Bristol Harbour Railway 15.5.2010

All 15.5.2010 copyright Steve Sainsbury/Rail Thing)

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RAILFILE - BRISTOL HARBOUR RAILWAY

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!

Bristol Harbour Railway and Henbury in 2009

(All 24.5.2009  Copyright Steve Sainsbury/Rail Thing)

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RAILFILE - BRISTOL HARBOUR RAILWAY

Back in May 2009, on a lovely warm sunny day, I managed to get these shots of Henbury doing some shunting on the line.

We're often told that Health & Safety considerations mean that steam, people, unfenced harbourside and street running just don't mix and would never be 'allowed' in the UK! I'm pretty sure the Bristol Harbour Railway has all these things, and with a 100% safety record.

So the Harbour Railway should become an inspiration for new and rebuilt lines around the country. Steam is fine, street running's fine, unfenced harbourside is fine and so are large groups of ambling people along the track!

by train in the road to the airfield

Copyright John McIvor

In the street!

FACEBOOK - FARNBOROURGH RAE RAILWAY

I first heard about the RAE railway at Farnborough from an old Railway Magazine, typically a few years after it had closed. It seemed almost mythical as there were no photos to hand back then. A steam loco pulling a few wagons down a suburban street as late as 1968? Seemed unlikely.

Nowadays with the help of the internet it's been a little easier to get info and pictures, though they are still pretty rare! The line ran from Farnborough station goods yard for about a mile to the RAE establishment (still famous for its annual air show). As you can see from the photos it had a fair stretch of real street running. As late as 1967 you could have followed the steam train up the street to the station, then watched steam expresses roaring through.

Street running isn't quite as rare as we sometimes think. Everyone knows the Weymouth Tramway of course, but a fair few towns had industrial lines that used street running for short distances, especially in dock areas. I'm still finding out about new ones most weeks. We do of course still have a street running line in Bristol, which still uses steam.

Video!!

Excellent article on the line.

Trainbits article.

Bristol's secret heritage line

Henbury from across the water.

Street running.

The Ruston (called The Bug on the railway).

Double slip.

Retro.

Portbury on shed, repositioned for work!

Tracks and cranes.

(All pics copyright Steve Sainsbury/Rail Thing 6.8.2014)

FACEBOOK - BRISTOL HARBOUR RAILWAY

It was my birthday today (again). Normally we go on a rail trip but the weather forecast for today was so awful we went to see the first showing of the new Inbetweeners film instead, followed by a trip into Bristol for a meal and many cocktails at Las Iguanas. The weather was actually fantastic, the forecast rain coming through overnight rather than in the morning and as we came out of the restaurant we decided to go for a walk along the harbourside.

Soon I thought I heard a diesel horn but put it down to the cocktails. Then across the water we saw activity on Bristol's secret heritage line, and it was indeed a diesel shunter. The two steam locos, Henbury and Portbury, were out too. I'd never seen the harbour line operating other than on occasional weekends. Problem was it was the other side of the water. Luckily, being an honorary Bristolian now, I knew there was a ferry up by the SS Great Britain that would get us across. Amazingly there was a ferry waiting and we quickly made the short trip across the water. We followed the railway along the street section and I just caught the Ruston diesel pass and then vanish up towards the Create Centre.

We chatted to a couple of the blokes working on the line to get the story. Henbury was just out of ticket and they'd been cleaning her boiler out. Same with Portbury who will now be pulling the trains for a while. The locos also needed repositioning so that Portbury would be at the front of the loco shed, with Henbury behind. Luckily we also got to see the two steam locos in the shed and I got to take a few photos.

The Bristol Harbour Railway is a real gem, but seems little known outside of Bristol. It links three major tourist attractions (one of national importance) - the SS Great Britain, The M Shed (free Museum of Bristol) and the fantastic Create Centre, which looks at sustainability, climate change, peak oil etc, all the stuff that's so important now. It's not a long line but it has a lot of variety including a fair stretch of street running, a harbouside stretch, a 'country' stretch, a run along a river and some urban bits as well. Highly recommended! Passengers also get to sit in open wagons ...

For those of you interested in disused lines there are plenty of them on both sides of the harbour and at each end of the Harbour Railway. The current terminus of the railway at Create is only about 300 metres from the (soon to be reopened to passengers) line to Portishead. You won't be stuck for things to do and see if you visit!

More info

Website

Wikipedia

The Bristol Harbour Railway is a preserved railway in Bristol, England operated by Bristol Museums Galleries & Archives. It runs for about a mile along the south side of Bristol Harbour, starting at M Shed (the former Bristol Industrial Museum(51.4483°N 2.5969°W)), stopping at the SS Great Britain, and ending at B Bond Warehouse (home of the Create Centre), one of the large tobacco warehouses beside Cumberland Basin (51.4466°N 2.6213°W).

