was retained at the side of the road and is now a heritage centre.
Oil and china clay trains continued to operate occasionally on the south section of the line below Heathfield for several years, but the remaining section of the branch was taken out of use in 2009 when 'temporary stop blocks' were placed on the line from the junction at Newton Abbot.
However, in December 2011 it was announced that this section of the line would be re-opened to facilitate the transport of timber from Heathfield to North Wales. In the same month a timber siding was opened at Teigngrace, just before the level crossing at Exeter Road, to allow the timber to be loaded onto the freight trains. Due to the lack of a passing loop at Teigngrace, the train and its empty wagons continues up the line to Heathfield where the engine can run around the carriages using the loop in the disused station. The empty freight train then drives back to the timber sidings at Teigngrace to be loaded. Loading of the timber is carried out by the lorries that bring the timber to the sidings.
Several miles of the line between and , some of which is now a path open to the public, are being developed by the council to become a cycle track known as the Wray Valley Trail. As part of this the previously demolished bridge deck over the A382 road was replaced in March 2011 by a new lattice girder structure. The old Lustleigh station house is visible from the old railway bridge at Brookfield, as are the Brookfield, Caseley and Knowle bridges.
These pictures show the journey of the last special passenger train to Bovey Tracey on 5 July 1970.
Proposed reopening.
The line was suggested in 2019 by Campaign for a Better Transport as a 'priority 2' candidate for reopening.
Route.
The Down direction was from Newton Abbot to Moretonhampstead, broadly northwards.
The route rises gradually from Newton Abbot as far as Heathfield, and the gradient then steepens, climbing continuously from Bovey with a long length at 1 in 49 from Lustleigh.
The Stover Canal ran alongside the line on the Up side from near Kingsteignton bridge to Ventiford Bridge, a little north of Teigngrace.


Cambridge University Railway Club

The Cambridge University Railway Club (CURC) was formed in 1911 and is the third oldest railway club in the world, after The Railway Club (1899 - now defunct) and the Stephenson Locomotive Society (1909). It is one of the clubs and societies of the University of Cambridge. The club is engaged closely with the railway industry.
The CURC activities include:
The CURC had a good friendship with the Oxford University Railway Society (OURS), with an annual Varsity Quiz. However OURS folded in the late 1990s.
Locomotive and Logo.
The CURC has a logo of "Eagle", which is the only locomotive designed and built in Cambridge.
Eagle
CURC adopted a Class 08 locomotive 08631 at Coldham Lane Depot in Cambridge until the depot was mothballed for a time in 1996.


Liverpool Corporation Tramways

Liverpool Corporation Tramways operated a tramway service in Liverpool between 1898 and 1957.
History.
In 1897, Liverpool Corporation bought the Liverpool United Tramway and Omnibus Company and obtained a Private Act of Parliament, the Liverpool Corporation Tramways Act 1897.
A modernisation scheme followed immediately with electrification of services taking around 5 years.
The first electric service left Dingle on 16 November 1898. By 1901, the 101 million passengers were carried by the electric tramcars.
The last tram.
The last tram, (Car 293 No. 6A), ran from Liverpool's Pier Head to Bowring Park on 14 September 1957.
The car was bought by the Seashore Trolley Museum of Kennebunkport, Maine, U.S. and shipped via Boston, Massachusetts in 1958. As of 2017, it is currently at the back of a shed at the Museum, and in poor condition.
Surviving trams.
Horse car 43 is a static exhibit at the Wirral Transport Museum in Birkenhead.
Car 293 survives at the Seashore Trolley Museum in Kennebunkport, Maine, United States of America.
Car 245 was restored to operational condition in 2014, by members of the Merseyside Tramway Preservation Society at the Wirral Transport Museum in Birkenhead, and is operational at the Wirral Tramway.
Car 762 is operational at the Wirral Tramway.
Car 869 (known as a "Streamliner" or "Liner" in original Liverpool service, and "Green Goddess" in later Glasgow service) is part of the operational fleet at the National Tramway Museum at Crich in Derbyshire.


Hayfield branch

The Hayfield Branch was a single-track branch line that ran along the Sett Valley from the Hope Valley Line near to , via one intermediate stop, . The passed under the town of New Mills through the rock-cut Hayfield tunnel.
History.
Opening.
The branch opened, in 1868, to serve the villages along the valley of the River Sett and the local mills. It became the joint property of the Manchester, Sheffield & Lincolnshire Railway (later Great Central) and the Midland Railway. It remained a joint station, latterly owned by the London and North Eastern Railway and the London Midland Scottish Railway, until nationalisation of the railways in 1948. Passenger numbers were high especially in the summer months, as the line provided easy access to the countryside.
The branch was subsequently assigned to the London Midland Region of British Railways. Introduction of diesel multiple unit (DMU) trains led to an improvement in passenger services and, by the 1960s, there was an hourly frequency to and from Manchester Piccadilly, with some additional trains at peak times. Unlike some neighbouring lines, the station also enjoyed an hourly Sunday service which was popular with walkers.
Kinder Reservoir.
A short-lived continuation of the line was built in the early 20th century to convey materials and workmen during the construction of Kinder Reservoir.
Closure.
After World War II, passenger traffic on the line reduced. The whole Manchester Piccadilly-Romiley-Hayfield line had been included in the 1963 Beeching cuts proposals; however, the government chose instead to retain the Hope Valley line in favour of closing the Woodhead line to passenger services. The Hayfield line was closed in January 1970.
The site today.
The line was purchased from British Rail by Derbyshire County Council in 1973 and now forms the Sett Valley Trail.


