Work on our passenger line extension has now restarted in earnest. This came to a halt, older readers will recall (!), when we were awarded our Lottery money for the new Railway Hall - see story in the News Archive. Now we have extended the trackwork around the back of the new locomotive shed and built and installed the station point. Work is now being concentrated on the building of the new station platform. The station will be called Cragside, after the first house in which electric light was ever installed. This naming reflects the fact that the new station is adjacent to the EDF (formerly Seeboard) Milne Electrical Museum.

The new line starts from the existing terminus called Brockham, after the Brockham Museum from which a lot of the Amberley collection came. The line crosses the entrance pathway before curving around parallel with the industrial line.

The line then begins to climb quite steeply. At present this section is used as additional siding space, particularly for recessing a passenger train during two train operation.

At this point there will be a diamond crossing connecting the two sections of the line. At present part of the industrial system crosses the path of the extension. The crossing will allow access to the tunnel and storage containers to be retained - subject to the line being locked out of use while passenger trains are running.

Part of the work has included reinstatement of the siding up to the containers to allow easier transport of equipment and other items many of which are somewhat heavy. The siding looks steep but the angle from which the photo has been taken exaggerates this. The new mainline is the next track to the left.

After passing around the top of the quarry, the line passes the locomotive shed providing passengers with a quick glimpse inside ......

...... and arrives at the new Cragside Station. At present the line ends at the station point while beyond this can be seen the beginnings of the station platform.

A closer view of the point and station platform face.

The station platform alignment has necessitated some redesigning of the display of elecrical plant outside the Milne Museum. It all looks a bit of a mess at the moment, but then it's early days!

The station site viewed from part-way up the cliff. The proximity to the Milne is evident.

Progress with the new platforms as at Sunday 13 November. The wall in the foreground is the platform on which will be placed blue engineering brick to form the platform edge. As can be seen a large amount of fill is required - but then chalk is cheap at Amberley!

Wednesday 23 November saw the retaining walls all but completed and the track bed gradually being built up.

Back at Brockham, the decision has been taken to replace the two sharply angled crossover points with a pair with a shallower angle.

These views show the scene on Sunday 8 January 2006. The weather was not at its best ...... !!