Great Northern route

The Great Northern route (formerly known as Great Northern Electrics) is the name given to suburban rail services run on the southern end of Britain's East Coast Main Line and its associated branches. Services operate to or from and in London. Destinations include , , , , and . Services run through parts of Greater London, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Norfolk.
The route forms a major commuter route into London from Hertfordshire, Cambridgeshire and eastern Bedfordshire: ridership has grown rapidly over recent years. In 2009, rolling stock was transferred from other lines to allow additional services and longer trains to be run. In early 2018, the line was connected to the Thameslink route via a junction just south of the High Speed 1 bridge, north of King's Cross, allowing through services to south of London.
Since September 2014, the services have been operated by Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR). The Thameslink and Great Northern service brands were maintained and separated from each other.
Route.
The network consists of all local and semi-fast services on these lines:
Additionally, the main service on the Fen Line is provided as part of the route. All services are provided by EMUs.
At privatisation the services became part of West Anglia Great Northern, becoming their sole route in 2004 when the West Anglia services were transferred to 'one'. In April 2006 the services became the responsibility of First Capital Connect. In September 2014, the Department for Transport transferred the new Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern franchise to Govia Thameslink Railway. When the Thameslink Programme is completed in 2018, many of these services will become part of the Thameslink network, running through central London to destinations south of the River Thames.
History.
The term Great Northern is related to the Great Northern Railway, the original builders of the line.
The July 1922 Bradshaw's Railway Guide contains a typical rail service on the Cambridge Line as follows:
Six stopping and two (three on Saturday) semi-fast services to (Monday to Saturday) - one Sunday stopping service to with two back. The fastest service taking about 1hr30 to travel from to .
An additional two (three on Wednesday) services reached (Monday to Saturday) - one additional service reaching on Sunday.
An additional seven services reached (Monday to Saturday)
An additional three services reached (Monday to Saturday), the last service running just after midnight Thursday morning.
Since the 1960s, Great Northern has been used to describe the suburban part of the East Coast Main Line, south of and south of . The Great Northern Railway proposed electrification of part of the line in 1903, but it was not until 1971 that a scheme to electrify the line from and was authorised.
The Inner Suburban Lines to and were electrified in 1976 with EMUs. In 1978 the electrification was complete to with EMUs providing the service. The route was then promoted as the Great Northern Electrics. The route between Hertford and Langley Junction, south of Stevenage, was also electrified but not regularly used by electric trains until 1979 when one Moorgate - Hertford service per hour was extended to Letchworth; prior to this DMUs provided an infrequent service over this route, running between Hertford and Huntingdon / Peterborough. From 1979 until 1987 DMUs provided the service between Hitchin and Huntingdon/Peterborough. DMUs also provided a shuttle service between Royston and Cambridge between 1978 and 1988, connecting with the electric trains and replacing the former through Cambridge buffet expresses between Kings Cross and the university city.
In 1982 Watton-at-Stone station was reopened between Hertford and Stevenage. A new station also opened at in 1986.
With the electrification by British Rail of the East Coast Main Line electric services could be extended to and the Outer Suburban Service was changed from to , some of which were cascaded from the newly created Thameslink route, with the remainder newly built.
In 1984
the decision to electrify the line between and Shepreth Branch Junction with the West Anglia Main Line north of allowed the reinstatement of through services to from via the East Coast Main Line, resulting in faster journey times than from via the West Anglia Main Line. This electrification was completed in 1988.
Later the track between these points was also upgraded with welded joint track instead of the jointed track that had existed, and the maximum line speed was raised to 90 mph.
Rapid growth on the route, especially on the Cambridge Line resulted in consultation on a new service pattern,
which was then implemented at the timetable change in Spring 2009. During the peak hours, the route is now saturated and can support no further service improvements.
Hitchin Flyover.
Together with the Digswell Viaduct (Welwyn Viaduct) some ten miles to the south, the flat junction just north of was a major bottleneck, as northbound trains diverging from the East Coast Main Line towards and thence to had to cross one northbound (fast) line and two southbound (fast and slow) lines to access the Cambridge Line. Proposals as part of the original electrification work envisaged a new underpass here and land was set aside for its construction. However, budgetary constraints forced this part of the programme to be abandoned. The land stood empty for many years, but has since been used to provide new housing.
A new plan
and subsequent application for an order
to build a flyover was approved, and construction was completed in June 2013. The scheme has created a new single-track line that diverges from the northbound slow line at a new junction just beyond Hitchin station, using a short embankment section of the former Bedford to Hitchin Line, a section of which was cleared of vegetation and made progressively higher, to form a short ramp. The track is carried over the East Coast Main Line on a newly constructed viaduct and onto a new embankment to join the present Cambridge Line at the newly created Hitchin East Junction, closer to . Although this takes trains over a longer distance, it removes the need for them to dwell at Hitchin – sometimes for several minutes – awaiting a path across the tracks of the main London-Peterborough route, thus decreasing the overall journey time to Cambridge in many instances. The scheme improves the punctuality and reliability of both the London-Cambridge and London-Peterborough routes, because Peterborough-bound stopping trains are no longer delayed if running closely behind a Cambridge service being held at Hitchin waiting to cross the flat junction.
Thameslink programme.
As part of the Thameslink Programme,
the Great Northern Route has been connected to the existing Thameslink route via a new junction at Belle Isle (south of the High Speed 1 flyover, just north of ). Two single-bore tunnels (known as the Canal Tunnels) were driven from here to the low-level platforms at during the 'St Pancras Box' phase of the redevelopment works that created St Pancras International station. Trains diverging from the Great Northern Route at Belle Isle will join the 'core' St Pancras - Farringdon - City Thameslink - Blackfriars section of the existing Thameslink route and then serve stations across Surrey, East Sussex, Kent, and West Sussex.
On 6 November 2017 the first Thameslink Programme units entered service on the Great Northern route. 700128 worked the 0656 Peterborough - London King's Cross and 1812 return, while 700125 worked the 0733 Peterborough - London King's Cross and 1742 return. Eventually 75% of the GN fleet will be Class 700 units.
Services.
The Great Northern off-peak service pattern, with frequencies in "trains per hour" (tph), consists of the following:
Rolling stock.
Great Northern current fleet consists of 387s, and 717s, both Class 387 ad 717 were introduced on the Great Northern network replacing the Class 313s and 321s they inherited from First Capital Connect.
In May 2021, the Class 365s were withdrawn on the May timetable change. They will be leasing the Class 387/2 from Gatwick Express which Southern are currently using.
Future developments.
East-West (Varsity) line.
The Varsity Line connected with via and ("Varsity" being slang for "University", those termini being major university towns). It was closed in 1968 but there are now plans to restore this route, but via the Cambridge Line and the East Coast Main Line, diverting westwards at .


