Approval gained for Dunstable heritage railway scheme - money has to be found
I have set up an e mail group to give information on the idea.
http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/Dunstable_Railway_Centre/
Website
http://www.freewebs.com/south_bedfordshire_railway/
For pictures of the disused line to Leighton Buzzard see
Welwyn to Leighton Buzzard
http://www.lostlines.fotopic.net/p24800944.html
http://www.lostlines.fotopic.net/c753257.html
Dunstable to Leighton Buzzard
http://disused-rlys.fotopic.net/c923788.html
Sewell Cutting
http://www.southbeds.gov.uk/leisure_culture/parks/Sewell_Cutting.aspx
Stanbridgeford
http://clutch.open.ac.uk/schools/greenleas-rail01/Londonnorth3a.html
http://web.ukonline.co.uk/cj.tolley/rjd/rjd-035.htm
Local History
Dunstable history
http://www.localhistories.org/dunstable.html
Luton history
http://www.localhistories.org/luton.html
Dunstable Town Council
http://www.dunstable.gov.uk/pages/About Dunstable.htm
http://www.dunstable.gov.uk/pages/heritage.htm
http://www.galaxy.bedfordshire.gov..../0.digitised_resources/dunstable_timeline.htm
Houghton Regis Town Council
http://www.houghtonregis-tc.org.uk/
http://www.houghtonregis-tc.org.uk/infopage.asp?infoid=218
http://www.houghtonregis-tc.org.uk/infopage.asp?infoid=269
Chiltern Downs Gateway Centre
http://www.gos.gov.uk/goeast/news/newsarchive/565453/
http://www.architype.co.uk/chilterns.html
Grove Theatre
http://www.grovetheatre.co.uk/
Priory Church Dunstable
http://www.houghtonregis-tc.org.uk/infopage.asp?infoid=269
http://www.dunstableparish.org.uk/ptrrhint.htm
http://www.galaxy.bedfordshire.gov....stable_digitisation_az_topic_priorychurch.htm
http://gallery.nen.gov.uk/gallery52-.html
In a letter dated 19 April 2001 the Luton to Dunstable bus way project of Luton Borough Council stated to me that the potential heritage value of the disused railway line is an issue that has been realised and the ongoing environmental evaluation does indicate that if practicable then a short length of heritage railway could be retained to realise the heritage value of the disused railway line although this should not be at the expense of compromising the bus way scheme.
Following the negotiations with the transport strategy and bus way teams at Luton Borough Council since April 2008 (protracted for both of us!) I am pleased to be able to state that the bus way team ARE definitely prepared to entertain the idea of a short stretch of railway line being retained as a "heritage" railway line.
The main features that have been established are:
1. The Luton to Dunstable railway line closed to heavy freight on 30 April 1989 when the last oil trains to the oil sidings oil supply plant at Tavistock Street Dunstable were withdrawn.
2. Currently the disused rail line is merely a siding leading out from Luton which has been disconnected from the national rail network and has no proper road access.
3. Currently the "'society'" to promote the scheme is in the form of an e-mail group
4. The track gauge would be standard gauge 4 foot 8 1/2 inches
5. Length approximately 400 yard running line, may be possible to extend later
[*]
[*]Start from Dunstable High Street North - Capron Road at buffer stop at terminus of the current disused Luton to Dunstable railway line
6. End at Dunstable South Apex rail Triangle
7. Museum, maintenance and restoration Depot area and land to provide road access to the railway track is not proposed to be the vacant land at oil sidings site as this is zoned for residential in application SB/09/00171 of 18 March 2009
8. Museum, maintenance and restoration Depot area and land to provide road access to the railway track is proposed to be the existing pallet store land area off Tavistock Street Dunstable (possibly also the machinery hire centre beside it) which is to be redeveloped in the application SB/09/00171 of 18 March 2009
9. This land is linked to the disused railway line via an existing descending formation and spur line
10. The track between this spur and the pallet store - oil sidings land was lifted in 1990s and so in the heritage railway proposals the track would be extended back in to the pallet store land
11. The heritage railway project does NOT control any of the land needed for the scheme
12. An agreement will have to be struck for the use of the strip of land where the rail line will be retained along the disused railway corridor with the councils
13. Funding for the land lease or ownership (of pallet store land etc) from the private owner (which has not yet been secured) is a major requirement for the scheme to progress
14. Other initial funding will be needed for retention of items such as track from the disused railway line (to be used as points and sidings in the museum and depot) when the track is lifted
15. Also funding will be needed for retention of many sleepers from the disused Luton to Dunstable railway line, old fencing posts, bricks from demolished bridges etc which will be re - used for re - sleepering the proposed heritage railway, as fencing along the proposed heritage railway and to build structures such as platforms etc
16. Later funding will be needed for retention of the existing railway footbridge carrying Dog Kennel Path across the disused railway line and re - installion of this footbridge along the path leading from Crabtree Way for the retained rail line to run beneath it
17. Later there will be many redundant items from the national network otherwise disposed of for scrap which will be needed i.e. signalling equipment and so on
18. Initial services will be with a Diesel Multiple Unit with steam or diesel locomotives following later on
I received a letter dated 29 April 2009 on 05 May 2009 which states the terms upon which Luton Borough Council are prepared to deal with the proposed heritage railway project.
