The Life and Times of the Soar Valley Light Railway
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Soar Valley Light
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- Joined: Sun Dec 08, 2013 5:18 pm
- Location: North West Leicestershire
Hi Joe, thanks for the interest in the Soar Valley Light, there hasn't been that much so far, mainly because there hasn't been much railway!
I'm afraid that is still the case although progress continues to rumble very slowly in the right direction. One thing (as always) has lead to another to confound any faster developments. The garden fences were the first problem, both gave up the ghost about the same time and had to be replaced. That was unwanted expense just when I could least afford it so it took a little while to happen. It had to be the first step though, to avoid any damage to later stages in the work. Establishing the alignment of the railway is providing the opportunity to completely re-arrange the garden. I need to work into the plan some of the existing fruit growing areas but the acquisition of a second 1/3 size allotment has allowed me to free up some extra ground in the house garden now. The biggest part of the redevelopment is the moving of the main path from the centre of the plot to the edge. It will avoid it going through that arch of honeysuckle you can see in the pictures, which will be fine as an access to the garden railway from the house end but is a pain the the brake van when you are lugging in the weekly shopping!
During the course of the planning phase the yard outside the back door has settle and cracked causing water to shed towards the house now rather than away from it - that needs sorting - and sharpish. The old concrete will make a great foundation for the new path but will involve more expense in laying a new backyard - the financial brakes are therefore squealing again! Another thread to the project is re-routing an electric cable feeding lighting at the bottom of the garden. This currently seems to meander it's way across a gravelled area any old how, putting it into troughing seemed sensible (especially as I'd found an ancient discarded stockpile at work. This will also make a great path - but of course, I now need two troughs side by side to make the path wide enough and so need twice the quantity. That's going to be about twenty units and only being able to fit them in the car three at a time (and that's pushing the weight limit!) and it being twenty miles away in a location I only get to visit occasionally, means that progress is slow in acquiring the materials for this next step in the project. The need to retain some semblance of order, especially in the back yard, over Christmas has also put progress on hold. I might actually have started doing some more work today if we hadn't got covered in snow last night!
In the meantime my 'backstory' for the railways existence has been developing and has changed quite a bit. There have never been any large estates in the Soar Valley really so the original premise of a line serving the needs of such an establishment didn't really hold that much water. Having done some thinking, looked at maps and looked around for parts of the area that look like they might have had a railway running through them I've adapted the plans.
There used to be extensive gravel workings in the valley just below where I live, indeed, these provided business in the early 80's for some of the last commercial carrying on the Leicester section of the Grand Union canal. Most of the product must have gone out by this means or by road over the years, it's a little surprising that they weren't rail served from the Midland line, maybe production was too small scale to warrant it. It's conceivable though that a narrow gauge line could have provided the means to get the product from the pits to the mainline. I still haven't nailed where this would have been most likely to go. If the expense of a private siding connection were to be avoided (and the scale of operations suggests this might have been prohibitive), not to mention the construction costs of the siding itself, then the product would have needed to be taken to existing public facilities. This would mean a line to either Sileby or Syston stations. There are many fors and against's for each and an important part of this decision is the effect this location may have had on how the next stage of the railway develops.
I wanted something more than a simple gravel pit line, I'm not interested in an industrial system, I want my railway to be a small public company. The Soar Valley itself was well served with transport from an early date and had no economic need for an additional transport system of any sort, however, the Charnwood Hills which line the west side of the valley are rich in minerals. Swithland slate was a highly prized commodity, because it was cheaper than welsh slate when first quarried (now because of it's rarity it's wildly expensive stuff - not having been quarried for half a century or more). This would have been a relatively easy step out of the valley for the Soar Valley light to increase it's traffic streams. It's then only a short step into some very high quality granite quarrying locations. More difficult to access by rail and thus suited to narrow gauge exploitation.
