The Meon Valley Railway

I don't think we've had anything like this before...

[FONT=&quot]The Pre-Preservation Era[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]Taken from A History of the Meon Valley Railway by Ted Barker
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[FONT=&quot]The Meon Valley Railway was built at the start of the 20th century to connect the market towns of Alton and Fareham in Hampshire. Completed in 1903, the railway was the last in Britain to be built to mainline standards. Although it has only ever had a single track, the line was originally built with tunnels and bridges capable of supporting double track, in hope that the railway would one day produce enough business to justify the addition of double track.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]In reality the railway soon began to struggle; the tourist trade to Stokes Bay did not grow as hoped nor did military traffic, even during the two world wars. In 1915 the express services from London were suspended and never reinstated. In 1931 the railway lost its direct connection with the Alton-Winchester line during rearrangement of Butts Junction. [1] After this point the Meon Valley Railway effectively became a branch-line route the traffic of which was steadily being drained by competition from rural bus services. When the line was not electrified in 1937 and traffic failed to pick up during the war years, the fate of the Meon Valley Railway became inevitable.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]The era between the wars brought about major changes in the MVR’s rolling stock; Drummond L12s and M7 tank engines (both engines can be seen in operation on the MVR and Mid-Hants Railway today [2]) were the main stay of the line during this period. Occasionally special trains brought alternate traffic such as when Winston Churchill and Dwight D. Eisenhower met at Droxford station to finalise the plans for the D-Day invasion of Europe.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]The period after the war brought further decline in traffic and as a result of British Railway’s Modernisation Program, it was decided the line would be closed to passengers in February 1955. When news of this was released however, a concerted campaign by local businesses and residents managed to keep the railway open through 1955. They were helped it should be noted by a clause in the Act of Parliament that had authorised the Meon Valley Railway that meant it technically could not be closed. [3] Frustrated, British Railways reinstated the passenger service but very few trains ran and passenger numbers fell further. When BR decided to end the passenger service along the whole length of the line in January 1956, there was no significant local opposition.[/FONT][FONT=&quot] When the last train left Alton for Fareham on December 30th 1955 [4], it seemed as though the Meon Valley Railway was about to vanish into history. Thankfully however, a dedicated band of volunteers were already planning to save the line from closure along with Britain’s rapidly disappearing steam heritage.[/FONT]


[FONT=&quot]Footnotes:[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot][1]: Butts Junction is a former junction just outside Alton station. Until 1931, it was possible for a train from London to cross directly from the Alton line to the Meon Valley Railway. When Butts Junction was re-arranged however, a train now had to back up onto the MVR line after leaving Alton. Butts Junction still exists in OTL but was effectively rendered defunct by the closure of the Basingstoke Light Railway and the Meon Valley Railway.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot][2]: In OTL unfortunately, none of the Drummond L12s survived into preservation and only two M7s. ITTL, two L12s survived into the preservation era (all on the Meon Valley Railway) and five M7s (one at the National Railway Museum, one at the Swanage Railway and three on the Meon Valley Railway)[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot][3]: A similar clause was inserted into the Act of Parliament for the Bluebell Railway. As ITTL, the clause was enacted and managed to keep the railway open for a few more years but did not increase passenger traffic.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot][4]: Ironically enough, the last train was one of the busiest the railway had ever seen with the M7 tank engine struggling to cope with the workload.[/FONT]



[FONT=&quot]And now for something totally different[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Sir[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]The continued difficulties of the restoration of the Mid Hants Railway would be resolved if responsibility for the reconstruction was totally turned over to the Meon Valley Railway Preservation Society. The Mid Hants Railway continues to prove itself unable or unwilling to begin the work on reconstructing the line between Itchen Abbas and Winchester and between Alresford and Ropley while the MVRPS has successfully completed the stretch of the line between Alton and Ropley. Unless new management is placed in charge of the operation, then the Mid Hants Railway may either never be completed or lost forever. Let us remember that Hampshire County Council has placed a deadline for the Mid Hants to be completed as June 2011...[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Yours Sincerely[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]25th September 2008[/FONT]

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So there you have it. The start of what I believe is AH.Com's first timeline of a preserved steam. Hopefully this will last longer than my other timelines...


