'How do you reopen a lost railway?' | The Lost Branch Lines to Wisbech

00:00 Introduction
02:05 March Railway Station
02:50 Whitemoor Marshalling Yards
03:15 Abandoned crossings, track and bridges
04:47 Drone Footage
05:19 Coldham
06:28 Lost Rails across The Fens
07:04 Drone Footage
07:28 Waldersea Depot & Rolling Stock
08:29 Drone Footage
09:01 Into Wisbech
09:42 Wisbech Goods Yard
10:14 Wisbech East Railway Station
11:23 Departing Wisbech
11:44 Walsoken Railway Station
12:06 Emneth Railway Station
12:36 Smeeth Road Railway Station
13:42 Middle Drove Railway Station
14:23 Magdalen Gate Railway Station
14:42 Crossing the River Great Ouse (Drone Footage)
16:02 Watlington Railway Station
16:52 How do you reopen a lost railway?

[henrybowden]

The country is now beginning to regret the wholesale closure of so many railways in the 60s. Dr Beeching is the most notorious but there were others who encouraged the closures as motor transport became more efficient. Now with the climate crisis there are lines all over the country that need re-opening but persuading the powers that be is like pushing back the tide!

[SussexHistory]

I was talking to the director of the Wensleydale Railway. He said, that if the track is still down, it is still legally a railway. Even if the track is rusted up and unusable, the legal steps necessary to reopen it are less challenging. Once the track is gone, then it is legally farmland again and then reinstatement is more difficult. So if your aim Is to reopen it, then you need to take steps to prevent what track is in situ from being removed! Thanks for uploading.

[edwardhunt]

Fifty-five years ago I rode the line, March to Wisbech, daily for College. Much has changed as I now live in Sheffield, but I applaud the enthusiastic volunteer groups who work to reopen lines.

[DrBovdin]

I’m Swedish from the very south and my country also suffered similar branch line closures as your Beeching and subsequent closures between the 1960s and 80s. After that the number of closed and dismantled lines slowed down significantly.
From 2000 onwards, we have actually seen the opposite happening at a fairly rapid pace and in Skåne, our southernmost province, over the last 20 or so we now have passenger services on practically every extant piece of railway save one short unelectrified branch, and on a portion where there is a parallel line within a few miles with a slightly different route through sparsely populated farmland. That bit is nevertheless still in active use as a relief route on occasion when track maintenance is needed on the main route.
On top of this, two major entirely new lines have been laid and incorporated to immensely improve the rail system here.
It does take a while also here to get these things going here as well, but in the end it mostly comes down to convince the capital to realise that the universe doesn’t revolve around them, that other parts of our vast country also need to get from A to B, and to make sure that the projects get funded.
In the end we made it :)

[yorkshirefazer]

the lack of a rail connection at wisbech was one of the (many) reasons why i left the town. a rail connection is essential for economic growth and the prosperity of the town (and surrounding villages).

[drevo]

Lovely film, thank you. As a Cambridgeshire local I have watched the decay of this line worsen over the past 25 years. The prospect of it ever re-opening remains vanishingly small. The Government has indicated that the long planned Ely North re-development is being kicked into the long grass, a project of national importance for freight and better local services; against that backdrop, plus (currently) lower rail usage and a difficult public sector financial situation, I do not expect to live long enough to see this line re-open, nor the re-building of the railway around Ely, nor the completion of East - West rail. All of them have a part to play in de-carbonising transport but I just don't see any of them happening any time soon. Hope I'm wrong.

[shetlandsheep]

We have a railway in Edinburgh that is still technically open but only by a bit of freight and an occasional nuclear transport - it always seems mad to me not to reopen it to passengers. It provides a link around the southern and western areas of the city and links up with the mainline. It is in the council’s long term plan but never seems to get closer to being done, unlike expensive tram schemes!

[sturmtigerking]

Great film as always. Your films never fail to disappoint. A few railways seem to be planning on reopening.

[nigelhall]

This video, the production values and drone usage is absolutely wonderful. Thank you so much and keep up the beautiful work. Please, more videos like this. I find the old photos top stuff too!

[peterfrazer]

Lovely video and very informative. I was born in 1943 when Railways were King and the Country was a maze of beautiful Branch line journeys. How shorted sited of Dr Beeching and the Labour gov.In the early sixties, stationed at Bickliegh on the edge of Dartmoor, the Train journeys across the Moors were wonderful. Thank you once again for your vids, they make my heart ache at what is gone and good fortune in all you do.

[brianingarfill]

Thank you for this wonderfully produced historical documentary.
I traveled to Wisbeach at about 1964 to spend a week picking strawberry's at a ww2 pow camp called Friday Bridge

[tinytonymaloney]

Great video. True, Beeching wrecked our railways and as I read in an old newpaper, somebody quoted "Future generations will curse us". How true them words are today.
Most of the old lines had their land and buildings sold off so no hope of revival. Having said all that, if we had all the old Victorian rail system still intact today, who the hell can afford to use the train any more.

[ChrisCooper]

One of the biggest difficulties with re-opening this route would be the level crossing over the A47 Wisbech bypass. For many years after the closure of the line the crossing remained in place, lights, rails and all, but IIRC about 10 years ago the rails were ripped up and the lights and signs removed, meaning the crossing no longer exists. This means that if the railway was to re-open it would either require an application for a new level crossing (which given how busy the road is would be unlikely) or would require a bridge to be built which would add considerably to costs. Sadly this seems to be a late extension of the old policy of developing on just enough bits of old railway lines to make their opening unviable even if there would otherwise be a strong case in the future.

[justahillbilly]

A very well researched, equally well laid out and paced, and professionally produced as always. I learned a few things, and as usual, I look forward to seeing the next video when it comes.

[vibingwithvinyl]

Excellent video yet again. This is very close to commercial quality production. It would only need little bit of polishing and be broadcast by the BBC.

[dcaucett]

Fascinating to see the history of this line, used to drive past A47 level crossing before it was removed in mid 2000s and wondered why they had got rid of it in the first place. Thanks for the great work piecing it all together.

[FreedomtowerStudios]

Another Brilliant film as usual! I honestly think the line should re-open. As a trainspotter, it saddens me to see any old line fall abandoned, and indeed it should be brought back. Look foward to your next video!

[Mykbyker]

I was not disappointed, always fascinating, nostalgic and meaningful.For someone who went to school by steam train daily and preceded Beeching's cuts, thank you . Mike

[MrAsBBB]

As always a fabulous film with probably the best narration on YT. I can only imagine the enormous amount of work you put into this. I am going to binge tonight.

[DoubleZeroChallenge]

Although I live nowhere near Wisbech, I can see parallels with local rail campaigns that have been active for years but never come to anything. I wish the Wisbech line all the best.

The one thing I'm surprised about in this video is that so many of the actual rails have been left intact. When a railway is decommissioned, every piece of metal is normally lifted to deter looters.