Heritage Railway – August 01, 2019

She’snostranger

to steamand

successinthe

heritagesector:

LadyMcAlpineon

thefootplate of

Aviemore-based

Ivatt2MT 2-6-

No.46512E.V.

Cooper,Engineer,

withvolunteer

firemanKenPlant

(left) andvolunteer

driverJohn

Greig(middle)of

theStrathspey

Railway.SRCT

ThelateSirWilliam

McAlpine’sprivateFawley

HillRailway helditsfirst

dieselgalao nSunday,June

23,tomark60yearssincethe

constructionat Swindonofits

Clas s03D2120.Ina dditionto

D2120workingallpassenger

turnsonthenormally

stea m-workedrailway, three

specialphotographicrun

past swereworkedbythe

railway’s1959-builtHibberd

Planetdiesellocomotive at

thebottomofthebank.A

miniaturerailway outside

themuseumbuildingalso

maintainedthedies elth eme

withaWesternandWarship

inaction.D2120spentmost

ofit sworkingli feinthe

Swanseaarea,becomingone

oftheclassto bemodified

withacut-downcabforthe

BurryPort&Gwendreath

Railway, andwasboughtby

SirWilliamin1986.

STUARTCHAPMAN

Lady McAlpine joinsrenewed

StrathspeypushintoGrantown

ByRobin Jones

LADYJudy McAlpine has become a
newfigureheadoft he projectto gi ve
the Stra thspeyRailway a‘somewhere
to somewhere’destinationby
completing its long-awaitedextension
to Gran town-on-Spey.
Thewidowofmulti-millionaire
enthusiast andFlyingScotsman
saviour SirWilliamMcAlpine,who has
been hailedby manyast he greatest
preservationist of all time,Lady
McAlpine has carried on much of his
goodwork in the heritage sectorsince
his death onMarch4,2018.
Amongst hercontinuing
involvementino therrailway
organisations,she has nowbecome
apatronofthe Rails to Gran town
project, alongside Lady Jean
Macpherson of Biallid, whosehusband
Colonel SirRonaldThomasStewart
Macphersonwassaidtobethe most
highly-decor ated survivingWorldWar
Twoarmyofficer when he died five
years ago,aged 94.

Stakeholder engagement
On July 9, theStrat hspeyRailway
CharitableTrust, whichwas established
in 2008for the purpose of bringing the
railway back to Gran town, hosted an
on-train receptioninthe line’s
panoramic LMSOfficers Saloon at
which thetwoladie swereannounced
as the project’sinaugural patrons.The
reception broughttogetherpotential
supporters and key local stakeholders,
includingrepresentat ives from
adjoining landowners,the Cairngorms
NationalPark Authority(CNPA), the
Gran townBusinessAssociationand
the Grantown Initiative, togetherwith
railway officialsto refresh the trust’s
funding, communityawareness and
networkingcampaigns.
Thetrust is nowpreparing to lay
the foundations ofamajor pushto
Gran town, emulating the success
of the GloucestershireWarwick shire

Railway’s award-winning and

financially-rewardingextensionto

Broadway,the BluebellRailway’s

northern exte nsionto East Grinstead

and movesbythe Llangollen

(Corwen), ChurnetValley (Leek) and

Bala Lakerailwaystoestablishnew

termini in thesetowns.

Atrust statementsaid: “These

patron appointments build on the

relationship thatthe ladies have

developed with the trust, theromantic

memories of visitsto the railway with

their late husbands and their desire,

indeed infectious enthusiasm,to make

adifferencetot he Rails to Gran town

project, by engaging with individuals

of influenceand potentially

benevolentcorporations.”

Trust chairman JohnYule said:

“The returnofthe railway to

Gran townisnot just about the

railway,but moreimportantly the

positiveimpactitw ill ha ve on the

communityand the local economy.

Rails to Gran townisapotentially

transformativeinfrastructure-driven

localregeneration projectthatwill

bring people,spend and jobsto the

area, notto mentionarail link to the

nationalrail net work in Aviemore–a

connection brokenby the Beeching

cuts of the 1960s.

“Asatrust andarailway we are

working hardtoput theregulatory

Transport&Works(Scotland)(TAWS)

Order documentation in placeto

securethe necessaryconse nt from the

ScottishGovernment.”

Toppriority

“Anothercurrent key challengeforthe

trust is therequir ed circa £2 million

funding as ourcontributionto the

replacement of the local authority-

removedA95 road crossingatGaich

with arail underbridge.

“The trust believes thatreturning

the railway to Gran towncontr ibutes

to the CNPA’sstrategic economic and

transportobjectives and authenticity

values.Ith as been identifiedasthe

only significantplausible potential

economic developmentproject for

the GrantownIniti ativeAction Plan.

As the main beneficiarywill be the

local economy, the GrantownIniti ative

thereforedesignatesitastop priority.

“The railway’s vision is alsoto increase

visitor numbers and the length of stays

in Grantownand Aviemore, in partby

strong marketing,better linked with

other localattractions (including a

planned distillery)and similar themed

attractions throughoutScotland and

the UK.

“With anoverall projectcost o fcirca

£10 million, theRails to Gran town

projectisc ostly because itrequires,

in additionto track-laying,railway

infrastructureand fencingby

volunteers; areplacementbridgeover

the RiverDulnain (completed with

priv atesectorcontr ibutions-in-kind

in 2014); andareplacementstation

in Grantownfollowing theremoval

of the original stationby the local

authoritytomake wayfor an industrial

estate.” Theplannedreplacement

station will be closerto Gran town’s

historical squareand retail centre.

He added thattheTAWS Order

will be morecomprehensive and

demanding than previous Light

Railway Orders,requiring significant

technicaland professionalinputs,

as well as evidenceoff inancial

viability, economic assessments and

environmental impactsurveys.

Furthermore, land use arrangements

with anumber of differentlocal

owners must be agreed.The track

wasliftedand infrastructureremoved

despitethe Aviemore to Gran town

section having beenrecommended

forretention in theBeechingInqui ry

in 1964,byt he CairngormsWorking

Group in 1967, andby the Highland

and IslandDevelopmentBoard

with the supportoft he Secretary

of Stat efor Scotland in 1968/9, as a

tourist facility.

18 Heritagerailway.co.uk indusonwww.facebook.com/heritagerailway

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