Bollington: a new era!
 

In 1972 the macclesfield,Bollington and marple railway closed.
Now the line has been turned into the middlewood way for walkers, cyclists and horse riders.
An observation I made whilst doing this walk is that it was a double track alignment (it had two paralel tracks) .

Heres the big picture: A single track line that leaves room for the path running the whole 11 miles of beautiful scenery from Macclesfield (first main line connection) to Rose hill marple (second main line connection)
Along this journey will be many challenges. These will include raising the original trackbed out of bollington to build a unique bridge over the macclesfield bypass, and rebuild an enourmous river Bollin stadling viaduct, which was unique in design and shall be improved to include iron work to create a victorian style magnificant, intricate and over designed crowd pulling bridge. This shall be a steam railway (with heritage deisels) and revive a struggling part of Cheshire.

Remember what Kennedy said. "We choose to do these things not because they are easy, but because they are hard". Only we are not quite trying to reach the moon.
This can be an appeal in the style of those of magazine readers appeals, such a Steam railway magazine readers appeals which against the odds restore our herritage.

In many of your threads and posts I see good people with ideas. Here is a chance to put some of those ideas into action. There are times when you feel no one will listen. Well I and other supporters are willing to listen.
Heres my advice: take a deep breath and jump.
Someone has to start, so why not you?
This subject shall now be a regular subject of mine.
PS: What can we do that is totally new and amazing that will make the line stand out and a hub of special interes of many different types.
Support is growing steadily, but remember that it is early days.:) :D :cool: :D
Your thoughts and opinions please.
Questions will be answered.
(please note that later it was decided to run from marple to Bollington only and this is explained later in the thread)

update
 

Good news regarding this subject.
Again local support has been given and there is a dinner that will bring together some of the major supporters.
Regarding the line itself, it has been decided that a guage of 2 feet will be sufficient and we are also hoping to gain the support of the national trust at Lyme park (1 mile away) to sort out how they can be involved.
Now there is also support being given from his lordship Lord Millett, who is giving his full backing and is now a business partner.
Hopefully the first track should be laid very soon.

It's only going to be a toy railway then, is it ?

I don't know if I can believe everything I read. Sorry if I've got this wrong but is this realistically about a railway at Bollington or is it just bollocks?

Its true!
 

This is serious stuff.
The reason for the two foot guage is that we want to leave enough space for the footpath and to ensure that no objections linked to this can be put forward.
When you say toy railway, you make it seem like a bad thing.
Think of the ffestiniog, welsh highland and bala lake railways for example.
These provide a great day out.
Standard guage has not been ruled out, but we want to have something special for this part of england. We do not want to encroach on the east lancashire railways territory.
It is early yet but we have our eyes on a south african garrat! It won't be such a toy railway then.
Whatever the outcome i will keep you posted on this.
Something I should mention is that the vintage pln flights at woodford came to nothing. I can't argue with BAE systems and the RAF.
Getting the national trust on our side however, is making progress. The vintage bus service from Higher poynton station into lyme park should be fine.
I have checked their terms and conditions regarding this on their website.

Some more good news is that there should be a meeting soon for supporters and representitaves. Nothing has been finalised but letters are going to be sent and we are hoping that it shall take place at one of the wilmslow methodist churches meeting rooms, one of which can seat 50 people. At this stage we are still rooting around for support and I and my colleague Lord millett are goning to walk the whole route from Rose hill marple to Bollington to assess structures and the condition of the trackbed.
After this has taken place we can give more information, but in the meantime if you have questions for me you are more than welcome to ask them.
PS dont ask the methodist church for information as the room has not been booked and so unless they have read this, don't know anything about it yet.:) :)

