The country is now beginning to regret the wholesale closure of so many railways in the 60s. Dr Beeching is the most notorious but there were others who encouraged the closures as motor transport became more efficient. Now with the climate crisis there are lines all over the country that need re-opening but persuading the powers that be is like pushing back the tide!
I dont blame Beeching so much. He actually stated in his report that the track beds were a national asset, and should be retained so that the lines could be reinstated in the future. Unfortunately, in the 80s and 90s, many became easy pickings for councils to re-purpose for road improvements or to sell off for development.
Stop blaming Beeching. The problems were well known in the 1909 when the President of the Board of Trade, a certain Winston Churchill (whatever happened to him?) Stated that the railways did not have a future without rationalisation and amalgamation. God knows how the railways managed in WW1 with so many different standards in rolling stock. In 1933 the Salter report came out. Amongst many things that many small lines could never compete with road transport, especially in freight handling. Even back then the railway companies accuse the government of favouring roads over rail by the construction roads through taxation whilst restricting the railways ability to use flexible pricing as the railways had to stick to the nationally agreed rates. Salter also recommended that road transport should be taxed directly to fund roads, which lead to an increase in the Vehicle Excise Duty (erroneously called Road Tax, but that was abolished by Winston Churchill a few years earlier) and the introduction of fuel duty. But even with these taxes taken into account it did nothing to stop the slow decline of branch lines in the UK. As the pictures in this video show each station was fully manned and kept in perfect condition at considerable expense. In the run up to Beeching taking over, the government stopped BR increasing its prices as the costs of running the railways increased (including wage rises) and passenger numbers and freight tonnage continued their pre-war declines. In 1954 BR's deficit was £23 million which grew to £62 million in 1956 (the same year BR's net revenue also fell to a deficit of £16.5 million). BR's finances continued to worse. The deficit in 1960 was £68 million, in 1961 it was £87 million and in 1962, the year Beeching was appointed, it had grown to £104 million. And why was the deficit rising part of it was the loss of traffic to the roads, part was the rising costs of running services and part was government interference in repeatedly stopping BR from raising prices as a failed attempt to control inflation To put it into perspective since the abolish of fuel rationing road vehicle mileages had increase by 10% year on year between 1948 and 1964 whilst during the 1950s rail traffic remained more or less constant, but the overall share of the transport market had dropped to 5% by 1955 from around 16% at the start of the 1950s. Staff numbers on the railways had also fallen by 1961 by around a quarter since nationalisation to about 475,000. Now Beeching wasn't the only person in BR cutting track mileage and services, before he took hold if the pruning knife the Unremunitive Services Committee and the Branch Lines Committee had been cutting lines and had lopped 3,318 miles of passenger services or lines from the network between 1948 and 1962 to add to the 1,300 miles that the Big 4 had cut between 1923 and 1939. Yes, some of the lines closed would now be beneficial, but how would you be able to identify them 60 years ago? After all no one predicted the financial crises that struck the UK in late 1964 which was triggered by a balance of trade deficit that was £800 million (but that was double what had been expected). The country's economic woes lasted until November 1967 when the government was forced to devalue the Pound by 14% after spending all the foreign currency reserves and most of the bullion reserves trying to support the Pound. These efforts were as futile as those our last PM made to save his premiership.
@@dominicbuckley8309 they were doing that in the 1960s as well. The former Whitby to Loftus line was partially swallowed up at Sandsend to straighten out the road near Raithwaite Lodge. They also removed the embankment on Mill Bank, Carlin How when the line to Loftus closed to get rid of a notorious sharp bend where the road when under the railway line. This meant when the line to Boulby Potash mine was reinstated they had to build a bridge to replace the embankment. The new road is virtually straight, but the old road including the sharp bend remains as a layby.
I’m actually very pleased to see these comments here about Dr Beeching. For many years he has been demonised as the scapegoat for the wholesale closure of so many lines and stations. It is true to say that many stations and lines weren’t making any profit, and in fact probably never did in the whole of their existence, and would have closed anyway over time. The real villain was Ernest Marples with his fingers in so many road building pies. Beeching was set up good and proper by this loathsome individual.
I was talking to the director of the Wensleydale Railway. He said, that if the track is still down, it is still legally a railway. Even if the track is rusted up and unusable, the legal steps necessary to reopen it are less challenging. Once the track is gone, then it is legally farmland again and then reinstatement is more difficult. So if your aim Is to reopen it, then you need to take steps to prevent what track is in situ from being removed! Thanks for uploading.
Dont think thats correct. The tracked is the responsibility of (as of today) highways England. Until agreement is reached with them on sales of tracts of land to private individuals they hold title.
@@alantraish3368 I am sure that you are not correct with that you commented. The ground of the railway companies was purchased and still legally theirs as long as the track is still there.
Lovely film, thank you. As a Cambridgeshire local I have watched the decay of this line worsen over the past 25 years. The prospect of it ever re-opening remains vanishingly small. The Government has indicated that the long planned Ely North re-development is being kicked into the long grass, a project of national importance for freight and better local services; against that backdrop, plus (currently) lower rail usage and a difficult public sector financial situation, I do not expect to live long enough to see this line re-open, nor the re-building of the railway around Ely, nor the completion of East - West rail. All of them have a part to play in de-carbonising transport but I just don't see any of them happening any time soon. Hope I'm wrong.
Money has been set aside for East - West rail - yes I know it's been talked about for years I do think it'll happen. There's good reason to reopen the line to Wisbech and that's for more capacity for Cambridge. Sounds weird? Basically you can't keep long trains at Cambridge station they get in the way (this is why for example that Stevenage now has a dedicated platform for the Hertford Loop - trains used to stop the slow line for 20 minutes of the hour). Ely is currently used but again, they are in the way there too! So not only do I think it'll happen, but that it'll be electrified. In a similar vein I think the line between Peterborough and Ely will be electrified. Not for speed (still limited to 75mph) but as a diversionary route. Also some Azumas are diesel and electric. The South East needs rail capacity desperately, and that includes the Eastern leg of HS2 to Leeds.
the lack of a rail connection at wisbech was one of the (many) reasons why i left the town. a rail connection is essential for economic growth and the prosperity of the town (and surrounding villages).
We have a railway in Edinburgh that is still technically open but only by a bit of freight and an occasional nuclear transport - it always seems mad to me not to reopen it to passengers. It provides a link around the southern and western areas of the city and links up with the mainline. It is in the council’s long term plan but never seems to get closer to being done, unlike expensive tram schemes!
Same situation on the western side of Southampton Water . There’s a goods line which serves Fawley oil refinery which passes through towns & villages which have only one road route to the city. After 25 years at least the studies are becoming serious . 👍
What about lines on which Parliamentary trains run? There's one that connects Ellesmere Port to the line to Manchester via Warrington, via a massive oil refinery, but trains barely run! There is massive systemic failure in the way Britain's railways are run.
I’m Swedish from the very south and my country also suffered similar branch line closures as your Beeching and subsequent closures between the 1960s and 80s. After that the number of closed and dismantled lines slowed down significantly. From 2000 onwards, we have actually seen the opposite happening at a fairly rapid pace and in Skåne, our southernmost province, over the last 20 or so we now have passenger services on practically every extant piece of railway save one short unelectrified branch, and on a portion where there is a parallel line within a few miles with a slightly different route through sparsely populated farmland. That bit is nevertheless still in active use as a relief route on occasion when track maintenance is needed on the main route. On top of this, two major entirely new lines have been laid and incorporated to immensely improve the rail system here. It does take a while also here to get these things going here as well, but in the end it mostly comes down to convince the capital to realise that the universe doesn’t revolve around them, that other parts of our vast country also need to get from A to B, and to make sure that the projects get funded. In the end we made it :)
Thank you for your thoughts and comment. It seems the problems faced here are similar internationally. And you're absolutely right when it comes to under-investment in anywhere outside of the capital!
@@RediscoveringLostRailways I just want to add to the previous by mentioning that I have lived in both Oxford and York previously and I must admit that the rail services (and bus/coach services for that matter) outside London in the UK is quite a sad affair compared to the mentioned Swedish region (chosen as an example because I’m from there originally and it is not the capital). Also, most other places in continental Europe I have either lived in or at least spent some time in has had far better public transport offerings than two fairly major university and tourist cities in the UK. It feels a bit sad to see what has become of the rail system in the country that pioneered the modern railway concept.
@@DrBovdin Yes, public transport is not taken too seriously by governments in this country, unless its London. If you can't make lots of money out of them they are not worth bothering about. Would be so useful to reduce car use in this country, even though they're going electric you'd think public transport would be more efficient
This video, the production values and drone usage is absolutely wonderful. Thank you so much and keep up the beautiful work. Please, more videos like this. I find the old photos top stuff too!
One of the biggest difficulties with re-opening this route would be the level crossing over the A47 Wisbech bypass. For many years after the closure of the line the crossing remained in place, lights, rails and all, but IIRC about 10 years ago the rails were ripped up and the lights and signs removed, meaning the crossing no longer exists. This means that if the railway was to re-open it would either require an application for a new level crossing (which given how busy the road is would be unlikely) or would require a bridge to be built which would add considerably to costs. Sadly this seems to be a late extension of the old policy of developing on just enough bits of old railway lines to make their opening unviable even if there would otherwise be a strong case in the future.
Fifty-five years ago I rode the line, March to Wisbech, daily for College. Much has changed as I now live in Sheffield, but I applaud the enthusiastic volunteer groups who work to reopen lines.
A very well researched, equally well laid out and paced, and professionally produced as always. I learned a few things, and as usual, I look forward to seeing the next video when it comes.
