Cholsey and Wallingford Railway - between Didcot Parkway and Reading

[whole diary]

[Oxonhutch]

It is ex-Platform 5 at Maidenhead. Good to see that it has been preserved.

[Red Squirrel]

From the Cholsey & Wallingford Railway's Facebook page:

[Image from here is not available to guests]

[autotank]

I've recently become involved again with the C&WR (I'm the new membership secretary) and, after a number of years treading water, I'm delighted with recent progress and Mark Hopwood becoming President. The canopy has been done beautifully and good progress is being made paving the platform, which will make a huge difference. Plans are at long last being made to build some permanent station buildings and move away from the portacabins. A strip of land was acquired when Lidl was built next door, which will allow the construction of a much needed runround loop in the next year or two.

The 'Coffee Stop' which was at Cholsey Station pre-Covid has moved to Wallingford and is very proving popular opening Tuesday - Saturday for takeaway. We are hoping to make this a more permanent arrangement in the future and provide outdoor seating when resrictions ease.

A grand opening of the canopy is being planned for the summer, hopefully with a suitable GW^» (Great Western - used as an abbreviation for the area / lines under the Great Western franchise, as opposed to FGW which includes "First", the company operating them too. For tickets - about) steam loco. Do pay us a visit if you can or why not join up to stay in touch and benefit from travel concessions? https://www.cholsey-wallingford-railway.com/membership

[bobm]

I've recently become involved again with the C&WR (I'm the new membership secretary)

Small world.   I was Membership Secretary for the C&WRPS back in the 1980s.

[IndustryInsider]

The canopy has been done beautifully...

It has been done beautifully, looking at the photo Red Squirrel linked to.  Just a shame you couldn't have slotted in the old footbridge at Taplow somewhere. 

[johnneyw]

The canopy has been done beautifully...

It has been done beautifully, looking at the photo Red Squirrel linked to.  Just a shame you couldn't have slotted in the old footbridge at Taplow somewhere. 

I had no idea about this, although I had been planning a visit pre the current unpleasantness.  I'm slightly pleased my visit was delayed.  This means that I can now appreciate this.

[autotank]

So proud of our little line last weekend. We officially opened the Maidenhead canopy at the new Wallingford Station on Friday 25th with 'Railway Royalty' including Sir Peter Hendy, Tim Dunn, Lady McAlpine, Mark Hopwood, Lord Bradshaw and of course many of our amazing volunteers! We've still got lots to do, but there is a great can do attitude around the place at the moment and some great people. Oh and we sold over 6000 tickets in the first week for Polar Express too!

There was a nice bit of coverage on BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) South Today last night. Scroll to 09:41, but be quick as I think it only stay up until 6.30pm this evening www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m000xjk1

There is also this article https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-57682265

4612 is with us until the end of the month so do come and have a ride!

[eightf48544]

A candidate for Vivarails battery units with "Fast Charge" at Cholsey.

[ChrisB]

I’m sure they’d rather continue with their steam operation!

[Oxonhutch]

Is any Cholsey and Wallingford Railway member at liberty to tell us what is happening with the Wallingford Bypass Level Crossing which is in obvious need of repair? Hence the tidal flow road traffic lights.  As the railway came first, I am assuming that it is the responsibility of the local authority to make good the collapsed road surface.

I also noticed today there was a railway crossing keeper and what looked like an operator for the traffic lights as the railway looks to be in operation.

[Oxonhutch]

A bit of searching on The CWR^▸ (Continuously Welded Rail) Signalling website yields the following:

The railway is one of only a few heritage lines in the country to cross a main road.
The CWR in preservation form pre-dates the road, and as part of the agreement to build the Wallingford By-Pass, it was agreed that Oxfordshire Highways would be responsible for all maintenance of the crossing through Oxfordshire county council (OCC^▸ (Oxfordshire County Council)).  OCC have a contract with Network Rail for all maintenance of the crossing.

i.e. No maintenance burden for the railway. Good!

So it seems to be another job for the Orange Army. Well they better arrive soon because OCC says on their roads website that the lights are only there until 18th August. I expect an alteration to that timing soon.

[autotank]

Yes thankfully we don't have to pay for the repairs required to the crossing. All sorts of hi-viz clad experts from various bodies have been crawling over it in the last few months - hopefully it won't be long until the actual work starts. The council must be paying out quite a lot of money for an operative to man the crossing everytime we run at the moment.

[bobm]

I was involved with the Cholsey & Wallingford when the bypass was being planned.  It really was make or break to get the crossing provided. Otherwise the railway would have been cut into two unviable halves.

Shortly after it came into use there was an accident at the crossing which initially brought some bad publicity for the line although it was ultimately proved that everything relating to the crossing had worked correctly.

[Marlburian]

Meridian TV^▸ (Thames Valley, or TeleVision, depending on context) news item

[Oxonhutch]

Now an incredibly long tidal flow system over the bypass level crossing. Lights either side of the dividing reservation - previously driven over - means long delays for drivers over the section, +/- 400m. On a positive note, I see that notification of a total road closure on 9th/10th November suggests that remediation is now finally in hand. Comments please (yeah or nay) from those in the know.