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Wensleydale Railway - Onwards to Castle Bolton & Aysgarth??

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Marmaduke

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Well done to the WR, Network Rail and a massive shout to the Army on their recent exercises along the railway, where they replaced track etc.

As has been stated in recent WR communique's, this would have cost the WR over £200k.

In a recent article in the local paper, (https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/her...-wensleydale-railway-just-three-weeks-3002103 )there was an interesting end piece that suggested the WR were speaking to the Army about a further exercise to install a bridge across Apedale Beck at Redmire to allow them to go towards Castle Bolton, Aysgarth, Askrigg & Hawes!!

I like optimism, but Aysgarth, Askrigg & Hawes??

Suddenly Castle Bolton becomes doable and very realistic.......but what about the elephant in the room that is AYSGARTH?

So much has been written about Aysgarth on this forum, its eye watering!!

So the question must be....whose got the enterprise to get to Aysgarth, the former jewel in the crown of the Wensleydale Railway? Or has Mr Smith got the desire to take the rails from Aysgarth to Castle Bolton or Redmire?

If this were to be seriously considered, who would own this stretch of line?

Would the WR be allowed to run into Aysgarth now its a private site? Would there be a charge?

I think another aspect of the former well documented debate about the "AYSGARTH AMBITION" is now open!!
 
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Worf

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If the WR obtain a TWO (Transport and Works Order) for any extension (which I think will be necessary) the surely that will come with compulsory purchase powers for any "lost" trackbed. The Festiniog did this when the rebuilt the Welsh Highland. Would Mr Smith be able, or want to object to a railway running through his site, especially when he said he bought Aysgarth station in the hope it would eventually link up with the rest of the WR. Interesting !
 

DB

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Who owns the disused section of the trackbed?

That from Garsdale to Hawes would make an idea walking route, but it's not one so I assume it isn't owned by Sustrans or the local authority.
 

paul1609

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Who owns the disused section of the trackbed?

That from Garsdale to Hawes would make an idea walking route, but it's not one so I assume it isn't owned by Sustrans or the local authority.

Ive walked along the railway from Redmire to Bolton Abbey and also from Asygarth to Askrigg, on the former apart from the missing bridge the ash formation embankments are totally undermined and would need total rebuilding. On the latter the formation is so degraded in parts its not easy to see where it actually ran without reference to the OS Map.
If you were looking to rebuild it to heritage railway standards with volunteer labour Id guess you are looking at a minimum of £3 million a mile plus the land purchase costs.
 

Roast Veg

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I can't see it getting any further than Aysgarth in the first instance.
 

JKF

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Hawes would be a great destination, but that’s a lot of track to get there. Plus a better connection at the eastern end might be a higher priority.
 

paul1609

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Hawes would be a great destination, but that’s a lot of track to get there. Plus a better connection at the eastern end might be a higher priority.
An extension in the national Park would almost certainly make more sense in a business case. Heritage Railways passengers generally arrive by car. The only ones that have even moderate numbers arriving by National Rail/Public Transport are generally those on the margin of a Metropolitan Area a criteria that doesn't apply to Wensleydale.
 

DB

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An extension in the national Park would almost certainly make more sense in a business case. Heritage Railways passengers generally arrive by car. The only ones that have even moderate numbers arriving by National Rail/Public Transport are generally those on the margin of a Metropolitan Area a criteria that doesn't apply to Wensleydale.

The Hawes end would have more tourist potential than the current line - Leeming Bar is not exactly attractive. Leyburn is pleasant enough but not one of the main tourist towns of the Dales, and there's nothing much at Redmire. In contrast, the Hawes / Aysgarth / Askrigg area is visited a lot by tourists.
 

alexl92

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Surely they need to get a proper station in Northallerton first? It's the biggest town in the area, a popular market town and just 10-15 minutes from the A1. If you want visitors to come, make yourself easy to get to!
 

paul1609

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Surely they need to get a proper station in Northallerton first? It's the biggest town in the area, a popular market town and just 10-15 minutes from the A1. If you want visitors to come, make yourself easy to get to!
Leeming Bar station is less than a mile from Junction 51 of the A1 (M) less than 5 mins. ITs a whole lot more easier than any station that the Wensleydale could offer in Northallerton. Passengers arriving by public transport is little more than a niche market for most Heritage Railways.
 

STEVIEBOY1

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Surely they need to get a proper station in Northallerton first? It's the biggest town in the area, a popular market town and just 10-15 minutes from the A1. If you want visitors to come, make yourself easy to get to!
There have been plans to do that for a long time, they can run there sort of and I think there is a temporary station/platform, not used very often, but there are many operational issues so I understand. Ideally they need to build a new curve southwards etc., But it will take time and alot of money. I think at the moment you can get a bus from close to Northallerton Railway station or the town centre to nearby the Leeming Bar Station. (There did also used to be a vintage bus service that met some of the WR trains at Redmire and sort of followed part of the disused route westwards to Hawes and sometimes beyond that to one of the stations on the SCR.)
 

paul1609

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There have been plans to do that for a long time, they can run there sort of and I think there is a temporary station/platform, not used very often, but there are many operational issues so I understand. Ideally they need to build a new curve southwards etc., But it will take time and alot of money. I think at the moment you can get a bus from close to Northallerton Railway station or the town centre to nearby the Leeming Bar Station. (There did also used to be a vintage bus service that met some of the WR trains at Redmire and sort of followed part of the disused route westwards to Hawes and sometimes beyond that to one of the stations on the SCR.)
Think the Northallerton link is out of passenger use following an incident on one of the level crossings that requires the remainder to be upgraded and that there are also now other infrastructure issues bridges and track.
The bus to Leeming Bar from Northallerton leaves from a bus stop on the main road across from the end of the station access road.
I think the vintage bus service is long since gone. About 5 years ago, I used a community bus from the road adjacent to Redmire station that goes to Hawes but it needs careful planning.
 

