Radstock to Frome Railway Project

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Thanks glad to be here 

[Chris from Nailsea]

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

Radstock Jubilee oak tree moved for new road layout



An oak tree which was planted for Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee has been uprooted as part of plans for a new road layout.

Bath and North East Somerset Council said the tree, in Radstock, had to be moved and that now was the best time of year to do it so that it can survive.

The council had planned to fell the tree, but a compromise was reached after residents fought to save it. A small number came to protest about the move on Sunday morning.

The tree was planted 1897. It is being replanted at Writhlington School.

Amanda Leon from the Radstock Action Group watched the tree being moved and said she was not convinced it would survive. "The roads were shut off and then they moved in with a truck with a device on the back to grab the tree trunk. They hacked off a lot of roots and covered what was left with a tarpaulin hoisted it on to the back of a lorry and off they went.

"We notice the hole [at Writhlington School] was only dug yesterday. It's in stony ground and won't be a very good environment for any tree to live in," Ms Leon said.

Bath and North East Somerset Council believes the road upgrade will help regenerate Radstock and cut congestion. Despite the removal of the tree, planning consent for the road layout proposals has not yet been secured. If granted approval, work is expected to begin in the autumn of 2013.

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the Somerset Guardian:

Reopening Radstock to Frome rail link could cost ^40m

The possibility of reopening the Radstock to Frome rail link has not been ruled out ^ but it will not happen anytime soon. That was the verdict from Bath and North East Somerset Council's cabinet which discussed a report looking at the cost of reopening the line.


The last train to leave Radstock wagon repair works on June 29, 1988

The document from engineering consultancy Halcrow said the ^40 million project would not be cost-effective. The set-up costs would be in addition to the expense of running a rail service which is estimated to be up to ^1.3 million per year.

Passenger services ceased in November 1959 although the Radstock to Frome line remained in occasional use for commercial traffic until July 1988.

Councillor Eleanor Jackson (Lab, Radstock) encouraged the cabinet to look at the surge in the popularity of rail travel nationally over the past decade and also pointed to the possible tourism boost that could be experienced for the town if the line reopened. Dr Jackson said: "The estimated cost is ^41.3 million which makes it much cheaper than any comparable road option, while it would become easier to ship out goods from Westfield Industrial Estate and other manufacturing areas in the Somer Valley, reduce congestion in Bath, the carbon footprint and attract tourists."

George Bailey, of Radstock Action Group, also spoke at the meeting, and said: "The report focused on commuting and ignored the potential for tourism, inward commuting, education and the general accessible wellbeing required today. There are many families in Radstock with just one car, who would welcome the opportunity to travel, especially with young children, when the bread winner is at work. The elderly also find trains easier to access than buses. I therefore contend that social inclusion should be better investigated to try to promote independence."

Roger Symonds, (Lib Dem Combe Down), B&NES cabinet minister for transport, said the council would "not be shutting the door on the prospect" and promised to investigate claims that some data was more than ten years out of date. Mr Symonds admitted that the business case for the scheme is likely to remain "challenging" for quite some time. He added: "The door is certainly not locked and could be opened in the future."

Councillor Simon Allen (Lib Dem, Radstock) said the building of 200 new homes in the town would make the scheme more viable.

[Red Squirrel]

I see in this is somerset that updated development plans for downtown Radstock are on show from 8 May 2013 at Radstock Working Men's Club.

These plans claim to be "future-proofed to accommodate any future rail development". Can't help wondering if this will be the same kind of future-proofing that severed the Portishead line at Quays Avenue - I don't see any signs of grade separation in the plans I've looked at...

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the Somerset Guardian:

Calls for the return of rail to Radstock

Calls for the return of rail to Radstock were made earlier this week when more than fifty people packed into the town^s Methodist church hall to hear from guest speakers about the possibility of seeing trains once again operating from the town.

Local author Colin Maggs, who has penned almost 100 books on Britain^s railways, explained the history of rail in the town from 1804 to the moment in June 1988 when the final trained pulled out of the waggon works and made its way along the track.

He described the line between Radstock and Midford as the first passenger service in the country, with people riding the train for the five hour return trip several years before the Manchester and Liverpool route opened in 1830.

Concerns were raised about the space for a future rail link with Frome should regenerations plans for the former railway land -due to be decided today at 2pm by Bath and North East Somerset Council- go ahead.

Norton Radstock Regeneration Company, which owns the town centre site and housing developer Linden Homes, say there will be enough space while some residents fear there is not enough for both the railway and the legally-protected wildlife area to fit in the plans.

The possibility of a route running along the Sustrans cycle path was also highlighted and a location for a station was also discussed with a site close the former Marcroft Wagon Works suggested despite concern over the steep gradient.

David Redgewell, from the South West Transport Network, said it was essential that conditions were imposed on the applications to ensure the possibility for future rail was protected and called on residents to stress the importance of this at today's meeting.

Nigel Bray, the secretary of Railfuture Severnside, sent a written submission which stated there is a need for demand to be assessed and surveys looking at potential platforms and new signalling to be carried out.

The majority of people at the meeting supported plans for a rail service with a heritage service the most likley option.

Ted Hallam, from Kilmersdon, said he had concerns about the loss of the existing cycle path for cyclists and walkers should the rail return but was told a legal agreement was already there to make that possible in the future.

It was also revealed that there are long term ambitions to link the town back with Midsomer Norton. Shirley Steel, who helps run the Somerset and Dorset heritage station at Silver Street, Midsomer Norton with a team of volunteers, said the cost of a bridge over Silver Street and the possibility of running a service along the new Five Arches cycle path had been investigated with a view to one day connecting the two towns by rail.

