If you had £10 million to spend

[high camera]

Here's a question, if you won £10 million and HAD to spend it on a preserved railway, where would you spend it and on what ?

Here's a couple from me.

Join the Embsay & Bolton Abbey railway back to Skipton station.

or another extend the ELR beyond Heywood

 

[Bevan Price]

Well, I don't think £10,000,000 would be enough to reconnect the Llangollen Railway to Ruabon, or the North Yorkshire Moors Railway to Malton, so I would probably build a couple of medium size steam locos suitable for use on preserved lines - maybe a LNWR Prince of Wales 4-6-0 and an LNER (ex-GCR) Class A5 4-6-2 tank.

 

[Bedpan]

I'd go for a narrow gauge railway on the trackbed of the Luton - Luton Hoo - Harpenden East line. Possibly start at the north western edge of Harpenden and see how far towards Luton Airport Parkway I could get.

(Narrow gauge because it's cheaper to construct and more practical beariing in mind there is now a cycleway on the trackbed.

 

[455driver]

Are there any preserved lines in the Caribbean?

Because if I had £10M that is where I would be!

 

[yorksrob]

Reopening fund. To get maximum mileage out of it, I would use it to top up capital investment by just enough to bring other parties expenditure to within an acceptable cost/benefit ratio.

 

[Aictos]

I would like to link the North Norfolk and Mid Norfolk railways together as one and rename it the Mid North Norfolk Railway

If that wasn't possible, I would either look into donating the money as part of funds to see Colne to Skipton reopened or get myself a Annual All Line Rover in 1st Class

Course if I could use it on anything then I would book enough flights to get Gold status with the BA executive club

 

[simon.exd]

I would get the West Somerset back into Taunton station..

Or the South Devon to Ashburton

 

[Yew]

Build a blue pullman.

 

[Crawley Ben]

Reconnect the Bluebell railway from Horsted Keynes to Ardingly

Ben

 

[Ben.A.98]

I would get steam back on a full time basis to the Keith and Dufftown, fully signal the line and reconnect it to the mainline at Keith Junction.

I'd also get the class 140 back to full working condition.

Hopefully £10 million would be enough.

 

[Marvin]

Extend the Severn Valley to Ironbridge.

 

[bolli]

Rebuild the Severn Railway Bridge and run the DFR into Berkeley!
(Although would probably cost a lot more than 10m)

 

[DarloRich]

£10m won’t buy you much track wise – I think if I HAD to spend all that money on trains I would parcel it up and use small amounts for worthy projects at as many different places as possible

 

[Spaceflower]

Not sure what 10 million would buy, maybe global marketing, improved connections and quality of service on the NYMR.....?

Or invest in some local ppp's ?

 

[Trainfan344]

I would use it to help the Churnet Valley Railway reconnect from Stoke-on-Trent railway station to Alton Towers, I would create a suitable exit at Alton Towers and make sure there is a suitable service run every day that Alton Towers is open.

 

[YorkshireBear]

10 million in lots of different places, nothing massive just a few projects partially funded. Like the building of a standard 3 tank and other small engines ideal for heritage railways that were lost to the time. Small track extensions to help some heritage railways maybe some money to GCR bridge project.

I would also buy my own medium sized engine and make it mainline :P

In an ideal world.

 

[Monty]

I'm a Southern man myself, yet dispite this I would donate the money to the GCR. What they are trying to accomplish I feel is too important not to happen.

 

[krus_aragon]

Here's a question, if you won £10 million and HAD to spend it on a preserved railway, where would you spend it and on what ?

If you hold me to the preserved aspect, I guess I'd be helping the Lein Amlwch group get something going on the Llangefni-Amlwch portion, but I'd prefer to put it toward getting Llangefni-Gaerwen reconnected to the mainline network.

 

[daddsie71b]

Midsomer Norton, northwards.

 

[Daimler]

I'm a Southern man myself, yet dispite this I would donate the money to the GCR. What they are trying to accomplish I feel is too important not to happen.