STEVIEBOY1

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Think the Northallerton link is out of passenger use following an incident on one of the level crossings that requires the remainder to be upgraded and that there are also now other infrastructure issues bridges and track.
The bus to Leeming Bar from Northallerton leaves from a bus stop on the main road across from the end of the station access road.
I think the vintage bus service is long since gone. About 5 years ago, I used a community bus from the road adjacent to Redmire station that goes to Hawes but it needs careful planning.
Yes it was a few years since I went on the vintage bus. I have been on the WR a few times since then though.
 

Pinza-C55

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The Hawes end would have more tourist potential than the current line - Leeming Bar is not exactly attractive. Leyburn is pleasant enough but not one of the main tourist towns of the Dales, and there's nothing much at Redmire. In contrast, the Hawes / Aysgarth / Askrigg area is visited a lot by tourists.

The Hawes to Garsdale road cuts through the trackbed on a skew and would be very costly to replace. There's also Mossdale Head tunnel which according to the Forgotten Relics website is in poor condition after 61 years disuse.

 
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The Hawes to Garsdale road cuts through the trackbed on a skew and would be very costly to replace. There's also Mossdale Head tunnel which according to the Forgotten Relics website is in poor condition after 61 years disuse.

Dont forget theres another Wensleydale Railway www.upperwensleydalerailway.org.uk thats presently looking at Garsdale to Hawes section - Nothing to do with the Wensleydale Railway.
 

Pinza-C55

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Dont forget theres another Wensleydale Railway www.upperwensleydalerailway.org.uk thats presently looking at Garsdale to Hawes section - Nothing to do with the Wensleydale Railway.

And that's part of the problem. I used to volunteer for Peak Rail which had bases at Darley Dale and Buxton, later the Eden Valley Railway which was separate from the Stainmore at Kirkby Stephen East.
At some point one of the bases surpasses the other, so in the case of peak rail the Buxton site is disused and the money spent on rebuilding the bridge there is wasted.
 
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Jonathan1990

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Would have been good to see them use Northallerton West in use so people could travel from the East Coast Mainline to Garsdale. I'm sure they did it not too long ago around 2016. It was closed again due to a collision.
 

STEVIEBOY1

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Would have been good to see them use Northallerton West in use so people could travel from the East Coast Mainline to Garsdale. I'm sure they did it not too long ago around 2016. It was closed again due to a collision.
Yes, I think you are correct. There have been the odd charter trains that have transferred from the ECML onto the Wensleydale line, there is an area where they can do this, to the north of Northallerton.
 

alexl92

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Would have been good to see them use Northallerton West in use so people could travel from the East Coast Mainline to Garsdale. I'm sure they did it not too long ago around 2016. It was closed again due to a collision.
After that collision, I believe there was an official recomendation that the level crossing needed to be upgraded before it could be used again on heritage services. They've been working on upgrading this and other crossings on the line (and there are many) but that is partly why it hasn't been in use. Also, Garsdale station is on the S&C and not currently connected to the Wensleydale Railway as track was lifted along the Hawes branch. There's about 20 miles (plus the various bridges, tunnels etc) to reinstate before the Wensleydale Railway can run from Northallerton to Hawes. There are also questions about whether a 40-mile, largely single track heritage line would be a viable operating proposition anyway.

Yes, I think you are correct. There have been the odd charter trains that have transferred from the ECML onto the Wensleydale line, there is an area where they can do this, to the north of Northallerton.
There have, and there have been some MOD trains too; there is a branch off the ECML just north of Northallerton Station as you say. I presume special arrangments are put in place for the level crossings when these trains run.
 

DavidCarbonis

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If memory serves, between Leeming Bar and Northallerton the automatic crossings operate like any other crossing and the gated crossings are opened/closed by either railway officials or the footplate crew (depending on the nature of the movement on the route).
 

paul1609

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The automatic halfbarriers on network rail have had their road stoplights upgraded following a number of incidents. Those on the Wensleydale railway havent. This came to light following the collision. Its a matter of cost I believe.
 

47434

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The automatic halfbarriers on network rail have had their road stoplights upgraded following a number of incidents. Those on the Wensleydale railway havent. This came to light following the collision. Its a matter of cost I believe.
2 out of the 3 on WR have been upgraded to LED. The 3rd is planned for 2021.
 

47434

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Is that on the section from Leeming Bar to Northallerton? There appears to be a lot more than 3 level crossings on the whole line.

Only 3 AOCL's on the full line plus 8 traincrew/crossing keeper worked crossings and a mountain of user worked crossings
 
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