Bridport branch reopening proposal

[whole diary]

[Hal]

If they remove the bridge, I suppose that would be the end of the proposal to reopen the railway right through to Maiden Newton.

[bradshaw]

The trackbed from Toller to Barrowlands Lane has recently been upgraded and a sloped path now leads down to the lane. From here you can access the trackbed at the adjacent Powerstock Nature Reserve all the way to Loders, with a pit stop at the Marquis of Lorne at Nettlecombe!
The lane by the bridge floods whenever there is heavy rain, largely caused by run off from a nearby farm.
The plan is to remove the bridge and raise the level of the road to reduce the risk of future flooding. It is only the second bridge to have been removed, the other was by Powerstock station which was done to allow access to a farm for HGVs bringing cattle feed etc to it.

[Mark A]

**snip**
The plan is to remove the bridge and raise the level of the road to reduce the risk of future flooding. It is only the second bridge to have been removed, the other was by Powerstock station which was done to allow access to a farm for HGVs bringing cattle feed etc to it.

Second best to a bridge* might be to raise the road to trackbed level, flat crossing of the forthcoming shared use route with priority for the latter and a 'Give way' for users of the road. Road users stay dry, shared use path benefits from the lift in status, and also a continuous route.

Mark

*IMHO^▸ ('in my humble opinion')

[Chris from Nailsea]

Mark, I do admire wholeheartedly your optimism - but there is no way you will get any new level crossing, anywhere.

Portishead found that out - the hard way. 

Chris. 

[bradshaw]

I do not believe it is realistic to expect the railway to reopen, despite ‘proposals’ by some groups.

https://www.facebook.com/maidennewtonbridportrailway/?locale=en_GB

https://www.bridportnews.co.uk/leisure/bestofbridport/19009071.community-railway-plan-bridport/

 David Shepherd looked at buying it just after the closure. The sticking point then was the cutting at Wytherstone which was in clay and slipping, which continues to this day and is part of the Nature Reserve.
Dorset Council seems to have a long term plan to make a cycle path over it but progress is slow. The section between Toller and Maiden Newton is being discussed with the farming community.
https://dorchestertransport.org.uk/2024/11/cycleway-on-former-railway-line-from-maiden-newton-to-bridport/
If they can get this opened then it will be possible to cycle from Maiden Newton to Loders. There are also plans to get some of the trackbed as a cyclepath from Loders to Bridport but it will not follow all the previous alignment.

[grahame]

Mark, I do admire wholeheartedly your optimism - but there is no way you will get any new level crossing, anywhere.

Portishead found that out - the hard way. 

Chris. 

But if you call it a "Tramway" you might do better?   Haven't Blackpool, Edinburgh and Manchester been able to expand in the current ere? The Chur to Arosa service is an interesting potential precedent and now that we're outside the EU^» (European Union - about) just like Switzerland ...

[Oxonhutch]

But if you call it a "Tramway" you might do better?

AFAIAA at that point a tramway would be just like a bus lane, and simple traffic lights maybe all that is required.

[Richard Fairhurst]

It's one of those proposals where a railway reopening would be a no-brainer in a sane country (Bridport 12k population, tourist potential, route mostly unobstructed). But as this is the UK^▸ (United Kingdom) it's out of the question and even a cycleway will take years of negotiation. I often wish we'd had the foresight to "rail-bank" former trackbeds as happens in the US.