Railways that have become roads near you

[FtoE]

I can’t see it mentioned but the A82 town centre bypass in Fort William is built on the old railway line. The line from Glasgow actually approaches the town from the north and when built extended along the shore to the town pier, cutting the town off from the waterfront (Oban didn’t make that mistake and is consequently much more picturesque!)
In 1975 the (rather nice) old railway station and adjacent very nice art-deco style bus station moved a mile north to a ‘70s style building (!) and the current dual carriageway took the place of the railway maintaining the town’s isolation from Loch Linnhe.

[mikehindsonevans]

The A34 is on top of the Southampton to Didcote railway for over 3 miles, just north of Whitchurch. HERE.

I could be wrong here, but I believe the section through Kings Worthy and part of the Newbury Bypass are built on old railway alignments too.

Sheesh, does nobody look at SABRE Maps any more or what?

That link will give you the modern A34 overlaid on top of 1959 OS coverage, before any of the dualling and bypassing started. You'll see the King's Worthy Link runs for the first section on an old branch line (crossing the original A33), and you'll also see it run on old railway alignment north of Whitchurch and along part of the Newbury Bypass.

It's not "an old branch line" - its the actual Southampton, Newbury & Didcot line. The line is credited with keeping D-Day preparations supplied (including the extra link line north of Kings Worthy onto the Winchester-Waterloo mainline). The overbridge at Kings Worthy was replaced with a concrete overbridge when the A34 Kings Worthy bypass was built. As you queue south on the A34 into the A33/M3j9 shambles (about 300yds into the 50mph area), look to your right and the remains of the embankment is still visible in the tree-lined strip which separates northbound from southbound.
[gmap]https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.08153 ... 384!8i8192[/gmap]

Time-limited view - all to be remodelled in due course with the long-anticipated A34/A33/M3j9 rebuild (bring it on!).
Mike

[wrinkly]

One which seems to be only briefly mentioned in the thread linked by Herned (and not listed at Steven's link) is the A55 west of Colwyn Bay station. Over a length of about 3km the railway was diverted northward to enable the A55 to be built with part of its width on the former site of the railway. Several new bridges were required for both road and railway.

Yeah, I wasn't aware of that. According to Wiki they were able to do it as the railway was four track for that section, but they closed two of the lines and just used the two upper lines.

There was much more to it than you suggest. By merely closing two railway tracks you might with luck get enough space for an S2, but the A55 between Colwyn Bay and Mochdre is D2, part with hard shoulders, and with four slip roads for the Brompton Avenue junction. There had to be new land-take and property demolition on both sides of the railway: on the north side to divert the railway, and on the south side for extra land to build the road.

There are a few pictures here:

http://www.2d53.co.uk/colwynbay/A55.htm

Another place where the reduction of a railway from 4 to 2 tracks helped to give space for a new road is the M602 through Salford, but in that case the railway remained within its original boundary.

[fras]

Another place where the reduction of a railway from 4 to 2 tracks helped to give space for a new road is the M602 through Salford, but in that case the railway remained within its original boundary.

And those two tracks that were given up would have been very useful as an HS2 approach to Manchester, thus avoiding the proposed very expensive 11 mile tunnel approach from the south. A new HS2 station could be provided on the site of Manchester Exchange. Is the M602 really needed ? It could be narrowed to allow 3 lanes with tidal flow like the Aston Expressway and release a route for HS2. Why the government wants HS2 to serve Manchester Airport one does have to wonder, as they cancelled the link to Heathrow !

But we are where we are !

[PhilC]

I'm not sure whether this should be here or in the other roads to railways thread.

At least part of the A46 between Alcester and Evesham is built on or alongside a former railway line. There is even what appears to be part of a signal box still standing.

https://goo.gl/maps/Q6uR3cvKDUw

[PaulLothian]

A9 northern bypass of Falkirk uses a couple of miles of the network of mineral and industrial lines that used to cover that area.

[chaseracer]

At least part of the A46 between Alcester and Evesham is built on or alongside a former railway line. There is even what appears to be part of a signal box still standing.

Thank you, Phil. That answers that question!

[Duncan macknight]

The A9 at Bankfoot follows the line of the old bank foot branch line for a short distance.

[wrinkly]

I'm not sure whether this should be here or in the other roads to railways thread.

Perhaps the two should be merged?

[higgie]

A22 Beeching Way. Used to be a section of the East Grinstead-Tunbridge Wells line. Railway was removed in 1967 and the one way system built over the widened, filled in cutting.

Beeching Way? Ouch, that's rubbing it in!

In Bexhill the old branch line from Bexhill West to Crowhurst was removed and then made a road, called Beeching Road, obviously someone has a sense of humour.
Also recently this line has been recently used for the Hasting and Bexhill Link Road.

[Ruperts Trooper]

The old Cambridge-St Ives-March Loop line has been used for the Cambridge guided busway and part of the A1096 east of St Ives - and the A14 east of Huntingdon viaduct used the St Ives-Kettering line

[PhilC]

At least part of the A46 between Alcester and Evesham is built on or alongside a former railway line. There is even what appears to be part of a signal box still standing.

Thank you, Phil. That answers that question!

Here's a photo of the signal box when ut was still in use.

https://goo.gl/images/f7ijrK

[mikehindsonevans]

Why the government wants HS2 to serve Manchester Airport one does have to wonder, as they cancelled the link to Heathrow !

