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GWSR - first train into new Broadway station
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Flying Phil
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Well done to all concerned - Great achievement!
AndyY1951
Member
Fantastic to see! I'll bet there were a few smuts in folks eyes..........
Andy
Andy
Ash Bridge
Established Member
What a wonderful sight and a great achievement for all involved. A railway I really must get to visit, many thanks for posting this jimm 
4141
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Excellent stuff, well done to all, must make sure I have a trip on it next spring!
CarltonA
Member
Getting tickets in advance is recommended. From the GWSR Website: https://www.gwsr.com/Opening_to_Broadway__30_March_to_2_April_2018--post--45.html
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AndyY1951
Member
There's only going to one thing better than this achievement, and that will be the first train into Broadway from Honeybourne!
I sincerely hope that is a 'when' rather than an 'if', maybe in a decade?
Andy
I sincerely hope that is a 'when' rather than an 'if', maybe in a decade?
Andy
ABB125
Established Member
I know the driver on the class 73...
I wonder why they were using two locomotives? Perhaps due to the train weight? (Although it didn't look too heavy.)
I wonder why they were using two locomotives? Perhaps due to the train weight? (Although it didn't look too heavy.)
reddragon
Established Member
The 73 had been in for repairs and this was it's first time back out so maybe the 20 was for backup.
AndyY1951
Member
Maybe an element of 'just for fun'!
I'd say it's still firmly in the 'if' category.
While on the one hand it would offer a connection to the national network, it would be an expensive exercise and it's not as if Honeybourne is a location likely to attract any traffic as a destination in its own right, unlike Broadway, which is one of the Cotswolds' tourist hotspots. Trains would most likely be on the quiet side on any northern extension.
It has taken a lot of money and 12 years of work by volunteers to get from Toddington to Broadway. They will probably want a decent break before anyone even thinks about going further - and distance-wise Broadway-Honeybourne is pretty much the same as Toddington-Broadway, so it would be another big challenge to fundraise and deliver.
There is also the question of what happens over potential reopening of Honeybourne-Long Marston-Stratford to mainline passenger services, which would have implications for what Honeybourne station might look like in the future. Roads around the village aren't great, so it's not an obvious place to create a 'park-and-ride' for GWSR - and GWR has been trying for quite a while now to find some land it could use for more car parking for its passengers, without much luck so far.
trains2064
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Honeybourne must happen at some point in the future. Mainline connections do change things. Lots of gala locos that put ‘Bum’s on seats’ will only appear via rail. Also the is the Cheltenham race day specials. Both these will bring in money. Willersey Halt would be in the middle of village. Great for walking and fab pub. Weston sub edge bring space for sidings and storage. Maybe a diesel depot? Weston could be the terminus easily. After all look at Bishops Lydiard on the WSR. Though I do agree have a year or so to establish Broadway first.
AndyY1951
Member
As far as I'm concerned there are the 'First Division' preserved railways, which have a connection to the network (or are actively working to achieve it), and then there are 'Others'. However good they are in other respects, if they are content to remain isolated and can only be reached by road transport then I won't support them.
I agree that this may be an over-simplification in some cases, for example the Wirksworth branch doesn't have a railed connection, but runs into Duffield Station, whereas the Midland Railway Centre does have a rail connection but you can't get there by train...........
I agree that this may be an over-simplification in some cases, for example the Wirksworth branch doesn't have a railed connection, but runs into Duffield Station, whereas the Midland Railway Centre does have a rail connection but you can't get there by train...........
It may happen in the future but I suspect there will be a much greater interval than a year and I think you rather underestimate the scale of the challenges.
The Broadway extension work has coincided with two major embankment collapses elsewhere on the GWSR and £400,000 of the £1.3m Last Mile to Broadway share issue had to be spent on embankment strengthening near Broadway - there may well be similar problems in the same vein heading north. The GWR's 1900s embankments weren't constructed that well, as the Chiltern Line has also needed extensive remedial work around Bicester in recent times.
The GWSR hasn't exactly struggled for visiting locos for galas down the years - road transport is often a whole lot cheaper than rail transfer moves.
Race day specials might bring in some money, but the GWSR has been tapping this as a revenue stream with trains from Toddington since 2003 - visiting charters via Honeybourne might bring in a bit of money but there are only so many paths on the line and GWSR-only operations would probably be a much better earner and a lot less hassle to deal with.
Willersey halt was at one end of the village, not in the middle (and perched up on an embankment), and I'm afraid Willersey just isn't a place on the radar of most visitors to the area, unlike Broadway.
