Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway

Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway
The Honeybourne Line
Toddington railway station, August 2007
Locale	Gloucestershire, Worcestershire England
Terminus	Cheltenham Racecourse and Laverton Halt
Commercial operations
Name	The Honeybourne Line
Built by	Great Western Railway
Original gauge	4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Preserved operations
Operated by	Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway Plc
Stations	4
Length	12 miles (19 km)
Preserved gauge	4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Commercial history
Opened	1906
Closed	1976
Preservation history
1981	Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway Plc formed and track laying began
1983	G-WR granted a Light Railway Order to relay 15 miles of track
1984	Toddington re-opens and First Public Service Started on 700 yards of track
1985	Line re-opened nr Didbrook
1986	G-WR reached Hayles Abbey site and Winchcombe (station building) re-erected
1987	Winchcombe section and further track restored and re-opened
1990	G-WR re-opened to as far as Gretton Halt site
1994	G-WR service extended 5 miles in length
1997	Gotherington station re-opened whilst Winchcombe station Passing-Loop is re-instated
1999	Gotherington section upgraded.
2000	Trains recommence to Gotherington station
2001	Track relayed (via Bishops Cleeve) towards Cheltenham Racecourse
2002	G-WR extended towards Cheltenham Racecourse
2003	Cheltenham Racecouse Station Re-Opens Officially
Headquarters	Toddington, Gloucestershire

Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway

Legend Birmingham to Stratford Line ( Birmingham (Snow Hill) ) Stratford-upon-Avon Evesham Road Crossing Halt (1904-16) Stratford Racecourse Platform Chambers Crossing Halt (1904-16) Milcote Long Marston Network Rail ( Long Marston MOD Depot ) Broad Marston Halt (1904-16) Pebworth Halt Cotswold Line ( Worcester ) Honeybourne Network Rail Cotswold Line ( Oxford ) Weston-Sub-Edge Willersey Halt Broadway Re-opening 2015 Extension under construction Laverton Halt Stanway Viaduct Toddington Hayles Abbey Halt Winchcombe Greet Tunnel Gretton Halt Gotherington Bishops Cleeve Cheltenham Racecourse Hunting Butts Tunnel Cheltenham High Street Halt (1908-17) Cheltenham (St James) Cheltenham (Malvern Road) Cheltenham Spa National Rail Cross Country Route

The Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway (G-WR, GWHR, GWSR or Gloucs-Warks Steam Railway) is a volunteer-run heritage railway on the Gloucestershire/Worcestershire Border that has reopened the closed railway line between Laverton Halt and Cheltenham Racecourse railway stations in Gloucestershire/Worcestershire.

As of January 2012, it currently operates over 12 miles between Cheltenham Racecourse and the site of Laverton Halt and is currently extending to Broadway, Worcestershire. With the extension (currently under construction) towards Broadway, the line will be increased to around 15 miles in length, by 2015.

As part of the regeneration project of the Worcester-Oxford line, which crosses over a proposed extension of the G-WR and included the rebuilding of the island platform at Honeybourne, the G-WR also plan to eventually extend their services "a further 4 miles" to Honeybourne (increasing up to a total of 19 miles in length possibly by the year 2020).

In the long term the G-WR could (once work has completed on extending to Broadway and then to a newly-reconstructed island platform 3 at Honeybourne) extend further:

• South to (a new heritage platform or two) at Cheltenham Spa (where the G-WR could interchange with rail services on the nearby national network's Cross-Country Mainline).
• North to Stratford Racecourse in Stratford on Avon via Milcote (in Warwickshire) and thus become the fourth longest heritage railway in England, crossing the Gloucestershire/Worcestershire/Warwickshire borders.