Reopening of sections of the old Varsity line might be worth a video? I think I remember you covered it several years ago, but now work is underway might be interesting for you to see how the reopening is proceeding? It’s just a thought 💭
Friends! Will this line ever reopen? What do you think? Let me know in the comments below. *Sharing* this film and giving it a *like* will help raise the film's profile and my channel's presence - could you help with this? Might you consider supporting my channel even more? www.buymeacoffee.com/rediscovering
Let’s get this line reopened and up and running. My guess is that it would take many lorries off the road and, if passenger services were restored then a single sprinter unit would at my guess, would take around fifty cars off the road in one journey. Thoughts?
you know i live in a small village called coylton on the west coast of scotland from here there used to be a line that connected all the small villages and towns on its way up to the mainline which in turn connected with glasgow central. mainly a coal freight line but ran passenger services. there is still remnants of the line because im a mechanic and i worked in the opencast coal mines in the area and there is still lines around. my point is that the road now that feeds all the villages is bloody dire, and if the line down here was to reopen it would be massively busy with commuters. so yes the line in the video should reopen aswell as thousands of others throughout the UK and make the UK rail network one of the best. because a passenger train can take so many cars off a road and by god a freight train can take maybe 100 road wagons off our roads. the UK needs to in my eyes pump billions into the rail network. back in 60s our network was far reaching and fantastic. sorry i went on a waffle haha just believe the uk rail network could be a fantastic network and rival all the countries in europe. fantastic video by the way love the content :D :D
Hopefully, it will, unlike other post-Beeching closures, falling victim to SUSTRANS (the Devil!). Way back in 1982, the highly scenic route around the coast of North Devon, from Barnstaple to Instow, Bideford; and then inland to Torrington and Meeth, finally closed, due to money needed for upgrading the track to accommodate more modern Tiger, 57-tonne rail hoppers. British Rail agreed to mothball it and, were in not for SUSTRANS, the popular tourist destinations of Instow, Bideford and Torrington would now be seeing regular passenger services, with the opportunity of steam-hauled charter trains along this beautiful line. Unfortunately, they pounced on it by making an offer in the region of £100k (quite a large sum back then) to Torridge District Council, in order to develop it to what is now known as the Tarka Trail. Since then, both Instow and Bideford stations have been fully restored (Bideford even has a museum; Instow, a signalbox). The two are only three miles apart but SUSTRANS vetoed even sharing the cycle/fòot path, with a narrow gauge railway line, well scrèened off by a high wire fence. South Devon is more fortunate: the line from Paignton to Kingswear was saved by preservationists, and continues to see regular steam-hauled passenger trains. It is extremely popular and is referred to as the the nation's holiday line. It has also featured in a number of high profile t.v. productions, such as Agitha Christine's Poirot and Miss Marples. A full, narrow gauge railway from Barnstaple to Instow and Bideford would obviously be just as popular, and help to boost tourism to the benefit of local trade. It would also tie in with the eventual reinstatement of the narrow gauge railway from Barnstaple to Lynton and Lynmouth. Thanks to SUSTRANS, however, it'll never happen! You may be forgiven for thinking that this sort of thing wouldn't happen these days, but unfortunately it might. The Eden Valley Preservation Society hoped back in 2000, to reinstate trains from Appleby East to Warcop, along an interesting 5-mile branch line, which saw regular MOD freight trains until the late1980s. Since 2000, SUSTRANS have acquired roughly 2 miles of it, from Appleby East to Copeland, so it is within their power to vetoe running trains into Appleby. What amazes me though is the sheer pointlessness of having a 2-miles cycle path into the middle of nowhere, with nothing to see and do! It does, however, demonstrate their fanatical desire to acquire disused railway lines and turn them into cycle paths, regardless of whether they'd serve the public better by being resurrected by the private sector, and run for purpose they were originally created. Oh, forgot to mention: Workington had a highly scenic, 5-mile branch line, to Camerton, with views of the Lakeland fells. It closed in 1994, and SUSTRANS turned it into cycle/foot path, forming part of the fragmented C2C route from Whitehaven to Middlesbrough. Workington Station has an island platform, and steam-hauled trains along this branch line would've helped boost tourism in this less affluent part of Cumbria, which is often overlooked by visitors from outside the area, compared to the usual Lake District haunts. It would also have tied in well with the narrow gauge "La'al Ratty" at Ravenglass (further south along the coast, and served by the scenic Cumbrian Coast Line) and also possibly the Lakeside and Haverthwaite Railway. It'll never happen, and the cycle path continues to do nothing more than terminate at Camerton. It doesn't even cut out the steep hill between there to Great Broughton or provide a through route to Cockermouth for cyclists, avoiding the busy A66. Since 1998, it's stayed almost exactly the same. A big thanks to SUSTRANS for the wonderful public service they've provided! Incidentally, elsewhere, there's evidence of cycle/footpaths being used by motorcyclists; high-powered electric bicycles, and often suffering from fly-tipping, dog fouling, etc, due to insufficient policing. A truly wonderful alternative to the reinstatement of much-needed train services! Finally, evidence suggests that that creating cycle paths out of disused is not 'green' because motorists drive to where they start rather than take the train. On the other hand, resurrecting disused railway lines can be. The Corfe-Castle - Swanage Railway, encouraged visitors to travel their by train, and both these places saw a welcome reduction in traffic when the line was restored, according to Swanage District Council.
Excellent video yet again. This is very close to commercial quality production. It would only need little bit of polishing and be broadcast by the BBC.
@Mawerick77 thank you, though as @JackWarner has suggested, I'd probably be obliged to insert a 'trying my hand at a local craft or sampling their food or drink' segment! 😆
Lovely video and very informative. I was born in 1943 when Railways were King and the Country was a maze of beautiful Branch line journeys. How shorted sited of Dr Beeching and the Labour gov.In the early sixties,stationed at Bickliegh on the edge of Dartmoor, the Train journeys across the Moors were wonderful. Thank you once again for your vids, they make my heart ache at what is gone and good fortune in all you do.
Living close to the currently being reinstated varsity line section between Bicester and Bedford. I can see the reinstatement being a long process. I suspect even if the go ahead was given tomorrow, it would be the end of the decade before trains were running. However the fact a significant portion of EWR is already in process of recommissioning there is always hope 🙏 👍 Thanks again for another fantastic video 🙂
MARCH was the biggest Marshalling yard during the war and i also remember the fright trains coming down from METALBOX(as it use to be called) plus the trains coming down the JOINT line from SPALDING(fright and passenger) as the hump yard was use to sort out the wagon loads for the eastern counties it looks so strange from he last time i went home to MARCH with all the Marshalling gone
Very well made. I could see this line being just about viable for a VLR shuttle, but capacity restrictions nearby at Ely would be a problem for anything more.
VLR would only be a stop gap, too, necessitating changing at March rather than having through trains to Cambridge/Peterborough, which seems fairly essential if this is going to work.
to be fair, capacity restrictions at Ely may need addressing anyway- considering the possibility of running additional trains through the area with the reinstatement of the Oxford-Bletchley-Bedford-Cambridge route (which could potentially see trains run beyond Cambridge)
@@MercenaryPen Sometimes I wonder whether the Bedford-Cambridge section will be cancelled eventually as well. Politics look particularly volatile right now and a lot of the locals apparently don't like the plan.
@@johnchurch4705 Maybe, maybe not. Some people genuinely have no need to use public transportation, or would find the overall effects of a railway nearby to be greatly more negative.
Great film, as always. I suspect that what will kill the proposed scheme, is the number of level crossings, both road and private, along the route. Official policy when I worked in the rail industry was that as many level crossings as possible must be eliminated. However, diverting or extinguishing rights of way is a very expensive and protracted process.
The A47 crossing seems like it could scupper the prospect of the railway's return, alas. Thanks for your comment - as an amateur, I'm really glad to hear from those on the inside track, so to speak.
Yes. I think that is what did it for my local branch where I grew up: Little Eaton to Denby branch. Last freight working 1999, lifted 2010 I think. I can only count three crossings to Kilburn, but there you are...
Fascinating documentary on this - hopefully temporarily - lost line to Wisbech and beyond, Together with some historic images and superb aerial shots, you make a compelling case for reopening and provide a succinct summary of some of the obstacles to be overcome. We must hope that the means are quickly found to overcome them.
A lovely, clear, well researched video as always. So much seems to remain, so it will be interesting to see if the funding can be found to actually do the work to reopen at least part of the line. Really enjoy seeing the old pictures, and the aerial images really give the scale of the line in the wider landscape. More of these branch lines appear to be being revived, and not just as heritage lines, which is a very good thing...of course if it hadn't been for the dreadful Beeching...!
Simple scrap billions of pounds white elephant 🐘 called H.S.T and reopen useful lines around the UK i,e finish off 📴 the waverly route to Carisle ? reopen the line in the lake district to Keswick and beyond ?.etc etc etc etc on our overcrowded roads to seaside resorts where trains used to run and other places ? With modern top and tail engine 🚂🚒 shouldn't be a problem just passing loop's where required? On busy routes ? Just a comment .
Another outstanding and informative video I really enjoyed watching this. As in all your videos, your passion for our railway history is evident. Long may you continue to produce these, thank you.
Another victim of capital, and capital owners' outright refusal to allow anything to exist which helps the average worker, to their exclusion; if the wealthy can't profit from it, it has no reason to exist (according to the system that made them wealthy) and must be removed.
Finally I learn from you how to pronounce Wisbech. I was there visiting the great house of the Quaker, Lord Peckover, and I always pronounced it like it was a small village in the Black Forest! It would've been great had there been a train from Kings Lynn to Wisbech!
I think that many people in Wisbech would prefer a rail connection to King's Lynn rather than Cambridge, but that's not on the table. Yes - some pronounce it 'Wisbeck' and I can see how.
I used to live in one of the houses that would have been served by Middle Drove station. As a child in the 70’s it seemed amazing there was a station there. One night there was a commotion and one of the railway buildings burned down. From the video I guess it was the goods shed, or perhaps the signal box but I don’t really remember a signal box being there, but there was a large brick shed.
As always a fabulous film with probably the best narration on YT. I can only imagine the enormous amount of work you put into this. I am going to binge tonight.
Fascinating to see the history of this line, used to drive past A47 level crossing before it was removed in mid 2000s and wondered why they had got rid of it in the first place. Thanks for the great work piecing it all together.
My grandfather was John Brammer who was a guard/ticket officer on the March to Wisbech line in the 50s, then going on to work at the metal box factory on Weasenham Lane
Good luck and I wish you the best in reopening your lost line ..in the North we have been trying to reopen the Colne to Skipton line and the Penrith to Keswick line ...both we have been pushing with the benefits to business and with the Keswick line the gridlock on most days with car traffic the needs are obvious....anyway if your line opens I will be on the first train..
Although I live nowhere near Wisbech, I can see parallels with local rail campaigns that have been active for years but never come to anything. I wish the Wisbech line all the best. The one thing I'm surprised about in this video is that so many of the actual rails have been left intact. When a railway is decommissioned, every piece of metal is normally lifted to deter looters.
A classic example of why nothing gets done in this country. How strikingly obvious this is to reopen the line but everyone and his aunt has to put their two pence in the pot. Just get on with it and stop dragging your feet.
What about the Wisbech & Upwell Tramway who's line crossed the old road from Sandy to Whittlesea time and time again as I remember as a child? I was fortunate enough to have a very young recognition of a tram loco with a few odd trucks pushing it's way along a line of grass lined tree backed tracks but I only ever saw it once and I can't remember where. I still remember Whittlesea station as a 2 road platform with magnificent crossing and signal box. A shadow of what it is now!
Fascinating! What a good idea in principle to reopen the line to March. It looks like this would be a "relatively" easy project compared to many, as so much infrastructure remains. We have lost so much over the years, such a pity so many branch lines are no more. Great video, very informative!
Another excellent video - sadly I suspect this project will come to nothing, rather like the Minsters rail campaign to re-open the Beverley to York line. In the case of the Wisbech line, it seems the A47 will be an insurmountable problem costing far too much to transverse. Thank you as usual.
I am afraid the reopening of this line may take years, I live near the Portishead to Bristol line witch is still in use for fright on a daily basis even with a new sight for a new station in Portishead so far over TEN years and counting, so I wish you all the best of luck in the world with this venture. (time frame for this venture 20 to 25 years I think).
Similarly on the other side of the river, the project to add a halt alongside the Portway Park-&-Ride car park on the running Severn Beach line. Trains run through there into Clifton and Central Bristol. All that is needed is a pre-fab platform with a bus shelter on it. Single track so no footbridge needed, the land is there - you couldn't find a simpler project. The delay in doing these things is disgraceful.