Where you think a station/sidings/depot will go at Weston beats me - the trackbed for the running line is protected from development to allow for reinstatement but so far as I know, the goods yard land was sold by BR years ago. It is now home to a number of businesses which would have to be bought out if the site was to be used by the GWSR. Why on earth would that be the terminus? The only things anywhere near it are businesses using parts of the old airfield. A key point of reinstatement of track to Honeybourne would be to enable people to make a rail to rail transfer there.
I suspect I'll be collecting my pension by the time a GWSR train gets to Honeybourne - and I've got a fair few years to go until retirement.
reddragon
Established Member
The GWsR still have to finish the main station building fitting out, signalling, the footbridge and the second platform, plus parking etc before any thoughts move onto further extensions! Then there is the extra coaches & facilities to provide.
The existing railway also needs some extra tlc as all efforts have been on the extension.
To extend to Honeybourne the railway needs a business case. A main line connection only enables larger or main line visiting locos and some charters. Honeybourne is not a destination and the Cotswold Line doesn't exactly have a great rail service to provide any custom!
Then there are the competing cases for going south into Cheltenham and maybe double tracking one day.
All will of course change if the link north to Stratford is built, then the destination for a connection maybe Long Marston!
The existing railway also needs some extra tlc as all efforts have been on the extension.
To extend to Honeybourne the railway needs a business case. A main line connection only enables larger or main line visiting locos and some charters. Honeybourne is not a destination and the Cotswold Line doesn't exactly have a great rail service to provide any custom!
Then there are the competing cases for going south into Cheltenham and maybe double tracking one day.
All will of course change if the link north to Stratford is built, then the destination for a connection maybe Long Marston!
ABB125
Established Member
I am fairly certain that Honeybourne will happen during my lifetime (and I have at least 60 years to go). I would really look forward to it, but I believe that the next focus is extending further into Cheltenham.
I would also like to see some double track (Toddington-Winchcombe would be ideal), but again there are other priorities.
I would also like to see some double track (Toddington-Winchcombe would be ideal), but again there are other priorities.
Really? As of 12 months' time, there will be a baseline hourly service between London and Worcester, plus weekday peak extras as now. I don't know what more you expect GWR to provide on a route serving a rural area and two of England's smaller cities.
I have never detected any great enthusiasm among people I know that are involved with the GWSR for going further into Cheltenham - if Honeybourne is going to be expensive, Cheltenham would be on another level entirely and you couldn't realistically get in much further than Prince of Wales Stadium, so what exactly would the point be? Reaching Cheltenham Spa station is just not going to happen.
No it won't be.
AndyY1951
Member
No it doesn't only mean this, more importantly it would mean that people could visit the GWSR by train, rather than being car-borne, meaning it becomes a real railway, part of the network.
I do agree that reinstatement of the Stratford - Honeybourne link with the connection at Long Marston would perhaps be even better. Of course in any civilised country that link would never have been removed in the first place.
Extension beyond Broadway will take another decade, but I hope it remains a stated aim.
reddragon
Established Member
The current 2 hourly service and 60,000 pa of mostly commuting passengers would be lucky to fill 1 carriage per day on a good day. Maybe an hourly service and faster trains in the future would change that, especially at weekends. Today only 3 trains each way provide a usable connection
There is little will by the GWsR to do the work to go south as a lone enterprise due to the challenges involved. A LEP grant and Cheltenham DC involvement would change things. Reaching High Street would be the realistic aim needing one bridge and a complex station that would need main contractor lead. Getting through to the main line would be very costly with a viaduct, 2 bridges and demolition at Landsdowne.
The Stratford link is critical to a northern link as it would provide stations at Honeybourne & Long Marston to connect to plus a sizeable S106 grant from the developments to enable those costly works to be completed.
Lets enjoy Broadway for now
trains2064
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The are lots of projects big and small that need to be achieved. 4th set of carriages, a carriage shed, a turntable, fasilitating an extra steam locomotive or 2. Then the is the next major project and personal I’d love an extension back into Cheltenham. I mentioned Willesley Halt which along with Laverton, Hailes Abbey and Gretton could work well with a DMU or 2 I n a quiet day though this would work well with a stop closer to Cheltenham City Centre and one at Honeybourne.
To say the is no business case for Honeybourne is wrong. The business case probably won’t add up though till other projects are completed. It might also take new blood and new energy to achieve. The Broadway extension and Station projects have happened at the wrong time for me to get involved. In 10 years time I hope to have more time and to space as other things would have finished for me and a Honeybourne extension might be just the ticket for me. I don’t want to be an armchair member forever!
