Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway (GWSR) - heritage line

[whole diary]

[TonyK]

Planning permission has been granted for the new station buildings at Broadway. See here for further information

They are cracking on with it - see their blog. There is an open night at Broadway Station on Friday 23 May, 1830 to 2030. Poster here

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Century-old railway bridge restored


The 13m (43ft) wide bridge is the largest of five being repaired as part of plans to reopen a further two miles of line into Broadway

The ^250,000 restoration of a Worcestershire bridge, to be used by a heritage railway line, has finished.

Work on the bridge across Station Road, Broadway, took 12 weeks.

The century-old bridge will eventually carry the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway's (GWSR) trains running between Cheltenham and Broadway.

Alan Bielby, from GWSR, said the bridge's steelwork had been corroded and damaged by lorries hitting it.

With a 13m (43ft) wide span, it is the largest of five bridges being repaired as part of plans to reopen a further two miles of line into Broadway.

[Electric train]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Century-old railway bridge restored


The 13m (43ft) wide bridge is the largest of five being repaired as part of plans to reopen a further two miles of line into Broadway

The ^250,000 restoration of a Worcestershire bridge, to be used by a heritage railway line, has finished.

Work on the bridge across Station Road, Broadway, took 12 weeks.

The century-old bridge will eventually carry the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway's (GWSR) trains running between Cheltenham and Broadway.

Alan Bielby, from GWSR, said the bridge's steelwork had been corroded and damaged by lorries hitting it.

With a 13m (43ft) wide span, it is the largest of five bridges being repaired as part of plans to reopen a further two miles of line into Broadway.

I have a share in that bridge ............ oh and the others that are being repaired

A couple of blogs worth reading
http://bridgestobroadway.blogspot.co.uk/
http://broadwaygwsr.blogspot.co.uk/

[John R]

And if anyone else wishes to purchase shares as part of the Bridges appeal and help it close the 30k gap to the 500k target then you have until the end of October to do so. There's a minimum subscription of ^100 and tax relief of ^30 under the EIS^▸ (Enters Into Service) (if you are a taxpayer), more information is available by following the links on www.gwsr.com.  (With apologies for the shameless plug.)   

[Chris from Nailsea]

(With apologies for the shameless plug.)   

We shall overlook it on this occasion, in view of the relevant and commendable nature of that particular appeal. 

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway extension work begins


Plans for a new station in Broadway have been approved

Work has begun to extend a heritage railway after a public shares scheme topped its ^500,000 target.

The Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway (GWSR) will now be extended to the Cotswolds village of Broadway.

Shares in the rail line, which currently runs between Cheltenham and Laverton, went on sale last September, raising a total of ^565,000.

Finance director Chris Bristow said the extra money was "a bonus" and track laying would begin next year.

When finished, the line will run to 14 miles long.

Mr Bristow said some investors had donated more than ^10,000 to the project, which would see trains return to Broadway for the first time since 1960.

Work to repair five "deteriorated and abandoned" bridges along the proposed route has almost been completed, he said.

[Oberon]

I hope this line will not be "finished" when services reach Broadway. Without a connection to the national network, this line, agreeable though it is, will simply be adults  playing with trains. A connection with Network Rail at Honeybourne must be the ultimate goal.

[SandTEngineer]

I hope this line will not be "finished" when services reach Broadway. Without a connection to the national network, this line, agreeable though it is, will simply be adults  playing with trains. A connection with Network Rail at Honeybourne must be the ultimate goal.

Space for a new 'heritage' platform was allowed for when the 2012 resignalling was carried out at Honeybourne.

[Red Squirrel]

I hope this line will not be "finished" when services reach Broadway. Without a connection to the national network, this line, agreeable though it is, will simply be adults  playing with trains. A connection with Network Rail at Honeybourne must be the ultimate goal.

Connecting with NR^» (Network Rail - home page) at both ends would be even better!

[Red Squirrel]

From Crossrail:

Brunel^s bricks breathe again
Tuesday 16th December 2014

By Nick Mann



Costain and Crossrail have donated a large number of Brunel-era bricks to the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway (GWSR).

The bricks will help reconstructthe charity railway^s Broadway station in Worcestershire. They come from Costain^s Crossrail Paddington New Yard site in West London where Crossrail archaeologists uncovered the foundations to Isambard Kingdom Brunel^s 1852 Great Western Railway Locomotive Depot.

There is a great deal of interest in archaeology on the Crossrail project and to celebrate the finds the project opened its doors to the public. This publicity prompted the GWSR to make contact with Crossrail to secure 20 tonnes of bricks.

The GWSR is a volunteer-run heritage railway which runs along the border of Gloucestershire and Worcestershire in the West Midlands, England.  The GWSR has restored and reopened 12 miles of line, operating between Cheltenham Racecourse and the site of Laverton Halt. The company is currently raising ^1.5 million to extend 3 miles (4.8 km) northwards to Broadway, and will eventually begin working on plans to extend a further 6 miles (9.7 km) to Honeybourne, (where an island platform has since been rebuilt).

Crossrail Lead Archaeologist, Jay Carver, said "It is an appropriate legacy to be able to reuse some of the original bricks from the Great Western Railway for this purpose. We are helping to recreate the past while building a railway of the future.^

Costain Environmental Manager for the project, Matt Brinklow said ^We are always looking for ways to reuse materials and the bricks which once formed the floor of an old turntable structure can now live on in another rail related project.^

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Volunteers recruited for Broadway station rebuild


An artist's impression of the new station at Broadway

Volunteers are being recruited by steam railway enthusiasts to help rebuild and reopen an old Worcestershire station.

Builders, electricians and former railway workers are asked to go to the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway to help with plans to restore Broadway station and to help out in general.

A recruitment fair is being held over the weekend at stations in Toddington and Winchcombe.

The volunteers say they need more help and money to reopen Broadway.

Planning permission has been granted but the volunteers say they need help with building a signal box, a station building, a waiting room, a footbridge and other facilities.

The group has already raised its ^500,000 target, but is still appealing for further donations as work continues.

When finished the line, which currently runs between Cheltenham and Laverton, will be 14 miles long.

[grahame]

Looks lovely.  Having spent yesterday in Chippenham, where a footbridge without lifts causes very real issues (being dealt with at last) for wheelchair access, I find myself wondering what the situation is for heritage railways and their existing historic structure, and for them when they do a new-build, old-style.

[JayMac]

As long as there's the alternative of a barrow crossing I don't imagine there's a problem.

The Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway specifically mention this for the existing stations in their 'Access Statement'. I imagine a barrow crossing would also be provided at Broadway Station. Although I do note that there is no mention of one in the planning documents held by Wychavon District Council.

[Electric train]

As long as there's the alternative of a barrow crossing I don't imagine there's a problem.

The Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway specifically mention this for the existing stations in their 'Access Statement'. I imagine a barrow crossing would also be provided at Broadway Station. Although I do note that there is no mention of one in the planning documents held by Wychavon District Council.

They don't need to, the permanent way  i.e. the track and associated items (I also believe the platforms are covered too) is permitted development, the planning permission is to but the buildings up, the DDA^» (Disability Discrimination Act - about) compliance would only relate to the station buildings

[JayMac]

You of course mean Equality Act compliance. DDA^» (Disability Discrimination Act - about) was repealed in October 2010.