Chatham Main Line


Bullo Pill Railway

The Bullo Pill Railway was an early British railway, completed in 1810 to carry coal mined in the Forest of Dean Coalfield to a port on the River Severn near Newnham, Gloucestershire. It was later converted to a broad gauge steam line by the Great Western Railway, and was closed in the 1960s.
Background.
The Forest of Dean has been exploited since ancient times, not merely for its timber, but also for the minerals beneath. All the ingredients for iron-making exist and have been used since the Roman period. The Industrial Revolution brought increased demand for coal and iron, but the Forest, while having both in abundance, was at a disadvantage, being isolated from its potential markets with only a few frequently impassable roads linking it to the outside world. The hilly terrain was unsuitable for the canals of the type which were being built elsewhere, but in the first decade of the nineteenth century plans were laid for a number of horse-drawn railways to carry goods cheaply to the Rivers Severn and Wye.
Development.
Bullo Pill, on the Severn near Newnham, originally a small tidal creek off the main river used for boat building, was developed by building a dock basin with lock gates, and wharfs for loading goods for shipment. Coal and stone from the Forest could be loaded at the dock and exported on the Severn trows up or down the river. In addition there was a flow of barges carrying coal across the river to Framilode and then along the Stroudwater Canal to Brimscombe, Stroud and Chalford.
A private railway was built from Bullo Pill to Cinderford Bridge, a distance of nearly four and a half miles; when it was nearly complete, the Bullo Pill Railway Company applied for an Act of Parliament in order to extend the railway a further two miles to the summit of the hill above Churchway Engine, and to make branches. The Royal Assent to the Act was made on 10 June 1809.
The railway was of approximately 4 ft gauge, laid as a plateway, with rails of L-shaped section, spiked to stone blocks. Rails were supplied by the Ayleford Foundry, near Soudley; a branch line was constructed from the foundry. All traffic was horse-drawn, using privately owned four-wheeled wagons of an approved type, with an oak underframe supporting a hopper-shaped body, and with unflanged cast-iron wheels. The line was single, with frequent passing loops.
The tunnel at Haie (or Hay) Hill was 1,083 yards long, completed in 1810; at the time it was the longest railway tunnel in the world.
From Bullo Pill the line heads west for a mile to the entrance of Haie Hill Tunnel; emerging at the far end at Lower Soudley. From there, it follows the Cinderford valley northward through Upper Soudley, Cinderford Bridge and Bilson to Churchway.
In 1811–12 there was an attempt to excavate a tunnel under the River Severn, apparently as an extension to the railway. The tunnel began on the bank between Bullo Pill and Newnham, and was intended to emerge on the far side near Arlingham. The tunnel had been extended 226 yards out, about half way, but an inrush of water in November 1812 meant work was abandoned.
In 1812 the Severn and Wye Railroad Company line was extended to meet the Bullo Pill Railway at Churchway, but there seems initially to have been little traffic passing between the two.
The Forest of Dean Railway.
By 1815 Bullo Pill was shipping up to 1,000 tons of coal and stone daily, but the end of the Napoleonic Wars brought about a recession, and by the 1820s the railway was a shadow of its former self. It was bought by Edward Protheroe, who introduced plans to revitalize it. A second Act of Parliament received the Royal Assent on 5 May 1826; this turned the line into a public company, renamed the Forest of Dean Railway Company.
Industry.
The coming of the railway stimulated industry along its length, connected by sidings or short branches to the main line. There were collieries at Bilson, Crump Meadow, Churchway, Quidchurch, Foxes Bridge and numerous other locations, iron mines at Buckshaft, Shakemantle and St Annals, and stone quarries at Shakemantle and Staple Edge.
Two major ironworks operated close to the railway at Cinderford and Soudley.
Other industries included brickworks, chemical works, tinplate works and timber yards.
Broad Gauge conversion.
The South Wales Railway (a subsidiary of the Great Western Railway) bought the Forest of Dean Railway in 1849; their main line was opened in 1851 between Gloucester and Chepstow, and sidings were built at Bullo Pill for transfer of goods.
The Forest of Dean line was surveyed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel in 1851 with a view to constructing a single-track broad gauge (7 ft 0¼ in) steam railway from the main line up to Churchway, with a branch to Whimsey. Although it approximately followed the line of the earlier railway, it was more heavily engineered with embankments, cuttings and tunnels, which tended to straighten out the earlier somewhat meandering course. Haie Hill Tunnel was enlarged, and new tunnels were dug at Bradley Hill (299 yards) and Blue Rock (109 yards). The new line, seven and a quarter miles long, opened on 24 July 1854. The South Wales Railway was officially amalgamated with the Great Western Railway on 1 August 1863. The line was converted to standard gauge in 1872.
In 1871 the Mitcheldean Road & Forest of Dean Junction Railway was formed to extend the line from Whimsey northwards to link up with the Hereford, Ross & Gloucester Railway at Mitcheldean Road; the line was taken over by the GWR in 1878 and completed, but never fully opened.
Passenger traffic.
From the late 1890s, shipments from Bullo Pill declined, and the last cargo of stone left the dock in 1926. The lock gates collapsed and the basin silted up. The coal-loading chute was eventually scrapped.
Passenger traffic on the line began on 3 August 1907, a rail motor service with halts at Bullo Cross, Upper Soudley, Staple Edge, Ruspidge, Bilson, Whimsey and Steam Mills Crossing. From 6 April 1908 the opening of a new length of track allowed trains to continue to the Severn and Wye Railway station at Cinderford.
The line closed to passengers from 1 November 1958, while goods traffic continued until the entire branch was closed on 1 August 1967.
Surviving remnants.
The track was lifted by the end of 1969, but much of the line can still be traced on foot. The original mines and industrial buildings have long disappeared, and the route is now mainly rural.
Between Ruspidge and Bilson the route is now a linear park; sections of broad-gauge rail can be seen in use as fence posts. South of Ruspidge residential developments have encroached on the line, though the branch to Lightmoor Colliery can still be followed, and still retains many of its original stone sleeper blocks. Around Soudley the route is almost untouched and can easily be traced. The branch around Whimsey has largely been obliterated by roads and light industrial development. Between Haie Hill Tunnel and Bullo Pill, the line is mostly in private hands and has reverted to pasture, though the bricked-up tunnel entrance still exists.
In 1991 the dock at Bullo Pill was cleared of silt and new lock gates installed, but there remains little activity although some private boats are stored and refurbished there.


Arriva Trains Merseyside

Arriva Trains Merseyside was a train operating company in England owned by Arriva that operated the Merseyrail Electrics franchise from January 1997 until July 2003, when the Merseyrail railway franchise was transformed into the local Merseyrail concession, owned by the Merseyrail Passenger Transport Executive (Merseytravel).
History.
The Merseyrail Electrics franchise was awarded by the Director of Passenger Rail Franchising to MTL with operations commencing on 19 January 1997. MTL retained the Merseyrail Electrics brand.
On 18 February 2000, MTL was purchased by Arriva, and on 27 April 2001, rebranded as Arriva Trains Merseyside.
On 23 April 2003, Serco-Abellio were awarded the Merseyrail Electrics franchise with the services operated by Arriva Trains Merseyside transferring to Merseyrail on 20 July 2003.
Rolling stock.
Arriva Trains Merseyside inherited a fleet of Class 507 and Class 508s from Regional Railways. It also inherited a fleet of Class 73 locomotives and Class 936 units for use on infrastructure trains, these were sold in 2002.
Depot.
Arriva Trains Merseyside's fleet was maintained at Birkenhead North Depot.
Further reading.


Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways

Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways (FoSBR) is a Bristol-based campaign group, calling for better rail transport in the Bristol area.
Formation.
FoSBR was formed in 1995 as "Friends of Severn Beach Railway", to protest against the potential demise of the Severn Beach Line, a single-track branch line in Bristol. Services at the time had been reduced along the line from to , with many services replaced by buses. The first FoSBR action was on 25 September 1995, when a group of protestors met at Avonmouth railway station with buggies and bicycles, to show that buses were not a suitable replacement for trains. The group later changed its name to Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways, allowing it to keep the FoSBR acronym.
Campaigns.
Severn Beach Line.
FoSBR's first campaign was to get a better service on the Severn Beach Line, an important Bristol commuter line connecting to and via Clifton. The line had few services, no service at all on Sundays, and very few trains travelled the entire length of the line to Severn Beach. Following action by FoSBR and a string of protests, Bristol City Council agreed to subsidise a service of at least one train every 45mins in each direction along the line. This continued until 2007 when a 1-hour minimum service was written into the Greater Western passenger franchise. In 2007, the Council unanimously agreed to pay £450,000 per year to fund extra services from May 2008 for three years, which resulted in a 60% increase in passenger numbers along the line, and a 25% year-on-year increase between June 2009 and June 2010. Passenger numbers on the line increased by 90% over the period 2008–11, and 25% in the period 2010–11. The Council cut the subsidy paid by half, saying the extra passengers were allowing the line to support itself, which prompted criticism by FoSBR, saying the money should be used to provide evening trains and through services to and .
Services along the line run at roughly three trains every two hours between Avonmouth and Temple Meads, with one extending to Severn Beach. FoSBR is campaigning for a half-hourly service, which has become feasible since the restoration of the four-track line between Temple Meads and Filton.
FoSBR also campaigned for a Sunday service between Severn Beach and , the success of which was celebrated with a picnic. There are two services each Sunday – both terminate at Severn Beach during the summer, but one terminates at Avonmouth outside of summer.
FoSBR support the opening of a station to serve the A4 Portway Park & Ride scheme in Shirehampton. They argue that buses often have to deal with heavy traffic on the A4 Portway to reach the city centre, and that a rail link would be quicker and greener.
FoSBR have also suggested the Severn Beach Line be electrified as part of the electrification of the Great Western Main Line. They were supported in this by Stephen Williams, the former MP for Bristol West.
Henbury Loop.
FoSBR are campaigning for the Henbury Loop Line, a freight line in the north of Bristol which has not seen passenger traffic since the 1960s. This would include the reopening of and railway stations, both of which closed to passengers in 1964. FoSBR suggest this would help services along the Severn Beach Line, allowing a Temple Meads-Avonmouth- service, and also provide services to the north of Bristol generally, the Cribbs Causeway shopping centre, and the redevelopment at Filton Aerodrome. FoSBR say that local councils have committed to a feasibility study into reopening the line.
Filton Bank.
The line between and , commonly known as Filton Bank was reduced from four tracks to two in 1984 as a cost-saving measure. It was frequently congested.
FoSBR were part of a successful campaign to reinstate this as a four-track railway. These works, which included the rebuilding of a viaduct at Stapleton Road, were completed in 2018.
Electrification to Weston-super-Mare.
The Great Western Main Line, the major railway between London and Bristol, was electrified in the 2010s as part of a major upgrade scheme. The entire line between London Paddington, Bristol Temple Meads and was due to be electrified by 2017, as was the line between Temple Meads and Parkway. However, FoSBR are concerned that since the new electric Intercity Express Programme (IEP) trains will not be able to operate beyond Bristol, direct services between London and will be discontinued. FoSBR therefore support the extension of electrification to Weston-super-Mare, and of the Severn Beach Line, to provide passengers with "better, more reliable services".
FoSBR also supported the building of the Stoke Gifford depot for Intercity Express Trains, against local opposition. 550 local residents signed a petition against the depot, citing light, noise and water pollution concerns. FoSBR released a joint statement with Daniel Casey of the Green Party and Dave Wood of the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers, saying that the residents' concerns were unfounded, noting several methods of noise/light/water pollution prevention that would be used, and also mentioning that the nearby motorways, Filton Airfield and night-time freight trains on the South Wales Main Line would all produce more background noise than the depot would.
Portishead Line.
FoSBR support the reopening of the Portishead Branch Line to passenger services. The line was closed in the 1960s, but was reopened in the early 2000s for freight trains to serve Royal Portbury Docks. The track beyond is either overgrown or built over.
Awards.
FoSBR hold awards ceremonies for people and organisations who have helped promote rail transport in the Bristol area.


Poole and District Electric Tramways

The Poole and District Electric Tramways operated an electric tramway service in Poole between 1901 and 1905.
History.
The Poole and District Electric Traction Company was a subsidiary of British Electric Traction. A single line was built from Poole railway station through Upper Parkstone to County Gates. The fare for the journey was 3d.
The company operated a fleet of 17 tramcars from a depot at Ashley Road in Upper Parkstone.
Closure.
The system was bought by Poole Corporation in 1905 and leased for thirty years to Bournemouth Corporation Tramways from June 1905, and this line was subsumed into their system.