Passenger traffic has never been fore front in my mind for this line, indeed, I doubt the area being considered could have justified a service for day to day use. however, we are now into a part of the world which has long been popular for day trips, not least because of the existence of Bradgate Park, gifted to the county decades before anyone thought of the National Trust and popular for day trips from the city of Leicester. There is also Beacon Hill, a famous local beauty spot and on the chain of Beacons which stretch all the way from Ditchling in Sussex. Some touristy type service could therefore be a possibility, if the line could be economically equipped for passenger working.
I'm busy sketching out a possible route for the railway (or will be when I can have the dining room table back after the Christmas entertaining is over!). This will inform the track layout for the line in the garden and also influence the landscaping to enable particular locations on the fictional line to come into existence in miniature! I'm hoping 2015 will see some serious developments and maybe even some operations. Watch this space (as they used to say) and I'll keep you updated on progress when there is anything worth updating you on!
All the best from the (now) sunny Soar Valley.
Andrew
I'm afraid that is still the case although progress continues to rumble very slowly in the right direction. One thing (as always) has lead to another to confound any faster developments. The garden fences were the first problem, both gave up the ghost about the same time and had to be replaced. That was unwanted expense just when I could least afford it so it took a little while to happen. It had to be the first step though, to avoid any damage to later stages in the work. Establishing the alignment of the railway is providing the opportunity to completely re-arrange the garden. I need to work into the plan some of the existing fruit growing areas but the acquisition of a second 1/3 size allotment has allowed me to free up some extra ground in the house garden now. The biggest part of the redevelopment is the moving of the main path from the centre of the plot to the edge. It will avoid it going through that arch of honeysuckle you can see in the pictures, which will be fine as an access to the garden railway from the house end but is a pain the the brake van when you are lugging in the weekly shopping!
During the course of the planning phase the yard outside the back door has settle and cracked causing water to shed towards the house now rather than away from it - that needs sorting - and sharpish. The old concrete will make a great foundation for the new path but will involve more expense in laying a new backyard - the financial brakes are therefore squealing again! Another thread to the project is re-routing an electric cable feeding lighting at the bottom of the garden. This currently seems to meander it's way across a gravelled area any old how, putting it into troughing seemed sensible (especially as I'd found an ancient discarded stockpile at work. This will also make a great path - but of course, I now need two troughs side by side to make the path wide enough and so need twice the quantity. That's going to be about twenty units and only being able to fit them in the car three at a time (and that's pushing the weight limit!) and it being twenty miles away in a location I only get to visit occasionally, means that progress is slow in acquiring the materials for this next step in the project. The need to retain some semblance of order, especially in the back yard, over Christmas has also put progress on hold. I might actually have started doing some more work today if we hadn't got covered in snow last night!
In the meantime my 'backstory' for the railways existence has been developing and has changed quite a bit. There have never been any large estates in the Soar Valley really so the original premise of a line serving the needs of such an establishment didn't really hold that much water. Having done some thinking, looked at maps and looked around for parts of the area that look like they might have had a railway running through them I've adapted the plans.
There used to be extensive gravel workings in the valley just below where I live, indeed, these provided business in the early 80's for some of the last commercial carrying on the Leicester section of the Grand Union canal. Most of the product must have gone out by this means or by road over the years, it's a little surprising that they weren't rail served from the Midland line, maybe production was too small scale to warrant it. It's conceivable though that a narrow gauge line could have provided the means to get the product from the pits to the mainline. I still haven't nailed where this would have been most likely to go. If the expense of a private siding connection were to be avoided (and the scale of operations suggests this might have been prohibitive), not to mention the construction costs of the siding itself, then the product would have needed to be taken to existing public facilities. This would mean a line to either Sileby or Syston stations. There are many fors and against's for each and an important part of this decision is the effect this location may have had on how the next stage of the railway develops.
I wanted something more than a simple gravel pit line, I'm not interested in an industrial system, I want my railway to be a small public company. The Soar Valley itself was well served with transport from an early date and had no economic need for an additional transport system of any sort, however, the Charnwood Hills which line the west side of the valley are rich in minerals. Swithland slate was a highly prized commodity, because it was cheaper than welsh slate when first quarried (now because of it's rarity it's wildly expensive stuff - not having been quarried for half a century or more). This would have been a relatively easy step out of the valley for the Soar Valley light to increase it's traffic streams. It's then only a short step into some very high quality granite quarrying locations. More difficult to access by rail and thus suited to narrow gauge exploitation.