Another informative documentary with superb filming, editing and narration. The glacial progress made reopening 'no-brainer' rail services is frustrating to say the least. Here's hoping for a more expeditious solution to unstick the March-Wisbech reopening!
Thank you for this wonderfully produced historical documentary. I traveled to Wisbeach at about 1964 to spend a week picking strawberry's at a ww2 pow camp called Friday Bridge
Another Brilliant film as usual! I honestly think the line should re-open. As a trainspotter, it saddens me to see any old line fall abandoned, and indeed it should be brought back. Look foward to your next video!
You may have an interest in the Bristol to Portishead branch. Crying out for reopening since the early 1970's. If you ever approach the subject, be prepared to discover failed promises and procrastination, inspite of a lively group,of supporters. Really, you could not make it up. Admire the work you have put into this report. ,
'Failed promises and procrastination' - that would have been a much better title for this film! Thank you for the recommendation - I've heard of this branch and how reopening it is something of a no-brainer...and yet...thanks for your kind remarks about my film!
I believe one of the major obstacles in opening the Wisbech Branch is that the proposed branch trains would join the main line at March and provide a very useful commuter/shopping service to Cambridge. This would mean traversing the simplified Ely North Junction which is already at full capacity. Remodelling Ely North is still ongoing but, I believe, much of the work was to be funded by the EU and this money has obviously been lost. Until Ely North is upgraded I'm afraid the Wisbech-March line will have to wait a little longer even though millions of pounds have been spent on reports and surveys. The Fenland Citizen quotes a price of £163,600,000 to reopen about 6 miles of track. A real bargain!
The cost is eye watering and with the cost of travelling by train being what it is, there's much to weigh up. And of course what you say about Ely North Junction is a significant problem for this railway's prospects.
@@RediscoveringLostRailways The costs recorded in the local paper included converting ALL the level crossings to bridged crossings! and replacing the lovely foot bridge at March with a new one containing lifts. All these new requirements seem to make a lot of new projects prohibitively expensive.
Railroad lines should be restored so that people have more options for mass transit. towns need to be reconnected with other towns as well. I would hope this track would be restored. It'll take a lot of work but if people do get together to do it, it'll work!
I remember seeing the forlorn disused platforms at March about 25 years ago, on fairly frequent travels between Hertfordshire and Merseyside. It’s good to know that they (& much else) are still there and may return to active use in future.
I used to get on a train at Bishop’s Stortford, get off at Audley End, wait a few minutes on the same platform then take the Central Trains service arriving from Stansted Airport all the way to Liverpool Lime Street. It was always possible to find a table seat and get plenty of work done. The (albeit quicker) alternative was to go via Liverpool Street and Euston, but this route provided significantly less desk time, and the pre-Pendolino swaying of the train around the curves made it difficult to read without feeling motion sickness. I was also recovering from abdominal surgery when I started using the Central Trains service - it was a much more tranquil way to travel, with less walking required. The route via Cambridge, Ely, Peterborough, Stamford, Leicester and Birmingham was reasonably direct and probably not much different in mileage from the alternative. It was also much less expensive and went through some interesting places along the way. On a few occasions, I forgot to check the route when booking and ended up on the other Stansted - Lime Street service via Chesterfield and Manchester, which was a bit round-about, but I never regretted the journey through the beautiful Peak District.
How can it possibly cost £218 million (Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority’s figure, March 2021) to dust off an eight mile railway that is already there and was still in use 20-odd years ago?!?! Rail in the UK is *so* expensive 🙄
Great video. True, Beeching wrecked our railways and as I read in an old newpaper, somebody quoted "Future generations will curse us". How true them words are today. Most of the old lines had their land and buildings sold off so no hope of revival. Having said all that, if we had all the old Victorian rail system still intact today, who the hell can afford to use the train any more.
Back in 1989, I worked for BT and the yard in Wisbech backed onto the Spillers yard. Class 47s were a daily visitor and on one occasion a class 56 turned up with a train of Redland hoppers (in pale green) for a photo-call. Interesting little corner.
I love to see these railway returns even if the trains these days are electric, as we know redevelopment in places have hampered some old tracks but one's which can be repaired would be great.
I was not disappointed, always fascinating, nostalgic and meaningful.For someone who went to school by steam train daily and preceded Beeching's cuts, thank you . Mike
(( Dr Beeching,)), In the 1960s production of motor cars and their export made money for the UK People began to drive motor cars Which were point to point,, cheaper,, and the railways began to suffer. hindsight,, looking backwards,,, It's great ,,Yes it's a shame about the closures
Walked from March station up to Wisbech last autumn past the old marshalling yard site (lot of interpretation boards) and got the bus back - there were great views of the old line from the top deck. It's a melancholy sight and I wondered then if it could be viable again. I can remember a childhood holiday largely spent riding trains across the Fens. Most of the lines are now gone but there are ghostly remains everywhere.
Interesting video. As you found when trying to film it, the problem is the level crossing over the now mega-busy A47 road. Unless the money can be found to build a bridge at this location, I can't see trains ever returning to Wisbech, sadly.
We moved from Hertfordshire to Wisbech in 1972, where I first attended the Queens Boys' then Wisbech Grammar schools, until 1979. I still have family living just to the north of the town and have in the intervening 43 years been to or passed through Wisbech innumerable times. The town has in the intervening decades experienced a monumental cultural and financial collapse. A great shame, as Wisbech has an impressive architectural and historical heritage and has huge potential to reform and recover. Elements of the incoming population are the problem. There is little to attract professional well-educated people and families, so the town has degenerated demographically to the point where it's an inward-looking cultural abyss. I do not exaggerate. A Wisbech-March railway reinstatement could open a financial and cultural goldmine of opportunity and with any luck, filter out the negative societal elements.
Many thanks for your comment. I don't know Wisbech at all, but what you say chimes with the impression I was left with. Would a railway reverse these fortunes? It could certainly help...
It is 2022 ....you go anywhere in world there is same situation comming everywhere ..that ....all old buildings historical monuments , beautiful art work ....all going to vanish due to ignorance ...very few people know its value and the efforts taken behind it to build it , even in absence of today's technology .....all engineers of that era were simply genius and very sincere , yhey designed everything for atlist to run for 100 years ....old mechnical engineering is still useful today........ Unfortunately that era has gone ....now people think for very short term 🙄
A fabulolus video as aways. I thouroughly enjoyed our journey. What a great opportunity to reopen an old line, much of which still exists. As long as it is economically viable, like the line at Oakhamton to Exeter, Why not? I guess red tape is the problem. Remove the red tape and low and behold, progress.
This video has reappeared in my home page "suggestions". It is now 5 months since my previous comment, when I was sceptical about the line's reopening. What has changed since then? There is still a lot of dithering about possible alternative schemes rather than getting on with it. The UK's finances have been wrecked by very poor government. What may be the final nail in the coffin, though, is the renewed advice not to travel by train- this time not because of Covid, but the ongoing rail strikes. The rail companies regard passengers as an inconvenience, as it seems they have done nicely out of delay payments from Network Rail rather than provide a good service. People need reliability otherwise they will make other arrangements, including working from home instead of travelling. So I would say that the authorities just cannot be bothered about East Anglia- It is is not London and also it is not Scotland or Wales, both of whose devolved administrations make a visible effort to improve transport. If Labour win the next General Election, do not expect things to improve- remember it was Labour who closed the Hunstanton line. A real shame, as the line to Wisbech could have been reopened with ease before now.
Would love to see it reopened .... sadly it will be a long time coming if ever☹ It should be a no brainer....in Scotland this would be high on the list of possible reopening's - they are very pro rail [Borders Line etc] Where i live in Oxfordshire we have a live railway but no station [Wantage Road between Didcot & Swindon closed by Beeching in 1964] we have been campaigning for a new station since 1975....47yr! Despite massive new housing developments in recent years and overcrowded roads and having our MP behind it and huge local support nothing ever happens barring press coverage every few years and a photo opportunity.....then gets kicked in the long grass. Politics....i despair☹ On a historical note... i travelled on the last train to Wisbech - a Pathfinder Tour [shown] in 1998. Wish you well in your endeavours to reopen the Wisbech Branch....will be watching with interest.
Not going to reopen.lets faces it. The town is small, no great traffic in-between and the cost to reopening is a collasal waste of money. I'd love to see it reopen but honestly there's far better projects for bigger towns that woulds generate more passengers before this.
As someone born just as the railway closed even tho I don’t live in the uk whenever I go back in the town halls of many villages near by Wisbech they do have a chat about the re opening and many do want the plan to go through, it wouldn’t just serve Wisbech, also Long Sutton, Tydd St Giles, Tydd st Mary, Tydd Gote, West Walton, and Gorefeild, with the little industry that the town has and many supermarkets they might be able to run 1 freight train a day
Thank you for your video about lost rail lines. If I ever can come to Great Britain I would love to do what you are doing: exploring lost rail lines! I can think of nothing finer to do. I hope your Wisbech line can come back to life. It's good for the citizens, the economy, and the environment.
Interesting video, with some beautiful footage. There was a similar project in my area to reopen the branch line from Newton Abbot to Heathfield (Devon), but after a small flurry of activity a few years ago, I don't think much progress has been made. They did run a DMU set down it so I guess it's in some sort of working order. However, as mentioned in the video, the Exeter to Okehampton line was reopened recently. It could be part of a larger project to offer an alternative route from Exeter to Plymouth, after part of the track by Dawlish got washed away. The trouble with projects like this is it's a huge capital investment for a very slow payback (especially if you only consider ticket sales).
Thank you for your kind words about my film. Your analysis of the slow pace of reinstatement seems spot on to me. A route avoiding Dawlish seems vital.
@@RediscoveringLostRailways Thank you for entertaining and educating me for almost 20 minutes ;). Regarding the glacial progress of these things; As far as I can tell, there are a lot of enthusiastic volunteers willing to help out, but ultimately Network Rail has to be on board (no pun intended) and they have other other priorities. You can't rely on volunteers to maintain a mainline track.
Middle Drove station is not long for this world. The shelter and platform were ripped up last year. The station building is now for sale again. Asking for planning permisson to demolish and rebuild as apparently "It's not fit for habitation".
Lovely video and possibly a good idea to reopen the line. I fear rose tinted spectacles have been used. Those of us who can remember branch lines must wonder if they'll ever be economically viable. The current national rail network is an economic black hole. Vast sums of taxpayers money being used to subsidise them. I won't mention HS2...... Do keep us up to date with more news.
Great film again. Good to see this line, which was inevitably constructed in part by my Gt Gt Grandfather. He’d have definitely appreciated that hut fireplace!
Sadly politics closed most of the branch lines with Dr Beeching, and politics will be the reason most will never reopen......no matter how it lessens the carbon footprint, or saves villages from hoards of polluting cars and trucks.......it's all politics.....follow the money.