Kelso Line

The Kelso Line was a long North British Railway built double track branch railway line in the Borders, Scotland, that ran from a junction south of on the Waverley Line to (the line ended at a temporary terminus at until 1851) via three intermediate stations, , and where a branch line to Jedburgh joined the line.
Little of the existing railway line remains, with most of the former track now occupied by the A6968 Kelso Bypass. Kelso railway station building - where the Kelso Line turned into the Kelso Branch, continuing on to Sprouston, and terminating at Berwick Upon Tweed - is no longer standing.
History.
Opening.
The line opened as far as a temporary terminus at to the west of Kelso on 17 January 1850, and to itself in the January of the next year. The North Eastern Railway Kelso Branch line coming into Kelso from the west had reached Sprouston on 27 July 1849 leaving a two-mile gap between the two railheads. This gap was closed on 1 June 1851 when the North Eastern Railway line reached its destination.
Alternative route.
The joined line provided part of an alternative route when the East Coast Main Line was blocked north of most notably in August 1948 when the main line was closed for three months. The line served the same purpose in 1954.
Singling in the 1930s of the double track section between Kelso and the Waverley Route and an overall speed restriction made diversion working difficult.
Closure.
Passenger services ceased on 15 June 1964 with freight services ending on 1 April 1968.
See also.
The Kelso and Jedburgh railway branch lines


Woodford Halse railway station

Woodford Halse railway station stood on the Great Central Railway (GCR) main line, the last main line to be built from the north of England to London. The station opened with the line on 15 March 1899 under the name "Woodford and Hinton" and served the adjacent villages of Woodford Halse to the east and Hinton to the west, both in Northamptonshire. The station was renamed Woodford Halse on 1 November 1948.
History.
The village of Woodford Halse became notable for the role it played as an important railway centre. Originally it had seemed destined not to have a railway at all, as the nearest stations were at Byfield (about two miles west), and Moreton Pinkney (three miles south-east), both on the East and West Junction Railway (later part of the Stratford-upon-Avon and Midland Junction Railway), opened in July 1873, and no other lines seemed likely to be built in such a thinly populated area. However, in the late 1890s the village found itself on a major trunk route, the Great Central Railway's London Extension.
The station was a variation on the standard island platform design typical of the London Extension, here the less common "embankment" type reached from a roadway (Station Road), that passed beneath the line. It differed from the usual design in that since it served what was effectively a four-way junction, it was provided with a more extensive range of platform buildings and facilities beneath a longer awning.
The station was situated near Woodford Halse North Curve Junction linking the GCR with the Stratford-upon-Avon and Midland Junction Railway (SMJ) route between Stratford-upon-Avon and Towcester, and a separate platform was provided on the west side for SMJ trains, a timber structure later replaced by a concrete slab construction although still referred to as the "wooden platform". Further south however was the more important Culworth Junction, divergence point for a stretch of line in length linking the GCR with the Great Western Railway at , enabling some extensive and varied cross-country workings to take place.
Motive Power Depot.
To the north of the station, a major locomotive depot housing up to 30 locos with space to double that number, also wagon and sheet repair shops, plus extensive marshalling yards, were also sited at Woodford Halse (plans to construct carriage sheds there too were dropped). The originally intended location for these facilities was Brackley until local opposition forced a change in plans and the site moved to Woodford Halse. Much of this was located on top of a vast embankment covering some 35 acres (14.2 hectares), formed mainly from spoil taken from Catesby Tunnel a few miles to the north. The infant River Cherwell flowed (and still flows) beneath this embankment in a north-east to south-west direction in a culvert approx. 165 yards (150 metres) in length. Several roads containing 136 terraced dwellings to house the railway workers were built on the east side of the embankment, together with a street of shops. This gave a small previously rural village an industrial look that seemed alien to its surroundings. The Woodford-cum-Membris parish's population eventually peaked at just under 2,000, at which time Woodford Halse had its own cinema and railway workers' social club.
Closure.
The GCR was, at times, a busy route and the depot and yards at Woodford Halse were a hive of activity, but not busy enough to ensure survival when the Beeching Axe closures of the 1960s took place. The Stratford & Midland Junction had already closed on 7 April 1952 although the Woodford North to West Curve which gave access to it had actually gone earlier, on 31 May 1948. On 5 April 1965 the marshalling yards closed, and on 5 September 1966, most of the GCR was closed completely, including all remaining lines converging on Woodford Halse.
All tracks and most railway buildings were later cleared leaving behind a wasteland (in 1971 one building withstood four attempts by the Royal Marines to blow it up - they only succeeded in removing its roof). The population fell sharply too, as many former railway workers and their families left the area, but new developments in later decades have increased it (the parish's population was 3,493 at the 2011 UK census, slightly up on the 2001 UK census figure of 3,456).
Woodford Halse is once again a quiet place, though visitors can still see evidence of its railway past. The twin bridges over Station Road can still be seen; below and between them is the bricked-up station entrance, but up on top everything has gone - the station site itself is now a temporary winter home for travelling showmen. To the north, where the depot and yards were sited, is now a tree plantation and the Great Central Way Industrial Estate, currently being enlarged to create the Manor Business Park. Further north still, one solitary railway structure survives amid fields: the water tower that served the Charwelton Watertroughs.
Proposal.
In August 2000, Chiltern Railways suggested reopening the former Great Central Main Line through Woodford Halse and to a parkway station in Leicestershire. This proposal is a "secondary aspiration" of Chiltern's franchise agreement. However, Chiltern stated in 2013 that the plan is "no longer active".
Model.
A model of the station and the goods yards exists in the social club building near the site. The building itself was purchased by BR for use as a recreational building for railway workers. The models includes Woodford Halse station in 1930s condition, and a model of Byfield station is under construction.