Passenger traffic has never been fore front in my mind for this line, indeed, I doubt the area being considered could have justified a service for day to day use. however, we are now into a part of the world which has long been popular for day trips, not least because of the existence of Bradgate Park, gifted to the county decades before anyone thought of the National Trust and popular for day trips from the city of Leicester. There is also Beacon Hill, a famous local beauty spot and on the chain of Beacons which stretch all the way from Ditchling in Sussex. Some touristy type service could therefore be a possibility, if the line could be economically equipped for passenger working.
I'm busy sketching out a possible route for the railway (or will be when I can have the dining room table back after the Christmas entertaining is over!). This will inform the track layout for the line in the garden and also influence the landscaping to enable particular locations on the fictional line to come into existence in miniature! I'm hoping 2015 will see some serious developments and maybe even some operations. Watch this space (as they used to say) and I'll keep you updated on progress when there is anything worth updating you on!
All the best from the (now) sunny Soar Valley.
Andrew
"Smith! Why do you only come to work four days a week?
"'cause I can't manage on three gaffer!"
"'cause I can't manage on three gaffer!"
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Peter Butler
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Well done Andrew, I can see you have the bit between your teeth now and nothing is going to stop you having a railway by the end of 2015.
There are always additional distractions in life but you are determined and resourceful, so you will succeed!
There are always additional distractions in life but you are determined and resourceful, so you will succeed!
The best things in life are free.... so why am I doing this?
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Soar Valley Light
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- Joined: Sun Dec 08, 2013 5:18 pm
- Location: North West Leicestershire
Well, there it is, the Soar Valley Light Railway is no more - before it even got going! No, I haven't given up the ghost, I'm still going to build my railway it just won't be the SVLR.
Having progressed the back story to the stage of drawing the line out on a decent scale contoured map (thank you Google!), it rapidly became clear that the economic and social aspects simply didn't support the idea of a railway of the type I wanted, doing what I wanted, where I was considering - if you follow me! There were far too many earlier and better transport systems in place and, even tweaking history, some simply wouldn't have supported an independent railway company.
So, what to do? Well, the plan work did support (with those tweaks of history in place) the idea of a line to support a revival of slate mining in the Charnwood Hills. There was also a socio-economic justification for a little passenger traffic - something never envisaged on the SVLR. Through some very tenuous presumptions and premises I've been able to justify the economics of most of the railway I had in mind as an extension to the SVLR core system up through the Hills. This is the bit that will make the railway interesting in the garden.
Hopefully I've attached a plan of the route below. (I hope that works!). The route may seem a little odd at first glance to those who know the area, I have justifications which I'll expand on later in a separate topic about the new line. In the meantime I still need to find a name for it!
Having progressed the back story to the stage of drawing the line out on a decent scale contoured map (thank you Google!), it rapidly became clear that the economic and social aspects simply didn't support the idea of a railway of the type I wanted, doing what I wanted, where I was considering - if you follow me! There were far too many earlier and better transport systems in place and, even tweaking history, some simply wouldn't have supported an independent railway company.
So, what to do? Well, the plan work did support (with those tweaks of history in place) the idea of a line to support a revival of slate mining in the Charnwood Hills. There was also a socio-economic justification for a little passenger traffic - something never envisaged on the SVLR. Through some very tenuous presumptions and premises I've been able to justify the economics of most of the railway I had in mind as an extension to the SVLR core system up through the Hills. This is the bit that will make the railway interesting in the garden.
Hopefully I've attached a plan of the route below. (I hope that works!). The route may seem a little odd at first glance to those who know the area, I have justifications which I'll expand on later in a separate topic about the new line. In the meantime I still need to find a name for it!
"Smith! Why do you only come to work four days a week?
"'cause I can't manage on three gaffer!"
"'cause I can't manage on three gaffer!"