Overview

The line was originally part of the Great Western Railway's Cheltenham–Stratford-upon-Avon–Birmingham line, known as the Honeybourne Line, built in 1900–1906, and runs through the Cotswold towns of Winchcombe and Bishop's Cleeve. The line was run down over the years and finally closed after a derailment damaged a stretch of track in 1976, with the double track being lifted from 1979. The preservation group rehabilitated the line, starting steam train operations at Toddington in 1984 over 700 yards of re-laid track. In 1987 the line was restored as far as Winchcombe where the station was reconstructed using the former Monmouth Troy station building. The railway continued to re-lay track south of Winchcombe, through the 693 yard long Greet Tunnel, and past the villages of Gretton, Gotherington and Bishops Cleeve. This culminated in the reopening of the line to Cheltenham Racecourse in 2003, by HRH The Princess Royal. The Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway (known as the 'G-WR') runs trains from March to the end of December with the line closing during January and February for major line and locomotive maintenance. The G-WR runs regular train services every weekend and most weekdays during the summer, and some weekends are used to host special events including steam and diesel galas, Day out with Thomas events and Santa Specials. The railway operates a wide variety of both steam and heritage diesel locomotives, as well as heritage multiple units. These have included the world-famous locomotive 4472 "Flying Scotsman" and equally famous 3440 "City of Truro", which was reputedly the first engine to reach 100 mph, in 1904. In 2011 the resident steam locomotives are ex-GWR 'Modified Hall' Class no.7903 'Foremarke Hall', ex-GWR '28XX' Class no.2807 and an LMS-designed '8F' Class that has been repatriated after a lifetime working in Turkey. To complement the running stock a collection of over 210 carriages and wagons of various origins has been compiled and many are still being restored.

Signalling

The line is all single line sections with passing places at all the stations. All stations and looped are fully signaled using GWR Lower Quadrant Semaphore Signals.

The signalling on the line is a mixture of Electric Key Token and One Train Staff working, depending on operational requirements. Current sections are:

• Laverton-Toddington (One Train Staff)
• Toddington–Winchcombe (EKT)
• Winchcombe-Gotherington
• Gotherington-Cheltenham Race Course (EKT)
• Winchcombe–Cheltenham Race Course (EKT) (With Gotherington Switched Out)
• Toddington–Cheltenham Race Course (One Train Staff - with Winchcombe & Gotherington switched out and Cheltenham Race Course behaving as a ground frame)

There are currently four signal boxes on the line, and one more are planned:

• Broadway - Planned
• Toddingon – operational
• Winchcombe – operational
• Gotherington – operational
• Cheltenham Racecourse – operational

Future plans

As of January 2012, the railway currently has two major development projects in progress.

• Completion of Gotherington loop to allow operation of multiple trains. This is imminent (Jan 2012) and will permit 2 train running.
• Extension of track northwards from Toddington towards Broadway, with the construction of a new station at Broadway. The railway has so far completed trackwork for the first 2 miles of the new extension to Laverton Halt as part of the extension towards Broadway by 2015. In 2011, it ran a DMU service from just short of Laverton to Hailes, while the railway was still cut in two by the land slip at Chicken Curve). Work on Laverton loop is well advanced, as is construction of the first platform at Broadway station.

The water tank at Toddington, replacing the original that stood on the same spot, has been installed and awaits final plumbing before it can be brought into use. Water cranes have been in stalled at the end of both platforms.

In the long term, plans could include a southern extension to link up to the national rail network at the nearby mainline station in Cheltenham Spa, and extensions further north towards Honeybourne and possibly and eventually Stratford Racecourse in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire. The extension as far as Honeybourne has been facilitated by the upgrade of the Cotswold Line to double track. A new third platform at Honeybourne station has been provided which will allow services from the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway to re-connect with National Rail services.

However, extensions to the ends of the closed sections of line at Stratford and Cheltenham are currently impossible at present. The trackbed to Stratford is blocked by a road, and the trackbed through Cheltenham, while mostly complete and intact, is in need of expensive rehabilitation and reconstruction, with the primary impediment being a non-rail-usable bowstring bridge near the Waitrose store built on the site of the old St. James station.

At present the extension to Broadway has reached Laverton Halt where a bridge has been reinstated. In addition to this the former GWR station at Broadway is currently being rebuilt as of August 2011, the section of line is towards the (broadway station site) is likely to re-open sometime around 2012 with the station itself whom sounds likely to reopen about spring/summer 2015.

