Modified Hall 4-6-0 no. 7903 Foremarke Hall is taken by Ian Crowder on an imaginary journey from Toddington to meet a scheduled Paddington-bound FGW service at Honeybourne Junction. Photo Steve George


Broadway station as it was and will be again one day. (Photograher unknown, from a post card. Courtesy of the Railway Archiving Trust)  

Ian Crowder, trainee driver, takes us on a journey with an up train on the Honeybourne Line - all the way to Honeybourne Junction.  That will give the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway a 17-mile run.  Will it happen?  You betcha.

A perfect stop.

Most of the trains on the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway (which is re-branding itself the 'Honeybourne Line'), are six Mk 1 coaches in length.  The platforms at Toddington are 400 ft long - not much longer than six coaches so stopping in exactly the right place is vital. 

It's getting towards the end of the 2009 season and, as a trainee driver, I'm pretty pleased with that stop, the second perfect one of the day: as one senior driver told me: "anyone can make a locomotive go.  It's stopping in the right place that's the skilful bit."  I hope to 'pass out' in the Spring!

The lovely thing about Toddington - which featured in the recent BBC wartime drama 'Land Girls' - is that the station has hardly changed over the years. It's the only original station building remaining on the entire 'Honeybourne Line' (the GWR 'flatpack' structure at Cheltenham Racecourse excepted).

Look at a 1930s picture and apart from the trees being taller, the station itself looks pretty much as it does today.  The only obvious omission is the 12,000 gallon water tank that once stood imperiously next to the down platform and even that omission is being rectified.  A replacement tank, kindly provided by the Cholsey & Wallingord Railway, is well on the way to being restored while the original foundations for the four steel legs that held it aloft have been found and strengthened ready to take the replacement.  The incoming water will pass through a reverse osmosis plant (one has already been installed at Cheltenham Racecourse) and the tank will supply water to the columns (already acquired), which will also appear on the platforms where the originals once stood, providing perfect water for locomotive boilers.

But I digress. 

My locomotive - let's say it's no. 7903 Foremarke Hall - is sitting neatly beneath Stow Road bridge and the track tantalisingly stretches ahead, past what will become the outer home for southbound trains arriving at Toddington and through a cutting towards the majestic, 15-arch Stanway Viaduct.

It's not difficult to imagine waiting for the right away, past the recently-re-sited starter standing at 'off' and taking the train towards the viaduct that will carry it loftily over the fields and on to Laverton; to Broadway and perhaps on to Honeyboune Junction to meet a scheduled connection with a First Great Western train.

Similar idle thoughts must cross the mind of countless footplate crews on heritage railways as they reach their terminus, perhaps with just a head-shunt ahead where their truncated line once progressed for miles but is now lost forever under housing estates, felled embankments and long-gone bridges, or buried under new roads.  Think of Bridgnorth.  Or Loughborough (yes, there are prospects here, though).  Or Pickering, or Alresford.

But on the GWR, it's not just idle dreaming.  The dream is becoming reality!

Whether you're sitting at Toddington or Cheltenham Racecourse, the road ahead is very much a probability. 

In fact the track north from Toddington already runs a further two miles, at present just a sinuous siding that is the domain of the PW team whose eclectic and well-laden train regularly disappears over territory being reawakened, to practice their dark arts of laying sleepers, welding joints, dropping ballast, digging out the cess or tamping the track. Next year it is highly likely that the first revenue-earning trains for over 50 years will be running as far as the site of Laverton Halt - whose wooden platform and tin shelter have long since disappeared.  And the railway is very much on target to continue north over a brand new bridge that is being replaced at the expense of the National Grid, whose predecessors removed the original (with the railway's agreement) for heavy plant to access a new gas pipeline.

Next station, Broadway!