North Staffordshire Railway

The North Staffordshire Railway (NSR) was a British railway company formed in 1845 to promote a number of lines in the Staffordshire Potteries and surrounding areas in Staffordshire, Cheshire, Derbyshire and Shropshire.
The company was based in Stoke-on-Trent and was nicknamed The Knotty; its lines were built to the standard gauge of . The main routes were constructed between 1846 and 1852 and ran from Macclesfield to Norton Bridge, just north of Stafford, and from Crewe to Egginton Junction, west of Derby. Within these main connections with other railway companies, most notably the London and North Western Railway (LNWR), the company operated a network of smaller lines although the total route mileage of the company never exceeded . The majority of the passenger traffic was local although a number of LNWR services from Manchester to London were operated via Stoke. Freight traffic was mostly coal and other minerals but the line also carried the vast majority of china and other pottery goods manufactured in England.
As the NSR was surrounded by other larger railway companies, there were in the 19th century several attempts emanating from other companies or proposals from NSR shareholders to amalgamate with one or more of the other companies that adjoined it. None of these came to fruition and the NSR remained an independent company up to 1923 when it became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway Company.
Before the railway.
The area of north Staffordshire known today as the City of Stoke-on-Trent was already a thriving industrial area before the arrival of the railways. The establishment of the pottery industry and the development of coal and ironstone mines in the 18th century had provided a need for materials, most noticeably clay, to be brought into the area. A corresponding need also arose for the resulting fragile pottery goods to be taken away from the area. This need had given rise in the mid to late 18th century of the construction of the Trent & Mersey Canal (T&M) and its various branches. Opened in 1777 it was a spectacular success and paid dividends reaching 75% in 1822. By 1845 this had fallen to a still impressive 30% despite the onset of railway development in the northwest England. In 1836 the canal carried of goods away and brought in .
It was the Trent & Mersey Canal company that built the first railway in north Staffordshire when in 1776 it was granted powers to build a railway, or plateway, from Caldon Low limestone quarries to the canal basin at Froghall in the Churnet Valley.
Formation of the company.
The Railway Mania of 1845 found the Potteries still without a railway, although the surrounding towns of Stafford, Crewe, Derby and Macclesfield were all connected to the fledgling railway system. The "Staffordshire Potteries Railway" promoted a route from Macclesfield to the Grand Junction Railway mainline at Norton Bridge plus a spur to Crewe. At the same time the "Churnet Valley Railway" promoted a line from Macclesfield to Derby with a branch to Stoke. After these two companies applied for the necessary powers to build the lines, Parliament suggested a pause of a year "to afford time for consideration and for maturing some more complete scheme for the accommodation of that important district".
The two companies decided to join forces to make a new approach to Parliament. They also incorporated in the scheme a proposal to join the Trent Valley Railway into the Potteries. To do this they promoted the "North Staffordshire or Churnet Valley and Trent Junction Railway". This prospective company issued its prospectus on 30 April 1845 from offices at 1 Old Palace Yard, Westminster, London. There was to be a share capital of £2,350,000 (£ in ). in £20 shares (117,500 shares).
The prospectus outlined the NSR's plans for two main lines. The "Pottery Line" running from a junction with the Manchester & Birmingham railway at Congleton to the Grand Junction Railway at Colwich was promoted, as "giving the most ample accommodation to the towns of Tunstall, Burslem, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Hanley, Stoke, Fenton, Longton and Stone". The "Churnet Line" was to run from Macclesfield though Leek, Cheadle and Uttoxeter to join the Midland Railway line between Burton-upon-Trent and Derby forming a direct link between Manchester and Derby.
The company was formally incorporated in April 1845 under the shorter name of the North Staffordshire Railway. As a way of eliminating opposition to the Company's Bills in Parliament, and to allow it to promote a line to Liverpool, the company made an agreement to take over the Trent & Mersey Canal Company. This was achieved by T&M shares being swapped for preference shares in the NSR. These preference shares paid a guaranteed annual dividend of 5% once the entire railway was open. The total purchase cost of the T&M to the NSR £1,170,000.
On 25 November 1845 the "Derby and Crewe Railway" was absorbed into the NSR Scheme. This was a line that was being supported by the Grand Junction Railway (GJR) running between Derby and Crewe via Uttoxeter and Stoke. It was to eliminate the opposition of the Grand Junction company to the other NSR proposals that the NSR agreed to absorb the "Derby and Crewe". However part of the deal was that the proposed line from Harecastle to Liverpool was abandoned. Despite having arranged to purchase the T&M canal for a considerable sum, to obtain support for the Liverpool extension the NSR agreed to the GJR demand. All that survived of the NSR Liverpool plan was the short branch to Sandbach from Harecastle.
Parliamentary approval and construction.
On 26 June 1846, the three NSR acts were passed with the total of £2,900,000 in share capital being shared amongst the three lines, with seven years allowed for the completion of each line. The "North Staffordshire Railway (Pottery Line) Act" provided for the construction of the line from Macclesfield to Colwich with branches to Norton Bridge, Newcastle, Silverdale and Crewe. This act also vested the Trent & Mersey Canal in the NSR. Allocated capital for this work was £1,500,000. The second act, the "North Staffordshire Railway (Harecastle and Sandbach) Act" provided for the construction of the line from Harecastle to Sandbach, allocated capital for these works was £200,000. Finally the "North Staffordshire Railway (Churnet Valley Line) Act" authorised the construction of the line from North Rode to Burton, a branch from Tutbury to Willington Junction near Derby, and the line between Uttoxeter and Stoke; £1,200,000 of capital was allocated to this.
To start the construction work, there was an official sod-cutting ceremony. This took place in September 1846 The site chosen for the ceremony was a field in Etruria. A roped off enclosure for directors was created and the remainder of the field was reserved for invited guests. A mile long procession headed by John Lewis Ricardo, Member of Parliament for Stoke-on-Trent and chairman of the NSR Company, formed. On Ricardo's arrival, the crowds broke through the roped off area and Ricardo was pushed and shoved. During the actual cutting he buckled the silver spade and had difficulty removing the sod. Finally, his hat blew away.
Construction work went ahead under the supervision of the consulting engineer, George Parker Bidder. By February 1847 there were 1,318 men and 60 horses working between Macclesfield and Colwich and they had removed of earth, driven of tunnel heading and erected yards of fencing.
On 2 July 1847 the "North Staffordshire Railway Act" was passed. The act was necessary was because of problems encountered with the construction of the Crewe branch. The opportunity was taken to authorise several other deviations and small branches. It also consolidated the previous acts and importantly, forced the NSR to ensure that all lines were completed by specifying that ordinary dividends were not to exceed 5% until the Churnet Valley and Willington lines had been opened.
Work continued apace and by 3 April 1848 the first freight trains were run. Passenger services started on 17 April 1848 and the first passenger train left the temporary station at Wheildon Road, Stoke, hauled by locomotive No. 1 "Dragon", heading for a temporary station at Norton Bridge on the London and North Western Railway (LNWR). The opening of the line gave the Potteries a railway link with Birmingham and London which made it an instant success with the public. Profits for the first two months were £1,668, "exceeding expectations".
The remaining lines under the original Acts were opened in stages but all were completed and open by the end of 1852 when the Stoke to Newcastle and Newcastle to Knutton sections opened. A few months after the opening of the first line, the imposing permanent station in Winton Square, Stoke was opened on 9 October 1848. Stoke station then became the headquarters of the NSR.
Later lines.
Later branches constructed in the nineteenth century included lines from Stoke-on-Trent to Congleton via Smallthorne and Biddulph; Stoke-on-Trent to Leek; Newcastle to Silverdale, Keele and Market Drayton (junction with the Great Western Railway); Alsager to Audley, Leycett and Keele, and Rocester to Ashbourne.
Also opened in the 19th century was the only NSR line to achieve any degree of fame, the Potteries Loop Line from Etruria via Hanley, Cobridge, Burslem, Tunstall, Pitts Hill, Newchapel and Goldenhill to Kidsgrove Liverpool Road. Authorised in stages in 1864–65, it opened to traffic in 1873. Its fame came from several mentions and a description of a journey on a Burslem to Hanley train in Arnold Bennett's "The Old Wives' Tale".
Twentieth century construction included the Waterhouses branch line from Leekbrook Junction to Caldon Low quarries and Waterhouses from where the narrow gauge Leek and Manifold Valley Light Railway (L&MV) was constructed through the Hamps and Manifold river valleys to Hulme End near Hartington. Although the L&MV was nominally independent the NSR both worked and operated the line.
Finally in 1910, the short Trentham Park branch line was built from Stoke-on-Trent to Trentham Park. It was authorised as part of an alternative line to Newcastle-under-Lyme but construction work beyond Trentham was quickly abandoned owing to rising costs. The same act of parliament also transferred the Cheadle Railway to the NSR. The Cheadle Railway was a small local company constructed with NSR's backing, built at great cost over a period of twelve years. It was a short line from Cresswell to Cheadle, this line, only four miles long, included a very difficult tunnel. The line was opened from Cresswell to Totmonslow on 7 November 1892 and to Cheadle on 1 January 1901.
A full list of authorisation and opening dates for sections of the NSR is given below.
Macclesfield, Bollington and Marple Railway.
The Macclesfield, Bollington and Marple Railway (MB&M) was a joint line which the NSR participated in. A short line of just under it was opened with the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway (MS&L) in 1869 to give the NSR access to Manchester independently of the LNWR. As relationships between the NSR and the LNWR grew better the reason for the line lessened as the MB&M route to Manchester was longer than the LNWR route. Both passenger and freight traffic was handled by the MS&L (or, as it later became, the Great Central Railway) with the buildings maintained by the NSR.
Running powers with other companies.
As a company with only a small route mileage the NSR made extensive use of running powers and in exchange granted running powers to other companies.
The earliest agreements were reached with the LNWR. In 1849 an agreement was reached where LNWR traffic could work over the NSR system but in exchange a certain amount of the LNWR London trains had to be routed via Stoke. These Manchester to London Euston restaurant car expresses were unique in often being hauled by NSR tank engines from Manchester to Stoke-on-Trent where the LNWR express engines took over for the run via Stone, Sandon, Colwich, and the main line to London Euston. The NSR received a payment for every through passenger on these trains and employed a small army of ticket inspectors to examine and clip (with its distinctive 'P' clip) every ticket during the Stoke-on-Trent station stop. The agreement did give the NSR access to destinations such as Llandudno, Manchester, Stafford, Wolverhampton and Buxton. NSR goods trains were able to run to places such as Liverpool and Rugby. The LNWR also used running rights over the Uttoxeter–Ashbourne line to run through coaches from Buxton to London via Nuneaton. As well as the running power agreements with the LNWR there was a very short joint line of at Middlewood and three jointly owned stations; Ashbourne, Colwich and Macclesfield Goods.
Equally important in terms of traffic but not as extensive in terms of route were the running power agreements with the Midland Railway (MR). For the NSR passenger traffic into Derby and Burton was authorised and good traffic as far afield as Wellingborough. The arrangements with these two companies allowed the NSR to run its longest passenger service, between Derby and Llandudno. These trains only ran on NSR rails, with over MR but with the majority, over the LNWR.
In 1867, an independent local company built the Stafford and Uttoxeter Railway, later incorporated into the Great Northern Railway (GNR). The GNR built its GNR Derbyshire and Staffordshire Extension from Nottingham and Derby Friargate via Mickleover to Egginton Junction with running powers over the NSR from Etwall, through Uttoxeter, to Bromshall Junction. The GNR granted the NSR running rights to Nottingham, Colwick, Leicester and Peterborough. Apart from excursion trains to Nottingham and goods trains to Colwick, the NSR did not take advantage of these powers.
