Railways that were built in the 20th century (pre HS1)

[norbitonflyer]

Similar and not too far away (if they've not been mentioned before):

The chord at Newark from the GN main line to the Nottingham - Lincoln line.

The connection from the Nottingham - Lincoln line to the Grantham line near Netherfield which helped towards the closure of Nottingham Victoria.

Also the Allington chord allowing trains to Sleaford to leave from the west side of Grantham station and close the flat jubnction at Barkston

(opened 2005)

 

[Kingston Dan]

Haymarket East junction to allow the closure of Princes Street station in 1965.

 

[D6130]

The short connection between the ex-North British and Caledonian lines at Dunglass Junction, just West of Bowling....opened in 1960.

 

[leytongabriel]

Graham Rd curve from the NLL to the GE in Hackney (used for passanger trains from 1986 I think to 1992)
Flyover and diveunder to the west of Barking station (1950s)

 

[D6130]

Has anyone mentioned the Rugby flyover, built in the early 1960s as part of the West Coast Main Line electrification project?

 

[Sunil_P]

Ilford (and Seven Kings) to Newbury Park to Hainault to Woodford was built by the GER in 1903. Ilford to Newbury Park junction closed in 1947, with Seven Kings to Newbury Park enduring until 1956.

Also Ilford Flyover was built by the LNER in the 1940s.

 

[Rescars]

Has anyone mentioned the Rugby flyover, built in the early 1960s as part of the West Coast Main Line electrification project?

Was the Bletchley flyover built for the same reason?

 

[A S Leib]

Strabane and Letterkenny (1906) and Castleblayney, Keady and Armagh Railway (1909 / 10), for lines at least partially in what is currently Northern Ireland.

 

[edwin_m]

Was the Bletchley flyover built for the same reason?

It was around the same time, but the reason was to create a new freight route avoiding London and including a marshalling yard just west of Bletchley. This fell victim to the downturn in freight traffic, and very little was built apart from the flyover.

 

[birchesgreen]

Has anyone mentioned the North Warwickshire Line, opened in 1908.

 

[DiscoSteve]

Has anyone mentioned the Trafford Park Railway? This looks to have been constructed, used and decommissioned entirely in the 200th Century - peak size 26 miles in 1940.

 

[D6130]

Has anyone mentioned the Trafford Park Railway? This looks to have been constructed, used and decommissioned entirely in the 200th Century - peak size 26 miles in 1940.

Was that connected to the Manchester Ship Canal Railway System?

 

[matchmaker]

Orchardhall Goods line from Fouldubs Junction (Grangemouth) to Swing Bridge Junction (Falkirk) in 1911.

 

[Rescars]

Have we mentioned the Cairnryan Military Railway on this thread so far? Happily it was never needed to perform its role as access to an alternative deep water port if either Liverpool or Glasgow had been destroyed by Luftwaffe bombing.

 

[d9009alycidon]

Have we mentioned the Cairnryan Military Railway on this thread so far? Happily it was never needed to perform its role as access to an alternative deep water port if either Liverpool or Glasgow had been destroyed by Luftwaffe bombing.

Mentioned earlier, but brings to mind the other Military Port at Faslane which was also built during WW2, this also had a branch line linking it with the West Highland Line.

 

[DiscoSteve]

Was that connected to the Manchester Ship Canal Railway System?

I believe so but can not offer any evidence - because of where I have to work at least once a week I drive over a couple of isolated remaining sections at the southern end of John Glibert Way plus a chunk across the road near Kellogs - almost everything else is gone now

 

[Taunton]

Has anyone mentioned the North Warwickshire Line, opened in 1908.

Yes, back at post #20, this line through from Tyseley to Cheltenham was one of the many built by the GWR at that time as new main lines.

The final leg from Stonehouse to Stoke Gifford, giving a wholly GWR route through from Birmingham to Bristol, didn't get built.

