Bristol Harbour Railway 15.5.2010

All 15.5.2010 copyright Steve Sainsbury/Rail Thing)

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Back in 2010 I went for a long walk down the Create Centre end of the Harbour Railway, capturing its riverside route and also the abandoned track beyond across the old bridge.

I drove past here yesterday and the bridge is now being converted ready for the White Elephant Metro Bus route, which has been VERY controversial in Bristol due to its secrecy, its destruction of countryside, the road works, the cost (both of construction and tickets!) and the route, which goes out of Bristol through countryside and back in again, merging with ordinary road traffic where congestion is worse. This will in the future be a fantastic tram route, but for now we're stuck with something that nobody wanted and very few people will use.

At one time it even threatened the route of the Harbour Railway but even Europe's Least Green City saw that as a step too far!

If anything positive comes out of this (other than the ease with which it will be converted to tram!) it'll be that the Harbour Railway will become far more visible, which can't be a bad thing. The railway is one of Bristiol's best tourist attractions AND one of our best kept secrets! Where else can you travel behind steam on street tracks, and in open carriages at that?

The next trains will be running on the Harbour Railway on 19 March 2016 - it's well worth a visit and all three destinations - M Shed, SS Great Britain and the Create Centre - are all excellent tourist attractions in their own right, and two of them are FREE!

monorail

(All 23.11.2010, copyright Steve Sainsbury/Rail Thing)

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This is the monorail that serves Disney in Orlando, Florida. I didn't really know anything about this system before visiting, and was quite surprised that it was far from being an amusement park ride as expected. It actually serves a vital function, linking the Magic Kingdom, Epcot and some other Disney attractions to each other and to the Transportation Center. Trains run every couple of minutes and were packed. I was very impressed by the PA system on board which told us exactly why we were waiting for a few minutes just before our station (one of the trains was being switched to the Epcot route). All in all quite an experience.

Monorails can work in very dedicated situations like this - there's a similar short system at Orlando International Airport for example, but must cost a good deal more than conventional rail. A high capacity tramway would probably do the same job at a half the price - but you would lose the experience of seeing everything from an elevated position.

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(Updated 30.5.2017)

bristol at night

(All 26.4.2010)

A surprise trip to Bristol Temple Meads last night to pick Abby up from the Plymouth train. I took the camera on the off chance I'd get a few shots. With film cameras night shots used to be really difficult, normally needing a tripod and cable release. But digital cameras do a much better job, maing it possible to get almost sharp shots without needing either.

Railways at night are always atmospheric and hopefully I'll get a lot more in the future - and with a better camera, tripod and cable release I may even get them super sharp!

phoenix rising

To Midsomer Norton today. The S&D really is coming back, in small bits to start with, but now has an umbrella organisation dedicated to restoring the whole route as part of the 21st century network.

Midsomer Norton is beginning to look like it did in its heyday, despite the obvious compromises that need to be made whilst it remains a 'stand-alone' site on a resurgent S&D.

The site was derelict in the early 1990s, and was expected to become a characterless housing estate, but locals mobilised and saved the site as a tourist initiative. The station building was restored, the trackbed cleared and levelled, track relaid, the signalbox completely restored and now even the famous greenhouse is reappearing brick by brick. And now Midsomer Norton itself has become the inspiration for the much more ambitious New Somerset and Dorset Railway, which is now mobilising resources along the whole route in a stunning initiative to bring modern transport back to this neglected part of Britain.

rails around bristol harbour

Some rails remain on the north side of the harbour.


SS Great Britain station.



Tracks on the harbourside.

A nice trip round Bristol harbour today, after stunning tapas at El Puerto - a real find!

Nothing running of course, and doubtful that anything ever will on the north side. But there is a short section of operational railway on the south side of the harbour, the Bristol Harbour Railway. Steam passenger trains do run on this railway for a short distance a few times a year. This line will be extended a few hundred metres in 2011 when the new museum is opened. There's a small station at the SS Great Britain end of the line.

mystery location

Any idea where this roadside railway is?

A few clues - it's in the UK, it runs regular passenger trains and is 15" gauge.

If you know please leave a comment!

If not come back tomorrow when all will be revealed!