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Rail centres that have fallen from grace?

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w0033944

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Surprised no-one's mentioned Melton Constable...

I was now reading through the thread, with the intention of mentioning it had no one else already referred-to it. Formerly the home of the Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway, a major junction in this part of the country, workshops, sheds, literally the Works!:lol: A good example of what was mentioned earlier in this tread; a village which became an important place because of the railways which has now returned to being a small, rural community in relative obscurity.
 
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W230

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I think Tinsley must be the worst. What a sad place that is now.
Gets my vote also. Looking down at the yard from a bridge just off Europa Link it looks in a very sorry state. I think there's quite a lot of freight line lifted from that general area too.
 

aylesbury

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Aylesbury lost links to Nottingham,Manchester ,plus link to the WCML at Cheddington and to Verney Jctn .But the good news is that in the near future we will be getting a link to MK and the rest of the world.:):):):)
 

ChilternHenry

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Talking about Ayelsbury, go about 7 miles down a single branch to Princes Risborough, and you have another former junction. Used to have links to Oxford, Thame, Line to Birmingham was singled, both through tracks were removed, the Up platform abandoned leaving the North facing bay and Down platform remaining. Leaving only a link to Ayelsbury and a one train per 2 hours to London. Thankfully, things have got much better thanks to NSE/Chiltern.
 

6Gman

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March. Now a prison/immigration centre.

To be strictly correct isn't the prison on the site of Whitemoor Yard rather than March? And there are still railway facilities at both.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Surprised no-one's mentioned Melton Constable...

I was about to! :D

Major junction - motive power depot - and workshops. Now nothing.
 

D841 Roebuck

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Adding to the list of places with former railway works, Inverurie (Great North of Scotland Railway) and Horwich (Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway) deserve a mention.
 

steamybrian

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Templecombe- Once the junction (with loco shed) for the Somerset & Dorset Rly. Station closed in 1966 but subsequently reopened with a single platform.

Barnstaple Up to the 1960s was a junction for lines to Taunton, Ilfracombe and Torrington now all closed. Station still open as a one platform terminus.
 

tigerroar

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Cheltenham? It used to have seven stations and a decent terminus, now it's just a stop a mile from the town centre.
 

dzug2

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Aylesbury lost links to Nottingham,Manchester ,plus link to the WCML at Cheddington and to Verney Jctn .But the good news is that in the near future we will be getting a link to MK and the rest of the world.:):):):)

Verney Junction is worth mentioning in its own right as a might (never) have been.

The country terminus of the Metropolitan Railway, with lines to Buckingham/Banbury, Oxford and Bletchley/Bedford/Cambridge. And I'm sure it's not part of the reopening.
 

aylesbury

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Verney Junction is worth mentioning in its own right as a might (never) have been.

The country terminus of the Metropolitan Railway, with lines to Buckingham/Banbury, Oxford and Bletchley/Bedford/Cambridge. And I'm sure it's not part of the reopening.

Verney jctn is well and truly isolated and has only about ten houses and a closed pub so no traffic.
 

Oswyntail

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Not a site as such, but I would suggest the line from Preston to Blackpool. In the 50's and 60's four tracks always busy with a mix of passenger and freight - and on summer weekends specials from anywhere in the UK (apart from GW territory!) with stock ranging from ScR DMUs to A4s and WCs.
Today - two track, two-car dmus :(
 

Donny Dave

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Immingham. While still has considerable coal and iron ore traffic from the port, it has declined a lot in the past few years. the MPD (including medium maintanence facilities) there has gone as well as a number of yards. I'm surprised the Grimsby Light Railway is still in use and maintained, as very few trains use that.

To a lesser extent, Scunthorpe ....

An extensive hump marshalling yard (the only thing that remains is an avoiding line around the back of the station), and a small MPD (sub depot for Immingham (fuel and signing on point)) have gone, Trent Yard is smaller, with only the exchange sidings with the steel works remaining.
 

tbtc

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Not a site as such, but I would suggest the line from Preston to Blackpool. In the 50's and 60's four tracks always busy with a mix of passenger and freight - and on summer weekends specials from anywhere in the UK (apart from GW territory!) with stock ranging from ScR DMUs to A4s and WCs.
Today - two track, two-car dmus :(

How busy was it back then compared to the four passenger trains an hour these days (not all of which are two coaches long)?
 

