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Title: Ashburton Station Post by: Red Squirrel on February 03, 2015, 18:01:59 Apologies if this has been raised elsewhere on this forum:
Rather late in the planning process, people seem to have woken up to the fact that Dartmoor National Park Authority's masterplan for 'Chuley Road' actually refers to Ashburton Station and its approaches. At a meeting The Friends of Ashburton Station now have a website ( http://friendsofashburtonstation.co.uk/ ) as well as a Facebook Group ( https://www.facebook.com/groups/ashburtonstation ) which explain their proposals to at least rescue the buildings. Those who know the area will recognise that getting back under the A38 to Buckfastleigh is quite a big ask, but apparently there is a window of opportunity coming up in the next few years which may make this feasible. To my mind it would be nothing less than tragic if Ashburton lost this opportunity. Edit: clarify dates. Title: Re: Ashburton Station Post by: Chris from Nailsea on February 03, 2015, 23:36:35 Apologies if this has been raised elsewhere on this forum ... No, it hasn't, Red Squirrel - so many thanks for posting it here. :) Quote Those who know the area will recognise that getting back under the A38 to Buckfastleigh is quite a big ask, but apparently there is a window of opportunity coming up in the next few years which may make this feasible. I do know that area, and agree that reinstating a railway link between Ashburton and Buckfastleigh now would indeed be a challenge. I've therefore left this topic separate from the South Devon Railway topic, rather than merging them at this stage. However, it would be absolutely brilliant if it did become appropriate to merge them, at some time in the future ... ;) :D ;D Title: Re: Ashburton Station Post by: Red Squirrel on February 27, 2015, 11:08:28 This has been featured on Radio Devon (so that's what happened to Simon Bates):
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02hpnqr (wind forward to 1:52). Title: Re: Ashburton Station Post by: trainer on February 28, 2015, 19:21:28 This has been featured on Radio Devon (so that's what happened to Simon Bates): http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02hpnqr (wind forward to 1:52). I think you mean wind to 01:52:00. It avoids one hour fifty-two of Mr Bates. Title: Re: Ashburton Station Post by: Red Squirrel on September 05, 2017, 16:46:48 Just thought it worth checking back on this story to see where they've got to - and it's not all bad news:
Quote 18 months into the project DNPA was approached to make significant changes to the Masterplan in order to bring the railway branchline, lost beneath the A38 dual carriageway, back to the station at Chuley Road. DNPA allowed time for this to be considered, however, at the time, the evidence to support this alternative proposal was weak, and the decision was made to proceed with the Masterplan in its original form. Following the approval of the Masterplan the threat of a legal challenge on a technicality forced DNPA to withdraw the approved Masterplan and review again its position. Since this time DNPA has carefully considered how best to move forward. A planning application on the site has revealed flood work requirements beyond that originally anticipated; furthermore DNPA is keen that a discussion around a railway option is based upon evidence, so that the community can clearly understand what it would mean, before a decision is made. Source: Dartmoor National Park Authority (http://www.dartmoor.gov.uk/living-and-working/planning/planning-policy/site-specific-plans-and-masterplans/ashburton-masterplan) Seems like the one thing that's absent is a scintilla of interest on the part of the South Devon Railway who, presumably, would need to be involved at some point... Meanwhile, the Great Central have just demonstrated how preservationists go about achieving the impossible: Quote The new rail bridge - which will one day carry heritage trains above the Midland Main Line and connect two halves of the Great Central Railway - has been installed at Loughborough. Thank you to everyone who has donated or given time, from individuals to organisations and to the many many people who have worked on the project through the years. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GeYIyMdWP4&feature=youtu.be Title: Re: Ashburton Station Post by: Andy on September 05, 2017, 19:14:43 The amazing achievements by the Great Central, with their bridge, and the Bluebell, with the reconnection to East Grinstead, are evidence that if the will is there, and the means can be found, it is possible for preserved railways to thrive and become valuable assets to their local communities. A reconnection to Ashburton remains a tall order, though, I think, as it would mean not only a bridge under the A38 but also a lot of realignments to negotiate various sliproads and junctions off it.
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