Only months ago, the site of Broadway station, two miles further on, had pretty much disappeared beneath Nature's smothering blanket of nettles, small trees and brambles.  Now it is a huge, clear site with the original foundations of the platforms, station buildings and signalbox exposed for all to see and basic works progressing well.  'The Broadway Pioneers' are hard at work preparing the way for the future.

Fast forward four or five years.

Hands on brake and ejector, ever so gently my train comes to another perfect halt at Broadway, the shunt signal already 'off' ready to run round.  What sight will greet me, my fireman and the passengers starting to disgorge from the busy train?  What will our customers expect to do once they have arrived?

Well, it's hard to be precise.  But yes, there will eventually be two platforms, likely to be about 550 feet long to accommodate eight coaches instead of the original standard platform length of 400 feet. And yes, my fireman will have surrendered the staff to the signalman from the timber-built signalbox just beyond the line-over bridge on the down side; standing on the old foundations.  In fact, it will be the 'box that once stood at Exminster, similar to the original but a bit longer. 

Yes, there will be a station building here too.  While the former Bourton-on-the-Water station building was a well-publicised contender, that's not now going to happen. 

To be frank, the Bourton building is a bit too small for what will be an important station and moving it within a tight deadline imposed by its owner, Gloucestershire County Council, would be a serious financial challenge.  There's a growing view, too, that a replacement building should, externally at any rate, look like the original, which was in fact brick-built. Indeed, that wouldn't be out of place as most of the nearby homes and other buildings are brick built too - they are much later than the Cotswold stone-built town centre. 

Take a look at Toddington station, and you will have a reasonable idea of what the original looked like, although the Broadway building was longer.  The original drawings have been obtained and the building could be built of genuine GWR brick from an earmarked-for-demolition station building elsewhere on the national network.  Indeed, the GWR's buildings department has its eyes on a couple of possibilities. Then it would 'simply' be a case of recycling the brick and hey presto, you have a building that to someone coming back from 60 years ago, would be a familiar and heart-warming sight. Another option is to use new brick to the GWR pattern - the original brick supplier is still in business.

Certainly, Broadway is the golden goal.  It is a popular tourist haunt with its mellow assortment of Cotswold-stone houses, shops and pubs lazily lining the wide, picturesque main street. 

The local council, frankly, can't wait for the first train to arrive.  They see it as a great enhancement to what Broadway has to offer and would like to run a bus link over the mile between town centre and station.  That means the passengers that have just alighted from my train of the future can easily and comfortably enjoy all that Broadway has to offer - and bring in useful tourist income, too.  They see the railway acting as a link from here to another vital tourist town, Cheltenham.  They believe the railway could help relieve some of the traffic congestion that so tarnishes the peaceful pastiche of this quintessential Cotswold town.

And beyond?

So, I sit waiting to run round our train at Broadway.  But tantalisingly, stretching ahead, is the head-shunt disappearing north towards the cutting that once carried the line on to Weston-sub-Edge station a couple of miles north. For a moment, I imagine that we have collected the staff for the section ahead.

Fast forward a few more years…

The train accelerates north and under the bridge thoughtfully built over the vacant trackbed when the A44 Broadway by-pass was built, and on towards what was originally Bretforton and Weston-sub-Edge station.  There's nothing left of the station now except the former station master's house. Some distance from the villages it was meant to serve, it was never going to be a runaway commercial success.  But it was where the late Audie Baker, author of the definitive historical work on the Honeybourne Line and who lived nearby, first fell in love with the railway, its trains and the people who worked them.

I imagine my train chattering through the green, sylvan countryside, the engine laying a pure white vapour trail over the broad landscape of productive green fields. Leaving the station site behind it's pretty easy going as the line is straight and almost level.  This was once a racetrack for the Castles that bore happy holidaymakers aboard heavy expresses such as The Cornishman, between the Midlands and West Country resorts. 

Past the former Honeybourne Airfield on the left, the fixed distant for Honeybourne is coming in to view and beyond, the line plunges beneath the Worcester-Oxford line and takes a sharp curve left over what used to be Honeybourne West Loop Junction.

