I need loads of advice
 

Hy Folks I have just joined so please forgive any mistakes. I need to know about Narrow gauge as a group of us are thinking about creating a railway It will be a passenger line of eventually 12 miles long Which is better NG or standard ? If NG which gauge ? Is 2ft adequate or larger? What size engine in diesel or steam I envisage 3 coaches max I look forward to your answers as we know nothing about the subject Yes the phrase forget it comes to mind but we are determined Regards

Welcome.

First question, have you secured the track bed for this proposed railway ? If so are you at liberty to disclose the route ?

It is a very ambitious project.:D

Has "steam for ever" moved to Yorkshire? :D

Hy no not yet We are talking at the moment If it goes ahead it will be a new venture on virgin ground

We had a similar (but less ambitious) scheme on here some years ago.

I support any railway related initiatives, but from what little you have said I would say you are doomed to failure before you start.

Harsh words may be, but please, be realistic in your ambitions.

To re-lay track on an existing track bed would be hard enough, but 12 miles on virgin ground is fanciful.:eek:

So if I read this correctly you plan to open a railway possibly NG on land which has never before been used for this purpose, and will eventually be up to twelve miles long, wow.

A few questions for you.

How many in the group?
Are at least 75% of you below the age of 40?
Can you raise at least £6 million pounds to start off with?
Does any of the group have experience of working on a heritage railway?

If you can't answer yes to questions two and three , walk away or try and do something less ambitious.

If you can answer yes to questions 2 and 3 but no to 4 I suggest you join your local heritage railway and become a working volunteer for a year or so. You'll gain a great insight into how these things work.

Cheers John

Well said John.:)

It would be interesting to see the initial written assessment of what the project would be.On a 12 mile line there would be (I assume) the need to cross over several roads. Are you likely to get permission to make level crossings ?

And what of potential usage, are there any touristy attractions along the proposed route ?

What about planning permission ?

I feel the financial burden would be considerable before you ever got to the stage of any actual site work.

It may be worth you visiting the Midland Railway Centre in Ripley which is about 45 minutes from Rotherham.
Have a chat to the Golden Valley NG team there and they should be able to offer some first hand advice on all aspects of operation.

Hy I note your comments and agree with the majority but I gave an outline of the full plans It is obvious we will not be going out and buying 12 miles of track It will start off as a small railway centre with engine and carriage shed and a length of track somewhere to work in the dry and expansion will come as money and interest increases but I was asking which is the better to start with Standard or NG and then the best NG with regards to rolling stock comfort, popularity NG appears to be the cheapest but is it when you take maintenance and repairs into consideration It may be cheaper to create the track bed but will constant running repairs and worn out track alter the difference These things I do not know that is why I was asking because you cannot change gauge after you have started

There are a lot of existing heritage railways in England, plus of course Wales, Scotland and Ireland. You could look at some and get some idea of what is involved. Something like the Moors valley (a long way from Yorkshire) might be a better option, but you need a vast pool of money. Richard