Although the NSR had joint ownership of the MB&M with the MS&L the NSR did not have running powers over the rest of the MS&L and was content to let the MS&L handle all traffic north of Middlewood. Finally with both the NSR and the Great Western Railway (GWR) expanding into Shropshire running rights were agreed for NSR trains to run to Hodnet and Wellington and in return GWR goods trains could run to Stoke.
Amalgamation proposals and financial strength.
There were several proposals made either to the NSR or by it, to merge or lease or sell the company to other railway companies. The first was in 1849 when the LNWR, using its financial strength, made suggestions about a merger. To avoid this the NSR had to agree to the running powers outlined above. A further attempt in 1851 got as far as a parliamentary bill being submitted for amalgamation until the select committee appointed to look at the bill reported against the idea. The LNWR made a further attempt in 1855 which failed because of concerted opposition by the MR, MS&L and GWR. Less than twenty years later, in 1870, these four companies all combined to look at taking over the NSR following a decision by the NSR board to sell or lease the company. The four rival companies were unable to agree on who would take what share of the NSR and the proposal floundered.
In 1875, the MS&L proposed an amalgamation which initially found favour with the NSR board and shareholders but eventually fell through when the MS&L finances were investigated and it was found that the MS&L was no stronger financially than the NSR. Only two years later some NSR shareholders proposed a merger with the MR, the board dismissed the proposal with the chairman reminding shareholders that
The NSR had a small mileage and had to collect traffic for the large companies which surrounded it. They made profits from good mileages while the NSR had to do a great deal for comparatively little return.
The quote about little return was accurate. In 1877 the NSR dividend was only 2% compared with the dividend of 6% paid by the LNWR to its shareholders. A year later the dividend fell to its lowest ever point of only 1.625%. However it recovered and after 1881 never fell below 3%. In 1891 the NSR paid a 5% dividend for the first time, a level not to be reached again until 1913.
In 1913 the NSR ranked as the eighteenth largest company by route mileage with . Passenger numbers stood at 7,200,000 and goods traffic handled by the NSR consisted of of goods, nearly of coal and coke and over of other minerals. Among the of goods was of pottery, over five-sixths of the entire production in Britain.
Grouping.
Under the Railways Act 1921, the NSR was one of the eight major companies designated to form the North Western, Midland and West Scottish Group. This group became the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS). The act came into force on 1 January 1923 but along with the Caledonian Railway, the NSR amalgamation into the LMS was delayed until 1 July 1923 due to certain legal requirements not being completed by the due date.
Other interests.
In common with most other British railway companies, the NSR decided early on that it was advantageous to carry out its own maintenance work in all departments and also to undertake much of its own new construction work. Stoke railway works were opened in 1849, capable of producing carriages, wagons and other equipment. Construction of locomotives followed later, commencing in 1864.
Ownership of the Trent & Mersey canal made the NSR the biggest canal owning railway with of waterways owned. The T&M owned Rudyard Lake which the NSR made use of as a leisure complex, building a golf course, in 1905, on land adjoining the lake. A further area of interest, again via ownership of the T&M, was the lease on Caldon Low quarries. Associated with the quarry was the tramway that ran from the quarries to Froghall making the NSR the operator of lines of three different gauges.
Although the NSR principally served the urban areas of the Potteries, it did promote the area for tourism, especially the Churnet Valley which local hoteliers had labelled as "Staffordshire's little Switzerland". The company issued a 150-page guide called "Picturesque Staffordshire" to support this promotion and dispel the widespread held idea that the county was dull and bleak In addition to the tourist traffic generated the NSR owned three hotels; the "North Stafford" in Stoke (opposite Stoke station), the "Churnet Valley" in Leek and the "Hotel Rudyard" at Rudyard.
Motive power and rolling stock.
Locomotives.
NSR motive power came from a mixture of sources. Before the establishment of Stoke works there was a complete reliance on outside contractors. The first locomotives were either purchased from contractors building the line or firms such as Sharp Brothers and Company, B. Hick and Son, Kitson, Thompson and Hewitson, the Vulcan Foundry or Jones and Potts.
Originally the resident engineers were responsible for the locomotive stock and the first four holders of this post were all primarily civil engineers. In 1863 the new general manager, Morris, commissioned an outside report on the NSR locomotive fleet which recommended the rebuilding of 50 engines. By the time this report was produced a new engineer, Johnson, had been appointed. He undertook the improvements but the results were unsatisfactory and Johnson left in 1870 after only five years in post. The only significant event of Johnson's tenure was the building of the first engines at Stoke works when three 0-6-0T engines were built in 1868. Johnson's successor, Dodds, fared no better as his patented wedge motion, a type of valve gear, was unsuccessful. Dodds was dismissed in 1875 and a new post of locomotive superintendent created with a locomotive engineer, Angus, in charge. Although only in post for two years Angus replaced all the wedge motions with Stephenson valve gear.
There followed a long period of locomotive construction internally with all locomotives between 1875 and 1900 coming from the company works. The vast majority of these being tank engines although a small number of tender engines were constructed. Most engines, whether tank or tender locomotives were built with either 2-4-0 or 0-6-0 wheel arrangements. An urgent need for heavier goods engines prompted the company to go to contractors and a small number of 0-6-0 designs were purchased from Nasmyth, Wilson and Company. In 1903 five 0-6-2T engines were purchased from Vulcan Foundry and with the exception of two locomotives for shunting purchased from Kerr Stuart in 1919 these were the last engines not to be built by the company at Stoke.
Apart from engine No 1 of 1848 being named "Dragon" only two other NSR engines were ever named, in 1882 Class C 2-4-0 No. 55 was named "Colin Minton Campbell" and Class C No. 54 "John Bramley Moore" after the chairman and deputy chairman of the company, respectively.
The NSR also used a small number of railmotors with three being purchased in 1905 from Beyer, Peacock and Company. They were used on routes such as the Stoke–Newcastle service but were not a success. The vehicles did survive until grouping but had been taken out of service for some time some years earlier. In addition to the NSR locomotives were the two engines of the Leek & Manifold and the three engines that worked the Caldon Low quarries. The former were purchased from Kitson and Company and the latter from Henry Hughes and W. G. Bagnall.
At grouping 196 steam locomotives including the L&MV and Caldon Low engines were absorbed into the LMS along with the three railmotors and one battery electric locomotive. This last engine was built at Stoke in 1917 for shunting the copper works at Oakamoor. Four engines under construction at Stoke in 1923 were completed and also added to the LMS stock. Although many of the locomotives were not old, due to the LMS policy of standardisation all NSR engines had been withdrawn from service by 1939. The one exception was the battery electric shunting locomotive which remained in service until 1963.
Two NSR locomotives are preserved. NSR No. 2, an 0-6-2T New L class (one of the four constructed in 1923) and the battery electric locomotive. Both formed part of the national collection at the National Railway Museum but in 2016 ownership of the New L class locomotive was transferred to the Foxfield Railway where the locomotive is now on display.
Locomotive depots.
The largest locomotive depot was at Stoke, with 125 engines at grouping. The next largest was Alsager with an allocation of 15 engines. Other NSR depots existed at Macclesfield, Derby, Uttoxeter, Burton and Crewe. Stoke also had sub-sheds at Market Drayton, Leekbrook and Ashbourne. NSR engines were also sub-shedded at other companies depots, with arrangements existing at the LNWR sheds at Stafford, Liverpool Edge Hill and Manchester Longsight and the GNR shed at Nottingham Colwick.
Locomotive liveries.
Up to 1882 locomotives were a bright green with black and white lining with a Staffordshire knot emblem on the tank or tender sides. Longbottom introduced a new livery of a red brown with black, yellow and vermilion lining. Longbottom was succeeded by Adams who changed the livery once more to a crimson shade called Madder Lakewith yellow and vermilion lining. The knot emblem was replaced by the company coat of arms and the words "North Stafford".
Coaching stock.
The NSR coaching stock was, even until grouping, predominantly four and six wheeled vehicles. Four-wheeled carriages were the norm from the start and the last were constructed in the 1880s, although by then they had progressed from the unbraked coaches of the 1840s with the introduction of the communication cord in 1869 and the simple vacuum brake in 1883. The first bogie coaches were introduced in 1906 for use on the Derby–Llandudno service and these were followed by further examples until 1923. By 1919 all carriages, except 13 four-wheelers used on miners' trains, had been fitted with steam heating and a number of vehicles had been fitted with through pipes to allow use in trains equipped with Westinghouse brakes. Most carriages were constructed at Stoke but some were purchased from companies such as the Metropolitan Carriage, Wagon and Finance Company.
One area where the NSR was a pioneer was in the use of electrical lighting being the largest of only three British railway companies to switch from oil to electric lighting and not use any form of gas lighting. The first coach was fitted in 1897 and new stock constructed from 1899 had electric lighting as standard. Conversion of the remaining stock was slow and in 1910 there were still some oil-lit carriages in service.
Coaching liveries.
Coaching stock was originally claret but in 1875 was changed to Victoria Brown and white (except for branch line trains which carried an all over Victoria Brown livery) with gold and blue lining. Victoria Brown was the same red brown colour as Longbottom had introduced for NSR locomotives. In 1882 waist panels were additionally painted white. This colour scheme lasted until 1896 when it was changed to an overall Victoria Lake (brown) colour with gold and blue lining. Adams changed the livery to Madder Lake in 1903 to match the locomotives, the lining became yellow and red. A final minor change was to paint the waist panels of first class compartments cream to distinguish them. A constant presence was the company coat of arms being displayed on the coach sides.
Goods stock.
Over its life the NSR built or bought many thousands of goods wagons. Early wagons had dumb buffers with spring buffers being introduced from 1870. Early wagons were not of high capacity, for example typical open wagons were only of capacity. but capacities grew to on average by 1923.
The NSR handed over to the LMS 6,612 goods wagons of which over 5,000 were open wagons for the transport of coal and other minerals. This number was dwarfed by the number of wagons owned by the pits, ironworks, other industrial operations and traders in the Stoke area. An unusual set of wagons to be seen were the bright yellow with red lettering vans owned by the Barnum and Bailey circus who had their main English depot in Stoke.
Goods liveries.
Goods vehicles were painted red oxide with white lettering and a white Staffordshire knot. The letters "N.S.R" with only two full stops were carried in small letters. From 1912 the letters were increased in size but changed to just "N S" with a central knot and no full stops.
The Knotty.
The NSR is one of the few railways to become the subject of a play. In 1966, Peter Cheeseman, artistic director of The Victoria Theatre, Stoke wrote a musical documentary about the NSR called "The Knotty". Featured in the play were the voices of several NSR staff who had been interviewed especially for the play. The script with introductory notes by Cheeseman was published in 1970. Sound recordings of the production, "The Knotty - a musical documentary", was released on LP by Argo Transacord (ZTR 125) in 1970 and as a digital version in 2014 it was digitised by Transacord Digital.
NSR main lines and branch lines—opening dates.
Ricardo, North Staffordshire Railway chairman described the network as being like "a small octopus"; but not one NSR station was more than from Stoke-on-Trent. Dates of authorisation and opening are given in the following table.


