Old railways you never know when you need them again!
Posted: Mon Aug 26, 2019 5:55 pm
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-49451634
I have to applaud the group fighting to keep the Queensbury tunnel open with plans to turn it into a cycle track. Too much railway infrastructure is being lost when many of these Beeching cuts could be reversed.
An example is where my daughter lives in Ilkley, the town's streets and residential areas are cluttered with commuter cars coming from outlying areas to pick up the train to Leeds or Bradford. At one time a railway line continued from Ilkley to Skipton the remnants of which are the Embsay preservation line but now a huge gap exists. Places like Addingham had their own stations but are now only accessed by road yet since the Beeching days have expanded and it places like this where the commuters are coming from.
Although the route of the line can easily be traced through the countryside in Ilkley a number of bridges and a viaduct have disappeared part of the route ironically is a car park another part is a school playground plus a few homes. Although a heavy rail solution is probably not viable but a light rail solution like the Metrolink in Manchester using trams on old heavy rail routes as well as street running.
So well done, the Queensbury preservation group for fighting to save the tunnel even if initially for cyclists you never know it may still have a future as rail line!
Richard
I have to applaud the group fighting to keep the Queensbury tunnel open with plans to turn it into a cycle track. Too much railway infrastructure is being lost when many of these Beeching cuts could be reversed.
An example is where my daughter lives in Ilkley, the town's streets and residential areas are cluttered with commuter cars coming from outlying areas to pick up the train to Leeds or Bradford. At one time a railway line continued from Ilkley to Skipton the remnants of which are the Embsay preservation line but now a huge gap exists. Places like Addingham had their own stations but are now only accessed by road yet since the Beeching days have expanded and it places like this where the commuters are coming from.
Although the route of the line can easily be traced through the countryside in Ilkley a number of bridges and a viaduct have disappeared part of the route ironically is a car park another part is a school playground plus a few homes. Although a heavy rail solution is probably not viable but a light rail solution like the Metrolink in Manchester using trams on old heavy rail routes as well as street running.
So well done, the Queensbury preservation group for fighting to save the tunnel even if initially for cyclists you never know it may still have a future as rail line!
Richard