Railway lines which never got built but should've (or built differently)?

[Transilien]

The Milngavie branch to the north of Glasgow is a bit odd. You would think it would run further out, but it never was (except for a short extension to a goods yard).

I wonder what it will have looked like if it was either extended to the closed railway at Strathblane or to Bishoobriggs- the later route would be very busy today.

The Milingave Branch really does seem like it should extend further north than it currently does. The area north of Glasgow has a lack of development, which is strange for such an important city. One would think that if the line was extended to Aberfoyle or eventually Callender, places on the way like Blafron and Aberfoyle would become commuter towns much like towns south of Glasgow, like Kilwinning or Gourock

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

For built differently the Lancaster and Carlisle Railway going through Kendal, up Longsleddle, under Gatescarth Pass and then along Haweswater to reach Penrith would have been an easier route than going over Shap via the Lune Gorge (although harder to construct). The route was surveyed but ruled out but if it hadn't been that presents a few interesting "what if?" scenarios.

• With no railway in the Lune Gorge and over Shap would the Midland Railway have gone further West rather than build the S&C?
  • If the MR had built a route over Shap would they have neen able to agree to share the LNWR route Penrith-Carlisle, or have to build a duplicate route?
• Would Haweswater Reservoir have been built by the Manchester Corporation 1929-35 if they had to re-route the West Coast Mainline to higher ground? (I presume the 1840s railway would have been fairly close to the original lake)
• Would a Kendal-Windermere branch have survived Beeching? (I understand part of the reason Oxenholme-Windermere survived was because of all-year connections to Kendal)
• Would the early 1970s WCML Northern electrification have been harder to justify if an easier route had been built avoiding Shap?

I've taken to wondering why Joseph Locke sent the Lancaster & Carlisle via Oxenholme and Grayrigg instead of going up the Lune valley all the way to Tebay?
Presumably the links enabled at Carnforth towards Barrow and Workington made the difference, as they were mineral rich.

 

[D6130]

I've taken to wondering why Joseph Locke sent the Lancaster & Carlisle via Oxenholme and Grayrigg instead of going up the Lune valley all the way to Tebay?
Presumably the links enabled at Carnforth towards Barrow and Workington made the difference, as they were mineral rich.

I recall reading somewhere that there was vociferous opposition to the line passing through the Lake District on environmental grounds. The Lakeland poets William and Dorothy Wordsworth were among the chief protagonists, IIRC

 

[Helvellyn]

I've taken to wondering why Joseph Locke sent the Lancaster & Carlisle via Oxenholme and Grayrigg instead of going up the Lune valley all the way to Tebay?
Presumably the links enabled at Carnforth towards Barrow and Workington made the difference, as they were mineral rich.

According to Wikipedia his original plan would have done that and put Kirkby Lonsdale and Sedburgh on the WCML. He'd have also gone further East than Shap, including tunnels. It's worth reading the article to see how the route came about due to various compromises and vested interests.

Locke's original route presents an even more fascinating what-if, because Kendal/Windermere could just have been a very long branch from Lancaster/Carnforth.

 

[Magdalia]

I recall reading somewhere that there was vociferous opposition to the line passing through the Lake District on environmental grounds. The Lakeland poets William and Dorothy Wordsworth were among the chief protagonists, IIRC

Locke's original route presents an even more fascinating what-if, because Kendal/Windermere could just have been a very long branch from Lancaster/Carnforth.

Wordsworth opposed the Windermere branch and wrote a poem about it "On the projected Kendal and Windermere Railway".

Is then no nook of English ground secure
From rash assault? Schemes of retirement sown
In youth, and 'mid the busy world kept pure
As when their earliest flowers of hope were blown,
Must perish; how can they this blight endure?
And must he too the ruthless change bemoan
Who scorns a false utilitarian lure
'Mid his paternal fields at random thrown?
Baffle the threat, bright Scene, from Orresthead
Given to the pausing traveler's rapturous glance:
Plead for thy peace, thou beautiful romance
Of nature; and, if human hearts be dead,
Speak, passing winds; ye torrents, with your strong
And constant voice, protest against the wrong.