More locos
 

Now I have found four more locos of a german design (Orenstein and Koppel)
as well as a quarry class hunslet. I havn't bought them. This is a great project to get involved with so I am open to suggestion and membership which will start soon. A letter is now being sent to cheshire east council to put forward the proposal. Our arguement is that the preservation industry has not been affected by the economic downturn and is one of the few industries not losing money. We say that it will greatly improve the local economy attracting tourists to a picturesque area that just needs a push.
Secondly, it has been mentioned that we propose a narrow guage railway on a standard guage trackbed- this leaves plenty of room fot the footpath as it was a double track alignment and we are having a single 2 foot guage track on one side.
Finally we mention that the railway when built was ordered by an act of parliament which was never repealed so still stands today.
We also mention that more and more people are becoming entusiasts (finding their feet) and wishing for more projects like this to become a reality.
A similar letter is going to be released a the same time to the national trust (regarding the vintage buses that will take people from higher poynton to lme park) to say how this can benefit them. Of course a meeting shold follow to negotiate terms if all goes well.

Go on then I will be the first to ask the obvious questions,
1, What sort of budget do you envisage for this scheme assuming you go for the NG option?
2, What sort of a time scale are you working too?
3, Have you opened dialouge with the local authorities/landowners/highway agency etc.?
4, Have you appointed somebody to do a feasibility study into the project?

Observing the project from a distance,but knowing the area reasonably well I admire your ambitions but I'am sorry I just can't see it taking off on the scale you want it to, just to bridge the river and the by-pass would put the cost into the mid teens of millions(just look up the road at the Peak with the A6).
Anyway I will watch with interest and good luck.

Cheers John

This is potentially the most exciting thing that has ever happened on the Railwayforum. It's not every day that you get invited to be part of such a truly dedicated team. I can't wait for all the legal formalities to be completed so that I can start to send my donations. Would £50 a month sound reasonable?

reply
 

Ok
We are aplying for a heritage lottery grant to get us going. We are also in the process of registering as a charity (we are only putting a definate yes if the plan is approved) We have no major earthworks to work on as the footpath maitanance people have been looking afetr it. Bridges are all used by the walkers so have to be maintained and some cross NR railways and are maintained to a good safety standard. Also we need to remember that as a 2 foot gauge line the track and trains are no where near as heavey.
The time scale we are using was something i worked on for hours with my co-founder Lord Milett and we have decided that we are going to deal with negotiations and gather support while launching an appeal as people join ( remember we are applying to become a charity). In the second year we will put the money from the heritiage lottery grant into our first locomotive which has been found (I should mention that the locos have been found and with no restoration required to most) while using the money we have raised from the public to begin laying track and securing our station and shed site at Bollington. The land owner is cheshire east council which is lucky as they are already bent on bringing money in and our argument is already posted in an earlier part of the thread.
When you mention the road difficulties we plan to go no where near it. We are only using the stretch from Bollington to rose hill marple, the road is in macclesfield.
I hope this helps. PS I did mention the act of parliament which opened the railway in the first place which explains that situation in an earlier part of the thread.:) :)

A note to everyone.
I shall notify you of when the negotiations start and finnish.
Tell you what, when the meetings start, you may of course come along so you can meet who you will be working with and your experience can be put to use. I will give the date and place of the meeting when it is finalised.
IMPORTANT: There is a limit to the amount of people to turn up, so we can't have thousands in one meeting. What we might do is have the meetings over several days so more people can see whats happening.
On the days there will most likely be a small charge to pay for the rooms and start our funding operation going. At the meetings there will be a chance to make a donation. Now then, the main fuction hall at the church can seat 150 people. In the main section of the church (which is modern and multi use) the seats are in a horseshoe shape around a stage where there is a projector system. One of the opportunities here is the magnificant 24-28 (lots but some trees in the way) arch viaduct that toweres above the town. This would be the largest viaduct with a heritage railway over it.
I keep you posted.

Just a question.
 

Can I just ask as a guide, who would like to help?

By the way, if you wish to view some of the locomotives in mind then please visit: www.prestonservices.co.uk
Look at steam engines and railway locomotives.
Please note that these are only some of those in mind.
Also look at this: www.alankeef.co.uk
There are others that i can give the names of if asked.