Landslips

In the early 2010s the G-WR has lately suffered a tail of two landslips which cut of the line in separate sections (however the Gotherington slip has recently been repaired and re-opened).

2010 (Gotherington)

In April 2010 the G-WR suffered a landslip of an embankment near Gotherington. The landslip forced the closure of the line south of Gotherington including Cheltenham Racecourse Station which was effectively cut off. The railway continued to operate services from Toddington to Gotherington, with a locomotive at both ends of the train ("top and tailed") as it was not possible to run the locomotive around the train at Gotherington. It was deemed unlikely that the line south of Gotherington would re-open before July 2011, but donations have ensured the work could be carried out, and it was reopened on the 22nd April 2011. The railway launched a £1m appeal to fund the rebuilding of the embankment and to ensure this does not happen at other points along the line.

2011 (Chicken Curve)

In January 2011, the railway suffered another slip, this one just east of Winchcombe station. The slip effectively severed the railway in two, and no services could be run. The slip was very similar to the one at Gotherington, and it is estimated that the cost of the repair work is £850,000. To raise the money, a DMU (Diesel Multiple Unit) service has been run from Toddington up to the extension at Laverton, and since the Gotherington slip has been reopened, steam trains are running from Winchcombe to Cheltenham Racecourse (though the chicken curve slip has yet to be repaired).

Steam locomotives

The LNER Class V2 2-6-2 steam locomotive, number 4771 Green Arrow, seen here visiting Toddington, was built in June 1936 for the London and North Eastern Railway at Doncaster Works. It was the first-built and only surviving member of its class. The loco is now on static display at the National Railway Museum's Locomotion site at Shildon

BR Class 47 no. 47376 "Freightliner 1995" at Toddington on 25 September 2005. This locomotive was built in 1965, by Brush Traction, Loughborough. It was the first locomotive to be painted in the corporate livery of Freightliner in 1995, and survived in traffic until 2001. It was preserved in 2002.

GWR 2-8-0T 4200 Class no. 4247 at Toddington Station on 8 August 2004. This locomotive, now based at the Bodmin and Wenford Railway, was built by the Great Western Railway at Swindon in 1916.

Operational

Number & Name	Description	Current Status	Livery
No. 2807	GWR 2-8-0 2800 Class	Fully operational, with boiler ticket expiry due in 2020. Historically significant as the oldest locomotive to have ever been rescued from Barry Scrapyard.	GWR Green
No. 45160	LMS 2-8-0 Class 8F	Boiler ticket expires in 2019. Re-patriated from Turkey in the 1980s and now available for traffic.	Turkish Black livery.
No. 7903 "Foremarke Hall"	GWR 4-6-0 6959 "Modified Hall" Class	Operational	BR (early crest) Green

Undergoing restoration, repairs or overhaul

Number & Name	Description	Current Status	Livery
No. 6960 "Raveningham Hall"	GWR 4-6-0 6959 "Modified Hall" Class	Overhaul completed at Williton, West Somerset railway. Running in Nov 2011.	GWR Green
No. 6984 "Owsden Hall"	GWR 4-6-0 6959 "Modified Hall" Class	Undergoing restoration on site.	N/A
No. 35006 "Peninsular & Oriental S.N. Co."	SR 4-6-2 "Merchant Navy" Class	Undergoing restoration, boiler has been returned to the locomotive after having passed its steam test. It is hoped to enter service in early 2013
No. 2409 "King George"	Industrial 0-6-0ST	Undergoing an overhaul after failing its boiler test, hoped to steam again in 2010/11.	Lined Red
No. 9642	GWR 0-6-0PT 5700 Class	Undergoing a ten-yearly overhaul.	BR Black
No. 4270	GWR 2-8-0T 4200 Class	At the start of restoration from Barry Scrapyard condition.	N/A
No. 44027	LMSR 0-6-0 Class 4F	Overhaul in progress.	BR black

