restoration – RUDDINGTON.info

Historic Footbridge Closes Again

7th February 20248th February 2024 Graham Wright

Less than five years since it was last closed for repairs, one of Ruddington’s railway landmarks is currently undergoing a little more TLC following new safety concerns raised by the increased number of pedestrians who now use it. ‘Fifty Steps Bridge’ over the Great Central Railway line was constructed well over a century ago (circa 1899) and still survives as a functioning footbridge to this day. This is despite the passenger line beneath it becoming a victim of Dr Richard Beeching’s cuts in 1963, and nearby Ruddington Station subsequently being…

Ruddington Ally’s Grand Designs

4th October 20224th October 2022 Graham Wright

A village resident who lost her job in graphic design during the Coronavirus pandemic has literally carved out a brand new career – which has proved so successful she’s been invited to showcase it to a national audience! Ruddington’s Ally Booker is over at the Birmingham NEC from this Wednesday to Sunday (5th – 9th October) for Channel 4 TV’s ‘Grand Designs – Live’ doing demonstrations in their ‘Sustainable Future Theatre’. Organisers found out about Ally and her upcycled furniture business Restoration Hut from her linked Instagram account. “They are really invested in discovering and promoting…

Record Breaking Train Reaches Ruddington

16th July 202117th July 2021 Graham Wright

In October 2019 RUDDINGTON.info reported that two former Midland Mainline Inter-City 125 Powercars would be coming to GCRN – Great Central Railway (Nottingham) on a permanent basis thanks to leasing company Porterbrook. As planned, high speed trains 43048 and 43089 were both duly handed over The 125 Group at the end of their careers with East Midlands Trains to be based in Ruddington – with the intention of running passenger trips between the Heritage Centre and Loughborough (eventually to Leicester North). We understand they are still in storage. Meantime, their eventual arrival here has been trumped…

Canal Bridge Completed

7th July 20207th July 2020 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…

Footpath Should Reopen Soon!

8th February 201914th February 2019 Graham Wright

It’s hoped a closed footway, which residents on a Ruddington estate usually use to gain easy access to our village centre, should be open again before too long. The jitty between Elms Park and Elms Gardens was closed by Nottinghamshire County Council (NCC) over three months’ ago when it was reported that a wall alongside it was crumbling (photos courtesy of Paul Witney). Bricks from it had fallen on to the path – so a decision was made by NCC to prevent public access on health and safety grounds. Barriers…

Ruddington Restoration Dedicated to Fallen Soldiers

18th September 201718th September 2017 Graham Wright

A vintage carriage took pride of place yesterday (Sunday 17th September) at Ruddington’s Great Central Railway – in an event dedicated to over a thousand troops who died during the First World War. On display in the open for the first time was the recently restored MS&LR 6-wheel carriage – which took 16 years for five volunteers at our local Heritage Centre to return to its former glory. It was dedicated in a special ceremony by Ruddington’s Vicar, the Reverend Andrew Buchanan, to the many employees who left the Great Central Railway to…