The original Bristol Harbour Railway was a joint venture by the GWR and sister company the Bristol and Exeter Railway, opened in 1872 between Temple Meads and the Floating Harbour. Its route included a tunnel under St Mary Redcliffe church and a steam-powered bascule bridge over the entrance locks at Bathurst Basin. In 1876 the railway was extended by ¹⁄₂ mile (0.80 km) to Wapping Wharf.

By Act of Parliament of 1897, the GWR was authorised to make an eastwards connection between the BHR and the Portishead Railway, and then create the West Loop at Ashton Gate which would face south towards Tauntonand Exeter Central. This connection would allow a doubling of BHR rail access capacity to the Great Western main line. In 1906 this authorised extension was constructed, with new branches from the south via the Ashton Swing Bridge were built to: Canons Marsh on the north side of the Floating Harbour; and to Wapping via a line alongside the New Cut.

The Temple Meads connection was closed and the track lifted in 1964 (the bascule bridge engine survives in Bristol Museums). The Canons Marsh branch closed the following year, with the Canons Marsh goods shed is now the home of Explore At-Bristol, a hands-on science centre. The Western Fuel Company continued to use the branch from the Portishead line and Wapping marshalling yard for commercial coal traffic until 1987.

In 1978, the preserved railway was established as an element of Bristol Industrial Museum using locomotives built in Bristol and formerly used at Avonmouth Docks. At first, it connected the museum with the SS Great Britain, but when commercial rail traffic ceased in 1987 the museum railway expanded to use the branch alongside the New Cut. When the Portishead Railway was relaid the connection at Ashton Junction was severed.

Today the railway operates on selected weekends on standard gauge track over 1.5 miles (2.4 km). The railway is currently in use as far as B Bond Warehouse (home to the Create Centre and Bristol Record Office), a mile from the museum. On the south side of the harbour the railway crosses Spike Island, the narrow strip of land between the harbour and the River Avon, and clings to the side of the river as far as the junction with the northern branch at the Cumberland Basin. The former route east over the Swing Bridge is now the Pill Pathway rail trail andcycleway.

In 2006, Bristol Industrial Museum was closed and the site redeveloped into M Shed Museum of Bristol. The railway continues to operate between SS Great Britain Halt and the Create Centre, and in 2011 the railway became part of M Shed's working exhibits.

meanwhile ... deep in the woods

(All pics copyright Steve Sainsbury/Rail Thing)

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Bristol is pretty much Britain's Least Green City, with a non-existent suburban railway network and, unbelievably, NO trams!!

But even here the 21st century is beginning to intrude and rail development is starting to happen - at last. Last week we went for a walk down the floating harbour and environs and found a few modern touches, plus a bit of history. Above is a shot of the revitalised Portishead line, now being reopened to passengers but not until 2018! What's the problem - it looks ready to me!!

At Ashton there is still a platform, just waiting for the trains to return.

And as we walked along we heard the squeal of brakes then a deep throated roar as this appeared in the woods above us ....

Pulling wagon after wagon, and reminding us of the long freight trains common in the USA.

Across the river was a piece of history, the bottom station of the Clifton Rocks Railway, which lurks under the rock and links this part of the city to the Avon Gorge Hotel, or more precisely linked!

And just a bit closer to the city is the end station of the Bristol Harbour Railway, a fascinating and little known heritage line that runs a few weekends a year. It has several interesting features including steam, open wagons for carriages, some genuine street running and the rare case of three interesting and useful terminals - at the Create Centre (here), the SS Great Britain (a British icon) and the M Shed (a fantastic FREE museum).

So despite all the attempts of the council to make Bristol about as unGreen as possible other more enlightened people are turning the clock forward and giving us a vision of what the transport future of Bristol will be. With a revived suburban network with new stations and lines we can start to throw off our dependence on that ridiculous 20th century anachronism, the car. And the Portishead line plus that Harbour railway have a connected fate I think. The buffer stops above are only about 300 metres from the Portishead line, linked by a bridge (on which the rails are still in situ!)

The Portishead line needs a fresh approach. Of course a regular train service into Temple Meads will be excellent and well patronised, and can provide an excellent onward service via the network, But why not also tap into all new traffic and bring it into the heart of Bristol, over the bridge and along the harbour railway and then, on street, right into the centre? You could have an hourly diesel service from Portishead  to Temple Meads (with perhaps the occasional through train to Paddington) coupled with a regular interval tram service from Portishead (with perhaps an on street section into the heart of the town) to Bristol Centre.

With the tram option now available and visible the line could kickstart what we all know Bristol needs - a proper city wide tram system. And also with trams in Portishead the rather obvious (but currently closed) route into Clevedon and Weston could also form yet another tram route with a fantastic future.

Let's get started!!

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.