Trivia: isolated standard gauge lines

[DerekC]

A quick check on the map of heritage lines suggests the following isolated standard gauge heritage lines in the South of England :

• Helston Railway
• Plym Valley Railway
• Avon Valley Railway
• Bristol Harbour Railway
• Swindon & Cricklade Railway
• Kent & East Sussex Railway
• East Kent Railway (I think)
• Chatham Historic Dockyard Railway

and a few others that I am not sure about, but I am sure others will know:

• Cholsey & Wallingford Railway
• Chinnor & Princes Risborough Railway
• Epping & Ongar Railway

I could carry on and do the whole of the British mainland if I had time - but so could the OP!!

 

[CHAPS2034]

Metrolink has a connection to the East Lancashire Railway south of Bury, as well as two connections directly to the National Network, one at Newton Heath & Moston and one just north of Altrincham. There also used to be one just east of Victoria but that was removed a few years ago.

There also was one from the Rochdale Metrolink line just east of Rochdale Station adjacent to where Metrolink goes over the big railway. It was the original connection into the Oldham loop, but this has also been severed.

 

[snowball]

There's also the connection at Rochdale East Jn between Metrolink and the national network, although as far as I know it's never been used since it was made in 2009

I think it was never fully installed (so, in a sense, abandoned before being built).

It was definitely never installed at the Metrolink end. Or at least, if it was ever installed then it was removed again before the Metrolink Rochdale line opened, and the land where it had been was regraded!

Most probably the original BR/NR connection was severed as part of the conversion to Metrolink and never reinstated.

I remember being in arguments about this on here several years ago. I posted a link to a cab video made by the Manchester Evening News from a Rochdale-bound tram the day before the official opening. The Metrolink line is on an embankment approching the bridge and the Network Rail siding, that might have been intended to become a connection to Metrolink, is down below.

The 2013 Quail/Trackmaps map shows a link but is wrong.

 

[181]

heritage railways like the one in Preston

I thought that was the one that carried occasional freight traffic to and from the main line. (I could be wrong, though).

and a few others that I am not sure about, but I am sure others will know:

• Cholsey & Wallingford Railway
• Chinnor & Princes Risborough Railway
• Epping & Ongar Railway

The first of those is definitely isolated; I think the second was reconnected fairly recently; I don't know about the third.

The Isle of Wight lines (obviously).

And I think the Steam Railway and the 'main line' are isolated from each other.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

The Isle of Wight lines (obviously).

And I think the Steam Railway and the 'main line' are isolated from each other.

Yep. No actual physical connection between the IoW lines at 'Smallbrook Junction'. Was once one back in the past, but not any more.

 

[SouthernR]

The Ribble Steam Railway is connected to the mainline via the Preston Docks sidings. Bitumen is delivered to the docks by rail from Lindsay Oil Refinery.

 

[D6130]

Not sure why the Holyhead breakwater would have been Brunel gauge. - the railway to Holyhead was built by the Stephensons. The last motive power on the breakwater were two (standard gauge) class 01 diesels.

Construction of the breakwater and its railway from the quarries on Holyhead Mountain commenced in 1848 and the line was indeed broad gauge. It was converted to standard gauge in 1913, thus outliving the GWR broad gauge by 21 years. (Source: Wikipedia).

 

[robert thomas]

Swansea & Mumbles?

This was connected to the Swansea Harbour Trust system and through that to the main network

 

[xotGD]

The Embsay and Bolton Abbey is disconnected from the big railway, but it would not take much effort to put the connection back in.

 

[delt1c]

What about the DLR in London

 

[Mcr Warrior]

The 2013 Quail/Trackmaps map shows a link but is wrong.

The 2018 Quail/Trackmaps booklet for the Midlands & North West (Fourth edition), only seems to show Metrolink/NR connections on the approach to Bury (with the designation "points padlocked"), between Altrincham and Navigation Road (also with the designation "points padlocked") and between Newton Heath and Moston, and Failsworth (annotated "line obstructed").

Can't see any extant trackwork connections in the vicinity of Rochdale, Manchester Victoria (or indeed at Cornbrook or Manchester Airport, where Metrolink and NR lines run parallel to each other and where there might have been trackwork connections, but aren't any).

 

[Vespa]

What, that sounds like madness!

Bit like the Isle of Wight Smallbrook Junction (which is anything but) as the rails of Island Line and
IOWSR are literally yards apart but no physical connection, road movement is needed to transfer stock between the two.

So you have distinction of two lines on the same island with no physical connection to a mainline.

 

[D6130]

Can't see any extant trackwork connections in the vicinity of Rochdale, Manchester Victoria (or indeed at Cornbrook or Manchester Airport, where Metrolink and NR lines run parallel to each other and where there might have been trackwork connections, but aren't any).

The connection at Rochdale is still extant at the Network Rail end, complete with points and a (theoretically at least) still working exit signal....but there is a pile of sleepers chained across the track with a red light on top and - as others have said upthread - no connection to the tramway.

 

[Falcon1200]

Chinnor & Princes Risborough Railway

This one is linked to the national network at Risborough.