When I see this channel .....I really get involved little emotionally also ....what our last two generations did for mankind is just excellent 👌......the people who are between age 35-45 should think and act very seriously to preserve all these monument(s) world wide ...lets breat all barriors of countries, languages, religion, casts , educational status .....and lets preserve it worldwide 😃😃😃😃 .....may god bless all ....
I live in march and visit the station while walking it would be great to see the old line back it will certainly be easier than the old spalding line which has a massive prison on some of where the track bed was but you can still see where the track once run in certain places
Level crossing reinstatement? No. Take a leaf out of the book of the current Labour government here in Victoria Australia. They have worked for the least eight years on a crossing replacement program with huge success. They'd be either tunneling under or flying over those problematic crossings. A dive under would probably be achieved in two months from start of works, with minimal problems for road traffic, especially in such uncluttered terrain. It's all about the will to succeed...
Many thanks for your thoughts - I know that Network Rail (who oversee railway maintenance in the UK) have been doing their best to close as many crossings as possible and replacing them with safe alternatives. For this line, however, since it is dormant and the political willpower can be measured in a couple of inches, I fear nothing will happen!
Apart from excellent description of the line from inception to decay ,the reasons for delay are explained in a crystal clear manner befitting your presentation. Best of luck 👍
The North Dartmoor line between Exeter and Okehampton aas already in place so opening should not have been complicated. The remainder (to Bodmin and Plymouth) is a mix of disused and ripped out railway. It could be re-opened but RailTrack are seriously not interested. Their financial analysis is rigged to ignore potential use of the line so of course the costs and benefits never add up. Well they wouldn't would they?
Train travel is a thing of joy, so I would love to see the line re-opened. The situation of the station is problematic though. Putting it on the far side of the A47 would do away with the problem of a crossing there, but the council is, not unreasonably, keen to have the station as close to the town centre as possible. That would put the station by the rail route to the pet food factory. It still wouldn't be close to the town centre, due to the factory premises being in the way. Given that the area of sidings between Weasenham Lane and the pet food factory is now rich in wildlife, including foxes and muntjacs, I'm hoping the station will be out of town. I hope it is re-opened in some form though, be it train or light rail, or even busway, but suspect that a combination of covid and the war in Ukraine will mean the money for such a project will be a tad light. Love the video. Well made and entertaining.
who knows what the future holds... well i for one would like to see this line come back to life once more as most of it is already there... but that's not up to me sadly... still a cracking vid though and i can't wait to see what comes next
I have often thought that a few people willing to take the time to spray short sections of overgrowth might clear the vegetation from parts of a line that was unused. This would make the reopening of the line a little easier.
I worked for a number of years in the US for a Railroad over there and during that time I operationally managed a railway as we reintroduced passenger operations on one of our lines for the first time in 50 years the whole process was fascinating and often frustrating in equal measure 18hr bridge outages on a operational railway when you are trusting the track department will be giving you the track back before your first train arrives is a simply horrid experience!
@@RediscoveringLostRailways Our biggest concern was the welds within the long welded rail and before opening the line back up to passenger service whenever we had a mainline derailment, and we had a number! that was the first question(the track was mostly 25 or 10mph and wasn't in great condition)
The March to Wisbech line remains part of the GB mainline railway network never having been ‘Network Changed’ out of it. It does, however, require the completion of a great deal of backlog maintenance before a passenger service could be reintroduced to it. The real challenge is who should pay for this maintenance - the DfT, Network Rail or the local authority. It would be quite interesting to see how the situation played out if a transport undertaking (aka a train operator) could be persuaded to apply to the DfT to commence a passenger service over the line. An interesting precedent for many other lines that have not been closed formally and are therefore only moribund.
Good morning. What a fantastic journey looking at what was a great railway 👍🏻 It’s a no brainier reopening old railway lines especially at £9 a gallon for fuel lol 😆 Back in the 70s when the car was king and fuel was very cheap 50p a gallon 🙄 Look at any new line that’s reopened recently as it always exceeds parsonage 🤩
there are a lot more people here today .......500 a day coming in illegally in dover ( no passprot needed by the way hence illegal) of course we need more of everything . also the idea of travelling further to work on good roads helped
I remember the train track running behind my Nan and granddad's house, where my mum and dad live now, but I was very young, and the train track used to be the border of Cambridgeshire, / Lincolnshire, and the old iron bridge still stands over the drain today, which the trains used to go over, but now the drain is the border. And the heading of this video say,s how do you reopen a railway? from Wisbech or anywhere for that matter, well it used to be there in the old days, and now we're in 2022, & nearly in 2023, & they reckon they put man on the moon, surely it can't be that difficult,to figure out how to build a brand new railway from scratch today, let alone repair and reopen, a railway and train tracks, what was already there, surely you ain't got to be a G WIZZ, to figure that one out!😉
Very interesting, thank you. Always interesting to look at 'then and now' maps of railways in East Anglia. It seems to me that a reopened March to Wisbech line would be a perfect candidate for the Class 230 as used on the Marston Vale Line.
Of course it should the area needs it. As a local I fully support it and would suggest the new Wisbech station should be just out of town on the March side of A47, near where a small development is being planned including, I believe a travel lodge, which could be convenient to travellers. There is ample, low grade land to incorporate a sensible sized car park.
Excellent video. Most lost lines can never be reinstated because their routes have been built over. If the line is largely intact, it's a case of who now owns the land and whether the legal hurdles can be overcome. Also would a re-opened line be financially viable?
Does England have any Eminent Domain Laws like we have in the USA, where if the Government decided it was in the public's best interest to re-open the line, they could force land owners to sell the old right of way back at fair market value?
Yes, there is something called a compulsory purchase order which can be used. However, as you might expect, these are very controversial and reparations are often said to be way below market value.
If this government wasn't so Londoncentric, ie if a billion pounds needs spending in London they just spend it and nobody bats an eyelid, yet we have projects such as this unable to get funding. Take the Leamside Line up here in the north east as a prime example...
It's a pity the complex bureaucratic process of reopening old railways wasn't also necessary when closing them. It might have meant a few lines that would be useful today may have stayed open.
There has been talk of Dualling the A47 as the section from Guyhirn to Wisbech is awful along with the single road section around the town that the crossing used to go over. If they ever got this improvement then a bridge over the railway could be looked at as part of the build. Currently Wisbech is being strangled by the poor road system and the closure of the Railway 50+ years ago started a major decline in the town.
Good point. The section of A47 that is single road is very slow and there are little alternatives if there is an incident. there would definitely need to be a new bridge over the railway. The new motorway on the A14 around Huntingdon shows new build roads can be built
I don't believe that they will ever be able to dual the a47 between wisbech and guyhirn. Its a raised roadway and without compulsory purchasing the land to one side and banking it up, its a non starter. The other side acts as a flood plain and clearly its out the question to extend the road into that area. The road is terrible and most the time you are stuck behind slow moving lorries and there is nowhere to overtake. That said, its just as bad all the way to peterborough apart from one small section of dual carriageway. I would love to see this railway reopened but i just don't think that there are sufficient arguments to justify the immense cost of doing so. Maybe, as someone pointed out, a heritage railway option would be the answer because currently, local people won't ditch their cars to take a train to march given that its not that far away.
I love all these old rail videos. Quite sad to see locations where no trace or just a few bits are still there. Amazing to think how just a few decades can change a location. Its a shame we dont have a time lapse of some of it, to see lines being removed, goods sheds being demolished, houses and trees taking over. If only eh.
The country is now beginning to regret the wholesale closure of so many railways in the 60s. Dr Beeching is the most notorious but there were others who encouraged the closures as motor transport became more efficient. Now with the climate crisis there are lines all over the country that need re-opening but persuading the powers that be is like pushing back the tide!
You'll find many on here who will agree with your remarks!
I dont blame Beeching so much. He actually stated in his report that the track beds were a national asset, and should be retained so that the lines could be reinstated in the future. Unfortunately, in the 80s and 90s, many became easy pickings for councils to re-purpose for road improvements or to sell off for development.
Stop blaming Beeching. The problems were well known in the 1909 when the President of the Board of Trade, a certain Winston Churchill (whatever happened to him?) Stated that the railways did not have a future without rationalisation and amalgamation. God knows how the railways managed in WW1 with so many different standards in rolling stock. In 1933 the Salter report came out. Amongst many things that many small lines could never compete with road transport, especially in freight handling. Even back then the railway companies accuse the government of favouring roads over rail by the construction roads through taxation whilst restricting the railways ability to use flexible pricing as the railways had to stick to the nationally agreed rates. Salter also recommended that road transport should be taxed directly to fund roads, which lead to an increase in the Vehicle Excise Duty (erroneously called Road Tax, but that was abolished by Winston Churchill a few years earlier) and the introduction of fuel duty. But even with these taxes taken into account it did nothing to stop the slow decline of branch lines in the UK. As the pictures in this video show each station was fully manned and kept in perfect condition at considerable expense.
In the run up to Beeching taking over, the government stopped BR increasing its prices as the costs of running the railways increased (including wage rises) and passenger numbers and freight tonnage continued their pre-war declines. In 1954 BR's deficit was £23 million which grew to £62 million in 1956 (the same year BR's net revenue also fell to a deficit of £16.5 million). BR's finances continued to worse. The deficit in 1960 was £68 million, in 1961 it was £87 million and in 1962, the year Beeching was appointed, it had grown to £104 million. And why was the deficit rising part of it was the loss of traffic to the roads, part was the rising costs of running services and part was government interference in repeatedly stopping BR from raising prices as a failed attempt to control inflation
To put it into perspective since the abolish of fuel rationing road vehicle mileages had increase by 10% year on year between 1948 and 1964 whilst during the 1950s rail traffic remained more or less constant, but the overall share of the transport market had dropped to 5% by 1955 from around 16% at the start of the 1950s. Staff numbers on the railways had also fallen by 1961 by around a quarter since nationalisation to about 475,000.
Now Beeching wasn't the only person in BR cutting track mileage and services, before he took hold if the pruning knife the Unremunitive Services Committee and the Branch Lines Committee had been cutting lines and had lopped 3,318 miles of passenger services or lines from the network between 1948 and 1962 to add to the 1,300 miles that the Big 4 had cut between 1923 and 1939.
Yes, some of the lines closed would now be beneficial, but how would you be able to identify them 60 years ago? After all no one predicted the financial crises that struck the UK in late 1964 which was triggered by a balance of trade deficit that was £800 million (but that was double what had been expected). The country's economic woes lasted until November 1967 when the government was forced to devalue the Pound by 14% after spending all the foreign currency reserves and most of the bullion reserves trying to support the Pound. These efforts were as futile as those our last PM made to save his premiership.
@@dominicbuckley8309 they were doing that in the 1960s as well. The former Whitby to Loftus line was partially swallowed up at Sandsend to straighten out the road near Raithwaite Lodge. They also removed the embankment on Mill Bank, Carlin How when the line to Loftus closed to get rid of a notorious sharp bend where the road when under the railway line. This meant when the line to Boulby Potash mine was reinstated they had to build a bridge to replace the embankment. The new road is virtually straight, but the old road including the sharp bend remains as a layby.
I’m actually very pleased to see these comments here about Dr Beeching.
