What does it Cost to Run a Heritage Railway Centre? Swindon and Cricklade Railway.

Spoiler alert: A Lot.
We took a short break from running around the country filming #EveryDisusedStation (Back next week), and had a chat with the people that run Swindon and Cricklade Railway Centre.
First and foremost we would love for you to go visit and take part in one of their many events: swindon-cricklade-railway.org/ (We will be doing a murder Mystery very soon!).
The good people here are trying to extend the line, so if you cannot visit but would still love to help, their are donation pages/buttons on the website.
They are a genuinely lovely bunch of hard working individuals that give their time to keep this place alive. Hopefully this video goes to highlight exactly how much time, effort and above, all cost involved.
The Centre runs on a section of the old Midlands and South Western Junction Railway. This heritage centre captures Swindon's other railway perfectly.
Thanks:
A big thanks to Dave, Dave and Dave for their time and hospitality. Oh and my god the cheesy chips are good!
Other links:
Our Website: paulwhitewick.co.uk
Our patreon: / everydisusedstation

[@pwhitewick]

Message from Dave. "HI Paul i would like to answer a question that someone asked on the video link about the best thing and worst thing in preservation the high light was for us was returning the railway to taw valley halt. And the worst bit was the arson attack that destoryed the trailer of the thumper coach and 3 wagons containing most of our signal equipment which means we had to start again from scratch , trying to re find these parts , Its basically the mindless attacks on the heritage moment. Arson , graffiti and vandalism" .

[@mistywolf312]

Thankyou to Dave, urgh... Arson and vandalism, so sad, i am all for graffitti in places that are abandoned or lack any significant heritage, good graffitti art with permission can bring joy and entertainment to a place thats having problems, it even brings tourists to Bristol and areas in London have tours, people come to look, but in a place like this i am against it, it can bring beauty where there is none, some graffitti artists are extremely talented, others are not, I am so very glad your passion made you persist.

[@MartinZero]

That was interesting and very well put together. Those guys are doing a great job 👌

[@pwhitewick]

Cheers Martin. Something a tad different this week

[@martinturner9296]

Great video again . I've just watched this with great interest as back in the early 90s while I was working for a company called Francombe fabrications we were approached by the society to supply and fit the bridge over the river Ray . I was surprised when the civil engineer Dave said it cost 1/2 a million pounds . I completely fabricated and welded the entire bridge evening and weekends on my own and even borrowed a crane to install it which I drove . I was unable to do the finishing touches such as handrails etc due to personal reasons . But great memories with local news papers there to take pictures of the install . I visited the society about 5 years ago for the first time since but could find know information or pictures . Keep up the great work . Thanks

[@Neil-wb2xl]

visited circa 1982 /83 the swamp and clinic as it were known you guys done well must pop back . and see you now you got a railway.

[@philippankhurst6680]

Thank you for highlighting the heroic work being done by all the Daves at Blunsdon, and up and down the country that keep the heritage railway miracles coming. This is an interesting little line which one day will not be so 'little'. Owsden Hall will be a fine addition, as was 7903 Foremarke Hall, now on GWSR, which was restored at Blunsdon.

[@pwhitewick]

Thanks Philip. There is indeed a lot going on here!

[@oddwad6290]

Nicely done ! A good example of competing ideas among experts forces innovation to to move forward . Careers are made and destroyed in the process , hence creative destruction .

[@griff9of13]

Another great video, thanks. There are thousands of such wonderful people up and down the country keeping our heritage railways going and this highlights the effort and dedication they have to put in.

[@landroversforever]

Bit late to the party here as it's now 2021.... but I made the gates in opening shot! Built from scratch, including all the metal strapping, the red half-discs (plasma cut whilst wearing shorts) and the cappingsn on the posts. Been a member of the railway for probably 15+ years now, but built them when I was still at school with a Teacher who was a member at the time. Sadly not visited since the day we installed the gates. They were built to the ethos of the M&SWJR designs in period, but they would never have had single panel gates as it would have been a single gate with two panels as the smallest. These were made so they could open and block both sides of the track.

[@benwherlock9869]

I lived just outside Cricklade in the 1980s and I remember visiting the railway with my family. It's great to see the project going from strength to strength.

[@HenrysAdventures]

A great insight into how a heritage railway is run. Good to see one of the smaller railways featured, I enjoyed watching!

[@davekirwin]

Great video, very interesting to hear what the volunteers have to say and show. Amazed at all the hard work that has gone into the SCR, superb effort.

[@raphaelnikolaus0486]

At some point in the video, I was somewhat expecting You, another (Railway) Dave, to show up XD

[@Sim0nTrains]

Really liked this video, it's different and it was presented well, didn't knew one of the signal boxes came from Rowley Regis, I have been there (Rowley Regis) a few times and that station is on a gradient and there is a few disused railways lines in that area, at Old Hill you got the Halesowen Railway which connects at Northfields but think it's Longbridge now, and the Bumble Hole line or sure it also called the Windmill Branch (not sure on that one) hopefully there be future videos like this one because would love to see more

[@pwhitewick]

Cheers Simon. We went a bit 'Geoff' with this one.