The bus way team at Luton Borough Council are going out to tender in the next few weeks to appoint a designer and contractor on the bus way scheme, and by this autumn they will be in discussion with the preferred contractor to finalise the work that is needed. The construction work will begin in mid - 2010.
In their letter of 29 April 2009, the transport strategy and bus way teams at Luton Borough Council state that if they are to advise their contractor that the track between High Street North and South Apex of Triangle should remain in situ and that other rail features (such as the point work along the branch at west apex and either end of the loop, and enough extra track for the sidings in the land to the south of the rail embankment at Tavistock Street) should be retained and stored at expense to the heritage railway organisation then the transport strategy and bus way teams at Luton Borough Council will need a FIRM COMMITMENT from the heritage railway by this autumn.
By this Luton Borough Council mean
1. That the heritage railway organisation must be formally set up
2. That there would be a high level of certainty that funding of the proposed heritage railway centre would be forthcoming by early to mid - 2010
3. Luton Borough Council would require the completion of a legal agreement between the new heritage railway organisation and the council which would cover the mechanism by which the heritage railway organisation funding would contribute to the additional costs incurred by the bus way contractor.
To be able to meet these terms, if the heritage railway project is to progress we need to get a society established and company arm registered to provide a legal entity for the council to deal with set up and then funding and the required legal mechanisms in place, before the autumn of 2009.
It looks increasingly likely that the clearance of the vegetation [which is a serious problem along the disused railway from Luton to Dunstable, especially within Dunstable at the south face of triangle where the rails are obscured between Crabtree Way and the west apex] and the removal of the long - disused track will be undertaken by the contractors building the bus way after the land has been purchased from BRB Residuary LTD. This is because BRB Residuary LTD could not dispose of the track and get any kind of reasonable return on it, to off set the high costs of vegetation clearance and track removal, especially after the collapse in scrap steel prices in late 2008.
In their letter of 29 April 2009 reiterating the views stated in their letter of 22 October 2008 the transport strategy and bus way teams at Luton Borough Council state that the latest estimates of the cost of the Luton to Houghton Regis bus way are very close to the total government grant and that this imposes very serious limitations on the items for the proposed heritage railway that can be funded from the bus way grant.
In their letter of 22 October 2008 the transport strategy and bus way teams at Luton Borough Council state that only a handful of items (many of which are needed in connection with the bus way - open space project anyway) can be funded by the bus way project.
As Kirkby and Diamond, agents for the landowner of the pallet store land at Tavistock Street, and Central Bedfordshire Council have said, there are some very serious gaps in funding for the proposed heritage railway project, the main outstanding funding items which are of immediate priority include funding for things such as
- The lease or purchase of the pallet store land off Tavistock Street Dunstable (in line with the outline application SB/09/00171 the proposed use of the vacant land alongside the pallet store has been shelved at least for now)
- For the retention and storage of the other rail features when the track is lifted in 2010 (such as the point work along the branch at west apex and either end of the loop, and enough extra plain track for the sidings in the land to the south of the rail embankment at Tavistock Street, and enough spare sleepers to re - sleeper the proposed heritage railway, bricks and bridge and level crossing componants)
The location of the proposed heritage railway could mean that it will be a good position for attracting grant aid funding.
The proposed heritage railway would be the only standard gauge heritage railway in Bedfordshire and near to Hertfordshire (which is only a few miles away from Dunstable and literally borders Luton) and so the unique nature of the attraction in the area would provide a major boost to tourism in the area.