Cheadle branch line

The Cheadle branch line was a railway line of just under in length that served the town of Cheadle, Staffordshire. It was in operation as a passenger line from 1892 to 1963, and closed altogether in 1986. It took 46 years from conception to completion and was notable in that part of the line had to be practically rebuilt partway through its existence.
Proposals for a line.
In 1849 the market town of Cheadle, population 3,000, was still without any form of rail transport. The North Staffordshire Railway had completed its Stoke to Derby line in 1848 and the Churnet Valley Line the following year but both of the lines missed the town, passing around to the south and north of Cheadle respectively. The people of the town, along with several mines on the Cheadle Coalfield, wanted a rail connection as a means of transporting their goods. Several schemes for a branch line were proposed over the years; among these was a branch from the NSR east of Blythe Bridge and running via Forsbrook to Dilhorne and then Cheadle. Unfortunately, none of the schemes ever came to fruition.
In 1887, the Cheadle Railway, Mineral & Land Co. Ltd was formed and at long last construction of a branch line leaving the NSR line at Cresswell began the following year. In the meantime, the owners of Foxfield Colliery at Dilhorne had grown tired of waiting for the new line and had built their own connection to the NSR near Blythe Bridge. This line, running entirely over private land and opened in 1893 still survives today as the Foxfield Light Railway, albeit without the connection to the main line.
Opening.
The first sod of the line was dug at Totmonslow on 22 March 1888. After several financial problems, the first stretch from Cresswell to Totmonslow was opened on 7 November 1892. The first train ran to Tunstall on the Potteries Loop Line and regular services became an extension of those on the latter for almost the whole of the branch's existence.
Construction of the extension to Cheadle started in 1893. A new colliery, christened New Haden Colliery, was opened at Draycott and the line was already in operation for goods traffic up to this point. The new piece of line involved the building of a difficult tunnel. This passed through a ridge of high ground of sandstone before turning east and running to a station on the southern outskirts of Cheadle. The new section was also beset with financial problems and it was not until 1 January 1901 that the line opened in its entirety.
In December 1906 Totmonslow station was renamed to "Tean", although the village of Upper Tean was located a mile to the east. On 1 January 1907 the North Staffordshire Railway inherited the line from the Cheadle Railway Company; until that date they had provided the services but not actually owned the line.
Construction of the diversion line.
Problems with the tunnel began almost immediately after completion. Several sections had to be patched up over the years but in November 1918, partial collapse caused the line to be closed for almost a month. While repairs were underway, the coal traffic was important enough to justify wagons being exchanged between locomotives while inside the tunnel, repairs being carried out by men working on a timber platform with just enough room for the wagons to pass underneath.
After the NSR was absorbed into the London, Midland and Scottish Railway in 1923, problems with the tunnel became even more commonplace and construction of a new deviation line finally began in 1932. This skirted the high ground to the east and joined up with the old formation again just outside Cheadle station; this new alignment was opened in 1933. The tunnel portals were bricked up and the track from the south was lifted soon after, but the northern section of the old line remained in use as a backshunt to New Haden Colliery; all trains to and from the latter would thus need to reverse at Cheadle. The southern portal was used as a small private coal mine which operated from 1983 to 1991 and even though it is bricked much of the mining equipment remains inside the tunnel.
By the beginning of World War II the passenger services had reduced to only two trains per day each way, with five on Saturday. In a further blow, New Haden Colliery was closed in 1943 after the Ministry of Fuel and Power decided to move the 500 miners to more efficient pits in aid of the war effort, and its traffic of 3,000 tons per week was lost. However, a brickworks adjacent to the colliery plus an increasing amount of sand traffic from nearby quarries, most of it delivered by road to Cheadle, provided a lifeline.
Under British Railways.
As with many other railways in the county, passenger numbers were dwindling by the 1950s and some lines were closed but the Cheadle branch survived, albeit with only three passenger trains and one goods working each way on weekdays. Tean station closed under British Railways on 1 June 1953; by that time it had been reduced in status to an unstaffed halt. Diesel multiple units started to replace steam traction in 1958 when they were introduced on the Loop Line services, but this did little to stem the decline in passenger numbers. By the time of the Beeching Axe the passenger service was already slated for withdrawal, and the final passenger train on the line ran on Saturday 17 June 1963. The last working was the 5:07pm from Cheadle.
Freight traffic from a nearby quarry continued to run until 1978 when the contract for the traffic expired. From then onwards, goods traffic was solely for railway civil engineering use, at the approximate rate of one train per month, usually hauled by Class 25 diesel locomotives but occasionally class 47's were used, and on a few occasions a class 40. The final train of Engineer's sand ran on November 3rd1984.
After closure.
After a gap of nearly 22 years, a passenger train ran to Cheadle on 28 March 1985 to mark the launch of the InterCity Charter Train Unit. The service included several Pullman vehicles and was hauled by a class 47 diesel number 47532. Passengers were taken by road to Alton Towers. The Cheadle branch was chosen by InterCity to show the versatility of the charter service by running on an out of use railway for part of the journey. A regular service to bring in the park's visitors by rail sadly never came to fruition and the line once again became redundant. The last train to Cheadle was a weedkilling train in the summer of 1986. The junction with the main Stoke to Derby line was severed in 1989, thus isolating the Cheadle branch from the national rail network.
Today, most of the alignment is heavily overgrown but still free from development, except for the final quarter of a mile into Cheadle which was lifted in the summer of 1991 and early 1992 to make way for a new housing estate. The northern portal of the tunnel has been buried by opencast mining activity.
In October 2011, Moorland & City Railways set up a company to look into the possibility of reopening the line. A lease has been taken from Network Rail and, in March 2012, overhanging trees were cut back and the remaining track was lifted after it emerged that of track had been stolen in the period up to Christmas 2011. The trackbed could be reused as a footpath/bridleway pending a decision on the future of the line.
Since 2017, much of the line has found use as a footpath/bridleway, and some signs have been erected which give a brief history of the line including a few photographs of steam and diesel locomotives.
Campaign for Better Transport have added the line to their suggestions for reopening.