Regulator open, the engine barks as it lifts the train up to run alongside the main line for a couple of hundred yards.  We come to another perfect stand alongside the island platform on the left of the train.  Looking ahead, the headlights appear of one of First Great Western's venerable HST's on a Hereford to Paddington service.  It's slowing to stop at the opposite side of the platform, refurbished and lengthened by Network Rail as part of the re-doubling of this increasingly busy line. 

A well-timed connection.  Some of my passengers are changing here.  Others will change from the FGW train for the ride behind Foremarke Hall south to Cheltenham.  Some alight to take a picture of the HST and the steam locomotive, a BR-built Modified Hall which, soberingly, is exactly the same age as me.  Momentarily, I reflect that the locomotive, unlike me, is probably immortal.  Over the decades to come, how many more drivers will enjoy the journey I have just taken?

Even this imaginary vision isn't pie-in-the-sky.  Network Rail is making passive provision for future Honebourne Line trains and to accommodate them, are shortly to modify the junction with the remains of the Stratford upon Avon line that diverges here and runs as far as Long Marston. Work started in earnest with a blockade during summer of 2009 and the same will happen during 2010 to enable the doubling work to crack on.  Already considerable trackside clearance has opened up new panoramas along the route and stockpiles of concrete sleepers and other materials are building up, while double track once again runs through Chipping Campden tunnel.

Enough…back to reality with a bump.  All this is, of course, possible, indeed probable.  It is just a matter of time and - inevitably - money.

What's on the shopping list?

There is a lot to do.  The extension as far as Laverton is largely funded but the railway aspires to see Broadway station functioning by 2015.  And the 2009 reality is that while income from ticket sales and other retail activities is significantly up on previous years, investment income (in other words, people buying shares) has, frankly, bombed.  This reflects perhaps the economic situation: people choosing to find their holiday entertainment at home and being careful about what they spend their money on.  Buying shares in a railway, it seems, has slipped down the priority list.

And it is share income that largely fuels the railway's capital projects.  Apart from the need to build a station from scratch, along with all the associated infrastructure such as car park, toilets and refreshment facilities as well as track and signalling, some of the steel bridges are in a poor state and there are parts of the formation that require remedial work to bring them up to scratch.  So where is the money going to come from?  What's it all going to cost?

Lets tackle the costs first.  Getting to Broadway and provision of the bare minimum station facility will cost an estimated £1,565,000 which is about half of the total cost of the various projects that are either under way or planned elsewhere on the GWR.  Also on the 3 million-plus shopping list are:

• Land drainage to reduce the risk of future landslips, following last winter's slip at Cheltenham.  This is long-term and is costing the railway around £25,000 per year.
• Carriage shed at Winchcombe to protect the increasingly-precious Mk 1 coaches that are the mainstay of the GWR's services - likely cost at least £200,000.  This is at the design stage
• Expansion of the David Page shed at Toddington, to improve locomotive engineering facilities and build a separate facility for housing and overhauling the heritage diesel fleet.  Design for all of this work is complete and costed at around £205,000 - indeed some of the work is already completed, including the south extension of the David Page shed and two, wonderful, new locomotive pits.
• Amenities block at Toddington - doubling the size of the existing former goods shed to provide on the ground floor, an extension to the machine shop and at first floor level, staff amenities including showers and changing rooms.  This will cost a further quarter-million.
• Replacement of the 'lost' up platform at Cheltenham Racecourse station.  This had to be removed because ground movement was causing the platform retaining wall to lean ever further towards the track.  The station improvements will include provision of a footbridge as well as the platform, in total costing around £160,000
• Waiting room on the up platform at Winchcombe (work is progressing on this project at a cost of about £20,000)
• And there is plenty more not on this list - including working with the local Cheltenham authorities to develop a transport link in to the town as well as growing beyond Broadway and on to Honeybourne.