Duckmanton Tunnel

Duckmanton Tunnel is a former long twin-track railway tunnel between Chesterfield and Arkwright Town in Derbyshire, England.
History.
The tunnel was opened by the LD&ECR (later part of the GCR and subsequently the LNER) in March 1897. As originally planned, this was a highly ambitious scheme, but only the central section between Chesterfield Market Place and Lincoln, together with a branch from Langwith Junction to the outskirts of Sheffield, were ever built.
The section between Chesterfield and Langwith Junction (by then renamed Shirebrook North), was closed to passenger traffic by British Railways in December 1951. Bolsover South and Scarcliffe stations were closed completely. The section from Chesterfield Market Place through the tunnel to Arkwright Town was singled, but remained open to goods traffic until March 1957 after which the tunnel became redundant.
Tracks through the tunnel were duly lifted and the tunnel itself was infilled in the 1970s. The tunnel's eastern approach cutting ("Duckmanton Cutting") remained in use by trains serving Arkwright Colliery. They had to run into the cutting then reverse into the colliery and vice versa on exit.
In 1981 this complicated, and therefore costly, arrangement was ended by re-routing the tracks away from Duckmanton Junction to run directly into the colliery, making the approach cutting redundant for railway purposes, so the tracks were duly lifted. The colliery closed in 1988.
Rebirth.
This previously insignificant cutting subsequently gained international recognition as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and as such is now heavily protected by law. It is managed by Derbyshire Wildlife Trust specifically for its geology.
In chronostratigraphy, the British sub-stage of the Carboniferous period, the 'Duckmantian' derives its name from the study of the geological exposures in this cutting.