Wigan Branch Railway

The Wigan Branch Railway was an early British railway company operating in Lancashire. It was constructed to link the Wigan coalfield to the Liverpool and Manchester Railway (L&MR).
Background.
The Wigan Branch Railway obtained an Act of Parliament on 29 May 1830 to build a branch line from the Liverpool and Manchester Railway L&MR at Parkside to Wigan. The Act included another branch off the Wigan line (the Springs branch) to collieries in the district.
The Act stipulated that the railway must be built by L&MR engineers and in June 1830 Charles Vignoles was appointed engineer at a salary of £500 (equivalent to £ in ). He was familiar with the area having been involved with the L&MR.
The line was promoted by a number of Wigan coal proprietors, one of whom, Ralph Thickness was the first chairman. The railway from Parkside on the L&MR ran to Chapel Lane in Wigan. The Parkside station was inconvenient for Wigan Branch passengers as it was on the Liverpool side of the junction and the branch tracks ran onto the L&MR in the Manchester direction (that is only east curve into the L&MR was constructed).
The line was constructed by contractors Pritchard & Hoof who were awarded a two year maintenance contract. The Springs branch was not constructed at this time due to a lack of funds.
Operations.
The line opened to traffic on 3 September 1832. The intention had been to construct a double track railway but money was in short supply and the line was constructed as a single track with three passing loops per mile, provision was made for a later doubling of the track.
The railway opened with two stations.
In what was a unique arrangement, the Wigan Branch Railway did not to hire its own staff or provide motive power and rolling stock. Instead the line was worked by the L&MR. Parkside station was the terminus of the Wigan Branch Railway with passengers changing onto L&MR trains to get to Liverpool or Manchester.
Some colliery owners ran their own goods trains, Thomas Legh transported coal and coke from his Haydock Collieries to Edge Hill, Liverpool and to Liverpool Road, Manchester provided he used his own locomotives and wagons because he had an arrangement with the L&MR to use their railway.
The railway announced in October 1832 that it would begin moving goods along the line and constructed a warehouse at Wigan for this purpose.
In 1834 the railway decided to offer John Hargreaves, an established carrier in the north west, the lease for carrying freight. Hargreaves, in partnership with his son (also John Hargreaves) declined and made a counter offer which was accepted by the North Union Railway who by then had taken over the railway.
By 1838, the branch line had been doubled to facilitate an onward extension from Wigan to Preston.
Merger.
The construction of the Preston and Wigan Railway was authorised in 1831 but construction was delayed. The directors of the Wigan Branch Railway and Preston and Wigan Railway decided to merge and an Act of Parliament gained royal assent on 22 May 1834 incorporating the two merged railways as the North Union Railway.
Later years in date order.
In October 1838 a new station opened at Parkside on the Manchester side of the junction which improved the interchange between the railways. The station was jointly constructed by the L&MR, the North Union Railway and the Grand Junction Railway. The former station became a goods station. Parkside junction acquired a west curve in 1847 facilitating the running of through trains.
The Springs branch to the New Springs area of Wigan was opened by the North Union Railway in 1838.
The North Union Railway opened Golborne station in about 1839, it was renamed Golborne South on 1 February 1949 and closed on 6 February 1961.
In 1847 the L&NWR opened a west curve onto the L&MR and a station was opened at the juncture of the two curves in 1849. In its early days it was sometimes known as North Union Junction, sometimes as Preston Junction before being renamed to Lowton & Preston Junction on 1 February 1877 and finally in 1880, the station closed on 26 September 1949.
 station was opened on 1 April 1878 by the L&NWR and closed on 27 November 1950.
There also was a temporary station opened by the L&NWR to serve Haydock Racecourse near to the end of the century, but this was closed as early as 1902.


Mersey Railway electric units

Mersey Railway electric multiple units were electric multiple units introduced on the underground Mersey Railway in 1903. In the early 1900s the railway was bankrupt as it used steam locomotives that left a dirty atmosphere in the tunnel and passengers preferred the ferries. However, the railway was rescued by Westinghouse Electric, who electrified the railway and provided the first electric multiple units. The cars were supplemented in 1908, 1923 and 1925 and finally in 1936 to allow the progression from 4-car, through 5-car, and finally to 6-car trains. In 1938, when the Wirral Railway was electrified, the units were modified to allow through running between the two systems. In 1956–57 the cars were replaced by units similar to those used on the Wirral Railway.
Service introduction.
In the early 1900s the Mersey Railway was bankrupt. The steam locomotives then used left a dirty atmosphere in the tunnel that mechanical ventilation was unable to remove. Passengers preferred the ferries. However, the railway attracted the attention of George Westinghouse, an American looking for business for his UK works, the British Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Co. Ltd that opened at Trafford Park in 1899. Westinghouse considered the railway would be profitable with electric traction and undertook to fund electrification, promising to complete in eighteen months.
In 1903, 24 motor cars and 33 trailers were provided by Westinghouse. The stock was of an American design, with a clerestory roof and open gated ends. Unheated accommodation was in saloons and the wooden bodies were British built, the bogies had been made by Baldwin Locomotive Works in America. All cars were wide, the motor cars were long and weighed and the trailers long and weighed . First and Third Class cars were provided, the first class seats being natural rattan, the third class seats being moulded plywood. The livery was maroon with white roofs and "Mersey Railway" in gold left on the upper fascia panels. Air-brakes were provided with storage reservoirs that were recharged at the terminal stations. The motor cars were powered with Westinghouse motors controlled by the Westinghouse low voltage multiple unit train control system.
Once the original cars had their ends enclosed, all cars, original and subsequent, motor and trailer, had the same basic interior layout, with inward swinging end doors into vestibules, leading to a large saloon with two bays of transverse seats in the centre, and lengthy longitudinal seats towards each end, allowing for standing passengers in the centre. As the longest journey on the Mersey was 11 minutes. Liverpool Central to Rock Ferry, comfort was not a significant issue, but nevertheless there was considerable provision of first class, two cars of five (after the 1936 lengthening, two of six).
In service.
The inaugural service ran on 3 May 1903. The trains originally operated from Liverpool Central to Rock Ferry and Birkenhead Park. Following the electrification of the former Wirral Railway in 1938, electric services were extended to West Kirby and New Brighton. The older Mersey units then commonly operated the New Brighton and Rock Ferry branches during the week, and the West Kirby route on Sundays, while the new LMS units operated to and from West Kirby on weekdays, and to New Brighton and Rock Ferry on Sundays.
Additional vehicles.
An additional four trailers were received in 1908 with British bogies, and in 1912 the open ends were boxed in. In 1923 two motor-cars were ordered from Cravens with four motors, and in 1925 a five-car train was received from the same manufacturer. To allow the introduction of 6-car train in 1936, ten steel-bodied third class trailer (TT) units were built by Gloucester RCW. The Cravens and Gloucester cars did not have a clerestory roof; however, any car could work in multiple with any other car and mixed formation trains were normal.
On 14 March 1938, the Wirral Railway was electrified and through running between the two companies became possible. When the Mersey Railway trains were modified to run on the Wirral Railway, heaters and air-compressors were added.
One final car was built following the destruction of original Milnes Trailer Third No. 84 by bombing in Birkenhead in 1940. The LMS helped out, and built at Wolverton works in 1944 a comparable car No. 112 (later M29193M). It was all steel and looked similar to the Gloucester RCW additional cars built a few years previously. It only lasted for 12 years before the fleet was withdrawn.
Replacement.
Following the nationalisation of the Mersey Railway as part of British Rail, the Mersey Railway became part of the London Midland Region alongside the former Wirral Railway lines. The Mersey cars were replaced in 1956-7 by vehicles to the same design as the ex-LMS units introduced with the former Wirral Railway electrification in 1938, lightweight three car multiple units which were eventually classified as Class 503. The final Mersey unit was withdrawn in March 1957.
Car no. 1, a first class motor coach, was destroyed in a fire at Derby carriage works paint shop in 1957, where it had been taken for overhaul in preparation for restoration and preservation.


Craven Arms

Craven Arms is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire, England, on the A49 road and the Welsh Marches railway line, which link it north and south to the larger towns of Shrewsbury and Ludlow respectively. The Heart of Wales railway line joins the Welsh Marches line at Craven Arms and the town is served by Craven Arms railway station. The town is enclosed to the north by the Shropshire Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and to the south is the fortified manor house of Stokesay Castle.
Craven Arms is a market town for the surrounding rural area, with a number of shops, banks, estate agents, a supermarket, an abattoir and many commercial/light industrial businesses. It is also a visitor destination, being home or nearby to a number of attractions, and being central for visitors to the area of outstanding natural beauty. It describes itself as the "Gateway to the Marches".
History.
Craven Arms is a relatively new town (for Shropshire), being only a small village called Newton on a map of 1695. The settlement grew when the railway station came during the mid to late 19th century, making it a railway town. Newton or Newtown is still the name for the southeastern part of the present day town, while the northern part is called Newington or New Inn (another small village which existed prior to the town). The town takes its name from the Craven Arms Hotel, situated on the junction of the A49 and B4368 roads, which in turn is named after the Lords Craven (who owned nearby Stokesay Castle).
The civil parish of Craven Arms was formed from the merging of two older parishes — Stokesay and Halford. These two older entities continued as parish wards; however, a review of the governance of the parish in 2012 concluded that these two wards would be abolished from May 2013. Small parts of the settlement overlap into neighbouring Wistanstow and Sibdon Carwood parishes.
Geography.
Nearby towns are Bishop's Castle, Clun, Church Stretton and Ludlow, of which the last is the most substantial with 10,000 inhabitants.
The River Onny flows to the town's east and just over the river is the small village of Halford. To the south is the small village of Stokesay, while to the north is the village of Wistanstow.
Wenlock Edge is to the northeast of the town and runs in a northeasterly direction, towards Much Wenlock.
Attractions.
There are three main visitor attractions in the Craven Arms civil parish. In the town there is the Shropshire Hills Discovery Centre, a centre featuring exhibits about the county's geography; and Stella Mitchell's Land of Lost Content Museum, a collection of 20th century memorabilia. Stokesay Castle is a fortified manor house located within the parish, just south of the town.
Recent development.
The town has recently gone through a phase of expansion and this looks set to continue with the (2009 abolished) South Shropshire District Council stating that they wished to see the town become the district's second main market town (after Ludlow) by 2026. Much of the recent housing development is on the west side of the town, whilst commercial development is taking place more on the northern end. Development potential towards the east is restricted by the floodplain of the River Onny, whilst to the south lies the historically important Stokesay Castle.
The town centre itself has seen some notable developments in recent years, with new commercial buildings built on Dale Street by the A49 road. Additionally, to the immediate south of the town centre is the Shropshire Hills Discovery Centre which opened in 2001 and some new housing.


