Removal of redundant rail

[Bigman]

Is there any procedure in place that dictates what happens to redundant rails when lines are closed? I had a walk on New Wortley Recreation Ground yesterday and looked down the embankment of the old Wortley curve, and noticed that there are quite a few lengths of old bull-head rail down there. One of the lengths still seems to be in place on its sleepers. Would old track like this not normally be removed and sold for scrap or disposed of by other means? I am guessing that there are lots of examples of this around the country??

 

[John Webb]

I assume this is the remains of the chord that linked the west to south junctions? I don't know the circumstances in which the line was closed, but perhaps it was left 'in situ' pending a possible reopening? (Which never took place.) These days the cost of removal may well outweigh the income from selling the scrap metal!

 

[Railwaysceptic]

I assume this is the remains of the chord that linked the west to south junctions? I don't know the circumstances in which the line was closed, but perhaps it was left 'in situ' pending a possible reopening? (Which never took place.) These days the cost of removal may well outweigh the income from selling the scrap metal!

Yes, since the de-industrialisation of the U. K. economy, scrap metal has lost much of its value.

 

[chorleyjeff]

Do you really mean the old industries ? There is plenty of new industry which has no need or want for rail transport.

 

[Ducatist4]

Some redundant sidings near me have recently been lifted - they were last used in the 1990's when the colliery was still active. I'm not aware of any plans to do anything with the land.