Forest of Dean Central Railway

The Forest of Dean Central Railway was a mineral railway line designed to connect certain collieries in the central part of the Forest of Dean to a new dock at Brimspill on the River Severn. It was authorised by Parliament in 1856, but serious difficulties were encountered in raising the money to build it. It opened in 1868 by which time the principal colliery intended to be served had ceased operation. It was unable to finance the construction of the dock at Brimspill and relied on transfer of traffic to the main line of the South Wales Railway (later the Great Western Railway).
It was a broad gauge line, and it was worked from the outset by the Great Western Railway. It was converted to standard gauge in 1872. The limited traffic potential resulted in a continuing inability to pay routine outgoings, and it was leased to the Great Western Railway in 1885.
About 1921 the last colliery on the line ceased operation and the line was shortened back to Blakeney, where there was a goods depot. That business too ended in 1949, and there was no more commercial use of the line.
Background.
For centuries, the Forest of Dean has been an important site of mineral extraction: coal and iron ore, and also stone. Free Miners had certain exclusive rights to minerals, but the restriction on outside involvement had prevented the introduction of capital and large scale industrial processes. Moreover the extremely poor road network in the area, due in part to the very hilly terrain, added cost to the products of the Forest. The Crown interest in timber had resulted in statutory control of development.
The small scale mining operations needed to get their output to market, generally by river transport on the Severn or the Wye, and a number of tramways, generally plateways, had been constructed. This culminated in the construction of the Severn and Wye Railway and the Forest of Dean Railway.
Early proposals.
By 1830, tramroads were well established in the Forest of Dean for conveying the mineral products of the Forest to market. A coal mine was being developed at Foxes Bridge, about a mile east of Speech House, and the promoter Edward Protheroe proposed a "Steam Carriage Road", that is, a steam tramway to convey the output via Howbeach Slade to the Severn at Purton Pill, near the site of the later Severn Railway Bridge; it was to be about eight miles in extent.
The scheme was presented in Parliament in 1832 and some construction took place, but the line was never finished. A considerable number of proposals were put forward in the following years to construct a tramroad or railway from the area to the River Severn, but all failed to materialise.
In 1840 Edward Protheroe agitated to persuade the Severn and Wye Railway to construct a steam railway from Lydney up to Foxes Bridge, but the S&WR were not interested. In 1849 a similar line was proposed from Brimspill on the Severn to Howbeach Slade and Foxes Bridge; this did not go ahead, and a further scheme was put forward in 1850. This too failed.
The Commissioners of Woods were strongly in favour of these proposals, because they would promote improved railway facilities in the Forest. The Commissioners reported in 1852 that the existing railways were unsatisfactory and antiquated, and that the opening of the South Wales Railway and the conversion of the Severn and Wye Railway to an edge railway heralded a new era. The Forest of Dean Railway was mentioned, as was the necessity for a new railway to serve the central part of the Forest.
The Forest of Dean Central Railway authorised.
Heartened by the support of the Commissioners, promoters put forward a Bill in Parliament for the line; they included William Racster Wagstaff, Timothy Bennett and James Teague. The gauge was to be the same as that of the South Wales Railway, at that time broad gauge. Passenger traffic was provided for, though no such service was ever operated. However a toll of 2d per mile was stipulated for persons riding in road carriages conveyed on trucks. The Commissioners of Woods were authorised to subscribe £20,000 in instalments at 5 per cent interest. The company was entitled to borrow £21,660 on mortgage and the GWR advanced £15,000.
The Forest of Dean Central Railway Act received the Royal Assent on 11 July 1856. It was to run from Foxes Bridge Colliery to Brimspill, serving Howbeach Colliery on the way, with a branch line from New Fancy Colliery. The capital authorised was £65,000 in £10 shares. Brimspill is a tidal creek near Poulton Court on modern maps.
Much of the land was leased from the Crown at a rent of £100 a year, and the company was required to fence it throughout. It was decided that the sections from the South Wales Railway to New Fancy Colliery, and from Moseley Green to Foxes Bridge with the branch at Brimspill, should be built in two successive years. Plans were already being made for extending the line, and on 29 November 1856 an application was published for the "Forest of Dean Central, Lydbrook & Hereford, Ross & Gloucester Junction Railway". This would extend the Forest of Dean Central Railway to the Hereford, Ross and Gloucester Railway line near Mitcheldean Road station, with a later extension to Ledbury. This was presented to Parliament in the 1857 session, but in fact no powers for the work were obtained. (In the 1870s a line was built on part of the intended route by the Mitcheldean Road and Forest of Dean Junction Railway.)
The engineer Richard B Grantham considered various forms of permanent way and he recommended 100 lb per yard Barlow rail with cross sleepers at the joints, at a cost of £1,960 per mile. This system had proved fairly satisfactory on other lightly used lines, although gauge retention problems were beginning to be apparent.
The report of the first half-yearly meeting, on 28 February 1857, was optimistic. It was intended to complete the line to New Fancy Colliery Junction in Moseley Green by Christmas 1858, serving Howbeach Engine, Blackpool Engine and other collieries which were expected to be in a position to supply a large quantity of coal to the railway. The New Fancy Colliery was said to be in a forward state and would, when opened, afford large traffic. Grantham had received two tenders for construction of the line, one for £43,260 and the other for £47,500, excluding rails and sleepers. E W Morris, the contractor offering the higher estimate, secured the contract.
By November 1857 the harbour at Brimspill had been designed: the dock was to be about 176 yards by 154 yards and 22 feet deep at spring tides. Entry would be by a lock about 88 yards long.
In 1859 the confidence of the directors was such that they declared that "Since the line was projected, large coalfields have been got into working order, and consequently the expectations formed with regard to traffic has been so far realised." The coalfields referred to are difficult to identify, and at the time of this assertion the Company's bank balance stood at £3.
Raising the money.
The raising of capital was slow, and after a brisk start, the financial position steadily deteriorated. Land was unobtainable for lack of finance, and progress slowed up. To save expense the company moved its office from London to Blakeney, and at the meeting there on 15 August 1858 it was reported that work had been suspended because many shareholders had not paid up their calls. In the following February the directors were able to obtain sufficient credit to permit Morris to resume work. During the session of 1860 the company applied for an extension of time until June 1862, which they received, together with powers for the South Wales Railway to work the line when opened, and to make enhanced siding provision at Awre, where there was to be a junction with the SWR main line. The success of the South Wales Railway showed that onward transport of the mineral output from collieries on the FODCR might be by rail in preference to river movement.
The report of 21 February 1860 stated that the first instalment of the loan from the Crown—£3,333 6s 8d—had been received and that the engineer's report was encouraging. The contractor had been delayed in building the embankment at Nibley by difficulties over possession of land, but a bridge over a mill stream was almost completed, and this would enable him to go ahead with the embankment. Bad weather had also held up work, but the company now owned the land down to the Severn, and the building of the bridge over the South Wales main line could proceed. Of the portion from Awre to Moseley Green, nearly 3 miles had been executed to formation level, as well as a small portion of the Brimspill branch.
On 24 August 1860 the directors complained of large arrears on share calls, but the contract for rails and sleepers had been let and they declared that they anticipated an early opening. They had been "induced by the engineer" to substitute iron girders for timber in the bridges, and this would involve an additional £1,000. The formation of the Brimspill branch was completed from the South Wales line to the Severn and the bridge over the main line was in course of construction. The heaviest works were the Blakeney embankment and Gilbert’s Hill rock cutting. Parliamentary powers to construct the dock at Brimspill, and further sidings at Awre Junction were secured by an Act of 1861.