Island Line, Isle of Wight

The Island Line is a temporarily-closed railway line on the Isle of Wight that links with on the Island's east coast. The line was electrified (660 V DC third rail) in 1967 and a planned 3-month closure for further refurbishment began in January 2021. Trains connect with passenger ferries to at , and these ferries in turn connect with the rest of the National Rail network via the Portsmouth Direct Line. The line also connects to the Isle of Wight Steam Railway, a steam-operated heritage railway, at . For much of its length the line runs alongside the A3055, criss-crossing this road by means of the Ryde Tunnel and bridges at Rowborough, Morton Common, Lake Hill and Littlestairs.
Route.
The line starts at Ryde Pier Head station, which is located at the sea end of Ryde Pier and connects with cross−Solent ferry services to/from operated by Wightlink. The station has an island platform with two platform faces and two tracks, although only the western track (and thus only one platform face) remains in passenger use. From here, the line runs along the pier's eastern side towards the shore before reaching Ryde Esplanade station at the other end of the pier. Located north of Ryde's town centre, Esplanade station is the busiest of the three stations in the town; it forms part of the town's main transport interchange along with the nearby Ryde Bus Station (offering bus services to the rest of the island) and Ryde Hoverport (with cross−Solent hovercraft connections to and from Southsea). The station has one side platform in operation; a second platform lies adjacent to the disused track, albeit in a decaying state.
Although the line along the pier appears to be a typical double-track line (with one track out of use), there is no crossover between the two tracks until immediately south of Esplanade station, meaning they are "de facto" two separate single-track lines (a layout similar to those at , and stations).
After the crossover just south of Esplanade station, both tracks are operational. The line continues as double-track through Ryde via the Ryde Tunnel, bypassing the town centre to the northeast, before it reaches Ryde St John's Road station to the east of the town centre. The station has a total three platforms linked by a footbridge, two of which are in regular use by passenger services. The third platform, while open, is a south-facing bay platform, meaning only the few terminating services can stop there. Adjacent to St John's Road station is Ryde depot − the only traction maintenance depot on the line.
The line then leaves Ryde and continues southwards, reducing to single-track immediately north of the next station, . This station is unique on the National Rail network in that there is no public access into or out of the station − it exists purely as an interchange between the Island Line and the Isle of Wight Steam Railway. The station was built in 1991 − the same year that the steam railway was extended to this location. Despite the station's name there is no longer an actual junction here, as the two railway lines are not physically connected to each other.
The next station on the line is . Until 1988 there was a passing loop at the station; the second track has since been lifted, although the second platform and the footbridge between the two platforms are still in place. The passing loop is scheduled to be restored in 2021 (see "2020−21 upgrade work" below). The line then continues in a southwesterly direction towards Sandown station, which has retained its passing loop; the station's two platforms are connected by a subway.
Beyond Sandown, the line is single-track for the remainder of the route. The penultimate station on the line is , opened in 1987, and the line terminates just over a mile later at Shanklin station. Shanklin also used to have a second platform, which is now used as a flowerbed. Until 1966, the line continued further south to and (see "History" below).
The full line, from Ryde Pier Head to Shanklin, is long.
Services.
The typical weekday, Saturday and Sunday service pattern on the line consists of two trains per hour each way between and , calling at all intermediate stations except (usually) . Due to the location of the two passing loops on the line (at and ), trains cannot run at even 30-minute intervals; instead, services run at alternating intervals of approximately 20 and 40 minutes. The frequency drops to one train per hour during the evenings.
Smallbrook Junction station is only open on days when the Isle of Wight Steam Railway is operating; when open, the station is served by up to 9 trains per day in each direction between 10:30 and 17:00.
Passenger numbers.
After privatisation, passenger numbers rose steadily from an estimated 1.21 million in 1997–98 to an estimated 1.61 million in 2006–07.
After the merger of the Island Line and South West Trains franchises in 2007, Island Line passenger numbers fell slightly from an estimated 1.61 million in 2006–07 to an estimated 1.53 million in 2009–10. They peaked again at an estimated record 1.67 million in 2011–12, but since then fell to an estimated 1.31 million in 2014–15. This was the lowest annual estimate since 1998–99, and suggests passenger numbers fell by 22% in four years.

History
.
The line from to was opened on 23 August 1864, having been built by the Isle of Wight Railway. In 1866 the line was extended through to . The line was originally built as single track throughout, with passing loops provided at Brading, Sandown and Shanklin stations.
In 1880 the London and South Western Railway (LSWR) and London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LBSCR) opened a jointly-owned line north from Ryde St John's Road. Under the direction of LBSCR Chief Engineer Frederick Banister, the building of the extension included a new tunnel and a third Ryde Pier to enable the line to reach , which provided a connection with the companies' ferry services. When the LBSC/LSWR joint line opened, it was as a double track section from Ryde St John's Road station through to Ryde Pier Head. There was a scissors crossover situated on Ryde Pier to allow trains to access all platforms. Sets of crossovers were installed at St John's Road to enable trains to change from the joint line's left-hand running to the single-track sections on the Isle of Wight Central Railway's Newport line and the Isle of Wight Railway's Shanklin line (now known as the Island Line).
Southern Railway.
Following the Railways Act 1921, the Island Line and the other railways on the Isle of Wight became part of the Southern Railway. In 1926, crossovers and a signalbox were installed at Smallbrook Junction to extend double track operation from St John's Road. However, the signalbox was used only in the summer when traffic levels were high. In winter, the two lines from Smallbrook to St. John's Road reverted to independent single track operation.
In 1927, the passing loops at Brading and Sandown were connected to form a second section of double track.
British Rail (1948–96).
In 1948, the Southern Railway was nationalised, as part of British Railways, later British Rail. The line from Shanklin to Ventnor closed in April 1966. Steam trains were withdrawn from Ryde Pier on 17 September, and the whole line on 31 December 1966. While the line was closed, the trackbed in Ryde Tunnel was raised to reduce flooding and decrease gradients, the rebuilding of Ryde Pier Head station was completed and Ryde Esplanade station was also substantially modified. The line reopened in March 1967 following its electrification. In the 1980s, British Rail was sectorised and the line became part of the Network SouthEast sector. Services on the line were branded as Ryde Rail.
British Rail opened two new stations on the line. Lake station opened in 1987. Smallbrook Junction station opened in 1991, in co-operation with the Isle of Wight Steam Railway.
The double track between Sandown and Brading, along with the Brading passing loop, were removed in 1988. In 1989 the passenger service was branded as Island Line for the first time, as the name and logo was included on the "new" Class 483 trains' livery. However, this rebranding did not officially occur until 1994.
Island Line franchise (1996–2007).
Following the privatisation of British Rail, the rights to run services on the line were put out to tender as a franchise. Uniquely on the National Rail network, the franchise agreement also required the successful bidder to maintain the railway line in addition to the stations and trains. Stagecoach Group were announced as the winner of the franchise and from October 1996 they operated passenger services under the name Island Line Trains.
In 2002 a form of Automatic Train Protection was installed on the line. This involved the refitting of tripcocks on trains and the associated train stop trackside equipment at signals. This system is almost identical to the one originally fitted to the trains when in service on the London Underground, although it is in use only at signals protecting single-track sections of the route.
The Department for Transport designated the line as a community railway in March 2006, under reforms to help boost use of rural and branch lines in the UK rail network.
South West Trains franchise (2007–2017).
From February 2007 the Island Line franchise was merged with the South West Trains franchise on the mainland. Stagecoach was announced as the winner of the expanded franchise and operated Island Line as a South West Trains subsidiary. However, the Island Line name was retained, styled as "Island Line Trains", and was promoted as a separate division on the South West Trains website.
Island Line Trains also repainted stations in a heritage scheme of cream and green, as part of a general station improvement package.
South Western Railway franchise (since 2017).
In August 2017, the franchise was taken over by South Western Railway who have maintained the brand name.
Future.
A number of suggestions have been made for the future of the railway, which faces long-standing issues such as the cost of maintaining Ryde Pier and the increasing unreliability of the class 483 trains as they passed 80 years in service. Proposals for the route have ranged from total closure - something also explored in the 1960s - to major rebuilding as light rail.
Past proposals.
In the mid-1990s it was proposed to reopen the line south of Shanklin, to the original terminus at . Despite the high costs involved, the island's MP in 2018 called for feasibility studies on this project and on the prospect of trains running between Ryde and Newport using a mix of the existing heritage railway and a rebuilt section of line between Wooton and Newport.
Other proposals put forward for the future of the railway line have included converting the line to a guided busway, something considered in 2005 and the late 2010s as part of a consultation on the line's future. The first plan for a Solent tunnel to connect the island's railways to the mainland network was authorised in the early 20th century and although work to build a rail tunnel has never started, this proposal has resurfaced several times in more recent history.
There have also been proposals to rebuild the line as a light rail route at several points, which would potentially allow for extension into Shanklin and other town centres, the most recent being after a 2016 review of the route by transport expert Christopher Garnett commissioned by the Isle of Wight Council. It suggested converting the route with the third rail replaced with overhead lines and the remaining double-track singled with just passing loops provided. It was reported that ten T-69 trams which were built in 1999, and had previously operated on the Midland Metro, could be re-used for this scheme. The Isle of Wight Council's Local Transport Plan previously mentioned that any improvements to the railway should ensure compatibility with the currently shelved South Hampshire Rapid Transit scheme. None of these light rail ideas have been progressed.
Other projects considered for the Island Line include flywheel or battery-powered trains, the use of Vivarail Class 230 units, as well as the transfer of 1972 and 1973 stock to the Island. Two significant considerations for any new stock are that it must pass under the tunnel at Ryde, and stop at the sharply curved platform at Ryde Esplanade railway station without fouling.
"The Railway Magazine" reported that a meeting took place on 11 February 2015 which covered a relaxation of public railway regulation and safety standards as well as transferring the line to a Social Enterprise Company. According to RM, people present at the meeting included Claire Perry (Rail Minister), Andrew Turner MP, Nick Finney (Andrew Turner's transport advisor) and local councillors. News of the meeting has given rise to local controversy.
Long-standing suggestions have included replacing the class 483 trains with newer London Transport stock which has also been retired, such as the 1972 stock and 1967 stock. A plan to reinstate the passing loop at Brading was suggested in 2007–8, because Network Rail believed the line's signalling system needed replacing imminently and thought this could happen during the 2012 London Olympics. In September 2019 it was confirmed that a passing loop will be installed alongside other works on track and the introduction of replacement rolling stock, allowing trains to run at even 30-minute intervals rather than a 20-minute then 40-minute gap. It is hoped that these improvements will encourage greater use.