For many years he has been demonised as the scapegoat for the wholesale closure of so many lines and stations.
It is true to say that many stations and lines weren’t making any profit, and in fact probably never did in the whole of their existence, and would have closed anyway over time.
The real villain was Ernest Marples with his fingers in so many road building pies.
Beeching was set up good and proper by this loathsome individual.
I was talking to the director of the Wensleydale Railway. He said, that if the track is still down, it is still legally a railway. Even if the track is rusted up and unusable, the legal steps necessary to reopen it are less challenging. Once the track is gone, then it is legally farmland again and then reinstatement is more difficult. So if your aim Is to reopen it, then you need to take steps to prevent what track is in situ from being removed! Thanks for uploading.
Very interesting, thanks for sharing
Dont think thats correct. The tracked is the responsibility of (as of today) highways England. Until agreement is reached with them on sales of tracts of land to private individuals they hold title.
@@alantraish3368 I am sure that you are not correct with that you commented. The ground of the railway companies was purchased and still legally theirs as long as the track is still there.
@@alantraish3368 It's still a railway not a highway (road)!
@@Isochest If its still the responsibility of Network Rail then yes. Depends who the track & trackbed derestriction is under.
Lovely film, thank you. As a Cambridgeshire local I have watched the decay of this line worsen over the past 25 years. The prospect of it ever re-opening remains vanishingly small. The Government has indicated that the long planned Ely North re-development is being kicked into the long grass, a project of national importance for freight and better local services; against that backdrop, plus (currently) lower rail usage and a difficult public sector financial situation, I do not expect to live long enough to see this line re-open, nor the re-building of the railway around Ely, nor the completion of East - West rail. All of them have a part to play in de-carbonising transport but I just don't see any of them happening any time soon. Hope I'm wrong.
I fear that you are spot on in your assessment!
Money has been set aside for East - West rail - yes I know it's been talked about for years I do think it'll happen. There's good reason to reopen the line to Wisbech and that's for more capacity for Cambridge. Sounds weird? Basically you can't keep long trains at Cambridge station they get in the way (this is why for example that Stevenage now has a dedicated platform for the Hertford Loop - trains used to stop the slow line for 20 minutes of the hour). Ely is currently used but again, they are in the way there too! So not only do I think it'll happen, but that it'll be electrified. In a similar vein I think the line between Peterborough and Ely will be electrified. Not for speed (still limited to 75mph) but as a diversionary route. Also some Azumas are diesel and electric. The South East needs rail capacity desperately, and that includes the Eastern leg of HS2 to Leeds.
the lack of a rail connection at wisbech was one of the (many) reasons why i left the town. a rail connection is essential for economic growth and the prosperity of the town (and surrounding villages).
From what I have seen the town and area are in want of substantial investment. Thanks for your comment.
We have a railway in Edinburgh that is still technically open but only by a bit of freight and an occasional nuclear transport - it always seems mad to me not to reopen it to passengers. It provides a link around the southern and western areas of the city and links up with the mainline. It is in the council’s long term plan but never seems to get closer to being done, unlike expensive tram schemes!
It is a shame when there's a useful railway in plain sight like that!
Same situation on the western side of Southampton Water . There’s a goods line which serves Fawley oil refinery which passes through towns & villages which have only one road route to the city. After 25 years at least the studies are becoming serious . 👍
Is that the Edinburgh Suburban line?
Many years ago I travelled the Bathgate line, which was freight only, on a freight train as part of a group tour . The good old days
What about lines on which Parliamentary trains run? There's one that connects Ellesmere Port to the line to Manchester via Warrington, via a massive oil refinery, but trains barely run! There is massive systemic failure in the way Britain's railways are run.
I’m Swedish from the very south and my country also suffered similar branch line closures as your Beeching and subsequent closures between the 1960s and 80s. After that the number of closed and dismantled lines slowed down significantly.
From 2000 onwards, we have actually seen the opposite happening at a fairly rapid pace and in Skåne, our southernmost province, over the last 20 or so we now have passenger services on practically every extant piece of railway save one short unelectrified branch, and on a portion where there is a parallel line within a few miles with a slightly different route through sparsely populated farmland. That bit is nevertheless still in active use as a relief route on occasion when track maintenance is needed on the main route.
On top of this, two major entirely new lines have been laid and incorporated to immensely improve the rail system here.
It does take a while also here to get these things going here as well, but in the end it mostly comes down to convince the capital to realise that the universe doesn’t revolve around them, that other parts of our vast country also need to get from A to B, and to make sure that the projects get funded.
In the end we made it :)
Thank you for your thoughts and comment. It seems the problems faced here are similar internationally. And you're absolutely right when it comes to under-investment in anywhere outside of the capital!
beeching closed nothing. do not fall for the socialists false claims
@@RediscoveringLostRailways I just want to add to the previous by mentioning that I have lived in both Oxford and York previously and I must admit that the rail services (and bus/coach services for that matter) outside London in the UK is quite a sad affair compared to the mentioned Swedish region (chosen as an example because I’m from there originally and it is not the capital).
Also, most other places in continental Europe I have either lived in or at least spent some time in has had far better public transport offerings than two fairly major university and tourist cities in the UK.
It feels a bit sad to see what has become of the rail system in the country that pioneered the modern railway concept.
@@DrBovdin Yes, public transport is not taken too seriously by governments in this country, unless its London. If you can't make lots of money out of them they are not worth bothering about. Would be so useful to reduce car use in this country, even though they're going electric you'd think public transport would be more efficient
Great film as always. Your films never fail to disappoint. A few railways seem to be planning on reopening.
The case for this one seems especially strong. Really glad you enjoyed the film!
This video, the production values and drone usage is absolutely wonderful. Thank you so much and keep up the beautiful work. Please, more videos like this. I find the old photos top stuff too!
Many thanks indeed. Presently at work on my film concerning East West Rail!
One of the biggest difficulties with re-opening this route would be the level crossing over the A47 Wisbech bypass. For many years after the closure of the line the crossing remained in place, lights, rails and all, but IIRC about 10 years ago the rails were ripped up and the lights and signs removed, meaning the crossing no longer exists. This means that if the railway was to re-open it would either require an application for a new level crossing (which given how busy the road is would be unlikely) or would require a bridge to be built which would add considerably to costs. Sadly this seems to be a late extension of the old policy of developing on just enough bits of old railway lines to make their opening unviable even if there would otherwise be a strong case in the future.
Thanks for your assessment, which seems entirely fair 👍
Fifty-five years ago I rode the line, March to Wisbech, daily for College. Much has changed as I now live in Sheffield, but I applaud the enthusiastic volunteer groups who work to reopen lines.
Many thanks for your memories 🙏
A very well researched, equally well laid out and paced, and professionally produced as always. I learned a few things, and as usual, I look forward to seeing the next video when it comes.
Glad you enjoyed it and thank you for your very kind remarks!
Reopening of sections of the old Varsity line might be worth a video? I think I remember you covered it several years ago, but now work is underway might be interesting for you to see how the reopening is proceeding?
It’s just a thought 💭
My friend, I'm in the middle of making that very film!
@@RediscoveringLostRailways We'll all be looking forward to seeing it.
@@RediscoveringLostRailways excellent!!! A timelapse over the last 100 years would be brilliant if possible!
@@garyparker2541 alas that may be beyond my skill, but I'll see what I can do!
Friends! Will this line ever reopen? What do you think? Let me know in the comments below. *Sharing* this film and giving it a *like* will help raise the film's profile and my channel's presence - could you help with this? Might you consider supporting my channel even more? www.buymeacoffee.com/rediscovering
Let’s get this line reopened and up and running. My guess is that it would take many lorries off the road and, if passenger services were restored then a single sprinter unit would at my guess, would take around fifty cars off the road in one journey. Thoughts?
@@cameronjohnston3186 Theres also alot of March and surrounding areas to Wisbech busses that could be reduced too
Maybe maybe not the local councils say there is a satisfactory bus service that’s rarely used I would like to see it opened but can’t see it sadly
you know i live in a small village called coylton on the west coast of scotland from here there used to be a line that connected all the small villages and towns on its way up to the mainline which in turn connected with glasgow central. mainly a coal freight line but ran passenger services. there is still remnants of the line because im a mechanic and i worked in the opencast coal mines in the area and there is still lines around. my point is that the road now that feeds all the villages is bloody dire, and if the line down here was to reopen it would be massively busy with commuters. so yes the line in the video should reopen aswell as thousands of others throughout the UK and make the UK rail network one of the best. because a passenger train can take so many cars off a road and by god a freight train can take maybe 100 road wagons off our roads. the UK needs to in my eyes pump billions into the rail network. back in 60s our network was far reaching and fantastic. sorry i went on a waffle haha just believe the uk rail network could be a fantastic network and rival all the countries in europe. fantastic video by the way love the content :D :D
Hopefully, it will, unlike other post-Beeching closures, falling victim to SUSTRANS (the Devil!). Way back in 1982, the highly scenic route around the coast of North Devon, from Barnstaple to Instow, Bideford; and then inland to Torrington and Meeth, finally closed, due to money needed for upgrading the track to accommodate more modern Tiger, 57-tonne rail hoppers. British Rail agreed to mothball it and, were in not for SUSTRANS, the popular tourist destinations of Instow, Bideford and Torrington would now be seeing regular passenger services, with the opportunity of steam-hauled charter trains along this beautiful line. Unfortunately, they pounced on it by making an offer in the region of £100k (quite a large sum back then) to Torridge District Council, in order to develop it to what is now known as the Tarka Trail. Since then, both Instow and Bideford stations have been fully restored (Bideford even has a museum; Instow, a signalbox). The two are only three miles apart but SUSTRANS vetoed even sharing the cycle/fòot path, with a narrow gauge railway line, well scrèened off by a high wire fence. South Devon is more fortunate: the line from Paignton to Kingswear was saved by preservationists, and continues to see regular steam-hauled passenger trains. It is extremely popular and is referred to as the the nation's holiday line. It has also featured in a number of high profile t.v. productions, such as Agitha Christine's Poirot and Miss Marples. A full, narrow gauge railway from Barnstaple to Instow and Bideford would obviously be just as popular, and help to boost tourism to the benefit of local trade. It would also tie in with the eventual reinstatement of the narrow gauge railway from Barnstaple to Lynton and Lynmouth. Thanks to SUSTRANS, however, it'll never happen!
You may be forgiven for thinking that this sort of thing wouldn't happen these days, but unfortunately it might. The Eden Valley Preservation Society hoped back in 2000, to reinstate trains from Appleby East to Warcop, along an interesting 5-mile branch line, which saw regular MOD freight trains until the late1980s. Since 2000, SUSTRANS have acquired roughly 2 miles of it, from Appleby East to Copeland, so it is within their power to vetoe running trains into Appleby. What amazes me though is the sheer pointlessness of having a 2-miles cycle path into the middle of nowhere, with nothing to see and do! It does, however, demonstrate their fanatical desire to acquire disused railway lines and turn them into cycle paths, regardless of whether they'd serve the public better by being resurrected by the private sector, and run for purpose they were originally created.
