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| Colne Valley Railway | |
|---|---|
 Castle Hedingham station on the Colne Valley Railway | |
| Coordinates | 51°59′48″N0°34′47″E / 51.9966°N 0.5798°E /51.9966; 0.5798 |
| Commercial operations | |
| Built by | Colne Valley and Halstead Railway |
| Original gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)standard gauge |
| Preserved operations | |
| Preserved gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)standard gauge |
| Commercial history | |
| Opened | 1861/1863 |
| Closed | 1961 Passenger traffic 1965 Freight traffic |
| Preservation history | |
| 1973 | land purchase |
| 1974 | Preservation Society formed |
| Headquarters | Castle Hedingham Station |
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TheColne Valley Railway is aheritage railway based atCastle Hedingham Station, nearHalstead inEssex,England. The railway consists of a 1 mile (1.6 km) long running line, with a fully reconstructed station,signal box andrailway yard.
The railway occupies part of the formerColne Valley and Halstead Railway (CVHR), which opened in stages between 16 April 1860 and 10 May 1863.[1] This part of the railway was a through line fromBirdbrook toWakes Colne.
The line closed on 1 January 1962, when all passenger and freight traffic betweenHaverhill andYeldham ended. On 19 April 1965, all transiting freight traffic ended.[1] The line was dismantled and infrastructure demolished or recovered by contractors a year later, and the land on which the heritage railway station now sits resold to a local landowner.
The site was acquired from the landowner in 1973 and the Colne Valley Railway Company Limited formed to operate the railway. A volunteers' supporters body, the Colne Valley Railway Preservation Society (CVRPS), was formed in 1974. Although originally a main line railway, the track and infrastructure was taken up in the late 60s, so on acquisition there was no remaining infrastructure onsite. The originalSible and Castle Hedingham station 1 mile (1.6 km) away and was taken down carefully brick by brick, the bricks numbered, and the structure transported to the new site and subsequently reconstructed. The timber top half (first floor) of thesignal box came fromCressing, remounted on a new higher (ground floor) brick base. The bridge crossing the River Colne came from Earls Colne in 1982.[2]
The first steam locomotive to arrive on site wasHunslet "Austerity" 0-6-0ST No.WD190 shortly followed by No.72. Members of the CVRPS began to operate the locomotives on a short section of line. Despite its still short length, presently the CVR is home to three ex-mainline steam locomotives.[3]
CVR Company Limited was acquired by Australian businessman Christopher Young in 2005. The CVRPS agreed a five-year renegotiable lease to take over the operation of the railway for the 2006 season. In 2014, when the 5-year lease expires on 31 December 2015, Young offered the CVRPS the option of buying the site's freehold. The CVRPS pursued sufficient funds and loans to complete the terms by December 2015, but were told that Young's plans had changed.[4]
The CVRPS were informed at their Annual General Meeting on 22 March 2015 that CVR Co. Ltd. had decided the railway no longer featured in future plans for the site and[5]planning permission would be sought for redevelopment of the site, which lies in aconservation area – a subsequentFreedom of Information request by local media discovered that outline planning permission had been sought for 600 houses on the station. The CVRPS were served notice that operations must cease after 31 December 2015, with the CVRPS having to remove all its rolling stock and buildings during 2016,[5] with possibility of relocation to another heritage railway.[6]
In June 2015, it was announced by Steam Railway magazine that a new site adjacent to the current one had been procured. Permission was being sought from CVR Co. Ltd. to operate as normal during 2016, with the railway operating from the new site from 2017.[5] A new station would be constructed at each end of the line, which would extend to 1 mile 4 chains (1.69 km).[7] Later that month, it was announced by Steam Railway magazine that the proposed new site was "no longer viable" due to reasons that were not disclosed.[8]
In September 2015, CVRPS was formally converted into a charity called Colne Valley Railway Preservation Ltd. (CVRPL).[9]
On 6 December 2016 CVRPL announced that the railway, on its original site, was now safe and the site purchased from CVR Co. Ltd. as a result of obtaining a heritage lottery fund grant for £1.75m along with support from Braintree District Council.[10]
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| Origin | Wheel arrangement | Class | Notes | Photograph |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LMS | 4-6-0 | Class 5MT | No. 45293 built 1936, Under restoration.[5] |  |
| SR | 4-6-2 | Merchant Navy Class | No. 35010Blue Star, built 1942. Under external restoration.[5] |  |
| Hunslet | 0-6-0ST | Austerity | No. WD190,[5] built in 1952. Out of service. |  |
| Hunslet | 0-6-0ST | Austerity | No. WD200,[5] built in 1953. Under restoration/overhaul. |  |
| Hawthorne Leslie | 0-4-0ST | No. 1, built in 1928. Static Exhibit.[5] |  | |
| RSH | 0-6-0ST | 56 | No. 60Jupiter,[5] built in 1950. Under restoration/ overhaul. |  |
| Origin | Wheel arrangement | Class | Notes | Photograph |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BR | 0-6-0DM | Class 03 | No. D2041, Built 1959. operational. |  |
| BR | 0-6-0DM | Class 03 | No. D2184, Built 1962. operational. |  |
| BR | 0-6-0DM | Class 03 | No. D2046, Built 1968. Under Restoration. | |
| BR | 0-6-0DM | Class 08 | No. 08706. operational. | |
| Ruston & Hornsby | 4wDM | 88DS | No.887 (No. 3940009), Built 1955, Operational. |  |
| Hibberd | 0-4-0DM | No. 4007, Built 1947. Stored out of use. |  | |
| Hunslet | 0-4-0DM | No. 1968, operational. | ||
| Lake and Elliot | 4wd | Fordson Major | No. 1 "Henry", operational |  |
| Robert Stephenson & Hawthorns | Bo-BoBE | No.7284 "Doug Tottman" (Heysham Power Station No. 1) Operational but stored out of use. |
| Origin | Class | Notes | Photograph |
|---|---|---|---|
| BR | Class 121 | No. 55033, built in 1960, operational |  |
| BR | Class 117 | No. 51339, built in 1960, operational. |  |
| BR | Class 117 | No. 51382, built in 1960, operational. |  |
| Origin | Class | Notes | Photograph |
|---|---|---|---|
| BR | Class 307 | No. 75023 (DT). Built 1955. Stored out of use. | |
| BR | Class 308 | No. 75881 (DTCoL). has the London Underground Victoria Line Cobourg Street signalling centre display inside. | |
| BR | Class 312 | No. 78037 (DTCoL). Stored out of use. | |
| BR | Class 312 | No. 71205 (TSO). Stored out of use. |
| Origin | Class | Notes | Photograph |
|---|---|---|---|
| BR | Class 43 | No. 43023, Under Restoration. |  |
| BR | Class 43 | No. 43071, built in 1977, operational. |  |
| BR | Class 43 | No. 43073, built in 1978, operational. |  |
| BR | Class 43 | No. 43082, built in 1978, operational. |  |
| BR | Class 43 | No. 43165, Under Restoration. |  |
| Origin | Class | Notes | Photograph |
|---|---|---|---|
| BR | DVT | No. 82121, Stored out of use. | |
| BR | MK3 TRFB | No. 40706, Operational. | |
| BR | MK3 TGS | No. 44058, Operational. | |
| BR | MK3 TFO | No. 41088, Operational. |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