To say the is no business case for Honeybourne is wrong. The business case probably won’t add up though till other projects are completed. It might also take new blood and new energy to achieve. The Broadway extension and Station projects have happened at the wrong time for me to get involved. In 10 years time I hope to have more time and to space as other things would have finished for me and a Honeybourne extension might be just the ticket for me. I don’t want to be an armchair member forever!
reddragon
Established Member
I hope to move from the armchair to actual work there in about 10 years too, on whatever extension happens to win favour and financial support which could be either! I agree that the case will stack up for both ends eventually.
If you meant the service specifically at Honeybourne, then why not say so? As opposed to generalising about the Cotswold Line. The current service provided at Honeybourne is designed to address current needs. If something changed, such as the GWSR arriving from Broadway, then the main line service could be revised to reflect that.
You have got to be joking about Cheltenham High Street - no one would ever sanction a station being built there. The line's on a viaduct and there is no land available adjacent to the railway for any kind of station facilities unless you start turfing people out of their homes and businesses.
Work on road bridges to get from Toddington to Broadway cost a packet, so I'd expect the road bridges in Cheltenham would require just the same treatment and who knows what the condition the viaduct is in.
Why do you keep going on about Long Marston? Any reinstated main line route to Stratford would be using the trackbed from Honeybourne. A new Long Marston station will be a simple set-up with a couple of platforms - and now likely to be further north up the line than the old one so it can serve the major housing development planned for Long Marston airfield. And Section 106 money from that development will be allocated to reinstatement of the main line service - as already indicated by Cala Homes with their pledge of £17m for rail reinstatement - not indulging fantasies.
At Honeybourne, there is plenty of unused land within the railway boundary allowing for all sorts of options for an expanded station with a GWSR platform (and a turntable?) and if the GWSR does go further north than Broadway in the future, it will be stopping at Honeybourne.
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It isn't a real railway. It's a Preserved Railway. The Bala Lake Railway, Gwili Railway, Battlefield Line, Bristol Harbour Railway and the Llangollen Railway, to use some examples are lines which have no viable way of reaching the main line, yet still have some great plans. Are you suggesting these lines are not worthy of support?
AndyY1951
Member
They don't get my support, either by being a member or shareholder or indeed as a passenger, although I wish them well.
Conversely the railways I do support include the Severn Valley, the Great Central (both 'ends'), the East Lancashire, the Ecclesbourne Valley and the Keighley and Worth Valley. These are all accessible by rail and are amongst those I class as 'First Division' Railways. There are of course other First Division railways which are also accessible by train.
Conversely the railways I do support include the Severn Valley, the Great Central (both 'ends'), the East Lancashire, the Ecclesbourne Valley and the Keighley and Worth Valley. These are all accessible by rail and are amongst those I class as 'First Division' Railways. There are of course other First Division railways which are also accessible by train.
reddragon
Established Member
From the south you can walk from Cheltenham Station along the track bed cycle path or catch a bus every 10 mins, that should take you about 20 mins. The bus goes direct from the station to the Racecourse Park & Ride.
From the north, Broadway regular buses link to Evesham, should take you under half an hour including the walks. The bus even comes from Stratford Upon Avon.
The railway is certainly 1st division, with 5 operating steam, 25mph continuous running 8 car trains, real stations & signalling, workshops & overhaul facilities. The views are also better than any of the railways you 'support'
AndyY1951
Member
The GWSR certainly has all the potential to be 1st Division, I just hope they keep the momentum going by working to extend to Honeybourne, accepting that it might take another decade.
reddragon
Established Member
Well 100,619 passengers thought it was great in 2017 and if only 10% of the 750,000 annual visitors to Broadway Village try the railway in 2018, the wow trains will be busy!
7+7+6 car rakes are ready http://gwsrrollingstock.blogspot.co.uk/p/the-rake.html , with 4763, 4614 & 34929 nearly there, plus 3 DMU cars in service, a spare and the class 121 nearly ready.
I hope then you will contribute to another railway linking to the national network. It's better to support a railway in making the connection than those who do not need support as they are already there. Well, that's my view anyway.
7+7+6 car rakes are ready http://gwsrrollingstock.blogspot.co.uk/p/the-rake.html , with 4763, 4614 & 34929 nearly there, plus 3 DMU cars in service, a spare and the class 121 nearly ready.
I hope then you will contribute to another railway linking to the national network. It's better to support a railway in making the connection than those who do not need support as they are already there. Well, that's my view anyway.
AndyY1951
Member
I agree, I just wish the GWSR weren't so coy about making it a stated intention to extend to Honeybourne. Clearly it won't happen tomorrow, Broadway has to be completed, the new service introduced and 'bedded in'. A period of consolidation is inevitable. And an extension can't begin until funding is available.
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