Volunteers

The GWR remains resolutely volunteer-run (although earlier this year it advertised internally for a marketing manager; a post that wasn't in fact filled). For the size of the railway, currently 10 miles and about to become 12.5 miles, this is an extraordinary achievement. 

Being volunteer-run has its benefits and drawbacks. 

On the plus side of course, every penny of profit from revenue is invested into the improvement and extension of the railway.  There are no salaries to pay.  Bit by bit, it is slowly fulfilling the aspirations of those volunteers who, 25 years ago and with such hope, saw the diminutive Avonside tank locomotive Cadbury No. 1 set off with a single coach from Toddington station, carrying the first fare-paying passengers on a journey of just 700 yards. The aspiration - which is as relevant and alive today as it was back in the 1980s - was 'To restore as much as possible of the former Stratford upon Avon to Cheltenham railway'. 

That's not just the length of the line.  It includes stations, signalling and, perhaps, double track: after all, this was a well-engineered main line, with gentle gradients and curves.  The possibilities are endless.  There is absolutely no doubt that the Honeybourne Line offers more potential for future development than any other heritage railway in the UK.

On the minus side, the railway is entirely dependent on the goodwill of volunteers to come in to operate the railway, to run trains, to maintain it when trains aren't running.  That curtails the number of services that the railway can run but to date, it has always managed to staff the railway on operating days.  True, there has been the odd occasion when there have been frantic emails and phone calls to find a replacement for someone whose 'day job' has taken them away or have been taken ill.  But the railway's people have always risen to the occasion.

Applications are being prepared for grant income and there is a strong possibility that significant sums of money could come from this direction but, of course, such income is stretched to the limit by the recession and major projects such as the 2012 Olympics.

Grab a share of the action - literally!

Although there is a fall-off in share income, this remains the key to completing the railway's immediate and medium-term goals: so it has re-launched its share appeal. 

What better way to enjoy the growth of a railway than by owning a piece of it?  What better gift for Christmas?  Some people get train-sets - but here's a chance to gift a piece of the real thing! 

The railway has completely revised its share incentives, too.  While you won't get a dividend in the true PLC sense, you will see a real dividend in terms of travel benefits and, of course, the satisfaction of seeing your investment and hundreds like it being transformed into a tangible and worthwhile heritage railway that will bring education and joy to future generations.  And be a part of capturing a little of what life was once like on the Honeybourne Line of old.

For instance, invest in a single unit of 100 shares - total £100 - you will get three pairs of travel tickets each year.  So in terms of ticket value, that investment will have been repaid in three years - much better than any Stock Exchange return!  Invest £5,000 and you get free travel for life.

Can't dig out £100? Then set up a direct debit for £10 per month - and once each 100-share unit has been built, your certificate will arrive.  Simple.  See the panel for full information and how to obtain a share brochure.

You should have gained the impression from this story that the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway is growing - and will continue to grow.  That means more members, and thus volunteers, are needed as well. 

The railway prides itself on being the 'Friendly line in the Cotswolds' and that message comes back to us time and again from travellers.  Many people decide they would like a 'piece of the action' and join up to volunteer.  Although the railway counts around 600 people who regularly give of their time to the railway, it has to be said the railway's 'volunteer retention rate' hasn't been the best and steps are being taken to ensure that future volunteers receive the warmest of welcomes, top-quality training and the best possible introduction to life on the railway.  It doesn't matter what your 'bag' is - steam, diesel, rolling stock, building, track, signal & telegraph, station staff, gardening, catering, guards and TTI's - think of a job and there is one that will suit. 

Again, if you fancy a shot at not just investing, but helping to make your investment grow by volunteering, the panel tells you more.  Or go to www.gwsr.com for the full low-down; or write to Garry Owen at Toddington station for a brochure.

We're here for the journey.  We've made a perfect stop for you, dear reader. Hop aboard.  You're welcome to come along with us for the ride of a lifetime…