 
[FONT=&quot]And here is update Number 2:[/FONT]


[FONT=&quot]***[/FONT]



[FONT=&quot]Almost immediately after the last train ran, track lifting began on the stretch of the Meon Valley Railway between Farringdon and Droxford. The Preservation Society knew it would need to act quickly in order to save the railway and led by William Barker, the society was able to gather together enough money to purchase the track between the West Meon Viaduct and Droxford in March 1956. [1] A year later the society was also able to acquire an M7 tank engine and an L12 Drummond from a local scrap-yard. Taken in hand with the developing preservation movement around Sheffield Park, it began to dawn on many scrap-yards that selling intact steam locomotives was more profitable than destroying them.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]This however was for the future. It had been hoped that the society would be able to run trains in 1958 but this proved impossible due to the poor condition of the track and the engines; it was quickly discovered that the M7 was not much short of being a write-off and the L12 was not in good condition either. It was thus decided to put the M7 in storage for the moment, while some basic remedial work was carried out on the L12 and the permanent way. In July 1959 the Meon Valley Railway once again opened for passengers between West Meon and Droxford. Hauled exclusively by the L12, the railway operated for most of the summer and proved to be a minor success.[/FONT]

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43d5cbdd76544aacb01e088861ba09d9.0.jpg
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[FONT=&quot]Taken from A History of the Meon Valley Railway by Ted Barker[/FONT]


[FONT=&quot]The relative success of the 1959 and 1960 provided the Meon Valley Railway with an illusion of stability. While it is true that ticket receipts grew at a steady pace, the railway had a very glaring weakness; it had only one operational engine, something that weighed constantly on the minds of the senior leadership of the preservation society in the first years of the railway. In the 1961 season these fears were to become manifest and nearly strangle the railway in its cradle. [/FONT][FONT=&quot]In January 1961, it was announced that the viaduct north of West Meon station was to be demolished as it was thought to be a threat to public health. Although my father and many others insisted that the viaduct was in danger of collapse and that the society could maintain it, they were overruled. On April 15th, the viaduct was destroyed with controlled explosions, cutting the link between West Meon and the north of the former railway, a link that would not be restored until the 1980s. Worse however was to come; just a few days before the railway was due to open for the 1961 season it was discovered that the L12 had several serious cracks in its boiler. After an emergency meeting of shareholders, it was agreed that the only option was to suspend operations in 1961 and find another engine, preferably one that would last long enough for the L12 and M7 to be repaired... [2][/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Footnotes:[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot][1]: The MVRPS decided not to attempt to purchase any track further north than the West Meon viaduct simply because doing so would leave them unable to acquire any engines or rolling stock.[/FONT]


[FONT=&quot][2]: This particular part of the MVR’s history was dramatised in the 1962 book Gallant Engines by the Reverend W. Awdry, one of The Thomas the Tank Engine books[/FONT]
 
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This looks great. Keep it coming. AH and preserved railways... could there be anything more British?
 
This looks great. Keep it coming. AH and preserved railways... could there be anything more British?


Yes I know.

Also the Meon Valley Railway ran quite close to where I live (not at the moment because I'm at uni) so I'm interesed in it. To be honest as a mainline railway it was a terrible idea. Alton and Fareham are two medium-sized maket towns which had an indirect railway link even in 1900 and everything else along the line is smaller. As a preserved steam railway... well it could well have a chance.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodham_Brothers

213 steam trains were saved and restored from this scrap yard in the 70's.
I remember as a child seeing the rows of steam engines when we went to Barry Island on trips in the 60's.

I know of Barry and its owners, they deserved to be knighted for saving all those engines. As has already been shown, a few classes that were totally lost do survive until the present day in this timeline as railway presevation started a couple of years early.

There should hopefully be an update soon (tonight I'm aiming for).

Edit: Minor retcon made to one update.
 
Here is Update No.3
----
Gallant Engines is the 17th book in the Railway Series by the Reverend W. Awdry. It is considered by many to be the darkest of the Railway Series; it features the death of a human character (although not on screen) and the scrapping of at least two of the engine characters of the series. As a result of this the book has been regularly out of print since its first publication. Gallant Old Engines is considered the last of the First Railway Series’.