By December 1861 the Directors were impatiently suggesting opening as much of the line as was ready, working it with horses, and changing to locomotives as soon as traffic warranted. On 4 February 1862 the engineer reported that the whole of the formation was completed, with the exception of the self-acting incline at the staith at Brimspill.
In June 1862 the contractor Morris stopped work altogether, as the financial difficulty of the company had resulted in him not being paid. The Directors implied that this was his fault: "The position taken by Mr Morris renders it necessary to postpone the financial arrangements which would enable the directors to complete and open the railway without delay". Work had not even started on constructing the Brimspill dock, so it was obvious that if the line were to be opened early, the only outlet for the traffic would be the South Wales line. W G Owen, the engineer of the South Wales Railway, was asked to advise on the most economical junction arrangements for a limited mineral traffic, with accommodation for 20 to 30 wagons and strong enough for heavy engines. He estimated the cost at £5,603, and advised the company to arrange for the SWR to work the traffic to begin with.
Meanwhile the trouble with Morris continued, the work was held up, and in 1863 he claimed £37,678 from the company. He was awarded £10,098 by an arbitrator and in April took legal action to obtain payment, but without success. Two years later he stated that he had received nothing since March 1861, and was owed about £40,000, adding that he had paid over £17,000 for his original shares.
Desperation to open the line.
In June 1863 an engineer, Charles Bartholomew, was asked to go over the line and advise on what should be done to make possible an early opening. He reported that £7,308 would be required, and he was critical of the engineering of the construction work already carried out. He observed that three difficult and deep cuttings could easily have been avoided altogether, as each is quite close to the end of a spur round which the line could have been carried.
Further trouble arose when the Office of Woods threatened to resume possession of the Crown leases because rents were in arrears and fences had not been kept up. In fact the Commissioners of Woods carried the fencing out itself, and sent the bill to the FODCR; this may not have been paid for some time.
The financial situation of the Company was extremely difficult and there was no prospect of it improving. There was only one way out: at a special general meeting on 27 February 1865 an agreement was approved with the Great Western Railway (with which the South Wales Railway had amalgamated in 1863), whereby the GWR should lease and work the line for 50 per cent of gross income. Any excess expenditure during the first three years would be made good to the GWR. The contractor Morris was to complete the railway within two months, for which payment was to be made to him by the GWR. This agreement was signed on 21 June 1866.
In February 1867 Owen reported that the bad winter had delayed work, but that the line would be completed in a month's time. After yet more delays the railway was ready at the end of June, when the GWR ran an engine on a trial trip throughout. The railway seems not to have been ready for immediate opening, however. Only two months later the County Sheriff seized the line under a writ at the suit of the Crown for a debt of £1,339, and posted two men to prevent traffic from being worked. In February 1868 the GWR, having been unable to get this embargo removed, refused to work the line. As the railway was still unfinished—no further work had been done on the Brimspill branch and the line ended at the junction for New Fancy colliery—a further agreement was signed on 8 April under which the GWR was to complete the line.
Opening at last.
At length the GWR, having been indemnified against any legal action that might arise if they worked the railway, opened it for goods traffic on Monday 25 May 1868.
After the opening, a train ran on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, leaving Awre at 11:10 and arriving at Howbeach at 11:35. Blakeney did not appear in the timetable until January 1870. The service terminated at Howbeach because the branch to New Fancy, although licensed by the Crown on 6 April 1868 to the Park End Coal Company, was not ready until early in 1869. The section northward from New Fancy Junction to Foxes Bridge was never completed. At the lower end, the final approach to Brimspill, east of the South Wales Railway was constructed but also never completed. (A short length of track appears to have been laid on it but not connected to the operational line.).
The only signal on the line, apart from that protecting the junction at Awre, was an old disc and crossbar at Howbeach on the south side of the line just within the rock cutting. This type of signal was not made after November 1869, so this must have been one of the last to be installed. It was still there in 1901 but had gone by 1921.
The Mineral Loop of the Severn and Wye Railway.
Meanwhile the New Fancy branch was in danger of competition from the Severn and Wye Railway, which was applying for powers to construct a new route to be called the Mineral Loop. This was to intersect the New Fancy branch and would be likely to abstract business, because of the superior shipping facilities at Lydney dock. The FODCR put up a spirited opposition to the S&WR proposal in Parliament but the S&WR obtained its Act on 16 July 1869. Its Mineral Loop was opened fully in April 1872. There was some difficulty over the intersection crossing with the New Fancy branch, as the latter was on a sharp curve with heavy superelevation and a steep gradient, and there was a slight level difference. Nonetheless the S&WR and the FODCR reached a technical compromise.
Gauge conversion.
The Great Western Railway, as successor to the South Wales Railway, converted its main line and branches in the area to standard gauge between 11 May and 13 May 1872. The FODCR line was converted by the GWR at the same time, at the expense of the FODCR. The Barlow rails were removed and a better standard of permanent way was installed.
Poor business.
The commercial position of the FODCR was extremely poor; the fears that the Severn and Wye Railway's Mineral Loop would take away most of the New Fancy traffic proved correct. In connection with a possible extension of the line in 1879, it was stated by the Deputy Chairman that the Central line had not been in use since August 1875, as no collieries were working. The line was formally disused beyond Howbeach after 1877.
The desperate financial situation of the company was illustrated by solicitor’s letter of 1877 which read, "I regret to say that the company does not possess sufficient funds to pay even the small expense of printing accounts, and none are therefore published". On 31 December 1884 the company owed the GWR £22,746 17s 10d, and the GWR even paid the rents due on leases. In 1885 negotiations for a renewal of the agreement ended with a letter from the FODCR secretary to the GWR, in effect begging the GWR to pay the Crown rent in order to keep the line available for future traffic.
The Ordnance Survey of 1901 showed that the track had been removed beyond the north-east corner of Brandrick’s Green, and the stretch from Howbeach Colliery to Brandrick’s Green was removed about 1911. Thereafter, the railway continued to function to Howbeach with three goods trains a week.
After World War I.
The coal strike of 1921 finished off Howbeach Colliery and traffic ceased beyond Blakeney about this time; the track beyond Blakeney remained in position, but was removed in 1942.
Because of the lease, the line had long been simply a quiet mineral branch line of the Great Western Railway; the Forest of Dean Central Railway owned the line but took no involvement in operating it, and the huge indebtedness meant that there was no dividend distribution. After World War I the Government determined that the railways of Great Britain should be "grouped" into four large companies, under the Railways Act 1921. The Great Western Railway absorbed many small networks in its area of influence, and the Forest of Dean Central Railway was absorbed by the GWR from 1 January 1923. No shareholders could be traced, and the line was gifted to the GWR; it had spent £141,000 on the line.
During the Second World War, traffic was quite heavy because charcoal, a war material, was made in the Forest and there was a storage depot at Blakeney. After the war the traffic fell off and the last train ran on Friday, 29 July 1949, the line being officially closed from 2 August. The last engine was 0-6-0 pannier tank No. 2153. The track from Awre to Blakeney was used for condemned wagon storage for some years, the wagons being shunted up to Blakeney with gaps left at the occupation crossings, but the rails were lifted early in 1962.
Route.
From Awre the line climbed at 1 in 69 to Blakeney, where there was a goods shed. At 1 in 60 it crossed the main road, a 10-span viaduct, went through two deep cuttings, crossed the Roman road at Blackpool Bridge and another cutting to Howbeach Colliery. Beyond the line rose at 1 in 103, then 1 in 54 to New Fancy.
Note: Cobb shows the Forest of Dean Central Railway making a converging junction with the Mineral Loop of the Severn and Wye Railway, but this is a mistake. It crossed it, although both railways eventually had a connection to New Fancy Colliery.