The meeting had been organised by Radstock Town Council.

[grahame]

Update in June ...

http://www.somersetguardian.co.uk/New-rail-company-steams-Radstock/story-21211475-detail/story.html

Rail enthusiasts are spearheading an initiative that could see the return of a rail link between Radstock and Frome.

Veteran campaigner and former councillor Shirley Steel, who helped secure the future of the Midsomer Norton South station site and is a founding member of the Somerset and Dorset Railway Heritage Trust, is one of three people behind the new Somer-Rail Trust which aims to re-open the mothballed line.

The trust, which is applying for charity status, has already had constructive initial talks with the Norton Radstock Regeneration Company and trustees are hoping to harness the enthusiasm of the local community to make the plan a reality.

[story continues]

[grahame]

http://www.somersetguardian.co.uk/Radstock-regeneration-update-Railway-tracks/story-24508187-detail/story.html?

Regeneration work in the heart of Radstock town centre is starting to take shape with the new road layout and first phase of housing gathering pace.

An important part of the work to date on has been to conserve the site^s remaining historic railway-related infrastructure.

To help preserve it for generations to come some of the railway tracks that covered the site have been removed and donated to two local heritage railways.

Cate Le Grice-Mack, chair of NRR, said: ^While the mainline route will be left intact on the site up to the new housing area, there are four other tracks and complex points and slips that will be removed.

^We felt strongly that this part of the local heritage should not be lost if at all possible, so we are delighted that we have been able to donate much of the redundant track and key junctions to The East Somerset Railway, based in Cranmore, and the Somerset and Dorset Railway Heritage Trust in Midsomer Norton.^

[railblazer]

The Somer-Rail Trust is a newly formed charitable organisation with the primary aim of reopening the redundant railway line between Radstock and Frome. This is a community interest venture and needs your support!

We are currently discussing the project with other interested parties to maximise the support base and our capabilities to make a success of the project.

The line from Radstock to Great Elm has been disused since the closure of the Marcroft wagon works in June 1988. The Somer-Rail Trust is committed to reopening the railway as a valuable resource for the community, hoping in time to re-establish a link to the national rail network.

To find out more please go to:
Facebook group page:https://facebook.com/radstocktofromerailway?fref=ts
Website:http://www.somer-rail.co.uk

[grahame]

Welcome to the forum RailBlazer ... and you are very welcome to post a direct link to your web site (I see you have edited your post to do so), and other resources, diary events, etc.

I've heard of a number of ideas, schemes and throughs for reopening from Radstock to Frome over the past few years and have got a bit mixed up on Heritage v Part of National network discussions, and lost as to where we stand about stations on hills, sharing the course of the line with a footpath, freight use on the section near Frome, and the awkward location of the current Frome station compared to where the line would run.

Having said that, extension of a service that currently terminates at Westbury to Radstock at appropriate times, also filling significant gaps in Frome's timetable, would be an attraction.  Are you moving on to business case studies?   Are you working with your local CRP^▸ (Community Rail Partnership) (Heart of Wessex), and do at least get in touch with the TransWilts too, although we would defer to HoW^‡(resolve) rather than straying off territory if it looks like it would be best to help you that way.

[Alan Pettitt]

I have just received an e-mail update from "Frome's Missing Links" asking for volunteers to complete the work at Great Elm (The Colliers Way) which was started recently. This seems to suggest to me that they are in the process of getting the rails ready for removal at the Buckland Bridge location. I may be wrong but I quote the relevant paragraph:

We have a bit more to do on this section and need to complete the vegetation clearance which was three quarters completed last month as well as loosen some more rails. So we are planning a second Chain Gang at Great Elm on Saturday 14th March to finish clearing the track and to prepare the rails on the embankment for removal as far as the Network Rail boundary. This is a continuation of the work we have already started. The meeting point is the current end of the cycle path beneath the railway bridge and the work will take place between 10am and 4pm. Please reply to this email if you can come so that we can plan for the expected numbers and provide a contact in case we need to cancel because bad weather at short notice. Useful tools to bring are loppers and rakes. Please wear stout shoes and bring gardening gloves and eye protection.

It would be great to see you there.

which I find a little worrying if there is ever going to be a possibility of linking Radstock back into the network.

[railblazer]

Thank you for your post Alan, this information has now been passed on to our chairman.

[Oberon]

More people playing trains, or perhaps the genesis of what the area really needs?



http://www.somersetguardian.co.uk/Return-rail-Radstock-2017/story-27464219-detail/story.html

[Chris from Nailsea]

With many thanks for your update on this particular campaign, Oberon, I've now done what I seem to remember having planned to do, a while back.

I've now moved and merged some 4 or 5 previous topics into this one here - purely in the interests of continuity and ease of future reference, as always. 

Hope this helps - and best wishes for the project! 

[grahame]

More people playing trains, or perhaps the genesis of what the area really needs?

https://www.facebook.com/groups/599580693419023/

http://www.mnrjournal-somerset.co.uk/news.cfm?id=40359&headline=Further+plans+unveiled+for+Rail+in+Radstock

The aim is to reintroduce, firstly as Heritage Rail, an operation between Radstock and Frome, providing a platform for the reintroduction of a community partnership passenger railway, offering journey opportunities to the national passenger network. But the group will be asking for local opinion on whether or not this would be used. At the meeting, Mr Bailey said: ^It is crucial that we hear from local people if they would use the railway ^ for example, we could put on an extra train if it was felt that the bus services were inadequate.

^But we need to be told what people want and to plan for it, otherwise we are just playing trains and that will be extremely expensive.^

[Bmblbzzz]

I thought the last couple of miles of that line, nearest Frome, still carried the occasional quarry train. Do those no longer run?