Being pedantic also, the Far North and Kyle lines were isolated for a while in 1989/90 after the Ness Viaduct collapsed !

 

[Llanigraham]

Haven't seen them mentiond, but there are these I can think of:
The southern section of the Cambrian Railway at Llynclys.
The Helston Railway
The Plym Valley Railway

 

[Greybeard33]

The connection at Rochdale is still extant at the Network Rail end, complete with points and a (theoretically at least) still working exit signal....but there is a pile of sleepers chained across the track with a red light on top and - as others have said upthread - no connection to the tramway.

TfGM has plans for a tram-train service between Oldham and Heywood via Rochdale. That will require the non-connection at Rochdale to be completed.

 

[Gostav]

Metrolink has a connection to the East Lancashire Railway south of Bury, as well as two connections directly to the National Network, one at Newton Heath & Moston and one just north of Altrincham. There also used to be one just east of Victoria but that was removed a few years ago.

I have interesting want know how often the link in use, l means usually if a tramway system that no tram-train service should isolated with railway.

 

[507020]

What, that sounds like madness!

And to make it even worse there is a siding for the steelworks even closer to the CAF factory…

Pedant example: The Liverpool & Manchester Railway in around 1830

But how long was it before the Kenyon and Leigh Junction Railway opened to give it a connection to the Bolton and Leigh Railway?

 

[steamybrian]

A quick check on the map of heritage lines suggests the following isolated standard gauge heritage lines in the South of England :

• Helston Railway
• Plym Valley Railway
• Avon Valley Railway
• Bristol Harbour Railway
• Swindon & Cricklade Railway
• Kent & East Sussex Railway
• East Kent Railway (I think)
• Chatham Historic Dockyard Railway

and a few others that I am not sure about, but I am sure others will know:

• Cholsey & Wallingford Railway
• Chinnor & Princes Risborough Railway
• Epping & Ongar Railway

I could carry on and do the whole of the British mainland if I had time - but so could the OP!!

The East Kent Railway is not connected to NR

add
Spa Valley Railway- although it parallels NR at Eridge it is not connected.

 

[Western 52]

I don't think any of the standard gauge preserved railways in Wales has a mainline connection, although the Gwili Railway is only a mile or so from the main line at Carmarthen.

 

[Ediswan]

• Epping & Ongar Railway

As best as I can tell, the track of the Epping & Ongar railway is physically connected to London Underground, but the connection is not currently available for use.

There is a photo here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epping_Ongar_Railway

 

[Cheshire Scot]

Caledonian Railway from Brechin to Bridge of Dun

and one from the past, John Cameron's Lochty Private Railway which I think survived for a year or two after 60009 went back on the main line.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

The Embsay and Bolton Abbey is disconnected from the big railway, but it would not take much effort to put the connection back in.

Seem to recall that the quoted cost of re-instating the pointwork (at the former Embsay Junction) was eye-wateringly expensive, although these costs may have also included necessary re-signalling work and re-instating platforms 5 and 6 at Skipton.

 

[Western Gaffer]

Being pedantic also, the Far North and Kyle lines were isolated for a while in 1989/90 after the Ness Viaduct collapsed !

This potentially spins off another (sub)thread of temporary isolations - see also Machynlleth 2021, Dawlish 2014, Anglesey 1970, etc....

 

[MadMarsupial]

This potentially spins off another (sub)thread of temporary isolations - see also Machynlleth 2021, Dawlish 2014, Anglesey 1970, etc....

Llangefni to Amlwch after the "alterations" to a bridge by a HGV? Line was already listed as "out of use".

 

[Taunton]

The DLR is certainly the largest current system I can think of, far more so than either the Waterloo & City of the Isle of Wight.

There have been a few longer term temporary arrangements. Anglesey was cut off for two years 1970-72 after the Menai bridge burned down, some stock remained for a local service, including a couple of Met-Cam dmus, while the diesel locos trapped at Holyhead were recovered by sea. Likewise the Barmouth bridge rebuild, a bit more planned of course, saw an isolated dmu operation. The breach at Dawlish-Teignmouth was probably the largest recent one.

 

[MattRat]

When the South Devon seawall is hit by particularly bad waves, it cuts off parts of Devon and Cornwall from the rest of the network. I count that as a technicality.

 

[Llanigraham]

I don't think any of the standard gauge preserved railways in Wales has a mainline connection, although the Gwili Railway is only a mile or so from the main line at Carmarthen.

Well the Gwili, Pontypool & Blaenavon and the Llangollen definitely aren't, but although I'm not sure about it's current standing, the Barry Tourist certainly is, and then there are
The Amman Valley Railway
The Llanelli & Mynydd Mawr Railway
The Garw Valley
not sure what the situation is with any of those either.

 

[Spaceflower]

Tanfield railway in Co Durham - about 3-4 miles of heritage railway. There are also at least two small operational standard gauge heritage railways within the grounds of Beamish museum.

What about the Glasgow subway? - just checked, it's not st. gauge

 

[Cheshire Scot]

Lakeside and Haverthwaite