Luton and Dunstable have levels of unemployment above the average for the area and the proposed heritage railway is situated in one of the more deprived areas of Dunstable (Northfield ward) to the North of the town, which has none of the tourist attractions found elsewhere in the town. To help the deprived areas the proposed heritage railway hopes to provide training and work placements for those on day releases from Further Education colleges and those on Department for Work Family and Pensions and Employment Service schemes. It is hoped that the location of the railway in one of the more deprived areas of Dunstable will help to encourage interest in such participation because those in receipt of these schemes will be all the more aware of it.
According to Bedfordshire & Luton Tourism Growth Strategy 2007 -2012 Bedfordshire does not have the best of perceptions for tourism because it is easy to pass through it on one's way out from London and because of negative perceptions of the county and poor attractions, restaurants and hotels.
In 2002 - 2003 the East of England Development tourism surveys identified Bedfordshire (from Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, Essex and Bedfordshire) as being at the bottom in terms of public awareness and perceptions. Despite their long historys, Luton (a Saxon town dating from AD 700s) and Dunstable (which dates back to Roman times, abandoned until 1100s), have a poor image. Bedfordshire and Luton 2007 - 2012 tourism growth strategy identified Luton as having particular problems with its image.
Only 5% of jobs in Bedfordshire depended on tourism in 2003, most visitors were 'day trippers' (which create the maximum impact in terms of congestion and loadings on buses, coaches and trains etc), there were no '5 star' hotels anywhere in Bedfordshire and a much higher proportion of visitors to the county were coming on business travel or to visit friends or relatives, than was the case anywhere else in East of England. The difference in hotel occupation between the quiet time (Jan - March) and summer peak (June - August) was much less than elsewhere.
Since then the local councils have made concerted efforts to change matters. There have been several local tourist attractions opened in the area - the Dunstable theatre, the Chiltern Downs Centre near Whipsnade between Luton and Dunstable, (both in 2007), the Carnival Arts Centre in Luton (2008), the Dunstable heritage centre run by the twon council, which add to the established attractions such as the Whipsnade Zoo, Priory Gardens and Church.
The proposed heritage railway will aim to continue the above trend.
The London Olympics are to be held only 40 miles away in 2012, and the location is only a few miles from London Luton Airport near to a direct transport link from the airport. Luton is on a direct train link to and from Gatwick Airport and the station is served by the direct transport link from London Luton. So the proposed heritage railway will be in a good position to attract visitors who had come to the 2012 London Olympic Games. The location of the proposed heritage railway is only 30 miles from London and so it would draw passengers from a generally wide catchment area. So the proposed heritage railway could attract a lot of tourists to the county who would not have come otherwise both during the 2012 London Olympics and later.
What exactly is proposed at Dunstable.
What will the attraction consist of when up and running?
1 – A compound approximately ½ acre in area opening off the disused railway line at NE corner with road access at SW corner.
Compound already ringed by steel palisade fence, which would be retained and topped with barbed wire.
Compound already has power, water, a portakabin office and CCTV, which would be retained.
Three or four sidings would be laid starting from an access point from the disused railway line in the NE corner. These sidings would be used for rolling stock storage, restoration and maintenance.
Some of the land at the site used to store items recovered from Luton to Dunstable railway line when it is demolished such as track and sleepers (stage one) and bricks, footbridge components and road bridge components (stage two).
2 - The running line would be the existing single line from High Street North buffer stop to South Apex of Rail Triangle 400 yards in length.
3 – The running line would be linked to the depot by the old oil depot spur, which is still in situ as far as the boundary fence between the disused railway line and the pallet store.
4 – A path leading from the corner of Gilpin Street and Tavistock Street would cross the oil spur and the single track running line over a level crossing.
5 – The level crossing would have to be provided with gates and a gatekeepers hut. The gates would be locked and the lock released via roding from a lever from a nearby signal box.
6 – The signal box would control signals protecting the level crossing and the nearby oil spur junction, and starter signals at either end of the line.
7 – There would be an access path from the depot to a passenger platform on South side of the railway embankment at High Street North.
8 – Basic ticket issue kiosk would be provided within the depot area by start of the access path, a small shop and a museum would be provided nearby (possibly the building at SW corner of old oil site within what is currently a vacant section of land once used by a machinery centre).
9 – Note that the land along the south face of the old railway Triangle and alongside Capron Road – High Street North would be public open space, apart from the narrow single line railway formation (hence the path leading from Gilpin Street).
