Towards Double Arches!

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THE award-winning Leighton Buzzard Railway is marking its 50th anniversary year with a £150,000 appeal to rebuild more of its ‘main line’.

The 2ft gauge line in Bedfordshire was built to serve several sand quarries and to take the extracted material to a transhipment siding of the main line near the town’s LNWR station.

Leighton Buzzard Railway 778 and “Pedemoura” haul a record seven-coach train alongside Vandyke Road, with a Paddington Bear special. 2/7/2017.

There was never a defined point to mark the eastern end of the line – the end of the main running line has always been recognised as being at the point at which it crossed Eastern Way and entered the main quarry itself at a location known locally as Double Arches.

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Continuing modern-day sand extraction at the quarries there means that Double Arches is not yet accessible.

However, the opportunity now exists to extend the line beyond Stonehenge by nearly three-quarters of a mile, past Mundays Hill, to within striking distance of that eventual goal.

The heritage line has now launched a £150,000 appeal to cover the estimated costs of this extension and associated works at Stonehenge.

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Work is well advanced to secure grant support, but that is likely to require matched funding from the line’s own resources.

Read more in Issue 231 of HR – on sale now!


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