But we are where we are !

Manchester Airport has the opportunity to make greater use of public transport for passenger access to the airport and it is the premier aviation gateway to northern England (sorry Birmingham, you've just crippled yourselves by saying "no second runway" but you are also linking closely to an HS2 airport station).

So HS2 has the capacity (deliberate choice of words) to shift large numbers of passengers away from cars as they travel to Ringway. You only have to look at the increasing use of car parking charges to deter motorists from driving to the airport (we can't build another A555) and the amazing spread of airport car parking across fields which I remember from 20 years ago to realise that, at some point, unmanaged access by cars to the airport simply has to stop - because they won't all fit!

Even my current local puddle-jumper airport here at Southampton has **** off the locals by abandoning the 10-15 minutes of free drop-off parking in the covered multi-storey by the terminal - free drop-off is now up in the open-air car park by the northern runway threshold with shuttle buses back to the terminal.

Face it folks, more people flying stuffs up the local roads!
Sorry if this is a diversion from the subject of the OP.
Mike

[wrinkly]

I'm not convinced that most users of the HS2 Manchester airport station will be airport users. I would expect the main usage of the station would be by people from south Manchester and NE Cheshire going to London, supplanting some of the present usage of Stockport and Wilmslow stations.

The existing airport station serves more, and more relevant, destinations than HS2 will, for people getting to and from the airport by rail.

[matt-thepie]

The A948 north Ellon bypass is run over the former Boddam Branch alignment for a short distance. Hit "create overlay" and you'll see what I mean.

[KeithW]

Another place where the reduction of a railway from 4 to 2 tracks helped to give space for a new road is the M602 through Salford, but in that case the railway remained within its original boundary.

And those two tracks that were given up would have been very useful as an HS2 approach to Manchester, thus avoiding the proposed very expensive 11 mile tunnel approach from the south. A new HS2 station could be provided on the site of Manchester Exchange. Is the M602 really needed ? It could be narrowed to allow 3 lanes with tidal flow like the Aston Expressway and release a route for HS2. Why the government wants HS2 to serve Manchester Airport one does have to wonder, as they cancelled the link to Heathrow !

But we are where we are !

Given that the M602 was built more than 30 years before HS2 was a fully formed idea and that in that period the railways seemed to be in decline its hardly suprising that nobody argued that it should not be built. With an AADF of over 80k I think you can safely say is well used and needed. 3 Lanes with tidal flow would certainly not cut it.

As for Manchester airport terminal/Heathrow Airport terminal at the end of the day it comes down to economics - how many people would use a service between Heathrow Airport and Manchester or Manchester Airport. Traffic from London to Heathrow would likely continue to use the existing links. An HS2 Manchester airport conencted to the system makes it much better fitted to serving other north western towns and cities. As of now most people who travel from outside Greater Manchester to the Airport do so by road. This will be even more of a factor when/if Northen Powerhouse Rail (aka HS3) provides a HS link to Yorkshire and the North East.

Manchester Exchange is a rather beautiful and very well used building in which over 350 theatrical performances a year are staged. I suppose they could demolish Covent Gardern or the Albert Hall and build a railway station but it hardly sounds like a good idea !

[wrinkly]

Manchester Exchange is a rather beautiful and very well used building in which over 350 theatrical performances a year are staged. I suppose they could demolish Covent Gardern or the Albert Hall and build a railway station but it hardly sounds like a good idea !

You may be thinking of the Royal Exchange Theatre, which is in the building in St Ann's Square that formerly housed the Royal Exchange, where cotton was once traded. This is a completely separate place from the now demolished Manchester Exchange Station which fras was referring to.

Exchange Station was adjacent to Victoria Station along the same tracks. Most of it was actually in Salford. Platform 3 of Exchange Station together with the then platform 11 (now 3) of Victoria Station formed the longest railway platform in Europe.

[Big L]

Is someone thinking of the former Manchester Central station ?

[IanRB]

The A94 bypass of Coupar Angus Main Street follows the track bed of the old Stanley to Forfar line.

It's not much of a bypass though.

[KeithW]

Manchester Exchange is a rather beautiful and very well used building in which over 350 theatrical performances a year are staged. I suppose they could demolish Covent Gardern or the Albert Hall and build a railway station but it hardly sounds like a good idea !

You may be thinking of the Royal Exchange Theatre, which is in the building in St Ann's Square that formerly housed the Royal Exchange, where cotton was once traded. This is a completely separate place from the now demolished Manchester Exchange Station which fras was referring to.

Exchange Station was adjacent to Victoria Station along the same tracks. Most of it was actually in Salford. Platform 3 of Exchange Station together with the then platform 11 (now 3) of Victoria Station formed the longest railway platform in Europe.

Well I rather assumed that when the OP said Manchester Exchange he meant the Exchange in Manchester not a station that was demolished 20 years ago and the land sold for redevelopment with 3 tower blocks due to be built.

https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk ... s-13888153

Even without this here is no way I can reasonably imagine that you could mix high speed and low speed traffic on the lines into the area there even if there was capacity to spare, which I doubt given the plans to add the Ordsall Chord and build new platforms at Manchester Victoria to support trans pennine services and ease the load on Manchester Piccadilly.

Building a 21st century high speed rail link and then using a few miles of congested Victorian Railway alignment seems a bad idea to me especially if you sacrifice a connection to Manchester Airport in the process.