Oh, forgot to mention: Workington had a highly scenic, 5-mile branch line, to Camerton, with views of the Lakeland fells. It closed in 1994, and SUSTRANS turned it into cycle/foot path, forming part of the fragmented C2C route from Whitehaven to Middlesbrough. Workington Station has an island platform, and steam-hauled trains along this branch line would've helped boost tourism in this less affluent part of Cumbria, which is often overlooked by visitors from outside the area, compared to the usual Lake District haunts. It would also have tied in well with the narrow gauge "La'al Ratty" at Ravenglass (further south along the coast, and served by the scenic Cumbrian Coast Line) and also possibly the Lakeside and Haverthwaite Railway. It'll never happen, and the cycle path continues to do nothing more than terminate at Camerton. It doesn't even cut out the steep hill between there to Great Broughton or provide a through route to Cockermouth for cyclists, avoiding the busy A66. Since 1998, it's stayed almost exactly the same. A big thanks to SUSTRANS for the wonderful public service they've provided!
Incidentally, elsewhere, there's evidence of cycle/footpaths being used by motorcyclists; high-powered electric bicycles, and often suffering from fly-tipping, dog fouling, etc, due to insufficient policing. A truly wonderful alternative to the reinstatement of much-needed train services!
Finally, evidence suggests that that creating cycle paths out of disused is not 'green' because motorists drive to where they start rather than take the train. On the other hand, resurrecting disused railway lines can be. The Corfe-Castle - Swanage Railway, encouraged visitors to travel their by train, and both these places saw a welcome reduction in traffic when the line was restored, according to Swanage District Council.
Excellent video yet again. This is very close to commercial quality production. It would only need little bit of polishing and be broadcast by the BBC.
@Mawerick77 thank you, though as @JackWarner has suggested, I'd probably be obliged to insert a 'trying my hand at a local craft or sampling their food or drink' segment! 😆
No don’t let the bbc get hold of it :(
@@leer798 You'll be happy to know they've not been in contact...
Lovely video and very informative. I was born in 1943 when Railways were King and the Country was a maze of beautiful Branch line journeys. How shorted sited of Dr Beeching and the Labour gov.In the early sixties,stationed at Bickliegh on the edge of Dartmoor, the Train journeys across the Moors were wonderful. Thank you once again for your vids, they make my heart ache at what is gone and good fortune in all you do.
I'm so glad you enjoy my efforts!
Living close to the currently being reinstated varsity line section between Bicester and Bedford. I can see the reinstatement being a long process. I suspect even if the go ahead was given tomorrow, it would be the end of the decade before trains were running. However the fact a significant portion of EWR is already in process of recommissioning there is always hope 🙏 👍
Thanks again for another fantastic video 🙂
I your analysis is spot on. And I'll be coming your way in the weeks ahead as I make my film concerning East West Rail!
MARCH was the biggest Marshalling yard during the war and i also remember the fright trains coming down from METALBOX(as it use to be called) plus the trains coming down the JOINT line from SPALDING(fright and passenger) as the hump yard was use to sort out the wagon loads for the eastern counties
it looks so strange from he last time i went home to MARCH with all the Marshalling gone
Thanks for your thoughts and memories
Very well made. I could see this line being just about viable for a VLR shuttle, but capacity restrictions nearby at Ely would be a problem for anything more.
VLR would only be a stop gap, too, necessitating changing at March rather than having through trains to Cambridge/Peterborough, which seems fairly essential if this is going to work.
to be fair, capacity restrictions at Ely may need addressing anyway- considering the possibility of running additional trains through the area with the reinstatement of the Oxford-Bletchley-Bedford-Cambridge route (which could potentially see trains run beyond Cambridge)
@@MercenaryPen Sometimes I wonder whether the Bedford-Cambridge section will be cancelled eventually as well. Politics look particularly volatile right now and a lot of the locals apparently don't like the plan.
@@andrewreynolds4949 I bet these not in my yard locals would use it once it’s built..
@@johnchurch4705 Maybe, maybe not. Some people genuinely have no need to use public transportation, or would find the overall effects of a railway nearby to be greatly more negative.
Great film, as always.
I suspect that what will kill the proposed scheme, is the number of level crossings, both road and private, along the route. Official policy when I worked in the rail industry was that as many level crossings as possible must be eliminated. However, diverting or extinguishing rights of way is a very expensive and protracted process.
The A47 crossing seems like it could scupper the prospect of the railway's return, alas. Thanks for your comment - as an amateur, I'm really glad to hear from those on the inside track, so to speak.
Yes. I think that is what did it for my local branch where I grew up: Little Eaton to Denby branch. Last freight working 1999, lifted 2010 I think.
I can only count three crossings to Kilburn, but there you are...
Fascinating documentary on this - hopefully temporarily - lost line to Wisbech and beyond, Together with some historic images and superb aerial shots, you make a compelling case for reopening and provide a succinct summary of some of the obstacles to be overcome. We must hope that the means are quickly found to overcome them.
Glad you enjoyed it - thank you for your kind remarks and thoughts!
A lovely, clear, well researched video as always. So much seems to remain, so it will be interesting to see if the funding can be found to actually do the work to reopen at least part of the line. Really enjoy seeing the old pictures, and the aerial images really give the scale of the line in the wider landscape. More of these branch lines appear to be being revived, and not just as heritage lines, which is a very good thing...of course if it hadn't been for the dreadful Beeching...!
So glad you enjoyed this episode!
Simple scrap billions of pounds white elephant 🐘 called H.S.T and reopen useful lines around the UK i,e finish off 📴 the waverly route to Carisle ? reopen the line in the lake district to Keswick and beyond ?.etc etc etc etc on our overcrowded roads to seaside resorts where trains used to run and other places ? With modern top and tail engine 🚂🚒 shouldn't be a problem just passing loop's where required? On busy routes ? Just a comment .
Many thanks for your thoughts. I know many other comments on here align with your own.
Another outstanding and informative video I really enjoyed watching this. As in all your videos, your passion for our railway history is evident. Long may you continue to produce these, thank you.
Thank you very much! I'm already working on my next major project, so stay tuned!
Another victim of capital, and capital owners' outright refusal to allow anything to exist which helps the average worker, to their exclusion; if the wealthy can't profit from it, it has no reason to exist (according to the system that made them wealthy) and must be removed.
Many thanks for your thoughts
Finally I learn from you how to pronounce Wisbech. I was there visiting the great house of the Quaker, Lord Peckover, and I always pronounced it like it was a small village in the Black Forest! It would've been great had there been a train from Kings Lynn to Wisbech!
I think that many people in Wisbech would prefer a rail connection to King's Lynn rather than Cambridge, but that's not on the table. Yes - some pronounce it 'Wisbeck' and I can see how.
I agree! I've never been, so I would have pronounced it Wisbeck. Now I know.
I used to live in one of the houses that would have been served by Middle Drove station. As a child in the 70’s it seemed amazing there was a station there. One night there was a commotion and one of the railway buildings burned down. From the video I guess it was the goods shed, or perhaps the signal box but I don’t really remember a signal box being there, but there was a large brick shed.
Many thanks for your memories 🙏
As always a fabulous film with probably the best narration on YT. I can only imagine the enormous amount of work you put into this. I am going to binge tonight.
Wow, thank you! It is a huge amount of work, but I really enjoy it. Glad you enjoyed it! Do share far and wide if you can!
Fascinating to see the history of this line, used to drive past A47 level crossing before it was removed in mid 2000s and wondered why they had got rid of it in the first place. Thanks for the great work piecing it all together.
My pleasure, glad you enjoyed the film!
My grandfather was John Brammer who was a guard/ticket officer on the March to Wisbech line in the 50s, then going on to work at the metal box factory on Weasenham Lane
What a fabulous connection to have with this fascinating line!
Good luck and I wish you the best in reopening your lost line ..in the North we have been trying to reopen the Colne to Skipton line and the Penrith to Keswick line ...both we have been pushing with the benefits to business and with the Keswick line the gridlock on most days with car traffic the needs are obvious....anyway if your line opens I will be on the first train..
Fingers crossed for similar reopening across the land!
Although I live nowhere near Wisbech, I can see parallels with local rail campaigns that have been active for years but never come to anything. I wish the Wisbech line all the best.
The one thing I'm surprised about in this video is that so many of the actual rails have been left intact. When a railway is decommissioned, every piece of metal is normally lifted to deter looters.
I fear you may be right about the campaign. It seems local government provides a lot of sound and fury, signifying nothing.
A classic example of why nothing gets done in this country. How strikingly obvious this is to reopen the line but everyone and his aunt has to put their two pence in the pot. Just get on with it and stop dragging your feet.
Thank you for your thoughts and comment
Great stuff! Leicester to Burton-upon-Trent is re opening so fingers crossed for this! Let's hope it's not another awful guided bus way!
Thank you. Buses are pretty grim things...
What about the Wisbech & Upwell Tramway who's line crossed the old road from Sandy to Whittlesea time and time again as I remember as a child? I was fortunate enough to have a very young recognition of a tram loco with a few odd trucks pushing it's way along a line of grass lined tree backed tracks but I only ever saw it once and I can't remember where. I still remember Whittlesea station as a 2 road platform with magnificent crossing and signal box. A shadow of what it is now!
Thanks for your memories. The Wisbech and Upwell tramway features in my film The Lost Industrial Railways of Cambridgeshire.
Fascinating! What a good idea in principle to reopen the line to March. It looks like this would be a "relatively" easy project compared to many, as so much infrastructure remains. We have lost so much over the years, such a pity so many branch lines are no more. Great video, very informative!
Thanks for your comment and kind words about my film 😀
Another excellent video - sadly I suspect this project will come to nothing, rather like the Minsters rail campaign to re-open the Beverley to York line. In the case of the Wisbech line, it seems the A47 will be an insurmountable problem costing far too much to transverse. Thank you as usual.
I fear you may be right! Many thanks for your thoughts and comment!
If they can build a dive under at Werrington I'm sure they can do the same to get under the A47
I am afraid the reopening of this line may take years, I live near the Portishead to Bristol line witch is still in use for fright on a daily basis even with a new sight for a new station in Portishead so far over TEN years and counting, so I wish you all the best of luck in the world with this venture. (time frame for this venture 20 to 25 years I think).
I think you're right to suggest that no one should hold their breath...
Similarly on the other side of the river, the project to add a halt alongside the Portway Park-&-Ride car park on the running Severn Beach line. Trains run through there into Clifton and Central Bristol. All that is needed is a pre-fab platform with a bus shelter on it. Single track so no footbridge needed, the land is there - you couldn't find a simpler project. The delay in doing these things is disgraceful.
Another informative documentary with superb filming, editing and narration. The glacial progress made reopening 'no-brainer' rail services is frustrating to say the least. Here's hoping for a more expeditious solution to unstick the March-Wisbech reopening!
Many thanks for taking the time to say so - it really is appreciated!
Fascinating that the track is still existing. Could this be taken over by a heritage railway? Great video!
Yes, the video details this proposal. This is what the Bramley Line Heritage Trust aims to do.