10 – The train service would initially be a Diesel Multiple Unit, which would run at weekends April to October, one or two days per week Spring Bank Holiday school half term and over Summer school holidays, at weekends during December, with some evening operation at summer solstice (21 June), Halloween (31 October) and Firework Night (5 November).
Running Costs: -
Insurance,
Fuel,
Power and water bills,
Material for museum,
Shop stock,
Tickets and leaflets,
Maintenance of DMU,
Maintenance of Track,
Maintenance of Signalling and telecommunications.
Can anybody make any suggestions?
Latest news
Luton Borough Council have told me that the Luton to Dunstable bus way project has finally gone out to tender, that a contractor will be appointed at end of 2009, then construction of the bus way will begin.
Next year Luton Borough Council will have to clear the thick undergrowth and then lift the track from the disused railway from Luton to Dunstable themselves - before they can even start the bus way.
Luton Borough Council have offered to retain the track from High Street North to the Southern Apex of the railway Triangle in situ, and then to retain some items such as spare items of pointwork, plain track and sleepers, bridge componants, level crossing componants and bricks; at cost to the heritage railway project.
The landowners BRB Residuary LTD have had problems selling the track so it will be sold for what they can get for it (preservationists be aware). So there will be no problems in getting the track needed for the proposed heritage railway - there is 6.5 miles of track up for grabs and the council proposes to leave the stretch we need in situ for us!
Development plans* for the land at Tavistock Street mean that the proposed 'base' (which will provide road access, a small museum, rail sidings for restoration and maintanance and so on) has moved from the disused land to the land currently used as a pallet store which has better road access and has direct access on to the disused railway line, via the old spur line which once led in to the oil depot sidings, which is still in situ.*See application number 00171 of 18 March 2009
http://62.253.210.148/pap/searchresult.asp?appnumber=09/0171
After the development plans came out in March 2009 (for the entire of the old oil sidings and oil supply depot site at Tavistock Street - High Street North Dunstable) - the 'depot' proposal changed - it now is proposed to use the pallet store (built along the East part of the oil site nearest to the old oil rail access in 1990s) as 'depot' and 'road access' - the rail access to the old oil land from the disused rail line is still in situ up to the boundary fence of the pallet store and the road access is a lot better, also although the plot is half the size it could be a lot cheaper - £75k pa lease for the vacant land with no current - poor potential road access and no current - poor potential rail access (only via an awkward graded entry to be discussed) was too much as was said!
Security for this land is in place - the site is ringed by pallisade fences and there is some CCTV (the retention of this will need to be negotiated!) I expect some barbed wire over the top of the fence and some extra (old? - where from?) CCTV cameras will be a good idea.
The Luton to Dunstable railway line closed to freight on 30 April 1989.
In 1990 Luton Borough Council began promoting the idea of the disused but mothballed railway line being converted into a guided bus way.
http://www.luton.gov.uk/internet/tr...port_planning/projects/luton dunstable busway
In 2001, Luton Borough Council responsible for promoting the guided bus way along the old Luton to Dunstable railway indicated that the potential heritage value of the rail line had been realised and if practicable a short length of line could be retained for heritage purposes. I explored the possibilities with the council in the summer of 2001 and we came to the conclusion that a base on a dell hole of waste land (formerly oil depot sidings) off Tavistock Street along High Street North to the North of Dunstable Town centre and a short length of line along the old line towards Dunstable Park was possible.
Following a public enquiry
http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/twa/ir/lutondunstabletranslinkinspe1032
the busway gained the statutary authorisation in December 2006
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2006/20063118.htm
and in 2008 the approval was given for the funding for the bus way.
I have been liasing with the Luton Borough Council, South Bedfordshire District Council - Central Bedfordshire Council, and Dunstable Town Council on this myself since April 2008.
For the proposed railway to go ahead the funding must be raised by next year. We now have the go - ahead but we have to organise and get the funding.
The idea would be to operate a 400 yard section of the old line with a DMU, with loco haulage and steam haulage following later on. In the long term once A5 bypass is completed there could be possibilities for extension of the running line across Dunstable High Street North (currently A5) and Brewers Hill Road then beside the driveway along the old railway line leading to industrial premises, towards the Sewell Trail.
The business plan for the scheme
A business plan is under preparation as requested by Dunstable Town Council.
