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Trivia: Abandoned railway lines that have been turned into cycle/footpaths

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steamybrian

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The old line between Market Weighton and Beverley is also a public footpath now as is part of the old line towards Driffield and the one to Selby

Edited to add there is also the old line at Bakewell which is also a footpath and cycle route now

The Market Weighton- Beverley route is known as Hudsons Way.

The line through Bakewell is part of the Monsal Trail.
 
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tavistock

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Caernarfon-Bryncir, very good, some gentle gradients, goes near the WHR, Penygroes
Bangor-Bethesda, bit of a hill, just enough to stretch me on a 59" fixed

Bahntrassenradeln.de has lots, not only in Germany
are there any plans to get Caernarfon back onto the rail network? It seems a shame that such an important town does not have a proper rail link any more. Is the Welsh Assembly bothered?
 

LSWR Cavalier

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Especially for Welsh speaking people, Caernarfon with 10 000 residents is important

I fear the problem is that the Welsh Senedd is so far away at the bottom of the country
 

talltim

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'The Alban Way' - the former branch from Hatfield to St Albans - popular with locals and probably carrying rather more people a day than when it was a railway!
I used to play on that when I was a kid, when it was just an abandoned cutting near my house, I moved away just when they were starting to turning it into a proper route
 

2392

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The original section of the Whitby & Pickering from Grosmont to Moorgate, just shy of the summit.Whilst the track-bed continues to link up towards the summit where the two lined rejoin I don't think its part of the path. Likewise at Grosmont the path leaves the track-bed just shy of Grosmont and goes over the hill/tunnel into Grosmont. Many folk get the train to Goathland and walk down the bank, not forgetting to call at the Pub at Beckhole in order to top up the tanks :lol:. Especially if your doing it that hard way going up the bank from Grosmont to Goathland o_O! It's far easier doing the downhill walk from Goathland. This line closed in the mid Victorian era not long after the W & P had been bought out by the York & North Midland. It had become something of a bottleneck to the service and there'd been a couple of accidents with the rope haulage arrangements over the years.........

Both this line and the "Deviation" run on opposite sides of the valley, with of course the Deviation being part of the North Yorkshire Moors.
 
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d9009alycidon

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Bowling to Dumbarton on the old LNER formation (after electrification BR diverted onto the LMS formation from Dunglass Junction)
One that was a cycle path conversion and had to be realigned to get out of the way of the reinstated railway was Airdrie to Bathgate
The Kilmacolm Branch and the Dalry and North Johnstone Line are both part of the sustrans network
 

SCH117X

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The line to Thorp Arch has been extended to Newton Kyme across the recently renovated bridge over the River Wharfe. The funding for this was provided by the developers of a large housing state at Newton Kyme. It makes a very useful off-road route to the Thorp Arch trading estate and Wetherby.
Slightly worryingly on the approaches to the bridge their are signs precluding horses from the bridge, just how strong is it? Even odder at the end of the route, slightly off alignment of the old railway, their are absolutely no signs so any cyclist approaching on the A659 unaware of its actual access location will most likely miss it.
 

steamybrian

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Added both Aberaeron Cycle Path and Elan Valley Trail to Wikipedia list of former railway routes converted to cycle paths.
Thanks to Meole for information.
 

Doctor Fegg

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billio

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Slightly worryingly on the approaches to the bridge their are signs precluding horses from the bridge, just how strong is it? Even odder at the end of the route, slightly off alignment of the old railway, their are absolutely no signs so any cyclist approaching on the A659 unaware of its actual access location will most likely miss it.
It was strong enough to take mechanical diggers and other vehicles during the renovation so it should take a horse. However as I understand it, horses can be quite nervous crossing high bridges, especially ones without a parapet as in this case. The path is just over half the width of the bridge.
I agree about the signage - poor in either direction. I will ask the local council if they can do anything about it. Or perhaps Sustrans can help as they were keen on persuading Leeds to contribute their bit. I am not sure if this route is registered as a public bridleway or permissive path yet, it isn't marked as such on an OS map.
 
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