Spot on! It sometimes seems that tenuous presumptions - and a simple civic desire to be on the railway map - were how a fair few of the country's light railways ended up being built! I'm looking forward to hearing more... A passenger service will add a bit of variety too...Soar Valley Light:107396 wrote: Through some very tenuous presumptions and premises I've been able to justify the economics of most of the railway I had in mind
Will the Leicestershire slate industry adopt Welsh practice in terms of wagon design etc?
And are those ungated level crossings over the M1?! I know, I know, but I'm enjoying the mental image of some poor guard or fireman flagging a 2' gauge train over 6 lanes of horn-honking juggernauts and Mega Buses...
Good luck with the project,
Andrew.
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MDLR
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You say that, but there are some dual carriage way Routes Nationale in France which have minor lines crossing with UNGATED level crossings...................Andrew:107433 wrote:And are those ungated level crossings over the M1?! I know, I know, but I'm enjoying the mental image of some poor guard or fireman flagging a 2' gauge train over 6 lanes of horn-honking juggernauts and Mega Buses...Andrew.
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Soar Valley Light
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- Joined: Sun Dec 08, 2013 5:18 pm
- Location: North West Leicestershire
I fear the railway would have been long gone by the time the M1 carved it's way through the landscape in the mid sixties. I haven't actually pinned down the years of it's existance but it's likley to be somewhere around 1890 to 1950. When I planned the route it was done by working out levels and gradients to prove I wasn't sending the line anywhere impossibly steep. Considering the height of the hills it has to cross I was pleased not to have to exceed a ruling gradient of 1 in 50 (although there is lots of that!). At the Southern crossing point of the M1 route the railway, had it still existed, would have passed comfortably beneath the motorway. However, at the Northern crossing location the railway would probably be just very slightly above the level of the carriageway on the road. It's difficult to be accurate as the M1 itself is very steeply graded between Jct 22 and 23, almost certainly in an effort to reduce the amount of granite that had to be blasted out to establish the route. It's also most probably why the road curves so much in this stretch.
The Swithland slate industry did produce some roofing material but it was in graded sizes (big 'uns at the bottom of the roof, little 'uns at the top) but much of it's output was in larger products, notably memorial stone and specifically headstones! As such traditional welsh type wagons would be of limited use. As this is a common carrier railway I am more inclined to transport the products in larger open wagons of the L&B or W&L style. Granite from Morley Quarry, adjacent to the Shepshed terminus will be conveyed predominantly in some of those lovely Swift Sixteen hoppers. There will also be wagons, closed and open, for inbound coal and general goods and outbound milk, farm and other general produce. The line being a common carrier undertaking was very important to me.
I am warming to the idea of calling the line by it's working title of the Charnwood Light Railway, although I had considered the Charnwood Mineral Railway too. I'm still working on the detailed track layout of the fictional railway, once that's done I can produce a plan for the representation of it which I want to build in the garden. I shall do my best to post the results of both on here on a new thread dedicated to the new railway. I must crack on as this needs to be the Year of Terraforming in our garden!
Andrew
The Swithland slate industry did produce some roofing material but it was in graded sizes (big 'uns at the bottom of the roof, little 'uns at the top) but much of it's output was in larger products, notably memorial stone and specifically headstones! As such traditional welsh type wagons would be of limited use. As this is a common carrier railway I am more inclined to transport the products in larger open wagons of the L&B or W&L style. Granite from Morley Quarry, adjacent to the Shepshed terminus will be conveyed predominantly in some of those lovely Swift Sixteen hoppers. There will also be wagons, closed and open, for inbound coal and general goods and outbound milk, farm and other general produce. The line being a common carrier undertaking was very important to me.
I am warming to the idea of calling the line by it's working title of the Charnwood Light Railway, although I had considered the Charnwood Mineral Railway too. I'm still working on the detailed track layout of the fictional railway, once that's done I can produce a plan for the representation of it which I want to build in the garden. I shall do my best to post the results of both on here on a new thread dedicated to the new railway. I must crack on as this needs to be the Year of Terraforming in our garden!