The draft business plan is divided into into three sub - divisions which are :-
1 - the costs for creating the rail link
2 - the associated depot costs and
3 - the associated office costs
Plus, there will be sub - divisions covering the basic business disiplines, some of which have 'roots' in the first three
4 - Marketing
5 - Human Resources Management
6 - Finance
The draft of the business plan sub - divides the task of setting up a heritage railway in to three 'stages' -
1 - securing the necessary infrastructure (the land, the track when the remainder is lifted, setting up a company and getting the Section 192 planning permissions (based on old railway powers in 1855 Luton Dunstable and Welwyn Junction Railway Act 1856 Luton Dunstable and Welwyn Junction Railway Act transferred to Luton Borough Council under Statutary Instrument 3118 of 2006 then transferred to us under Section 42 triggering development rights in 1995 General Permitted Development Order);
2 - developing the basic infrastructure up to a standard when static display becomes possible (rolling stock displayed in sidings, museum displays in vans or portacabins etc)
3 - and working this infrastructure up to being able to run trains (TWA application, installing signalling, training staff, insurance etc).
The above sub - divisions create 'threads' of cost of the rail link, depot and office costs and the business disiplines which run through the three stages of the securing the infrastructure, development of the infrastructure and bringing up to operating standard of the infrastructure.
There will be some descriptive material at the start of each stage describing the current (or projected in 2 and 3) state of play with regard to land, organisation etc.
The supreme goal is a railway museum and depot at pallet store with a short running line along the adjacent disused line. There will be sub goals within each stage relating to the achievement of securing the necessary infrastructure (1), developing the basic infrastructure up to a standard when static display becomes possible (2) and and working this infrastructure up to being able to run trains (3). Achievement of the goals will be measured by scores at the end of each stage and at the end of the business plan.
There will be material on the benefits of achieving the supreme goal.
Prospects for extension
Once the first section - admittedly very short - of line is completed, once the A5 bypass is built then there is the possibility that we could extend the line. This would be via a reinstated bridge across the by then former A5, then a short line beside the council offices and fire station to a level crossing across Brewers Hill Road, then alongside the driveway along where the old railway line leading to the industrial premises nearby and out into the countryside beyond. We could certainly make it to link up with the Sewell Trail along the old railway line - if not beyond.
As you could imagine the cost of the High St North - A5 bridge could be high - somebody did once say that starting from the old railway buffer stop at High Street North, you were into a million for the new bridge which would be needed across the main road. BUT the cost could be drastically reduced by salvaging the materials from one of the old railway bridges along the Luton to Dunstable railway line (say from Church Street bridge) - the steel spans, sides, decking and tracks and the blue bricks from the abutments, which would be sold off at scrap prices or sent to landfill (the cost of demolition has already put paid to BRB Residuary LTD's interest in only lifting the track on the Luton Dunstable line themselves so cost for materials would not be high).
This method is said to be a good way of cutting the cost to the Bluebell Railway of reinstating Ardingly viaduct (they got some steel spans etc from a road bridge project in 1990s).
But there could be landscaping issues at High Street North, as after the demolition of the old railway bridge in 1969 this has become an attractive area. Then there are the space issues in reinstating a single track through the land to Brewers Hill Road as the old station at Dunstable North was demolished in 1970s (a lot of wriggling as there is only just space), and some of this is used by car parks for the council offices nearby.
If the line was to extend across Brewers Hill Road then a level crossing would be needed. The materials for this could be salvaged from the existing level crossing on the Luton to Dunstable railway line across Court Road. The materials would otherwise face the same fate as the rest of the old branch line - scrap or landfill.
The Dunstable to Leighton Buzzard rail line was about 7 and a 1/2 miles long, although there are some housing developments along the old track bed near to Leighton Buzzard and the installation of any modern signalled junction with the West Coast Main Line would be a problematical and expensive business, in about 20 years it could be theoretically possible to run as far as Stanbridgeford station and ultimately to run about 6 and 1/2 miles out from Dunstable to the outskirts of Leighton Buzzard, through some very attractive scenary. (Problem being the A505 road across the Sewell Trail and then the A505 road along some of the trackbed beyond Stanbridgeford station).
Given that the location is only 30 miles from London, there are no other standard guage railways in Bedfordshire and no heritage railways at all in hertfordshire, I think that the location has tremendous potential.
What if Luton to Dunstable railway was re - opened?
It would be interesting to speculate on what would happen to the heritage railway project if the Luton to Dunstable railway was re - opened after all this time and all that has happened, or if it had been re - opened in 2004 - 5 as proposed by Laing Rail and referred to on the e-mail group.
http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/Dunstable_Railway_Centre/message/202
It is worth answering the question : What would the effect of abandonment or curtailment of the bus way scheme be on the heritage railway project?