Thank you for this wonderfully produced historical documentary.
I traveled to Wisbeach at about 1964 to spend a week picking strawberry's at a ww2 pow camp called Friday Bridge
Thank you indeed for your kind words about my film and for sharing your memories 😊
Another Brilliant film as usual! I honestly think the line should re-open. As a trainspotter, it saddens me to see any old line fall abandoned, and indeed it should be brought back. Look foward to your next video!
Many thanks indeed 🙏
for any youtubers able to, "I ran my own REAL life railway!" and get one of those up down things on here would be a banging video idea
Agreed!
@@RediscoveringLostRailways nice video mate
You may have an interest in the Bristol to Portishead branch. Crying out for reopening since the early 1970's. If you ever approach the subject, be prepared to discover failed promises and procrastination, inspite of a lively group,of supporters. Really, you could not make it up. Admire the work you have put into this report.
,
'Failed promises and procrastination' - that would have been a much better title for this film! Thank you for the recommendation - I've heard of this branch and how reopening it is something of a no-brainer...and yet...thanks for your kind remarks about my film!
Another top-notch production - well done ! 👍👍
Very kind of you to say so thank you!
I believe one of the major obstacles in opening the Wisbech Branch is that the proposed branch trains would join the main line at March and provide a very useful commuter/shopping service to Cambridge. This would mean traversing the simplified Ely North Junction which is already at full capacity. Remodelling Ely North is still ongoing but, I believe, much of the work was to be funded by the EU and this money has obviously been lost. Until Ely North is upgraded I'm afraid the Wisbech-March line will have to wait a little longer even though millions of pounds have been spent on reports and surveys. The Fenland Citizen quotes a price of £163,600,000 to reopen about 6 miles of track. A real bargain!
The cost is eye watering and with the cost of travelling by train being what it is, there's much to weigh up. And of course what you say about Ely North Junction is a significant problem for this railway's prospects.
@@RediscoveringLostRailways The costs recorded in the local paper included converting ALL the level crossings to bridged crossings! and replacing the lovely foot bridge at March with a new one containing lifts. All these new requirements seem to make a lot of new projects prohibitively expensive.
Railroad lines should be restored so that people have more options for mass transit. towns need to be reconnected with other towns as well. I would hope this track would be restored. It'll take a lot of work but if people do get together to do it, it'll work!
Wouldn't that be great!
I remember seeing the forlorn disused platforms at March about 25 years ago, on fairly frequent travels between Hertfordshire and Merseyside. It’s good to know that they (& much else) are still there and may return to active use in future.
Fingers crossed 🤞
That's quite a meandering route from Herts to Merseyside! Probably a much nicer journey than M1 / M6 though!
I used to get on a train at Bishop’s Stortford, get off at Audley End, wait a few minutes on the same platform then take the Central Trains service arriving from Stansted Airport all the way to Liverpool Lime Street. It was always possible to find a table seat and get plenty of work done. The (albeit quicker) alternative was to go via Liverpool Street and Euston, but this route provided significantly less desk time, and the pre-Pendolino swaying of the train around the curves made it difficult to read without feeling motion sickness. I was also recovering from abdominal surgery when I started using the Central Trains service - it was a much more tranquil way to travel, with less walking required.
The route via Cambridge, Ely, Peterborough, Stamford, Leicester and Birmingham was reasonably direct and probably not much different in mileage from the alternative. It was also much less expensive and went through some interesting places along the way. On a few occasions, I forgot to check the route when booking and ended up on the other Stansted - Lime Street service via Chesterfield and Manchester, which was a bit round-about, but I never regretted the journey through the beautiful Peak District.
How can it possibly cost £218 million (Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority’s figure, March 2021) to dust off an eight mile railway that is already there and was still in use 20-odd years ago?!?! Rail in the UK is *so* expensive 🙄
Yes whether buying tickets or building railways, it is an expensive business!
Great video. True, Beeching wrecked our railways and as I read in an old newpaper, somebody quoted "Future generations will curse us". How true them words are today.
Most of the old lines had their land and buildings sold off so no hope of revival. Having said all that, if we had all the old Victorian rail system still intact today, who the hell can afford to use the train any more.
Many thanks for your thoughts and comment 👍
Ernest Marples, Transport Minister at that time, was actually the real villain. Richard Beechiing 'merely' did his bidding.
Back in 1989, I worked for BT and the yard in Wisbech backed onto the Spillers yard. Class 47s were a daily visitor and on one occasion a class 56 turned up with a train of Redland hoppers (in pale green) for a photo-call. Interesting little corner.
Yes and some fine traction by the sound of it!
Fantastic video once again the drone coverage mate is amazing
It survived this trip, fingers crossed it will the next!
Amazing video. I'd love to see more like this on railways that are planned to be reopened sometime in the next few years!
Stick around for me film concerning East West Rail coming later this summer...
I love to see these railway returns even if the trains these days are electric, as we know redevelopment in places have hampered some old tracks but one's which can be repaired would be great.
Yes, it would be great to see!
I was not disappointed, always fascinating, nostalgic and meaningful.For someone who went to school by steam train daily and preceded Beeching's cuts, thank you . Mike
I'm so pleased you enjoyed this episode, many thanks for your ongoing support 😀
Excellent I really really hope it gets reopened
It would be the right decision I feel!
(( Dr Beeching,)), In the 1960s production of motor cars and their export made money for the UK
People began to drive motor cars
Which were point to point,, cheaper,, and the railways began to suffer.
hindsight,, looking backwards,,, It's great ,,Yes it's a shame about the closures
Many thanks for your thoughts and comment 👍
Walked from March station up to Wisbech last autumn past the old marshalling yard site (lot of interpretation boards) and got the bus back - there were great views of the old line from the top deck. It's a melancholy sight and I wondered then if it could be viable again.
I can remember a childhood holiday largely spent riding trains across the Fens. Most of the lines are now gone but there are ghostly remains everywhere.
Thank you for your comment - yes, 'ghostly' is the word - let's hope that it can be brought back to life altogether!
Interesting video. As you found when trying to film it, the problem is the level crossing over the now mega-busy A47 road. Unless the money can be found to build a bridge at this location, I can't see trains ever returning to Wisbech, sadly.
Yes, you are right, it doesn't seem likely...
We moved from Hertfordshire to Wisbech in 1972, where I first attended the Queens Boys' then Wisbech Grammar schools, until 1979. I still have family living just to the north of the town and have in the intervening 43 years been to or passed through Wisbech innumerable times. The town has in the intervening decades experienced a monumental cultural and financial collapse. A great shame, as Wisbech has an impressive architectural and historical heritage and has huge potential to reform and recover. Elements of the incoming population are the problem. There is little to attract professional well-educated people and families, so the town has degenerated demographically to the point where it's an inward-looking cultural abyss. I do not exaggerate. A Wisbech-March railway reinstatement could open a financial and cultural goldmine of opportunity and with any luck, filter out the negative societal elements.
Many thanks for your comment. I don't know Wisbech at all, but what you say chimes with the impression I was left with. Would a railway reverse these fortunes? It could certainly help...
It is 2022 ....you go anywhere in world there is same situation comming everywhere ..that ....all old buildings historical monuments , beautiful art work ....all going to vanish due to ignorance ...very few people know its value and the efforts taken behind it to build it , even in absence of today's technology .....all engineers of that era were simply genius and very sincere , yhey designed everything for atlist to run for 100 years ....old mechnical engineering is still useful today........
Unfortunately that era has gone ....now people think for very short term 🙄
Many thanks for your thoughts!
A fabulolus video as aways. I thouroughly enjoyed our journey. What a great opportunity to reopen an old line, much of which still exists. As long as it is economically viable, like the line at Oakhamton to Exeter, Why not? I guess red tape is the problem. Remove the red tape and low and behold, progress.
Thanks ever so much!
This video has reappeared in my home page "suggestions".
It is now 5 months since my previous comment, when I was sceptical about the line's reopening.
What has changed since then?
There is still a lot of dithering about possible alternative schemes rather than getting on with it.
The UK's finances have been wrecked by very poor government.
What may be the final nail in the coffin, though, is the renewed advice not to travel by train- this time not because of Covid, but the ongoing rail strikes.
The rail companies regard passengers as an inconvenience, as it seems they have done nicely out of delay payments from Network Rail rather than provide a good service. People need reliability otherwise they will make other arrangements, including working from home instead of travelling.
So I would say that the authorities just cannot be bothered about East Anglia- It is is not London and also it is not Scotland or Wales, both of whose devolved administrations make a visible effort to improve transport. If Labour win the next General Election, do not expect things to improve- remember it was Labour who closed the Hunstanton line.
A real shame, as the line to Wisbech could have been reopened with ease before now.
Many thanks for your thoughts - I must admit that the prospects for this line are not exactly encouraging!
VERY NICE!! I was just in the UK and loved seeing these places! Such history and well done!
Glad you enjoyed i - tell me more about your time over here - which railways did you manage to see?
Would love to see it reopened .... sadly it will be a long time coming if ever☹ It should be a no brainer....in Scotland this would be high on the list of possible reopening's - they are very pro rail [Borders Line etc] Where i live in Oxfordshire we have a live railway but no station [Wantage Road between Didcot & Swindon closed by Beeching in 1964] we have been campaigning for a new station since 1975....47yr! Despite massive new housing developments in recent years and overcrowded roads and having our MP behind it and huge local support nothing ever happens barring press coverage every few years and a photo opportunity.....then gets kicked in the long grass. Politics....i despair☹ On a historical note... i travelled on the last train to Wisbech - a Pathfinder Tour [shown] in 1998. Wish you well in your endeavours to reopen the Wisbech Branch....will be watching with interest.
Many thanks for your comment, thoughts and memories 🙏
I do enjoy your films very much and appreciate all the hard work that goes into them.
many thanks for sharing.
All the best.
😊🍻👍
Many thanks!
Not going to reopen.lets faces it. The town is small, no great traffic in-between and the cost to reopening is a collasal waste of money. I'd love to see it reopen but honestly there's far better projects for bigger towns that woulds generate more passengers before this.
Whilst I'd never say never, I can absolutely see your point of view
As someone born just as the railway closed even tho I don’t live in the uk whenever I go back in the town halls of many villages near by Wisbech they do have a chat about the re opening and many do want the plan to go through, it wouldn’t just serve Wisbech, also Long Sutton, Tydd St Giles, Tydd st Mary, Tydd Gote, West Walton, and Gorefeild, with the little industry that the town has and many supermarkets they might be able to run 1 freight train a day
bureaucracy the bane of mankind!
Yes, it is positively Dickensian!
Thank you for your video about lost rail lines. If I ever can come to Great Britain I would love to do what you are doing: exploring lost rail lines! I can think of nothing finer to do. I hope your Wisbech line can come back to life. It's good for the citizens, the economy, and the environment.
My pleasure, glad you enjoyed the film. Do subscribe if you've not already done so and enjoy my other films in the series 😀
Interesting video, with some beautiful footage. There was a similar project in my area to reopen the branch line from Newton Abbot to Heathfield (Devon), but after a small flurry of activity a few years ago, I don't think much progress has been made. They did run a DMU set down it so I guess it's in some sort of working order.