 

[Belperpete]

Welsh Highland (1923), North Devon and Cornwall Junction Light Railway (1925)

And the Welsh Highland extension to Caernarfon at the end of the century. Also the Ffestiniog deviation. And the BR link between the old LNW and GW stations at Blaenau Ffestiniog. The Rheiddol extension into the BR station.

Would the Llanberis Lake and Bala Lake count?

 

[Pigeon]

Another not yet covered is about a 3 mile diversion of the North Stafford line south of Kidsgrove, to avoid a series of decaying tunnels, at electrification time in the mid-1960s. It diverts along an adjacent parallel valley. Always a puzzle to me why the original railway builders tunnelled under the low hills when this nearby level land was there all along.

It's not that level. There's a fair old bank where it goes over the escarpment at the northern end, including the bit through the new tunnel and the adjacent cutting works; the new alignment has already got significantly higher than the old one even in the short distance between Kidsgrove station and the point where the old one disappears from view. The original builders wished to avoid this, but when the sparkies came along they no longer thought it would matter.

 

[Tio Terry]

East Coast Main Line Selby Diversion.

Ipswich Bacon Factory Curve.

 

[Gloster]

Not a completely new line, but in the 1930s the LMS built a lengthy diversion to avoid a dodgy tunnel on the ex-North Staffs branch to Cheadle.

 

[Magdalia]

East Coast Main Line Selby Diversion.

See #3.

Ipswich Bacon Factory Curve.

Not 20th century, opened in 2014.

 

[MadMarsupial]

I believe so but can not offer any evidence - because of where I have to work at least once a week I drive over a couple of isolated remaining sections at the southern end of John Glibert Way plus a chunk across the road near Kellogs - almost everything else is gone now

Yes they were linked by the Detroit Bridge. I have a feeling that the Trafford Park Railway was, at least for a time, operated by the Manchester Ship Canal Co. Off topic I suppose but here is a link to info about the Detroit Bridge https://www.nationaltransporttrust....r-ship-canal-railway---detroit-bridge-salford

 

[DiscoSteve]

was this the one that one end on the south side rested on an island whcih latterly had a pub extension built on to it before being demolished for Metrolink? The furthest of these two?

 

[Taunton]

was this the one that one end on the south side rested on an island which latterly had a pub extension built on to it before being demolished for Metrolink? The furthest of these two?

Yes, the furthest of the two in the picture. More recently it was floated away on a barge round to the largest of the old docks, up from the Lowry/BBC/etc, where it was placed at right angles across the halfway point up the dock as a footbridge, readily visible on Google Maps..

 

[SCH117X]

The connection from the Nottingham - Lincoln line to the Grantham line near Netherfield which helped towards the closure of Nottingham Victoria.

That was a reinstatement rather than a complete new build. The line from Grantham, opening on 13 July 1850, originally connecting onto the Midland there. The connection was removed following the opening the line to Nottingham London Road on 3 October 1857.

 

[Hagbard Celine]

Newburgh and North Fife railway 1909. (NBR)

Lauder Light Railway 1901. (NBR)

Cairn Valley Light Railway 1905. (GSWR)

 

[davyp]

On 1st July 1902 the Midland Railway opened a new line from New Mills South Junction to Heaton Mersey Station Junction to allow access to Manchester Central Station rather than share Manchester London Road with the LNWR.

 

[steamybrian]

Two short chord lines-
site of former Lewisham Road station to Lewisham and Lewisham (Courthill Jn) to Hither Green opened in 1929.

Unsure if the following has been mentioned-
new line Ramsgate to Broadstairs opened in 1926 in connection with eliminating duplicate routes in Thanet.
Torrington- Halwill opened 1925 closed 1965

 

[weepingwillowb]

The Royal Victoria Hospital, Netley, line, between the hospital and Netley station. It opened on the 18th April 1900, closed before 1958.

Netley Military Cemetery - research about the people who are laid to rest there - RVH Railway Station

New page

www.netley-military-cemetery.co.uk