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Steam plan is workable say railway fans
RAIL enthusiasts who want to bring steam trains back to a redundant line insist their venture is viable.
They have re-emphasised their confidence in bringing off the ambitious scheme to pull in extra visitors to the Stour Valley after hearing council officials doubts over the project.
The Clare Railway Society aims to put down a mile of track through Clare Castle Country Park. The former Sudbury to Cambridge line, which was abandoned in 1967, ran through the park and the society proposes relaying track at a cost of £80,000.
Eventually it would like the venture extended another two miles to reach Cavendish, the next village along from Clare.
County officials have attended a presentation by the group, and they will shortly be putting their report to the park’s joint advisory panel who will then decide whether or not to accept the idea or to request further information.
One of the officers, John Laws, said that the general feeling of the officers was that they had yet to be convinced of the viability of the scheme from a financial viewpoint and they were also concerned by the potential ecological effect on the landscape.
He said that the £80,000 budget for the project seemed to be on the low side and they were also worried as to where this money would come from. If it were felt that the council would finance the work, it would without doubt be a “non-starter”.
Furthermore, a rail track and footpath for walkers would take up the whole flat picnic area of the park, which currently receive some 200,000 visitors a year, added Mr Laws.
Society chairman John Russell said that, by purchasing second-hand rails and materials along with voluntary labour to undertake installation, he believed the group could keep to the proposed budget.
He added: “We are not without experience in these matters. I am the director of a company involved in a long-standing scheme to re-open 22 miles of line at Ballynahinch in Northern Ireland costing around £250million, obviously the Clare operation is not on the same scale”.
Mr Russell who is also a director of a North Essex based business that restores old railway carriages, said that his firm would loan rolling stock free-of-charge to the Clare project and the society already has access to engines to pull the stock.
“Our members would be prepared to guarantee money for the project, but ideally we would be looking for some initial public funding in the form of recreational grants from European, national and local sources”.
Mr Russell believed that concerns on environmental or ecological grounds were unfounded, adding: “The park is widely used by people who allow their dogs to roam freely and foul the grass. It is well known that rail lines are a natural route for foxes, badgers and other animals allowing them to move across the country in comparative safety”.
Date : 09-11-2001
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