However, as mentioned in the video, the Exeter to Okehampton line was reopened recently. It could be part of a larger project to offer an alternative route from Exeter to Plymouth, after part of the track by Dawlish got washed away.
The trouble with projects like this is it's a huge capital investment for a very slow payback (especially if you only consider ticket sales).
Thank you for your kind words about my film. Your analysis of the slow pace of reinstatement seems spot on to me. A route avoiding Dawlish seems vital.
@@RediscoveringLostRailways Thank you for entertaining and educating me for almost 20 minutes ;). Regarding the glacial progress of these things; As far as I can tell, there are a lot of enthusiastic volunteers willing to help out, but ultimately Network Rail has to be on board (no pun intended) and they have other other priorities. You can't rely on volunteers to maintain a mainline track.
Middle Drove station is not long for this world. The shelter and platform were ripped up last year. The station building is now for sale again. Asking for planning permisson to demolish and rebuild as apparently "It's not fit for habitation".
Yes, I read about this the other day - sorry to hear it's going to be bulldozed!
A superb film! Excellent narration and photography.
Very kind of you, thank you 😊
Lovely video and possibly a good idea to reopen the line. I fear rose tinted spectacles have been used. Those of us who can remember branch lines must wonder if they'll ever be economically viable. The current national rail network is an economic black hole. Vast sums of taxpayers money being used to subsidise them.
I won't mention HS2......
Do keep us up to date with more news.
Many thanks for your thoughts and comment!
Great film again. Good to see this line, which was inevitably constructed in part by my Gt Gt Grandfather. He’d have definitely appreciated that hut fireplace!
Thank you, what was your family connection?
Sadly politics closed most of the branch lines with Dr Beeching, and politics will be the reason most will never reopen......no matter how it lessens the carbon footprint, or saves villages from hoards of polluting cars and trucks.......it's all politics.....follow the money.
Sadly, I think you're right...
Thank you for producing such cool videos, they really could be shown on national TV.
Glad you like them! Thank you indeed!
When I see this channel .....I really get involved little emotionally also ....what our last two generations did for mankind is just excellent 👌......the people who are between age 35-45 should think and act very seriously to preserve all these monument(s) world wide ...lets breat all barriors of countries, languages, religion, casts , educational status .....and lets preserve it worldwide 😃😃😃😃 .....may god bless all ....
Many thanks for your thoughts!
I live in march and visit the station while walking it would be great to see the old line back it will certainly be easier than the old spalding line which has a massive prison on some of where the track bed was but you can still see where the track once run in certain places
Fingers crossed it works out for those involved 😀
Level crossing reinstatement? No. Take a leaf out of the book of the current Labour government here in Victoria Australia. They have worked for the least eight years on a crossing replacement program with huge success. They'd be either tunneling under or flying over those problematic crossings. A dive under would probably be achieved in two months from start of works, with minimal problems for road traffic, especially in such uncluttered terrain. It's all about the will to succeed...
Many thanks for your thoughts - I know that Network Rail (who oversee railway maintenance in the UK) have been doing their best to close as many crossings as possible and replacing them with safe alternatives. For this line, however, since it is dormant and the political willpower can be measured in a couple of inches, I fear nothing will happen!
Apart from excellent description of the line from inception to decay ,the reasons for delay are explained in a crystal clear manner befitting your presentation. Best of luck 👍
Very kind of you to say so - thank you indeed!
The North Dartmoor line between Exeter and Okehampton aas already in place so opening should not have been complicated. The remainder (to Bodmin and Plymouth) is a mix of disused and ripped out railway. It could be re-opened but RailTrack are seriously not interested. Their financial analysis is rigged to ignore potential use of the line so of course the costs and benefits never add up. Well they wouldn't would they?
It is very disheartening indeed
What a great little video, well researched, well spoken, great shots by drone. You sir have earned a sub!
That's really very kind of you, thank you 😊
Train travel is a thing of joy, so I would love to see the line re-opened. The situation of the station is problematic though. Putting it on the far side of the A47 would do away with the problem of a crossing there, but the council is, not unreasonably, keen to have the station as close to the town centre as possible. That would put the station by the rail route to the pet food factory. It still wouldn't be close to the town centre, due to the factory premises being in the way. Given that the area of sidings between Weasenham Lane and the pet food factory is now rich in wildlife, including foxes and muntjacs, I'm hoping the station will be out of town. I hope it is re-opened in some form though, be it train or light rail, or even busway, but suspect that a combination of covid and the war in Ukraine will mean the money for such a project will be a tad light. Love the video. Well made and entertaining.
Glad you enjoyed the film, many thanks for your thoughts 🙏
who knows what the future holds... well i for one would like to see this line come back to life once more as most of it is already there... but that's not up to me sadly... still a cracking vid though and i can't wait to see what comes next
Yes, we may dare to dream that a lost railway might be...ahem...rediscovered?
I have often thought that a few people willing to take the time to spray short sections of overgrowth might clear the vegetation from parts of a line that was unused. This would make the reopening of the line a little easier.
There have been efforts in this regard, but this tends to be volunteers rather than Network Rail, so regrettably it is often a piecemeal effort.
I love the drone shots. They really add a lot. Your flying skills are much better than mine!
Very kind. For every one minute I fly I swear I only capture 20 seconds of usable footage!
I worked for a number of years in the US for a Railroad over there and during that time I operationally managed a railway as we reintroduced passenger operations on one of our lines for the first time in 50 years the whole process was fascinating and often frustrating in equal measure 18hr bridge outages on a operational railway when you are trusting the track department will be giving you the track back before your first train arrives is a simply horrid experience!
It's always fascinating to hear about this sort of thing from an insider. Thanks for sharing 👍
@@RediscoveringLostRailways Our biggest concern was the welds within the long welded rail and before opening the line back up to passenger service whenever we had a mainline derailment, and we had a number! that was the first question(the track was mostly 25 or 10mph and wasn't in great condition)
The March to Wisbech line remains part of the GB mainline railway network never having been ‘Network Changed’ out of it. It does, however, require the completion of a great deal of backlog maintenance before a passenger service could be reintroduced to it. The real challenge is who should pay for this maintenance - the DfT, Network Rail or the local authority. It would be quite interesting to see how the situation played out if a transport undertaking (aka a train operator) could be persuaded to apply to the DfT to commence a passenger service over the line. An interesting precedent for many other lines that have not been closed formally and are therefore only moribund.
Thank you very much for your explanation - I did not know many of these details - really quite illuminating!
Good morning. What a fantastic journey looking at what was a great railway 👍🏻 It’s a no brainier reopening old railway lines especially at £9 a gallon for fuel lol 😆 Back in the 70s when the car was king and fuel was very cheap 50p a gallon 🙄 Look at any new line that’s reopened recently as it always exceeds parsonage 🤩
It would be great if this worked out! But the way things are going, rail travel like road travel is becoming a rich person's form or transport!
there are a lot more people here today .......500 a day coming in illegally in dover ( no passprot needed by the way hence illegal) of course we need more of everything . also the idea of travelling further to work on good roads helped
I remember the train track running behind my Nan and granddad's house, where my mum and dad live now, but I was very young, and the train track used to be the border of Cambridgeshire, / Lincolnshire, and the old iron bridge still stands over the drain today, which the trains used to go over, but now the drain is the border. And the heading of this video say,s how do you reopen a railway? from Wisbech or anywhere for that matter, well it used to be there in the old days, and now we're in 2022, & nearly in 2023, & they reckon they put man on the moon, surely it can't be that difficult,to figure out how to build a brand new railway from scratch today, let alone repair and reopen, a railway and train tracks, what was already there, surely you ain't got to be a G WIZZ, to figure that one out!😉
Thanks for your comment
Very interesting, thank you. Always interesting to look at 'then and now' maps of railways in East Anglia.
It seems to me that a reopened March to Wisbech line would be a perfect candidate for the Class 230 as used on the Marston Vale Line.
Yes, that would be a good call!
Of course it should the area needs it. As a local I fully support it and would suggest the new Wisbech station should be just out of town on the March side of A47, near where a small development is being planned including, I believe a travel lodge, which could be convenient to travellers. There is ample, low grade land to incorporate a sensible sized car park.
Fingers crossed it works out for Wisbech!
Excellent video. Most lost lines can never be reinstated because their routes have been built over. If the line is largely intact, it's a case of who now owns the land and whether the legal hurdles can be overcome. Also would a re-opened line be financially viable?
Thanks for your comment
Does England have any Eminent Domain Laws like we have in the USA, where if the Government decided it was in the public's best interest to re-open the line, they could force land owners to sell the old right of way back at fair market value?
Yes, there is something called a compulsory purchase order which can be used. However, as you might expect, these are very controversial and reparations are often said to be way below market value.
Fantastic video as always! Thank you for putting so much time and effort in to these videos!
My pleasure!
If this government wasn't so Londoncentric, ie if a billion pounds needs spending in London they just spend it and nobody bats an eyelid, yet we have projects such as this unable to get funding. Take the Leamside Line up here in the north east as a prime example...
There's no doubt the capital eclipses investments elsewhere
Another wondrful video. Very well made and very interesting, so well done!
Very kind of you to say so, thank you
It's a pity the complex bureaucratic process of reopening old railways wasn't also necessary when closing them. It might have meant a few lines that would be useful today may have stayed open.
Yes, just so!
There has been talk of Dualling the A47 as the section from Guyhirn to Wisbech is awful along with the single road section around the town that the crossing used to go over. If they ever got this improvement then a bridge over the railway could be looked at as part of the build. Currently Wisbech is being strangled by the poor road system and the closure of the Railway 50+ years ago started a major decline in the town.
Thanks for your comment. There's no doubt it would benefit from improved transport links!
Good point. The section of A47 that is single road is very slow and there are little alternatives if there is an incident. there would definitely need to be a new bridge over the railway. The new motorway on the A14 around Huntingdon shows new build roads can be built
I don't believe that they will ever be able to dual the a47 between wisbech and guyhirn. Its a raised roadway and without compulsory purchasing the land to one side and banking it up, its a non starter. The other side acts as a flood plain and clearly its out the question to extend the road into that area. The road is terrible and most the time you are stuck behind slow moving lorries and there is nowhere to overtake. That said, its just as bad all the way to peterborough apart from one small section of dual carriageway. I would love to see this railway reopened but i just don't think that there are sufficient arguments to justify the immense cost of doing so. Maybe, as someone pointed out, a heritage railway option would be the answer because currently, local people won't ditch their cars to take a train to march given that its not that far away.
And so many in England. From E Yorkshire to Withernsea and Hornsea: destroyed by Beeching. Lets do it!!!
JML
Many thanks indeed 🙏
I love all these old rail videos. Quite sad to see locations where no trace or just a few bits are still there. Amazing to think how just a few decades can change a location. Its a shame we dont have a time lapse of some of it, to see lines being removed, goods sheds being demolished, houses and trees taking over. If only eh.
It never ceases to amaze how quickly nature reclaims railway land and property!