Stored or static

Number & Name	Description	Current Status	Livery
No. 76077	BR 2-6-0 Class 4MT	Awaiting major restoration	N/A
"Cadbury No.1"	Avonside 0-4-0T, 1926	Worked its entire life at the Bournville Works Railway, on its closure in 1976 donated to the Tyseley Locomotive Works museum by Cadbury's. On long term loan to the railway, where she pulled the first paying steam train. With an expired boiler certificate, she has undergone a cosmetic repaint and is stored undercover on display at Toddington	Cadbury Brown

Operational diesel locomotives and DMUS

BR Class 24 no. 24081 departing Cheltenham Racecourse on 24th August 2004. This locomotive was built by British Rail at Crewe Works in 1960. It had the distinction of being the final locomotive of its class in traffic, and was withdrawn in 1980.

BR Class 03 no. D2069 at the Doncaster Works open day on 27th July 2003. This locomotive was built by British Rail at Doncaster Works in 1959. It was withdrawn from traffic in 1983, and rescued for preservation in 1990 from a scrapyard in Leicester.

• BR 0-6-0 Class 03 nos. D2069 and D2184
• BR Bo-Bo Class 20 no. D8137
• BR Bo-Bo Class 24 no. 24081
• BR Co-Co Class 37 nos. 37215 and 37324 "Clydebridge"
• BR Co-Co Class 47 nos. 47105 and 47376 "Freightliner 1995"
• BR Bo-Bo Class 73 no. 73129 "City of Winchester"
• British Rail Class 117 DMU DMS 51407 & DMBS 51365 – T304 – Currently on loan from the Plym Valley Railway
• BR Class 122 Unit W55003 - Purchased from the Watercress Line in 2011.

Diesel locomotives and DMU undergoing overhaul or restoration

• BR 0-6-0 Class 14 no. D9553
• BR Bo-Bo Class 26 no. 26043
• BR 1Co-Co1 Class 45 no. 45149
• BR Class 108 unit 51950+52062
• LMS 0-6-0 English Electric shunter no. 7069

Coaching stock

Operational coaches are shown in bold.

• BR Mk 1 RBR, nos. 1672 and 1675
• BR Mk 1 RMB, nos. 1808 and 1876
• BR Mk 1 RU, nos. 1965 and 1972
• BR Mk 1 FO, nos. 3045 and 3091
• BR Mk 1 SO, nos. 3727, 4787, 4790, 4798 and 4806
• BR Mk 1 TSO, nos. 3960, 4331, 4440, 4763, 4772, 4869, 5042, 5054
• BR Observation car, no. 6300
• BR Mk 1 BSOT, no. 9000
• BR Mk 1 FK, nos. 13089, 13326, 13329, 13337
• BR Mk 1 CK, nos. 15849, 15989, 16195, 16221
• BR Mk 1 BCK, no. 21275
• BR Mk 1 SK, nos. 24918, 24949, 25020, 25341, 25451, 25501, 25618 and 25743
• BR Mk 1 BSK, nos. 34500, 34676, 34929, 35000, 35201 and 35308
• BR Mk 1 Courier van, no. 80212
• BR Mk 1 POT, nos. 80433 and 80435
• BR Mk 1 BG, nos. 80926, 81039, 92199, 92418, 92933 and 92990
• BR CCT, nos. 94486, 94557 and 94824
• BR GUV, no. 94051
• BR Bullion van, no. 99202

See also

• North Gloucestershire Railway – a narrow gauge railway also at Toddington
• Stratford on Avon and Broadway Railway – a group hoping to restore the railway between Stratford upon Avon and Broadway

References

• Cotswold Line Promotion Group Includes proposal to link G-WR to main line at Honeybourne
• About Britain Entry
• Cheltenham local attractions
• Reference in directory of Heritage Railways in the UK
• New bridge on the Honeybourne Line.

External links

• Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway
• North Gloucestershire Narrow Gauge Railway
• Cotswold Steam Preservation Ltd. - Owners of No. 2807
• Warwickshire Railways