RichmondCommu

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Immingham. While still has considerable coal and iron ore traffic from the port, it has declined a lot in the past few years. the MPD (including medium maintanence facilities) there has gone as well as a number of yards. I'm surprised the Grimsby Light Railway is still in use and maintained, as very few trains use that.

I remember seeing the LNER coaling planty at Immingham. Has that now been demolished? Also, I know this is going to sound really thick but which line is the Griimsby Light Railway?

To a lesser extent, Scunthorpe ....

An extensive hump marshalling yard (the only thing that remains is an avoiding line around the back of the station), and a small MPD (sub depot for Immingham (fuel and signing on point)) have gone, Trent Yard is smaller, with only the exchange sidings with the steel works remaining.

Was the small MPD Frodingham?
 

34087

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Hi all, first post.

How about Broadstone near/in Poole ? Four platforms, junction for Somerset & Dorset and services to Brockenhurst via Ringwood and Salisbury via junction at West Moors, southbound, main route to Poole/Bournemouth West and also to Hamworthy Junction. For many years there has been a sports centre on the site.

Bournemouth West could be mentioned as well as a single track from the 'carriage sidings' nearly reaches the site of the former 6/7 platform terminus.
 

tigerroar

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Lansdown, St James, Malvern Road, High Street Halt, Charlton Kings, South (Leckhampton), Racecourse

The last is still open as a heritage station

It saddens me that it's all gone. I think there was a lad slip on an embankment on the Honeybourne line so they just decided to abandon it. Anyone know if there are any blockages other than the footbridge between Racecourse and Lansdowne?
 

Manchester77

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Penistone.

A busy "cross roads" with plenty of long distance trains, plenty of freight, electrification...

...now it gets nothing but an hourly Pacer/ 150.

Bit of a comedown?

(not sure if there were any "works" there - before my time)

Indeed it's sad when you see the images from the 60s, 80s and 00s of how it's progressed from big electric logos thundering through, to overgrown OHLE and tracks, to a few pacers :cry:
 

Buttsy

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It saddens me that it's all gone. I think there was a lad slip on an embankment on the Honeybourne line so they just decided to abandon it. Anyone know if there are any blockages other than the footbridge between Racecourse and Lansdowne?

I thought the route was closed following a major derailment at Winchcombe in 1976 and it was found that due to the reduction in loose coupled freight and a redcution in freight in general, it was deemed that the Lickey route could handle all trains and so it was not financially worth re-instating the line.
 

mr williams

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How about Pontypool Road? Vast engine shed, multiple sidings and marshalling yard, one of the busiest stations in the country during WW1, several passenger lines, direct sevices to just about everywhere, now reduced to a bare, bleak platform.
 

MK Tom

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On the subject of Verney Junction which some have mentioned, both it and Calvert are named after the same family, which gives some indication of their remoteness. I had the good fortune to meet a descendant Mr. Verney in 2002 at the Bucks Rail Centre.

Speaking of Aylesbury and Calvert there are countless stations up the GCR that are relevant to this thread. Brackley Central (and the town itself which had two stations on two lines), Helmdon, Woodford Halse, Rugby Central, Leicester Central, Nottingham Victoria, Sheffield Victoria... People have already mentioned Penistone but Woodhouse and Darnall, Deepcar and Hadfield, Guide Bridge... all places that are shadows of their former selves.

On another local note, Northampton once had three large stations with services across the region and the country. Now it's an undersized stop in the arse end of nowhere on a loop Network Rail like to pretend doesn't exist that has persistently had its service slashed for the benefit of any other WCML station over the last two decades. Curiously what was a major railway centre in a random market town is now a minor wayside stop in a major regional urban centre.
 

Welshman

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Not a site as such, but I would suggest the line from Preston to Blackpool. In the 50's and 60's four tracks always busy with a mix of passenger and freight - and on summer weekends specials from anywhere in the UK (apart from GW territory!) with stock ranging from ScR DMUs to A4s and WCs.
Today - two track, two-car dmus :(

And in the case of the trackbed of the Marton line, cars, lorries and endless motorway coaches!
 
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