BBC article about Stranraer-Belfast railway tunnel

CIE

Link here

corktina

How approriate that they chose Thomas to illustrate it.Presumably the tunnel would have gone via Sodor.

I'm surprised this was even considered. The different rail gauge between Scotland and Ireland would have been a major issue.

CIE

Karsini wrote: »

I'm surprised this was even considered. The different rail gauge between Scotland and Ireland would have been a major issue.

May have been, if such a connection was ever built, that there would have been break-of-gauge interchange facilities built at Belfast.

Of course nowadays, with about 1600 miles of track on the whole island (down from over 3000 at its peak), how expensive would it really be to convert the general railway network from 1600 mm gauge to 1435 mm?

Niles

I seem to remember there being a group about ten years ago who claimed they could regauge the NIR network to 4'8'', they were also going to import steam engines from Britain to run tourist services...

I wish I'd made that up... :rolleyes:

Cookie_Monster

easy enough to do, just add a rail inside the current one on one side.

Not practical or cheap but could be done (apart from pointwork, that'd be a bit complicated)

corktina

They actually did import at least one steam loco which is stored near Newry (i think) The idea never got off the ground.

flyingsnail

problem solved

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_LFIUkcPNM

CIE

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

easy enough to do, just add a rail inside the current one on one side.

Not practical or cheap but could be done (apart from pointwork, that'd be a bit complicated)

Only a bit, i.e. as far as you want it to go.

Australia has/had a good deal of dual-gauge 1435/1600 mm tracks. This example in Melbourne is interesting, since there's a set of points in the foreground that move 1435-mm-gauge trains closer to the platform. (This is what you would need right now if you wanted to convert Luas to "tram train" in part; although I'd say you'd also have to add low platforms for Luas.)

dmcronin

corktina wrote: »

They actually did import at least one steam loco which is stored near Newry (i think) The idea never got off the ground.

That was on the now-defunct Riverstown Mills Railway. An 0-6-0ST if I remember correctly.


Re: the tunnel, there is the little matter of the munitions dumping ground known as the Beaufort Dyke, how is it supposed to get around that??

CIE

If SNIP could be laid in spite of Beaufort's Dyke and its contents, a railway tunnel shouldn't be a problem either. If you're really scared of what's in there, there's always the Kintyre alternative.

Niles

dmcronin wrote: »

That was on the now-defunct Riverstown Mills Railway. An 0-6-0ST if I remember correctly.

I think this is the engine at Riverstown. They reputedly have one of the BREL railbuses (like RB3 at Downpatrick) and an ex-BR brakevan. Not sure if they had any connection with the Eurotrack scheme or whatever the group that wanted to regauge NIR called themselves.

Interesting to note the use of a wooden stepladder on the footplate, it that was done now the H&S crowd would have kittens!

corktina

dmcronin wrote: »

.


Re: the tunnel, there is the little matter of the munitions dumping ground known as the Beaufort Dyke, how is it supposed to get around that??

well of course the arms dump wasnt there when it was proposed.....:rolleyes:

dmcronin

corktina wrote: »

well of course the arms dump wasnt there when it was proposed.....:rolleyes:

Yes I know that, with or without the explosive nasties I would have thought it was an obstacle.

dmcronin

Niles wrote: »

I think this is the engine at Riverstown. They reputedly have one of the BREL railbuses (like RB3 at Downpatrick) and an ex-BR brakevan. Not sure if they had any connection with the Eurotrack scheme or whatever the group that wanted to regauge NIR called themselves.

Interesting to note the use of a wooden stepladder on the footplate, it that was done now the H&S crowd would have kittens!

Yeah that's her alright, neat little loco.

Pity she's lying idle in what appears to be a dead project unlikely to restart.
Oh well...

A Dub in Glasgo

The line to line to Stranraer is in danger of getting shut anyway (Stena being allowed to shut the ferry terminal and relocate to Cairnryan is the last straw imo)