Something I forgot, the line passes over the entrance to the Disley tunnel on the line to buxton. This would be a good site for a view point and visitor centre.

I found this on the net.

http://www.marple-uk.com/railways/c05_01.htm

Is this the line you mean ?

Your right!
 

yes this is exactly the same line, the section we want to use is between Marple and Bollington.
It is about 9 miles in length.
:)

Ah there is something I forgot to mention, I shall soon be walking the whole length of the line to look at things like how structures are holding out against time, also part of the family is in insurance so it will not be too difficult to calculate.
Remember, all this is making our case stronger so if you can, help out by researching anything we may have missed. Thankyou.
Oh and we do not yet have a website. We should have one in a month or two.

Passenger coaches.
 

We know that Alan Keef ltd makes good coaches and locos and we are probably going to use them. Is there anywhere else that we can purchase these items from?
Anyway, on the 17th I am having a meeting with my co founder Lord Milett.
Does anyone want anything to be brought up at this meeting?

Ive just realised that this is the 400th thread in this forum!

Is that significant ? That is in the "Derailed" section as a whole you realise ?

Yes I realise that, I just thought I would mention it.

If a meeting were to be organised for everyone interested, would anyone go?
I should mention that the family has been in the railway business for a very long time, so we know what we are doing when it comes to subjects like steam and to an extent deisel.
Heres the really important bit.
On detailed research the old station platforms at higher poynton are in perfect condition and there are picnic tables inbetween them (which I dare say could be moved onto the spacious platforms themselves.
This project has adopted 2 foot gauge for the reasons already explained, but that causes a problem with platform height at higher poynton.
Something I have considered is to dig down into the existing trackbed here down to the base layers and physically raise the track bed up and burying the lower parts of the platforms in the process. The end result here would be two platforms that are the right height and are still original.
There are some other possibilities but none that we are happy with.
Anyway please help out as you could aid us tremendously.
What we need is serious numbers to strengthen our case further (its already pretty strong) and at last have a railway that you can say "I did that".
Please reply if you are interested and please mention if you would be willing to come to a meeting.

Oh and when I walk the whole route, I will take several photos and I will try to upload them, although I am not exactly sure how.

I have just looked at an old map of the line and at middlewood where the trackbed crosses the NR mainline there was an interchange station, but now only the lower platforms remain. What I wish to do is recreate the interchange to make the line more accesable.

Now a senior member!The previous post was the 100th.

You seem to be making it up as you go along ?

Why not fully decide what you want to achieve and then publish the results. You are in danger of loosing your credibility, although your enthusiasm seems beyond doubt.:D

You can trust me on this one I am not making it up, This moday i will be able to give a rough date for the first general meeting (depending on when all reps can come) anyway the website is not running yet.
There will be a full list at the meeting.

Its about time I gave the full story.
The line shall be built from Bollington through to Rose hill marple.
It will be 2 foot gauge.
The station at higher poynton will be altered slightly for the gauge difference.
Here there will be a vintage bus service to lyme park.
Any other info is avilable on request at this point in time from me at the forum only, when the website is complete emails can be recieved there.
Please for now let me know of your interest and either me or Lord Milett (when he joins the forum) will answer your questions.

Again I remind what I said in the first place, this is an oportunity to recreate lost treasures and so I need your help for suggestions. These will be put forward at the meeting to complete the list. The railway is already founded anyway so credibility cannot be lost with ease.

For those who are confused by this. All the news I give is as it happens so not all of it is refined thats why your puzzled, now though we know where we stand so the quality should be raised from now.

I look forward to his lordship joining the forum.

Yes He is trying but there is something wrong with the email with the activation codes I think in that it hasnt turned up, but he can still put messages through me.
Let me explain.
When he wants to send a message he can just say
lordm : and message....

I would recomend that people interested look up the light railways acts of 1896 and 1912 which supports the case and helps understanding of whats involved.