Closing Time
Hard times came. More and more people bought cars on the island and slowly and there were less trains to pull. The engines had less and less to do.
*
“It was like this on our old line,” Peter Sam said to James when he arrived with a train of tourists wanting to head back to the mainland, “Then people came to look at us and we got closed down.”
“It won’t happen here,” James said haughtily, but even he couldn’t help noticing that not as many people as usual got onto the train. As he puffed away, James wondered whether Peter Sam could be right.
*
The train was not very heavy and James easily got to the docks and was back at the engine shed by nightfall. When he got there however, all the engines seemed on engine.
“Where’s Edward?” James asked, as he looked around the shed but couldn’t see the old engine.
“Edward’s gone,” Gordon gloomily, “Some people came to look at him. They said he was too old and they took him away.”
“When will he be coming back?” James asked nervously; none of the engines knew the answer.
*
Things weren’t any better the next morning. The engines waited for their drivers and firemen but none of them came. All the engines in the shed quickly became cold and miserable.
Then the doors were opened and the drivers and firemen came. None of them seemed very happy.
“What’s wrong?” James asked as his drive rolled him out of the shed.
“The Inspector will explain,” his driver said shortly.
The Inspector, who was a kindly man, was waiting for them at the junction. So was Thomas, Percy and Daisy.
“I’m afraid to say that the Controller passed away yesterday evening,” the Inspector said, “And that Control has decided to shut down the Northwestern Railway.”
*
The engines were aghast.
“Where will we go sir?” Thomas asked.
The Inspector hesitated for a moment, then spoke very slowly, “There is nowhere in Britain that is accepting steam engines, therefore you will be taken to a holding yard. Daisy will probably find work on a branch line somewhere.”
The Inspector then walked away leaving everyone on the platform speechless.
*
The engines were then all coupled together, except for Daisy, and the convoy pulled out of the junction. Very soon they were at the docks and being loaded onto the ships that would take them to the mainline
“Will we ever see Toby or Edward again?” Thomas asked his driver.
“I think you will,” his driver smiled but Thomas could tell that his driver wasn’t telling the whole truth.
Just before his driver jumped off the ship, he turned to Thomas and said quietly, “Thank you.”
And without another word, Thomas saw his driver hop off the ship, knowing he never see the man again…
---

Let the tomatoe throwing begin!
 

Kissinger

Banned
Here is Update No.3
----
Gallant Engines is the 17th book in the Railway Series by the Reverend W. Awdry. It is considered by many to be the darkest of the Railway Series; it features the death of a human character (although not on screen) and the scrapping of at least two of the engine characters of the series. As a result of this the book has been regularly out of print since its first publication. Gallant Old Engines is considered the last of the First Railway Series’.

Closing Time
Hard times came. More and more people bought cars on the island and slowly and there were less trains to pull. The engines had less and less to do.
*
“It was like this on our old line,” Peter Sam said to James when he arrived with a train of tourists wanting to head back to the mainland, “Then people came to look at us and we got closed down.”
“It won’t happen here,” James said haughtily, but even he couldn’t help noticing that not as many people as usual got onto the train. As he puffed away, James wondered whether Peter Sam could be right.
*
The train was not very heavy and James easily got to the docks and was back at the engine shed by nightfall. When he got there however, all the engines seemed on engine.
“Where’s Edward?” James asked, as he looked around the shed but couldn’t see the old engine.
“Edward’s gone,” Gordon gloomily, “Some people came to look at him. They said he was too old and they took him away.”
“When will he be coming back?” James asked nervously; none of the engines knew the answer.
*
Things weren’t any better the next morning. The engines waited for their drivers and firemen but none of them came. All the engines in the shed quickly became cold and miserable.
Then the doors were opened and the drivers and firemen came. None of them seemed very happy.
“What’s wrong?” James asked as his drive rolled him out of the shed.
“The Inspector will explain,” his driver said shortly.
The Inspector, who was a kindly man, was waiting for them at the junction. So was Thomas, Percy and Daisy.
“I’m afraid to say that the Controller passed away yesterday evening,” the Inspector said, “And that Control has decided to shut down the Northwestern Railway.”
*
The engines were aghast.
“Where will we go sir?” Thomas asked.
The Inspector hesitated for a moment, then spoke very slowly, “There is nowhere in Britain that is accepting steam engines, therefore you will be taken to a holding yard. Daisy will probably find work on a branch line somewhere.”
The Inspector then walked away leaving everyone on the platform speechless.
*
The engines were then all coupled together, except for Daisy, and the convoy pulled out of the junction. Very soon they were at the docks and being loaded onto the ships that would take them to the mainline
“Will we ever see Toby or Edward again?” Thomas asked his driver.
“I think you will,” his driver smiled but Thomas could tell that his driver wasn’t telling the whole truth.
Just before his driver jumped off the ship, he turned to Thomas and said quietly, “Thank you.”
And without another word, Thomas saw his driver hop off the ship, knowing he never see the man again…
---

Let the tomatoe throwing begin!
How could you kill Edward! You Bas@#$*! Man he made watching Thomas the Tank Engine a joy since it was good to have one sane engine on the island. How could You? If it wasnt for those stories I wouldnt be on here!:mad:
 
How could you kill Edward! You Bas@#$*! Man he made watching Thomas the Tank Engine a joy since it was good to have one sane engine on the island. How could You? If it wasnt for those stories I wouldnt be on here!:mad:

Ah yeah, sorry about that.:eek:

The simple reason Edward was scrapped was because at this point so many old engines were being scrapped. Also for whatever reason ITTL, Awdry wants to end the Railway Series at this point. He won't be succesful however...

Edit: Update should be coming shortly.
 
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