Andrew
"Smith! Why do you only come to work four days a week?
"'cause I can't manage on three gaffer!"
"'cause I can't manage on three gaffer!"
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Soar Valley Light
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- Joined: Sun Dec 08, 2013 5:18 pm
- Location: North West Leicestershire
Well, progress towards the start of construction was made today. None of it railway related I'm afraid. My start point is relocating the main path up the garden. I'm using old troughing as a foundation as I plan to re-route the electric cable for the bottom gate lights at the same time.
Seeing as the yard outside the backdoor is breaking up and needs relaying as well the old concrete is also going in under the troughing as a foundation. Seeing as I'm going to need a fair old quantity of topsoil I'm digging out under the path down to subsoil level, nearly 2 feet in places. I've struck sand and gravel in one corner so I've started a borrow pit to use in the path construction as well - I'm nearly four feet down now! The great part about doing this is that it's going to be very handy as an operating well for one of the stations.
I had got about half the path laid over winter but realised today that an alternative construction method would save on material and improve the overall finished product. So I spent the morning ripping up what I'd done and the afternoon relaying it and some more besides. Finally I can begin to see where the railway will fit. Armed with some of the hints and tips I've picked up on here I can also begin to see how it might be built too.
The biggest down side to this though is that I'm now thoroughly cream crackered! 7" x 11" x 40" trough units don't float about on their own, neither do barrow loads of soil, sand or gravel. It's going to be worth it in the long run mind you. Roll on railway construction!
Seeing as the yard outside the backdoor is breaking up and needs relaying as well the old concrete is also going in under the troughing as a foundation. Seeing as I'm going to need a fair old quantity of topsoil I'm digging out under the path down to subsoil level, nearly 2 feet in places. I've struck sand and gravel in one corner so I've started a borrow pit to use in the path construction as well - I'm nearly four feet down now! The great part about doing this is that it's going to be very handy as an operating well for one of the stations.
I had got about half the path laid over winter but realised today that an alternative construction method would save on material and improve the overall finished product. So I spent the morning ripping up what I'd done and the afternoon relaying it and some more besides. Finally I can begin to see where the railway will fit. Armed with some of the hints and tips I've picked up on here I can also begin to see how it might be built too.
The biggest down side to this though is that I'm now thoroughly cream crackered! 7" x 11" x 40" trough units don't float about on their own, neither do barrow loads of soil, sand or gravel. It's going to be worth it in the long run mind you. Roll on railway construction!
"Smith! Why do you only come to work four days a week?
"'cause I can't manage on three gaffer!"
"'cause I can't manage on three gaffer!"
I can wholeheartedly identify with how you are feeling! However I can also agree that you are doing exactly the right thing too. As has been shown on my MQR thread, plenty of preparation, digging and the like is all time well spent and really makes things much easier later. Also a great idea to run power. You were lucky to hit sand and gravel, that will save a lot in construction effort fetching it all from the builders merchants. All I hit was Herefordshire clay and old bricks. Great to hear you have started because your ideas sound great.
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Soar Valley Light
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- Joined: Sun Dec 08, 2013 5:18 pm
- Location: North West Leicestershire
Thanks for the encouragement guys.
Rich, I can't promise as rapid progress as you have made but I'll keep you posted. If the results of my efforts come any where near your results I'll be chuffed to bits.
Bazzer, I'm clearly out of condition, yesterdays efforts would once have been an easy day but I ached like a great big achy thing yesterday morning!
No further progress possible yesterday due to the need to shop and being late turn signalman at Loughborough Central. Looking at the weather forecast I thought today was going to be a write off too. However, the clouds parted enough mid afternoon to risk venturing out into the garden again. I was able to make some 'adjustments' to some of Fridays final work. I was clearly flagging as my accuracy in setting levesl had definitely dipped - literally! Anyhoo, this done I managed to progress a little further with path edging and to level out one of the spoil heaps, achieving something like the new garden levels in the process.
