Waverley Railway Line

[Dustydog]

Closed by Beeching in the early 60s
Now partially reopened as far as Galashiels. Just watched a fascinating programme on the ambitions to re reach Carlisle. It ran through every Town in the South Borders which were then left marooned. Another political or was it financial or just not considered more broadly failed exercise of closure.

 

[RogerL]

Closed by Beeching in the early 60s
Now partially reopened as far as Galashiels. Just watched a fascinating programme on the ambitions to re reach Carlisle. It ran through every Town in the South Borders which were then left marooned. Another political or was it financial or just not considered more broadly failed exercise of closure.

A political pipe dream - the missing route between Tweedbank and Carlisle simply wouldn't generate enough passenger numbers to justify the costs - the Whitrope Tunnel has been subject to multiple major collapses.

 

[Dustydog]

There again Roger they said the Settle Carlisle line was doomed. Supported by Michael Portillo and proven by the boffins the Ribblehead Viaduct was not derelict. Who do you believe🤪

 

[RogerL]

There again Roger they said the Settle Carlisle line was doomed. Supported by Michael Portillo and proven by the boffins the Ribblehead Viaduct was not derelict. Who do you believe🤪

The Settle-Carlisle never shut, much easier to keep a line open than to re-open a closed one. Ribblehead was in poor condition but able to be restored at much lower cost than BR/NR suggested.

 

[otherclive]

It’s quite difficult to cast back to the Beeching era, but at that time keeping so many small lines open was expensive and BR at that time were haemorrhaging money. People’s travel patterns changed too insofar that the attraction of the motor car and motor bikes were increasing. Must admit I much preferred to go to Loughborough on the motorbike even in Winter, it ran to time and cost less. Now there has been a drift back to trains and previously closed or little used lines are proving viable. In our area the Trowbridge to Swindon line has made a real comeback as commuters were attracted to the service. But I still cannot get a train back from Bristol after a show so it’s Uber; and we are on the Bristol Temple Meads London mainline. 🙁

 

[Woodentop]

For anyone interested in railways then and now, go look at railmaponline.co.uk (correct spelling, no 's' in the middle). It will bring up three maps which when selected will bring up overlaps on Google Maps which you can zoom into and seen where railways ran and still run.

 

[GaryB]

For anyone interested in railways then and now, go look at railmaponline.co.uk (correct spelling, no 's' in the middle). It will bring up three maps which when selected will bring up overlaps on Google Maps which you can zoom into and seen where railways ran and still run.

Yes it’s a great resource for tracing old routes, it also shows canals and tramways. Industrial history is one of my hobbies, it’s amazing how much has been lost over the years and also how much is still there, slowly being reclaimed by nature.

 

[Buckman]

For anyone interested in railways then and now, go look at railmaponline.co.uk (correct spelling, no 's' in the middle). It will bring up three maps which when selected will bring up overlaps on Google Maps which you can zoom into and seen where railways ran and still run.

https://www.railmaponline.com/UKIEMap.php

 

[Raywood]

The problem with the line is that to save money it was made single track and assuming the tunnel problem can be overcome the single track would still be a problem. I am not sure if the suggestion of low usage would be true or is it just a figment of the accountants minds when they see the cost.

 

[RogerL]

The problem with the line is that to save money it was made single track and assuming the tunnel problem can be overcome the single track would still be a problem. I am not sure if the suggestion of low usage would be true or is it just a figment of the accountants minds when they see the cost.

There's only small villages between Tweedbank and Carlisle so no real passenger number to/from those villages. The villages north of Tweedbank have little natural connection with Carlisle and there's a faster service between Carlisle and Edinburgh using the WCML. There would be a few rail enthusiasts but not enough to justify the cost.