Tag: milestone

Twixmas Roundup from our Railway

Graham Wright

With Nottingham Transport Heritage Centre now closed until 2024 (3rd January) here’s a quick progress report as we reach the end of another busy year at Ruddington’s popular railway. Firstly, Great Central Railway (Nottingham) (GCRN) reports that all the main building work on its new carriage shed here in Ruddington is now complete. Not only will this substantial new structure protect four, 1950s-built carriages from the elements and damage, but also the planned flat floor means it will be suitable for indoor events, and there is also a small workshop.…

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Milestone Moment for Ruddington’s Railway

Graham Wright

Despite the less than ideal autumn weather, it’s being reported that construction of a brand new building at Ruddington’s heritage railway is proceeding well – with new roof beams recently lifted into place {top photo by Tom Ingall} and the halfway point of the fundraising target now reached. As we reported in the summer, £40,000 was awarded to the Great Central Railway (Nottingham) Ltd (GCRN) ‘Carriage Shed Project’ from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) and Rural England Prosperity Fund (REPF). This money, combined with match funding from East Midlands Railway Trust and LNER…

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It’s ‘Diamond Day’ for Ruddington Library

Graham Wright

Staff at our village library are inviting residents and other users to mark a special milestone with them this week – the 60th anniversary of its opening. Although never the prettiest building in Ruddington’s ‘Conservation Area’, the Church Street lending library has been serving bookworms and the wider community here since July 1963 – and most of us have become oblivious to its uninspired and dated appearance by now. It’s ironic, perhaps, that it’s ‘Inspire‘ which runs our library these days, on behalf of Nottinghamshire County Council! In fairness, Ruddington Library…

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Canal Bridge Completed

Graham Wright

From Loughborough comes news that a major two-day operation at the start of this month has ‘all but’ finished the overhaul of the elegant Victorian railway bridge which spans the Grand Union Canal in the town. The relevance of this restoration for our village is that it marks another step forward for the eighteen mile heritage line vision between Ruddington and Leicester North by reconnecting the currently separate sections of tracks operated by volunteers from our own Great Central Railway – Nottingham (GCRN) and Loughborough’s Great Central Railway (GCR). Built in the…

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Heritage Railway Bridges the Gap

Graham Wright

TONIGHT will see an historic moment for The Great Central Railway – the installation of a new bridge to rejoin two sections of the line divided for almost half a century. Once construction work on the reunification project is complete, this will enable trains to run all the way from Ruddington to Birstall in Leicester for the first time since 1969! Great Central Railway Nottingham {GCR(N)} is reporting that the groundworks are now finished and that contractors are due to lower the two decks of the giant structure into place over the Midland…

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