Great Central Railway - News and "Stuff"
Discussion
Shakermaker said:
The episode of Top Gear where they make a train was on early this morning, which was filmed at the GCR.
Did you have any involvement with that back in the day, must be 10 years ago I guess they made it?
I didn't have any involvement but I believe the work was done in the Rothley shed and it was very "hush hush" at the time.Did you have any involvement with that back in the day, must be 10 years ago I guess they made it?
Meanwhile, the canal bridge has been encased in a plastic tent so that they can shot blast the underside without getting any debris in the water.
Hi RoverP6B
Yes... the "Workington Shed" was dismantled - or at least some of the decorative stone/brick work was saved together with some steel work. In fact, not very much was re-useable and so I believe there are now only a few bits and bobs "in store" somewhere. There was a plan for a new engine shed to be built on the land by the council recycling site, but when a ground survey was done there was no way of building there.
Hence the current plan to have a brand new engine shed on the West side by the existing shed and have two running lines, on the old alignment going North, from Loughborough GCR Station.
Yes... the "Workington Shed" was dismantled - or at least some of the decorative stone/brick work was saved together with some steel work. In fact, not very much was re-useable and so I believe there are now only a few bits and bobs "in store" somewhere. There was a plan for a new engine shed to be built on the land by the council recycling site, but when a ground survey was done there was no way of building there.
Hence the current plan to have a brand new engine shed on the West side by the existing shed and have two running lines, on the old alignment going North, from Loughborough GCR Station.
Although the Workington Shed was standing it had been totally neglected for years and so was really about to fall down!
For the GCR(N) to go further North there would need to be a lot of money spent and an extension of the tram tracks to the South, which is not totally impossible I believe, but unlikely at this point in time.
For the GCR to go South is even less likely as there is now a major water Main underground just South of the Leicester North station. The ring road would need to be bridged and some of the route is designated/protected as a SSI. Further into Leicester, the embankments and bridges have been removed totally and much is built on...But yes - Leicester Central Station does exist - in part...and has been refurbished for retail outlets etc.
However the single track section from Rothley to Leicester could well be doubled within the next few years (5 to 10) particularly if the "Plan B" for a museum complex gets the go ahead.
The single track was built fairly quickly in the 1980's(?) to ensure that there was a bridge over the formation when that section of the Leicester "outer" ring road was built.
For the GCR(N) to go further North there would need to be a lot of money spent and an extension of the tram tracks to the South, which is not totally impossible I believe, but unlikely at this point in time.
For the GCR to go South is even less likely as there is now a major water Main underground just South of the Leicester North station. The ring road would need to be bridged and some of the route is designated/protected as a SSI. Further into Leicester, the embankments and bridges have been removed totally and much is built on...But yes - Leicester Central Station does exist - in part...and has been refurbished for retail outlets etc.
However the single track section from Rothley to Leicester could well be doubled within the next few years (5 to 10) particularly if the "Plan B" for a museum complex gets the go ahead.
The single track was built fairly quickly in the 1980's(?) to ensure that there was a bridge over the formation when that section of the Leicester "outer" ring road was built.
Edited by Flying Phil on Sunday 8th December 12:19
davebem said:
RoverP6B said:
but not if it's stuck in the East Midlands and/or restricted to 25mph.
I could be wrong but I think the GCR is allowed to run at 45mph and in special circumstances 60mph?There is now scaffold up around the South end of the Canal Bridge and the cantilever beam is in position to lift that end of the bridge for repairs to those bearing pads. No sign of the lattice sections yet.
There were Lots of people at the GCR for the start of the Gala weekend. The trains were delayed mid afternoon and for some reason (possibly related??) an 08 shunter had gone up the Swithland branch and looked as though it was attached to the 3 car DMU set.
|https://thumbsnap.com/SuZDKAX0[/url]Hi Daniel
I suspect that Main Line certification would require a Lot more of a papertrail to certify all work done, competences of workers and specifications of materials used. Then there are the modern signalling electronics "boxes". This could easily add £100,000+ to the rebuilding cost. As there are other Main Line certified Castles already......
I suspect that Main Line certification would require a Lot more of a papertrail to certify all work done, competences of workers and specifications of materials used. Then there are the modern signalling electronics "boxes". This could easily add £100,000+ to the rebuilding cost. As there are other Main Line certified Castles already......
The next stage of the "Gap" project has been announced:-
“We’ve already achieved so much to reunify the two halves of the Great Central Railway,” said Andy Fillingham, the Chairman of the Friends of the Great Central Main Line. “Millions of pounds have been raised and spent already on delivering this exciting project. Now we want to build not one, but two further sections which include crossing a factory car park and a road called Railway Terrace.”
The next phase of the fundraising campaign has been dubbed the ‘Factory Flyover’. Two bridge decks which Network Rail had no further use for and were able to generously donate to the Great Central, will be incorporated into the work. Building two pieces of the jigsaw at the same time - rather than separately - is expected to be cheaper overall......"
“We’ve already achieved so much to reunify the two halves of the Great Central Railway,” said Andy Fillingham, the Chairman of the Friends of the Great Central Main Line. “Millions of pounds have been raised and spent already on delivering this exciting project. Now we want to build not one, but two further sections which include crossing a factory car park and a road called Railway Terrace.”
The next phase of the fundraising campaign has been dubbed the ‘Factory Flyover’. Two bridge decks which Network Rail had no further use for and were able to generously donate to the Great Central, will be incorporated into the work. Building two pieces of the jigsaw at the same time - rather than separately - is expected to be cheaper overall......"
Meanwhile the scaffolding has been removed from the Canal bridge but the big "cross beams" are still in place. These will be craned out and the lattice girders put back "soon". Although much of the brickwork has been repaired and re-pointed, the "wing walls" canal side will still need a fair bit of work.
Sadly, but inevitably, virtually all "Heritage Railways" have taken the decision to cease, or not start, their running this year due to the Coronavirus situation. The GCR and other railways are using their websites to give up to date information......It is to be hoped that the stoppage does not last too long but time will tell in these fraught times for so many people.
Robertj21a said:
RoverP6B said:
Heritage railways are not there to accumulate obsolete stock on an ongoing basis. Their purpose is to commemorate a specific era. The Pacers only detract and distract from that. Waste of space, manpower, resources and money.
You appear to believe that 'heritage' can only really equate to 'steam'.Thank goodness many others don't subscribe to that outdated, blinkered, view.
Just to update, in the GCR "Rail Mail", they say parking at Quorn will be in the (overflow parking) field on the other side of the line. I would think that somebody will be selling ice creams etc and I suspect that the GCR doesn't want to be seen to break the rules re Cafe's opening yet.
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