2020−21 upgrade work
.
On 16 September 2019 it was confirmed that a £26m investment into the Isle of Wight's railways would mean 5 class 484 units would replace the ageing class 483s, which had become unreliable to the point that services on the line had to be halved in frequency for around a month. The new trains are being built by Vivarail as third-rail units using D78 Stock bodyshells, and island-based stakeholders including the Isle of Wight Council and Solent Local Enterprise Partnership are contributing £1m to fund reinstatement of a long-removed passing loop at Brading to allow them to run at even half-hourly intervals. Network Rail have also agreed to fund £5m of upgrade work on Ryde Pier to secure the line's future, because failure to do so would be terminal to the line's operation. The first of the Class 484 trains was delivered in November 2020, and began trial running.
Delivery of the upgrade has been delayed due to the effect of the coronavirus pandemic. In September 2019, it was expected that most of the work on the track would take place over the winter of 2020–2021, with a "shuttle" train service planned during this period. Rail services were expected to be replaced by buses between and for 8 weeks in Autumn 2020 while the work was done, with a 4-week suspension expected between St John's Road and . Due to delays at the manufacturer, delivery of the first of the new trains was pushed back to September 2020. The work on the permanent way has also been delayed, and in August 2020 it was announced that instead of two different closure periods, with the first starting in the Autumn, the line would close completely from 4 January until 31 March 2021 for physical upgrades, including platform work and the Brading loop, with buses replacing trains between and Shanklin, and a minibus shuttle service to connect Ryde Esplanade to Ryde Pier Head during the work. However, given the catamaran ferry between Ryde Pier Head and Portsmouth Harbour was suspended due to low passenger numbers and England's national coronavirus lockdown when the closure began, the operator stated that the pier shuttle service would not operate until the ferry service resumed, which as of mid-February is not expected to be until the end of March. This contradicted a statement made by a UK government minister a few weeks earlier that the pier shuttle bus would operate as planned.
As of 9 February 2021, pictures published by a local news website showed that work was underway at Shanklin, including lifting the track alongside the station platform; however later that week it was announced that progress on the upgrade work and on the new trains had been further delayed due to the pandemic, requiring the line to close for 6 weeks longer than originally announced, meaning trains were not expected to run again until May. Subsequently, problems with software on the new trains have delayed their introduction until later in the year.
A total of 7,000 tonnes of spoil are expected to be removed during the work. A full service using only the new trains and running to an even 30-minute frequency is due to begin in May 2021. Changes will be made to the track layout and signalling system, principally to introduce a new passing loop at Brading station. As the new Class 484 trains will sit higher above rail level than the Class 483s they will replace, the track through most stations was expected to be lowered in order to prevent a large vertical difference between the train floor height and the platform height. At stations where this is not possible, platform height is instead due to be raised. As of the end of January 2021, the operator confirmed that work was largely complete to raise the platforms at Lake and Smallbrook Junction stations, while the platforms at Sandown are due to receive the same treatment. SWR also confirmed that the track would be lowered at Brading and Shanklin stations.
The plan as suggested in 2007-8 envisaged the passing loop at Brading replacing that at Sandown, which would have been abandoned along with the remaining double track within Ryde. However, the Programme Manager from South Western Railway has publicly stated that the option of running a 20-minute service will remain after the upgrade which implies that the existing passing points would remain operable.
2020 Ideas Fund.
On 23 May 2020, the Department of Transport announced that approval had been given to investigate the possible reinstatement of some or all of the tracks between Shanklin and Ventnor and Ryde and Newport. It was one of ten schemes across UK approved for more study under an "Ideas Fund". The feasibility studies into reopening the two rail routes began in January 2021.
Rolling stock.
Due to the isolated and rural nature of the Isle of Wight's railways, rolling stock has tended to be made up from displaced older vehicles, rebuilt or modified as required. Following the work undertaken during the line's closure during the winter of 1966–67, the ceiling of Ryde Tunnel is 10 inches too low for standard National Rail vehicle types to clear.
Since the reopening of the line in 1967, former London Underground Tube stock has been used. The initial trains were formed of so-called Standard Stock, made up into four and three-coach sets (with one spare vehicle, normally kept at Ryde depot), designated "4-VEC" and "3-TIS" in the British Rail Southern Region electric multiple unit classification system. (The classification letters were a pun on the Roman name for the island, "Vectis", also reflected in the name of the island's nationalised bus company, Southern Vectis, which was once partially railway-owned.) Under the British Railways TOPS rolling stock classification system (introduced in 1968 for locomotives and later extended to multiple unit vehicles), these units eventually became Class 485 and Class 486. The cars transferred to the island were built at various dates between 1923 and 1934, and thus maintained a somewhat unwelcome tradition of providing the island's railways with among the oldest rolling stock running anywhere on the British railway system. By 1992 these units had been replaced by newly refurbished London Underground 1938 Stock, designated Class 483 by British Rail. In September 2019, it was announced that the entire fleet would be replaced by Class 484 trains during 2020. The stock is maintained at Ryde St John's Road depot.
Annual season tickets.
Because the Isle of Wight is within the Network SouthEast area, annual season tickets issued to and from its stations are issued as Gold Cards. A ticket from Ryde Esplanade to Ryde St Johns Road was for many years the cheapest annual ticket in the area, and even though many holders of such tickets never use them for the intended journey, the discount obtained over the year (one-third off travel during Off-Peak hours in the Gold Card area) may amply repay the cost of the ticket. When the Gold Card area was extended to include the West Midlands in January 2015, the Ryde ticket was undercut by a similar short-distance ticket between Lichfield City and Lichfield Trent Valley.


Beeches Light Railway

The Beeches Light Railway was a private narrow gauge railway in Steeple Aston, Oxfordshire, England, in the garden of Adrian Shooter, the former director of Chiltern Railways. The line contains one station, Rinkingpong Road () at an elevation of above sea-level.
History.
In 2019, Shooter announced that the Beeches Light Railway would close at the end of the year. It was planned to move the railway to a new, larger location, re-opening in Spring 2020.
Track.
The nearly railway track with a gauge of was built between 2002 and 2004. It resembles a figure of eight, with a loop around the back garden and another around the front, where it crosses the main drive. Ringkingpong Station, an Indian style railway station and sheds are behind the house. These follow an Indian theme from a fare evasion signs citing Indian Rupees, to the station's name, the Rinkingpong Road and some of the decoration used inside the building. Although the railway is private, and not subject to rail regulations, it is run professionally by Shooter and some volunteers with railway rulebooks and regulations, and the steam engine has to be certified each year.
Steam locomotive.
The railway's primary motive power is Class 'B' steam locomotive 778, was built by Sharp Stewart in 1888, works number 3518. 778 was built for to India's Darjeeling Himalayan Railway. where it ran until either 1960 or 1962, when it was sold to Elliot Donnelley, a railway enthusiast in the US, who was the major shareholder in RR Donnelley Co, a large printer and publisher in Chicago. After Donnelley died in 1975 the locomotive passed to the Hesston Steam Museum, where it stayed until it was bought by Adrian Shooter in 2002 and restored to working order.
Carriages.
Two original carriages, and two modern replicas of the carriages used on the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway are occasionally used to transport invited guests. Carriages to accompany the locomotive were commissioned from Boston Lodge works.
Draisine.
Shooter owns also a replica Ford Model-T motorcar that he runs on the railtracks. It is based on a modified car used by the USA railway to inspect tracks on the Sandy River and Rangeley Lakes Railroad. The replica was commissioned from the Statfold Barn Railway. It includes a jacking system that will lift the wheels free of the rails and allow it to be rotated on its axis in order to go the other way round.
Additional rolling stock.
Stored in the railway shed is some rolling stock from the London Mail Rail, an underground goods railway line, which was used to transport letters and parcels between sorting depots before it was mothballed.


Border Union Railway

The Border Union Railway was a railway line which connected places in the south of Scotland and Cumberland in England. It was authorised on 21 July 1859 and advertised as the Waverley Route by the promoters - the North British Railway. It connected the Edinburgh and Hawick Railway at with .
History.
The first section of the route was opened between Carlisle and Scotch Dyke on 12 October 1861, to Newcastleton on 1 March 1862, Riccarton Junction on 2 June 1862 and throughout on 24 June 1862. The railway was built as a double-track main line throughout.
Current operations.
The line was closed to all traffic by British Railways on 5 January 1969. The line was dismantled in 1971.
The Waverley Route Heritage Association have preserved a part of the former route at Whitrope and are working on reopening the section from its base at Whitrope itself down into Riccarton Junction as a heritage railway.
References.
Sources.


Birmingham and Aston Tramways Company

The Birmingham and Aston Tramways Company operated a steam-powered tramway service in Birmingham and Aston between 1882 and 1902.
History.
The Birmingham and Aston Tramways Order of 1880 approved the construction of the first steam tramway in Birmingham which duly opened on 26 December 1882.
It ran from Aston Street in the centre of Birmingham via Aston Cross and then followed two routes to Witton, one via Park Road and Witton Lane and the other along Lichfield Road and Church Lane.
On 23 February 1885 a branch line to the foot of Gravelly Hill from Lichfield Road was opened.
Fleet.
The rolling stock comprised steam locomotive engines in a crimson livery and Starbuck Car and Wagon Company double-deck trailer cars in cream. The locomotive fleet comprised acquisitions as follows:
Closure.
Aston Manor Urban District Council purchased the part of the tramway within their boundary on 30 June 1902 with the remaining section going to Birmingham Corporation on 1 January 1904. Aston Manor Urban District Council leased it back to the City of Birmingham Tramways Company.