Southport Corporation Tramways

Southport Corporation Tramways operated a tramway service in Southport between 1900 and 1934.
History.
In 1896, Southport Corporation purchased the Birkdale and Southport Tramways Company which had operated horse-drawn tramways since 1873. The tracks within its boundary was also purchased, with that in Birkdale being purchased by that Council
In 1899 Southport Corporation obtained permission to electrify and extend the tramways within its boundaries. Work moved quickly and on 18 July 1900, three routes opened in Southport and electric cars ran. By the end of the year the number of routes had increased to seven, a compact maze of routes serving Smedley, Birkdale, Bedford Park, Kew Gardens, Blowick, Crowlands, High Park and Churchtown.
The depot was in Canning Road, Blowick.
In 1912 Southport absorbed Birkdale and on 1 January 1918, the two tramway systems were finally joined at a cost of £35,000 (equivalent to £ in ).
Fleet.
Southport Corporation fleet eventually reached 45 vehicles.
From Southport Tramways Company the Corporation acquired the following
Closure.
The system closed on 31 December 1934.


Hayling Island branch line

The Hayling Island branch was a railway in Hampshire, England, that connected Havant with Hayling Island. It was sometimes known as the Hayling Billy, which is now the name of a footpath along the old track which is a Local Nature Reserve.
History.
The line was opened by the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LBSCR) for goods on 19 January 1865, and for passengers on 16 July 1867. It ran from Havant to Hayling Island station. There were two intermediate stations at Langston (sic) and North Hayling. Neither were ever "halts", in spite of their small size.
The LBSCR quickly ran into difficulty during the construction of the railway, as they had attempted to save on the cost of buying land on Hayling Island for the line by constructing an embankment on the mud flats in the sheltered waters of Langstone Harbour. This was an ambitious plan, which also involved the construction of wet and dry docks at Sinah Lake. They were given a grant to the mudlands by William Padwick, who was himself behind the plan, and the promoters offered to build the embankment and Railway at a cost of £80,000, but the area was not sheltered as had been hoped and the bank was severely eroded before the railway could be completed.
The Board of Trade inspector was invited to certify the line as being fit for passenger traffic, but he initially refused to do so as he found that many of the sleepers had begun to rot in the original section of the railway, and there was also an unauthorised level crossing at Langstone. The former problem was quickly fixed but the level crossing remained until the closure of the line.
The line itself was mainly used during the summer months as people from the South Coast travelled down to the beach on Hayling Island. The coaches were often overflowing during these months, but were almost empty during the winter.
The line was taken over by the Southern Railway in 1923 and by British Railways in 1948. Because of the weight restriction on the bridge it was worked, from late Victorian times to closure in 1963 by small LB&SCR A1/A1X Class locomotives.
Closure.
Over the winter of 1962 it was decided to close the branch because the timber swing bridge which crossed Langstone Harbour needed to be replaced. The line was operating at a small profit but British Railways took the view that the cost of a new bridge was an unreasonably large investment. The final normal service train ran on the evening of 2 November 1963. Goods services continued until the final day but goods trains were not run separately. Instead goods were conveyed in mixed trains (passenger coaches, goods wagons and vans, and a brake van) and these were a feature of the branch until the end. To clear the remaining goods stock away, the final train from Hayling Island on Saturday 2 November 1963 was a mixed train hauled by A1X no. 32650. The day after closure a special was run, hauled by A1X nos. 32636 and 32670 and this was the last ever train on the branch. All three of these locomotives survive in preservation.
After closure and the line today.
After closure, an attempt was made to re-open the line, using a former Blackpool Marton Vambac single deck tram, no. 11. The tram was stored in the goods yard at Havant, and later, on Hayling Island itself. With no support from the local authorities the venture came to nothing and the tram never ran on the line. Unlike the line, however, the tram survived, and is currently preserved in running order at the East Anglia Transport Museum. The attempted re-opening delayed the lifting of the track. This finally took place in the Spring of 1966, and included the demolition of most of the structure of the railway bridge at Langstone. A significant amount of the bridge remains, including the base of the swinging section, and what seem to be bridge piers. The bridge piers are, in fact, the lower parts of the wooden bridge structure which were enclosed in rectangular columns of concrete by the Southern Railway in the late 1920s, early 1930s. The columns stand on the bridge foundations, which were specially strengthened to deal with the tidal scour at this location.
Today, the area where the tracks once stood on the Havant side of the line is a Local Nature Reserve and footpath. This enables people to walk from Havant station all the way to where the bridge and the level crossing was located, by Langston station, serving the village of Langstone.
If one were to continue walking south from Langston station (the railway never spelled it with the final "e"), across the road bridge, they would join the Hayling Island side of the line. This section of the line passes down the west side of the island, passing through where North Hayling station used to stand, and terminates at West Town, the main area of population in the south of the island. Sadly, due to an arson attack, the old Crossing keepers' cottages near Langston railway station unexpectedly caught fire in December 2018 and were almost completely destroyed. The property company owning the site has been ordered to rebuild them.
This section is now a combined footpath, bridleway and cycleway. It has recently become part of route 2 of the National Cycle Network, sponsored by Sustrans, a charity for sustainable transport.