I'm further encouraged by these efforts and can see even better how the railway might fit into this new landscape. Thinking about it in a deep, hot bath after the rains returned, I have concluded that one of the next logical steps should be some reasonably accurate setting out of the proposed track alignment. That behoves a whole new problem - I need a finalised track plan (or something closely approaching it) to be able to progress this simple task! Oh, and some better weather and a few more spare hours wouldn't go amiss either!!!
Now, where's the Ralgex?
Andrew
Rich, I can't promise as rapid progress as you have made but I'll keep you posted. If the results of my efforts come any where near your results I'll be chuffed to bits.
Bazzer, I'm clearly out of condition, yesterdays efforts would once have been an easy day but I ached like a great big achy thing yesterday morning!
No further progress possible yesterday due to the need to shop and being late turn signalman at Loughborough Central. Looking at the weather forecast I thought today was going to be a write off too. However, the clouds parted enough mid afternoon to risk venturing out into the garden again. I was able to make some 'adjustments' to some of Fridays final work. I was clearly flagging as my accuracy in setting levesl had definitely dipped - literally! Anyhoo, this done I managed to progress a little further with path edging and to level out one of the spoil heaps, achieving something like the new garden levels in the process.
I'm further encouraged by these efforts and can see even better how the railway might fit into this new landscape. Thinking about it in a deep, hot bath after the rains returned, I have concluded that one of the next logical steps should be some reasonably accurate setting out of the proposed track alignment. That behoves a whole new problem - I need a finalised track plan (or something closely approaching it) to be able to progress this simple task! Oh, and some better weather and a few more spare hours wouldn't go amiss either!!!
Now, where's the Ralgex?
Andrew
"Smith! Why do you only come to work four days a week?
"'cause I can't manage on three gaffer!"
"'cause I can't manage on three gaffer!"
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Soar Valley Light
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- Posts: 1451
- Joined: Sun Dec 08, 2013 5:18 pm
- Location: North West Leicestershire
There's never a dull moment in this game is there?
The terra-forming necessary to create the landscape for my line is continuing. It's quite wide ranging, being a one off opportunity to put the whole of the outside into an acceptable state for the foreseeable future. One of the larger but more extreme tasks is to rip up the yard outside the kitchen and relay it slightly lower to improve drainage (and take it to a level that a branch from the railway to be built in the main garden might actually be able to reach without a rope worked incline - seriously considered to start with!)
Now, we've always had a small circular spot in the yard about 18" in diameter where the snow thaws earlier than the rest. I've had my suspicions about this since we moved in. Today the lifting of the concrete yard reached this point and low and behold a paving slab was revealed. On lifting this slab my suspicions were confirmed when a cement lined shaft about five feet in diameter and an estimated eight feet in depth was revealed! It has the remains of a drainage system, long redundant, connected to it. Not uncommon in old terraces but I've never seen one of these proportions before. I could keep it as an extreme and unusual operating pit - but I think I'll probably just record it's location and cap it off again. I thought I'd finished capping shafts when I left the Coal Board!
The terra-forming necessary to create the landscape for my line is continuing. It's quite wide ranging, being a one off opportunity to put the whole of the outside into an acceptable state for the foreseeable future. One of the larger but more extreme tasks is to rip up the yard outside the kitchen and relay it slightly lower to improve drainage (and take it to a level that a branch from the railway to be built in the main garden might actually be able to reach without a rope worked incline - seriously considered to start with!)
Now, we've always had a small circular spot in the yard about 18" in diameter where the snow thaws earlier than the rest. I've had my suspicions about this since we moved in. Today the lifting of the concrete yard reached this point and low and behold a paving slab was revealed. On lifting this slab my suspicions were confirmed when a cement lined shaft about five feet in diameter and an estimated eight feet in depth was revealed! It has the remains of a drainage system, long redundant, connected to it. Not uncommon in old terraces but I've never seen one of these proportions before. I could keep it as an extreme and unusual operating pit - but I think I'll probably just record it's location and cap it off again. I thought I'd finished capping shafts when I left the Coal Board!
"Smith! Why do you only come to work four days a week?
"'cause I can't manage on three gaffer!"
"'cause I can't manage on three gaffer!"
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