Woman rides school railbus again after 60 years

Chris from Nailsea

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Woman rides school railbus again after 60 years - Tetbury to Cirencester

« on: June 09, 2026, 23:36:14 »

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

Quote

Woman rides school railbus again after 60 years

A woman who used to travel to school every day on a railbus made the same journey 60 years later as volunteers restore the transport.

Jan Fisher, 78, who now lives in Wales, used to travel on the railbus W79978 that ran on the Tetbury to Cirencester branch line in Gloucestershire from 1959 to 1964.

Volunteers at the Swindon and Cricklade Railway in Wiltshire acquired the railbus in 2019, and hope the transport will be ready to be used by the public again by 2030.

Fisher along with her daughter was offered a special trip on the railbus after old BBC footage of her was shared riding the line.

(BBC article continues, with images)


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grahame

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Re: Woman rides school railbus again after 60 years - Tetbury to Cirencester

« Reply #1 on: June 10, 2026, 05:19:25 »

The railbus - though still undergoing restoration work has been / is in some use on the Swindon and Cricklade railway already (and worth the trip). Yes - it will be lovely to see the work completed by 2030 but it is already in public use - so is that date being oversold? Or is the tale of "public use" relating to suggested re-openings of the feeder branch(es) from Kemble - Trouble House Halt, with the countryside around - might be a wonderful place for a new town to use a re-instated railway; 2030 sounds optimistic ...


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johnneyw

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From station to station, back to Bristol city....

Re: Woman rides school railbus again after 60 years - Tetbury to Cirencester

« Reply #2 on: June 10, 2026, 10:58:03 »

Quote from: grahame on June 10, 2026, 05:19:25

Or is the tale of "public use" relating to suggested re-openings of the feeder branch(es) from Kemble - Trouble House Halt

Nice thought but I rather fancy that the publication in question would have jumped on that story if there was a much a whiff of a suggestion that this might be the case...."Former passenger heralds start of branch line reopening campaign"....or some such headline. But you never know!


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grahame

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Re: Woman rides school railbus again after 60 years - Tetbury to Cirencester

« Reply #3 on: June 10, 2026, 16:49:50 »

BBC^» piece - with a more thorough explanation - at https://www.facebook.com/reel/4159769080982891


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