Potteries Electric Traction Company

The Potteries Electric Traction Company operated a tramway service in The Potteries between 1899 and 1928.
History.
British Electric Traction incorporated a new company on 27 June 1898, called the Potteries Electric Traction Company. Its purpose was to extend the existing tramway through the towns of the Potteries. It acquired the North Staffordshire Tramways Company Limited and arranged to take over the Longton Corporation Tramways.
Construction was awarded to Dick, Kerr & Co. and the overhead work was awarded to R. W Blackwell and Company. The coal-fired power station was constructed by Brush Electrical Engineering Company at the depot at Woodhouse Street, Stoke. Later a second station was opened at May Bank.
On 16 May 1899 the first electric trams ran from Stoke to Longton. By 1902, the company had a fleet of 105 trams and carried 14,438,048 passengers. By 1904 the system had expanded to 32 miles of route.
Accidents.
Trams were relatively safe, although there were accidents.
In 1923, a runaway tram was destroyed in an accident on Hartshill Bank, the steepest gradient on the system, and 18 passengers were injured.
A year later, a driver was fatally injured in an accident at the Granville level crossings in Cobridge.
Depot.
As with all tram systems, the PET Company had a number of tram depots located at the end of each line. PET had depots located at Chesterton, Fenton, Goldenhill, Stoke, Maybank.
Closure.
The system closed in 1928.
The Red Lion public house which for years stood outside the tramway depot in Stoke-on-Trent, is now relocated to the National Tramway Museum.
Possible reintroduction.
It has been proposed as part of the Transforming Cities Fund that Stoke-on-Trent could get a tramway once again for the first time in 90 years.


Cambourne railway station

Cambourne railway station is a proposed new railway station to serve Cambourne in Cambridgeshire. It would be situated on the central section of the proposed East West Rail OxfordCambridge line.
Location.
In March 2021, the East West Railway Company opened an 'informal consultation' on proposals for the Central section’s route alignment and thus the location of this station. Two sites are considered, one just south of the town and the other across the A428 from it: the latter is preferred.