This. Either that or I would buy up one of the Bulleid Merchant Navy class locos currently languishing in ex-Barry condition and restore it as an unrebuilt example of the class.

 

[fgwrich]

Midsomer Norton, northwards.

I'm a Southern man myself, yet dispite this I would donate the money to the GCR. What they are trying to accomplish I feel is too important not to happen.

Those two would both be on my list, but Infrastructure wise I would also consider taking on and making changes at the Mid Hants - and go south west wards towards Winchester. But my main one would be to get the GWR Back up towards Honeybourne in one direction, complete with decent triangle and small depot at the Honeybourne / Long Marston end, and a small extension through Hunting Buts tunnel towards the Rugby Club at the southern end.

Rolling stock wise however, I would try to do two things. Preserve and mainline a 47/7, 5/6 Mk2D and DBSO to recreate the Scottish Push Pull sets. The second would be to try and buy back as much of the Cargo D Rolling stock left in BR Blue Grey, and create a rake of BR Blue Grey Mk1 and Mk2 PVs to run with a preferably BR Blue 25/6/7, 45 or Wizzo.

So we could see beautiful sights such as these again.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/52554553@N06/10422255315/lightbox/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/52554553@N06/10428630933/lightbox/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/52554553@N06/10613221306/lightbox/

 

[Mvann]

I'd either build a Brighton Baltic, and sponsor some of the smaller projects that don't get the limelight.

 

[RichmondCommu]

I'd reinstate the route between Redmire and Garsdale. The route remains completely intact and the tunnel and viaduct (can't remember their names ) appear to be in good condition. If I had any money left over I'd rebuild the engine shed and install a turntable. And raise funds to build a new Tank House to be used by the local community.

 

[GatwickDepress]

I'd either build a Brighton Baltic, and sponsor some of the smaller projects that don't get the limelight.

Oh gosh, yes! An absolutely beautiful class of engine' although to be honest, you could say the exact same of any LB&SCR-built tank engine.

"Brighton Baltic" would be a good name for an Indian takeaway outside the station as well, with a suitable painted sign...hint, hint...

 

[Whistler40145]

I'd pay to Mainline register 2x25, 2x26 & 2x27.

I'd also carry out necessary modifications to the track layout at Glasgow Central so Class 40 & Class 45 can once more visit.

 

[NLC1072]

I'd open a brand new narrow gauge line near as I can to london so I could play trains all day whilst carrying as many passengers as possible.

 

[Amy Worrall]

Suppose I wanted to put it towards advancing Peak Rail further towards Bakewell/Buxton, how far do you think it would go? I have very little idea of how much such projects cost.

 

[scarby]

Buy Staintondale Station (also to live in), a single-car DMU and look to start building the line towards Hayburn Wyke or Ravenscar.

 

[Tomnick]

Suppose I wanted to put it towards advancing Peak Rail further towards Bakewell/Buxton, how far do you think it would go? I have very little idea of how much such projects cost.

It depends a lot on how many obstacles intervene. If you had a clear formation with no structures to worry about, £10m might get you a good few miles (anything up to 10 miles, if you've got sufficient willing hands and technical knowledge within the labour force, and recycled materials). The group working on the Mountsorrel branch (off the GCR) have relaid the best part of a mile with, I think, rather less than £1m funding (whether to a standard that'd withstand regular loco-hauled passenger trains rather than the odd low speed shunt move or railcar shuttle, I couldn't say). It only takes a few dodgy or missing structures to start eating away at your millions though. The GCR are looking at £10m or more to get them less than a mile to the other side of the MML - I understand that Peak Rail have a missing structure, albeit on a smaller scale, just north of their present operating limit, and that reinstatement would also require un-realignment of the road that used to pass under it.

 

[Whistler40145]

Pay preservationists with BR Blue locomotives to get them fit for Mainline running & setup a company to do this, they would have the option of hiring them out to TOCs or run Railtours.