In a letter to me in 2001 BRB Residuary LTD stated that in the event of the bus way project not going ahead then the company would want to investigate further 'transport' uses for the land along the Luton to Dunstable railway line. A heritage railway line using antique rolling stock along a short length of the line on a occasional basis would not qualify as a 'transport' use.
In 2004 Laing Rail put forward a proposal to re -open the Luton to Dunstable railway line using diesel trains to provide a 15 minute frequency service throughout the day.
http://www.lutontoday.co.uk/duns-news/Rail-firm-puts-branch-link.757846.jp This would of course qualify as a 'transport' use for the land as BRB requires.
There is a common view that if the proposal had come to fruition then it would take the place of the heritage railway, exemplified by the following comment: "Personally, I wish Laing Rail's proposal in early 1994 had come to fruition".
If you read the article carefully, Laing Rail was suggesting a rail service starting at Dunstable's White Lion Retail Park, with an intermediate station at Chaul End and/or Dallow Road to a branch line railhead in Luton (the article does not specify where).
But in Laing Rail's plans the railway between White Lion Retail Park (beside Court Road) and High Street North would remain abandoned. (Probably because of the extensive track renewals and track modifications needed along this stretch, and the high cost of land acquisitions and modifications needed to provide a station at High Street North, balanced against the low projected usage from the deprived nature of the 'Northfield' ward served by this section of the railway line).
In 1994 when the multi -modal redevelopment study examining options to redevelop the disused Luton to Dunstable railway line was presented one option examined was to extend some of the 'Thameslink' trains to start at Dunstable. But judging by Laing Rail's decision, based on the deprived nature of the Northfield ward 'Thameslink' (or whatever they are now called), which is a 'commuter' railway that operates a service from Bedfordshire and the South to London, would have even less interest in operating the White Lion Retail Park to High St North railway line than the locally facing 'Laing Rail' option.
So the section of the disused Luton to Dunstable railway between White Lion Retail Park (beside Court Road) and High Street North could theoretically become the 'heritage' railway section.
This length is arguabley the best along the disused Luton to Dunstable railway line for such a purpose. From Court Road it runs through the beautiful Dunstable Park along a wooded corridor that has been an area of developing ecological interest since 1990s and is a designated county wildlife site, then after a brief sojourn in the woodland at the cutting beneath Dog Kennel Path, the railway runs along a wide corridor of open grassland at the South face of the Triangle that has been a designated county wildlife site since the 1990s, before running back beneath the trees along the embankment approaching High Street North.
There are the obvious obstacles of developers interests in the line to surmount. But compared to the planning situation in the 1980s* this problem has eased in recent years. To begin with the disused railway corridor has been an area of developing ecological interest since 1990s and is now a designated county wildlife site, so it now seems to be unlikely that any housing along the South face of the Triangle would be approved. Also the land now a designated passenger transport corridor and so such a housing development could be problematic unless the land was re - designated or space was left for a single line railway, the old railway powers contained in the old railway acts of 1855 - 59 would appear to require the latter option.
Turning to the stretch of line from South Apex to Court Road, there is a public right of way running along the disused railway corridor between Court Road and Dog Kennel Path alongside Dunstable Park so there is little to be gained by adding a second along the course of the old railway line. Like the remainder of the disused Luton to Dunstable railway, the land is a passenger transport corridor and the disused railway corridor in this area has been an area of developing ecological interest since 1990s and is now a designated county wildlife site, so it seems unlikely that any of the old railway land near to Court Road could be included in development plans for the Park beside Court Road.
So given obstacles to any other form of development, in the event of the bus way project not going ahead the heritage railway could be in a good position to take advantage of the opportunity presented along the section of the disused Luton to Dunstable railway between White Lion Retail Park (beside Court Road) and High Street North, given the lack of interest in the Dunstable line from Laing Rail and likely lack from anyone else.
Such a deal would have to be done with BRB Residuary LTD who currently own the line.
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being local at the time that they were there, look at the state of the stock that was left behind the white lion retail park, it was grafitied, smashed up, burnt out very quickely, the area near the college and leisure centre is not the best of places to keep stock/locos and heritage stuff.
The vehicle burnt out was already burnt out when it came there, but yes there were problems with vandalism and security was poor.