How would people feel if a traction engne hauled a passenger trailer to lyme park?

Now that the line exmaination draws closer, are case becomes stronger.
Now that the light railways act of 1896 and 1912 are now going to be brought up in the main speech, we would like to ask you what you would like to be read in the speach (please something that helps the case please) and shows the wider opinion of enthusiasts.

A traction engine might cause traffic jams and prove unpopular with some of the locals. Personally I would stick with the vintage bus and let the visitors get their steam experience from the train journey.
I've been thinking (very dangerous:) ) Wasn't Lord Millet a founder member of HOLTS (the House of Lords trainspotters society) together with Lord Cotswold and Lord Black?

Nine miles is quite a length. Do you have any plans regarding passing loops?

Steam for Ever, thank you for your private message in response to my post. You've covered a lot of ground since - all very informative and convincing.

I was keen to find out more about the meeting as I didn't want to miss out with there being only 50 seats at the Methodist Church - I was going to call them but luckily I noticed you'd said they didn't know anything about this yet. Sorry, I see in a later post you're going for 150 in the main function room but have you considered how you will cope if thousands do indeed turn up?

This Bollington railway thing is a massive project and will involve mind boggling amounts of funding given your outline of what will happen. I think a good turnout at the meeting will be important so shouldn't you think about a bigger venue - what about one of Manchesters football stadiums?

I see locos appear to be high priority - good stuff - a South African Garratt and Heritage diesels on 2 ft guage is intriguing - that'll bring in the crowds. However I'm not clear on your final loco decisions - you listed possible manufacturers but you then said your first loco has been found. Is it the Garratt?

Are you confident the Heritage Lottery guys will fund the loco ahead of somewhere to run it - I heard from another railway friend that they wouldn't part with the funds until their head honcho had actually driven their loco (the guy almost wrecked it as he was so useless he kept distracting the fireman who then didn't keep an eye on the water level in the boiler - he did manage to fry an egg on the shovel however.)

I've got some books on how to drive a steam loco - do you want to borrow them for when your lottery bods pitch up?

Another thing to consider is the Health and Safety Executive - they might have a view on steam trains running right alongside a cycleway and footpath but I suppose your chum Lord Millett will have these boys in his pocket already.

I see you guys are having real bad luck with your computers right now - Lord Millett with his activation codes and you having to use your nephews computer (I saw your separate post). With the problems you're having maybe PC World will feel obliged to make a donation to the railway. The short guy with the specs at the service counter in our local PC World branch likes trains, I often see him waiting for one.

By the way John, Swisstrains, I remember reading somewhere that a disillusioned member of HOLTS actually challenged Beeching to a duel on the lawn outside the House of Lords when he heard his local railway was to be axed. Press got a hold of the story putting the future of the Society in some doubt and it went Underground for a while. It was a godsend for the then Minister for Transport, Earnest Marples, who was very much a "roads" man and anti railway who took the opportunity of describing such railway enthusiasts as "unbalanced nutters in need of help" - much to be learned from that.

Mike

Heres something I should mention, it isnt that lord Millet. It is lord Millett who is a completely different person. Sorry for the confusion.
Sadly we cannot get a football stadium as it is far too expensive .

The email to the Cheshire east council has been sent now and we wait eagerly for a reply. The founders meeting today went well and we know where we are heading. In any case we shall wait for the reply to the email and only then will we give the dates for the meetings. Still our case is strong and we hope for a bright future.
Now that the council is involved, it has all become serious so keep your eye out for future installments.

Oh to answer the question about passing loops.
Yes we will have them mainly at stations but also one for busy times such as galas between Bollington and Higher poynton. Chances are we will put a halt here for country walkers. Even without this we will still have four stations:
Bollington, Higher poynton, Middlewood high level and one side of rose hill marple if network rail will permit us. If not we will go for a station just after the sandard gauge buffers. Of course we will try to put a passing loop if there is a demand for it, but we also want to leave room for the path.