Melbourne Line (UK) fly-through: disused railway from Ashby to Derby скачать в хорошем качестве

Melbourne Line (UK) fly-through: disused railway from Ashby to Derby

Using Google Earth, we follow the course of the former Derby and Ashby branch ot the Midland Railway, also known as the Melbourne Line We start at its junction with the Leicester to Burton line at Ashby de la Zouche. We follow it through Ashby town and Ashby Tunnel, passing its interchange with the horse-drawn Ticknall Tramway, to the site of the first station, Worthington. From there, most of the trackbed is used by the Cloud Trail Greenway, along the edge of Cloud Hill Quarry, through the former stations of Tonge and Melbourne, crossing the River Trent and joining the Castle Donningtom line at Chellaston S junction. From Chellaston North junction the abandoned trackbed continues north through the site of Chellaston station, to a point just north of Wilmore Rd, where it joins the existing branch serving the Rolls Royce works, through the former stations of Sinfin Central and Sinfin North, to its junction with the Derby to Birmingham line, which the route follows to Derby Midland station. Historical notes: The branch from Derby to Melbourne was opened in 1868, and was extended in 1874 to Ashby de la Zouche, where it connected to the Midland's Leicester to Burton line. This extension made use of the trackbed of the former Ticknall Tramway, engineered by Outram in 1802, including the Old Parks Tunnel, which was enlarged to accommodate the railway. An interchange siding was opened to the north of the tunnel in 1874, and horse-drawn waggons continued to operate to Ticknall Limeyards until 1902. Passenger traffic continued on the line until 1930. In 1939 the War Dpartment acquired the lin between Ashby and ChellastoN S Junc for military training. In1945 the line was returned to LMS who continued to operate it as a freight line until its closure in 1980. In 1990 the trackbed between Worthington and Chellaston S Junc was opened as the CloudTrail Greenway. (source: Wikipedia)