Lynn and Hunstanton Railway

The Lynn and Hunstanton Railway was a line in Norfolk, England that opened in 1862. The railway was a major factor in developing Hunstanton as a seaside resort and residential community. The company was allied to the West Norfolk Junction Railway which built a line connecting Heacham, south of Hunstanton, to Wells-next-the-Sea that was not a financial success. The companies amalgamated in 1874 to form the Hunstanton and West Norfolk Railway, and in 1890 the company was sold to the Great Eastern Railway.
The Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII, acquired an estate at Sandringham, Norfolk, and Wolferton station was used by the Royal Family and visiting heads of state. Hunstanton developed a thriving holiday trade, and day trip excursions became popular. After 1950 decline set in, and the Wells line closed to passengers in 1952; Hunstanton through trains to and from London ended in 1960 and further decline resulted in closure in 1969.
Promotion and construction.
In 1846 efforts were made to promote Hunstanton as a seaside resort, and by the mid 1850s businesses were keen to attract visitors. The East Anglian Railway subsidised two omnibus services to Hunstanton from Lynn even though the town had a population of fewer than 500 people in 1861.
The northern part of the Lynn and Ely Railway reached King's Lynn, known locally as "Lynn", in 1846. Lynn was 16 miles from Hunstanton and a railway connection was projected. A Parliamentary Bill for the line from Lynn to Hunstanton gained Royal Assent on 1 August 1861. The Lynn and Hunstanton Railway was incorporated, with authorised capital of £60,000. The terminus at New Hunstanton, south of the old centre was where development was possible.
The engineer for the line was John Sutherland Valentine. Finance was raised and the first sod was cut on 13 November 1861. Construction over the relatively flat terrain was completed in ten months within budget.
Opening.
The Board of Trade inspection, required for passenger operation, took place in September 1862, and the line opened for traffic on 3 October 1862. The line was worked by the Great Eastern Railway for 50% of receipts.
The Times reported:
Railway Intelligence... Lynn and Hunstanton: This line was opened for traffic on Friday. The first train started at a little after noon, and conveyed the directors, contractors, and officers of the company, shareholders and others, to the number of about 150. A luncheon was served at the Hunstanton terminus. The line is 15 miles in length from the junction with the East Anglian division of the Great Eastern [Railway] at Gaywood [immediately north of King's Lynn], and its cost amounted altogether to only £80,000. The late Mr. L'Estrange, the proprietor of Hunstanton [Estate], sold the land for about miles of the line at its agricultural value, and took the price in shares...
The Wolverton [Wolferton] station is on the estate of the Prince of Wales (through which the line runs for nearly three miles), and is to be enlarged at the expense and for the accommodation of his Royal Highness. The Hunstanton terminus is near the verge of the cliffs. The line is worked by the Great Eastern Railway Company.
The Sandringham Estate had been purchased in February 1862 for the Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII.
The company was successful and a shareholders' meeting in August 1864, reported receipts of £3,500, and the profit after expenses was £1,372. A dividend of 4.5% was declared; by 1865 dividends of 6% were being distributed.
Extending to Wells.
The line's success led businesses to consider whether the North Norfolk coast, eastwards from Hunstanton, could be opened up by a railway. Plans were made for a nominally independent company to build the "West Norfolk Junction Railway", a lightly constructed line feeding into the Lynn and Hunstanton Railway, possibly a tramway alongside public roads. A conventional railway was made, and the West Norfolk Junction Railway obtained Royal Assent on 23 June 1864. The line ran from Heacham, the first station south of Hunstanton, to the terminus of the Wells and Fakenham Railway at Wells. It was 18 miles long, and the authorised capital was £75,000. The new company could run trains to Hunstanton and Wells Harbour. The Great Eastern Railway subscribed £30,000 and agreed to work the line for 50% of gross receipts.
Construction was swift and on 8 January 1866 the Prince and Princess of Wales had a semi-private journey several months before the official opening when they travelled to Holkham Hall to visit the Earl of Leicester. The first Board of Trade inspection refused consent to open he line because of shortcomings in the signalling arrangements. After they were rectified, the line opened 17 August 1866.
The line curved sharply north at Wells to use Wells and Fakenham Railway station on the line that had opened in 1857. Another platform was provided for West Norfolk trains. Triangular junctions were planned at Heacham and Wells, but although a west curve formation was made at Wells, no track was laid, and no work was done at Heacham. At Heacham the line faced away from Hunstanton.
There were generally four trains each way between Wells and Heacham, five on Saturdays and market days. In the earliest days passenger trains ran from Lynn to Wells via Hunstanton, passing Heacham twice; but soon most services terminated at Heacham apart from one through working to Hunstanton, which continued northwards after reversal at the junction. Goods services consisted of one return working between King's Lynn and Wells.
The financial crisis in 1866 following the failure of Overend, Gurney and Company's bank and an outbreak of cattle plague in North Norfolk hit the company's income: receipts amounted to £1,355 for the final quarter year of 1866, and no dividend was paid. After the financial success of the Lynn and Hunstanton line, this was a disappointment but the course of the line, which was some distance from the coast and the towns and villages situated on it, militated against its use for goods and passenger purposes.
Amalgamations.
The West Norfolk Railway was allied with the Lynn and Hunstanton Railway, and they amalgamated by Act of 8 June 1874, becoming the "Hunstanton and West Norfolk Railway". The Lynn and Hunstanton main line was relatively successful but smaller railways became more fragile in the latter decades of the 19th century, and on 1 July 1890 the Lynn and Hunstanton Railway was sold to the Great Eastern Railway for £160,000 and £5,000 for legal expenses.
Growth from 1890.
In the final years of the century, Hunstanton developed as a holiday resort, not only for holiday stays, but many wealthy business people lived there and travelled to London for business. Golfing stays at Hunstanton became popular and from 1905, a Sunday restaurant car express from London was provided specifically for golfers. As traffic developed, the track was doubled over the southern part of the line and completed between King's Lynn and Wolferton in 1898.
The Royal Family spent a lot of time at Sandringham. Royal trains reversed at King's Lynn where operation by local engines and crews took over. In London they ran to St Pancras station over the Tottenham and Hampstead Junction Railway line. Liverpool Street station was not used because royalty entering the City of London required ceremonial procedures, which were not always expedient. Between 1884 and 1911, 645 royal trains used Wolferton station. Ordinary express passenger trains ran to St Pancras, or conveyed coaches for St Pancras that were slipped at Tottenham Hale or detached there. In the 1930s, Sunday excursions, particularly Sunday schools, and long distance holiday trains became dominant.
West Norfolk trains terminated at Heacham, not usually running through to Hunstanton. There was no runround facility at Wells and after disembarking the passengers, the engine propelled the coaches back up the gradient, and after shunting the engine, the coaches were run down to the station by gravity.
Pullman cars were run on some trains from 1921, but were not popular. From 1929, a day excursion train from London, the Eastern Belle, ran to different seaside destinations from day to day, and typically visited Hunstanton every two weeks on a Tuesday. In 1937 Hunstanton station was enlarged. Its four platforms were lengthened, and accommodation for passenger stock and locomotives was extended. After World War II there was heavy holiday traffic on the line, especially on Sundays, when a one way system was operated: nearly all incoming trains ran in the morning and all outgoing trains in the afternoon and evening. From 1949 a named train, "The Fenman" ran from Liverpool Street to Hunstanton. Heacham also began to develop as a holiday destination.
Decline after 1950.
Poor passenger business on the West Norfolk line resulted in closure to passengers; the last passenger trains ran on Saturday 31 May 1952; but a special Pilgrims' train ran from Kettering to Walsingham on 29 June 1952. Heavy flooding in early 1953 caused the line to be breached at Holkham. The line was not reinstated as it was only open to goods traffic; the stub from Heacham to Burnham was retained for goods traffic, but was closed after 28 December 1964. The 1953 floods engulfed a train on the main line north of Heacham on 31 January 1953; the train was stranded, and the line was not repaired until 23 February 1953.
On the main line, diesel multiple units were introduced from 3 November 1958, and through trains from Liverpool Street to Hunstanton were withdrawn in November 1960, the branch passenger service was operated as a shuttle from King's Lynn. Operation as a basic railway was brought in from 6 June 1966 in an attempt to contain costs.
Hunstanton station was reduced to a single platform from 12 February 1967 and reductions in operating facilities followed when the one engine in steam system was instituted from Wolferton to Hunstanton on 5 March 1967. King's Lynn to Wolferton was reduced to single track on 2 April 1967 when the line was worked as a single section and a no-signalman key token instrument was placed at Hunstanton. Despite this an investment of £25,000 was made that year in the shape of automatic half-barrier level crossing gates. All freight was withdrawn on the line in 1964. The line closed on 5 May 1969.
Restoration efforts.
There has been an ongoing interest in restoring the line. In 1993 the local council expressed interest in protecting the rail formation from development that could block restoration, but early efforts to re-open the line, endorsed by actor Bill Pertwee, were met with hostility by several people who had purchased properties along the former route
In 2018 a formal campaign to restore the railway was launched. In September 2019 Norfolk County Council began a study into the restoration of the rail link between King's Lynn Lynn and Hunstanton, despite noting the challenges of any reconstruction.
A bid was made in November 2020 for funding from the second round of the Restoring Your Railway fund. It was unsuccessful, with transport minister Chris Heaton-Harris stating that the case needed strengthening, but that "the proposal has potential." In March 2021, a bid was submitted to restore the line from Kings Lynn to Hunstanton as part of the third round of the Restoring Your Railway fund. The King's Lynn Docks announced their support for the restoration of the line, coupled to the restoration of the dock's railway branch.
Despite the implied support of the 1993 protection of the route, the ongoing efforts to restore the line and national level listing of the project, a public house was allowed to be constructed on the formation at Hunstanton and in 2020 plans were released for flats to be built on the former station site.
Topography.
Main line:
Extension: