Great Central Railway (Nottingham)
There are stations open to the public at Ruddington Fields (within the main centre site) and at Rushcliffe Halt.
After the major part of the GCR main line was closed by British Rail in 1966, a section from Nottingham to Rugby was retained until 1969.
Preservationists had hoped to convert that into a live heritage line, but funding was impossible to obtain — except for the length from Loughborough to Belgrave and Birstall, north of Leicester.
It was also considered that British Gypsum was unlikely to bring in any more bulk materials from coal-fired power stations by rail.
Work initially concentrated on restoring Rushcliffe Halt, but when Nottinghamshire County Council, which had acquired the whole of the 220 acre MoD site, agreed to lease 12 acres of the former MOD site to the Association, the grand scheme of the Nottingham Transport Heritage Centre was devised to encompass not only railway preservation but any transport heritage relevant to the area.
However, when the GCR(N) applied for a Transport and Works Act 1992 Order to purchase and operate the line, objections from local residents resulted in a permanent limit on hours of passenger train operation through the former East Leake Station and the station remaining closed.
Passenger trains further south continued to run on a regular basis to the proposed "Loughborough High Level", although no station facilities exist here.
[2] This follows the temporary closure of the line after being served with an improvement notice by the Office of Rail and Road in October 2020 for not having an "established a safety management system in relation to the examination, maintenance and repair of structures on their railway infrastructure such as the bridges and Barnstone tunnel.
[9] The line from Ruddington to Rushcliffe Halt is due to reopen to the public on Saturday 30 November 2024 with “The Jingle Bell Express” train.
[10] Ruddington Fields is the main station on the line and the home of the Great Central Railway (Nottingham).
It features a road transport building, locomotive sheds, GCR signal box (ex Neasden), miniature and model railways and visitor facilities.
On weekdays, trainloads of gypsum would be delivered to the works and unloaded on the concrete pad visible from the station platforms.
An Art Deco LNER signal box (Hotchley Hill) replaced the original GCR structure in the late 1940s when the sidings were extended.
There are long-term aspirations to reopen the station but this would require the Transport and Works Order under which the railway powers were transferred to the present company to be amended.
The line travels over the River Soar at Stanford Viaduct, close to the Brush works, now part of WABTEC.
Barnum's travelling circus) and some items that even herald from the days of the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway—the GCR's title before completing the London extension.
