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Newcastle-Utrecht Branch LineThis branch line is 47 km in length and was opened in 1910
as a
private railway line. It was later operated by the
government railways administration as a ‘Guaranteed
Line’
where any losses in operating costs against revenue were
made up by the private company. Likewise, if there were
profits, they would go to the company.
The purpose of the branch was to serve collieries at
Utrecht and, to this end, it was a successful operation
for
many years.
The branch was upgraded in the late 1960s, with
heavier
rail replacing the original material, thus allowing an
20-ton axle load. The ruling grade is 1 in 70, but for
loaded
trains from the mine the run was largely downhill,
allowing a load of 1,270 tons for a single Class 34
mainline loco. In practice, however, two locos to a train
were used.
Coal traffic on the line amounted to some 880,000 tons in
2002/2003, and this could have increased to over 1 million
tons since road transport was being used to make
up for rail capacity shortfalls. The mine operated its own
5km line connecting the colliery with Utrecht
station, but a private railway operator took over running
the entire line in 2004. This arrangement was successful
but the mine closed suddenly and rail services ceased. The
line is still intact, although a certain amount of
thieving of materials has taken place. There is, however,
a possibility that a new mine may open and require rail
services once again. For Details of
Volumes and Commodities Received
and Forwarded [Table 6]CLICK HERE
A private company operated the branch prior to closure
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