Professor Dennis Wilcock provides a progress report on the exciting scheme to build bridge for the Great Central Railway over the Midland Main Line at Loughborough.
A LONG-CHERISHED DREAM TURNING INTO REALITY
An artist’s impression of the new bridge from the Loughborough Midland platform. FJD CONSULTING
Back in the dark days of railway closures in the Beeching era a small group of enthusiasts determined to preserve a section of the former Great Central Railway to provide a steam-operated main line railway between Leicester and Nottingham.
That vision has always remained, although there have been many major obstacles to overcome.
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The first obstacle arose in 1973 when British Railways decided to supply the operational MoD Depot at Ruddington from the south via a new chord from Midland Main Line to the former GCR, instead of from the north down the GCR route from Nottingham.
In order to build the chord the material from the embankments of the GCR line north and south of the Midland Main Line was removed and used to build the chord. Also removed was the bridge over Railway Terrace.
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