The GCR is the only heritage railway in the country with double track The Great Central Railway (GCR) is a heritage railway in Leicestershire. The Southern section runs for 8 ½ miles from Loughborough to the northern outskirts of Leicester. The former Belgrave and Birstall station was demolished and the terminus (named Leicester North) built nearby. It is the only heritage railway in the UK to have double track. North of Loughborough, at Ruddington, is the Nottingham Heritage Centre, a smaller railway. In the future the two railways will be connected by means of a bridge which will be reinstated at Loughborough to cross the Midland Main Line
History
The Great Central Main Line was built in 1899 connecting Sheffield to London via Nottingham and Leicester. It was the last main line to be built in the country, and was built to a continental loading gauge, with flat gradients designed for speed.
The line was transferred to the London Midland Region of British Railways and listed as duplicate of the Midland Main Line, and was closed as part of the Beeching Axe, apart from the most Southern section into London. The line closed in 1966.
Two LMS "black five" locomotives at Loughborough Shed In 1976 a shortage of funds saw a public limited company, the Great Central Railway (1976) plc formed with the intention of selling shares in the line, which would be bought by enthusiasts and former railwaymen, and thus generating revenue. The charitable body, Main Line Steam Trust (MLST), supports the GCR with grants for specific projects, and also provides volunteers to maintain and run the line.
In the 1990s, a campaign was launched to fund the double track project. Apart from aesthetic benefits, the double track enables good timekeeping.
Locomotives Locomotives marked with an asterisk (*) are not permanent residents on the Great Central Railway - Steam Locomotives
- BR 4-6-0 Class '5MT' no. 73156
- BR 2-6-0 Class '2MT' no. 78019
- GWR 2-6-2T '5100' (Large Prairie) Class no. 4141*
- GWR 4-6-0 '6959' (Modified Hall) Class no. 6990 "Witherslack Hall"
- GWR 4-6-0 '7800' (Manor) Class no. 7821* "Ditcheat Manor"
- LMS 4-6-0 Class '5MT' nos. 45231 and 45305
- LMS 2-6-0 Class '2MT' no. 46521
- LMS 0-6-0T Class '3F' no. 47406
- LNER 2-8-0 Class 'O4' no. 63601*
- LNER 0-6-2T Class 'N2' no. 69523
- SR 4-6-2 'West Country' Class no. 34039 "Boscastle"
- SR 4-6-2 'Merchant Navy' Class no. 35025 "Brocklebank Line"
- Diesel Locomotives
- BR 0-6-0 Class 08 no. D3101
- BR 0-6-0 Class 10 no. D4067
- BR Bo-Bo Class 20 no. D8098
- BR Bo-Bo Class 25 no. 25265
- BR A1A-A1A Class 31 no. D5830
- BR Co-Co Class 37 no. 37255 (on loan from Fragonset Railways)
- BR 1Co-Co1 Class 45 no. D123 "Leicester and Derbyshire Yeomanry"
- BR Co-Co Class 47 no. D1705 "Sparrowhawk"
- BR Bo-Bo Class 73 no. E6003 "Sir Herbert Walker"
- Diesel Multiple Units
Nottingham Heritage Centre The line from Loughborough to Ruddington on the southern outskirts of Nottingham was kept intact with a spur built with spoil from the embankment between the Grand Union Canal and the MML connecting the MML to the GCML. This was to enable access to a Ministry of Defence base there, and later British Gypsum works. After the MOD base was closed, the Nottingham Heritage Centre was established at a former MOD base at Ruddington, Nottinghamshire. The eventual plan is to reinstate the embankment between the Grand Union Canal and the MML and the bridge over the MML to give a 18-mile long railway.
Locomotives - Steam Locomotives
- LNER 0-4-0T Class 'Y7' no. 68088
- Diesel Locomotives
- BR 0-6-0 Class 08 nos. D3180 and D4115
- BR Bo-Bo Class 25 no, D7629
- BR Co-Co Class 56 no. 56097
- Diesel Multiple Units
- Electrical Multiple Units
How to get there - Loughborough Central (http://www.streetmap.co.uk/newmap.srf?x=454500&y=319310&z=1&sv=454750,319250&st=4&ar=Y&mapp=newmap.srf&searchp=newsearch.srf)
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