[@axtonhaltjoshua6361]

love this railway, it is my local heritage railway

[@oddwad6290]

Very impressive . Well done . Thanks

[@pwhitewick]

Cheers Montie

[@stevedable]

Lovely little film. Ending with chips too! Nice touch. Cheers to both of you!

[@pwhitewick]

They were very tasty!

[@RichardWells1]

Very interesting documentary! Always good to hear how organisational vision becomes reality through dedication, determination and commitment.

[@pwhitewick]

Thanks Richard. There is all of those things in abundance here for sure.

[@kiles99]

Interesting to see 03 shunter D2152 on passenger work - only a week ago I visited this line during their access all areas weekend and had the chance to be "Driver for a fiver" on this engine, and went up and down a couple of times on the section beyond Hayes Knoll. A great job being done here, and I'm glad you picked up on them restoring the line with nothing intact, unlike most of the similar operations.

[@pwhitewick]

Thanks Keith. Yes we almost made it to that weekend, so would have been filming then instead.

[@Skyeskimmer]

What a fantastic job these guys do in resurrecting old lines,engines etc,the costs are phenomenal and it certainly is a labour of love.. When i lived up the far north east of Scotland there was talk and still is of reopening the Aberdeen to Fraserburgh line which like most of the area was a victim of Beechings axe. Great work tho guys and well presented,keep up the great work,many thanks..

[@pwhitewick]

Thanks Allan. Absolutely a labour of love! We are in awe of these guys who give all their free time.

[@JDLeonard74]

Very informative! Thanks for this clear picture of railway preservation in the U.K.

[@pwhitewick]

Thanks J.d.

[@JDLeonard74]

@@pwhitewick Maybe some sort of Trans Atlantic help could be collaborated? kzbin.info

[@shaunwest3612]

Great video, what a beautiful railway,and some beautiful engines😀

[@pwhitewick]

Cheers Shaun. Quite an impressive collection indeed. EA h has its unique story.

[@danq.5140]

The cost estimates for the ballast alone are mind blowing.

[@pwhitewick]

Yup. Tip of the iceberg!

[@peterw2845]

great vid as always , bit different from the norm , well done and put together 👍

[@pwhitewick]

Thanks Peter. Not a regular feature, but something we wanted to try

[@zoomania27]

Fantastic and interesting video. Keep up great work channel keeps getting better and better

[@pwhitewick]

Thanks Tom. Much appreciated. These guys have us a massive amount of material to work with. Lots of passion here. 👍👍👍

[@zoomania27]

Whitewick's Abandoned Railways can tell and wonderfully put across by all. Reminds me of my local railway in Northampton here. Worth a visit for you guys sometime.

[@pwhitewick]

@@zoomania27 most definitely. 👍

[@brianmellett2513]

Hungerford Born & Bread But I have never heard of this line BUT I well be coming over to see you all soon 😃😃😃

[@pwhitewick]

Hungerfords line has a linked history with the line that this heritage centre used to stand on. You'll love the musuem bits and pieces here.

[@brianmellett2513]

Whitewick's Abandoned Railways my Dad work on the line mostly H’ford-Newbury did it for over 25years he was 1 of the 1st to get there when they had the Crash my brother has all the photos of it

[@TurboTimsWorld]

I used to live in Rodbourne Swindon a short walk from where the guy said the railway line was earmarked to be a road and worked in Cricklade 300yrds from the roundabout you filmed, I drove and cycled beside the line and over that bridge everyday to work and back. I would have loved to taken the train door to door ! Last time I was at the railway centre was when City of Truro was there (THE FIRST steam train to do 100+mph,,All GWR people know that not your LNER stuff !) I now live in North Devon a stones throw from Weare Gifford on the Tarka Line, Give me a shout when your down here and I will show you my stretch of cycle sorry railway track between Bideford and Meath. Great video Best Wishes !

[@pwhitewick]

Cheers for sharing Tim. Looking forward to the Tarka!

[@mistywolf312]

Utterly stunned at the cost of ballast, anyone who took the original ballast for free should look into their hearts and then pull their wallet out and help out. The dedication and love that the volunteers on all heritage lines put in is amazing, if and when you do another heritage line, ask them what's their best and worst memory of volunteering, it would be interesting to know.

[@pwhitewick]

This was just the tip of the iceberg too, so many other volunteers busying around the place, really good to see and great for the community.

[@pwhitewick]

Hi Misty. Further to your comment, we've had Dave respond as follows: HI Paul i would like to answer a question that someone asked on the video link about the best thing and worst thing in preservation the high light was for us was returning the railway to taw valley halt. And the worst bit was the arson attack that destoryed the trailer of the thumper coach and 3 wagons containing most of our signal equipment which means we had to start again from scratch , trying to re find these parts , Its basically the mindless attacks on the heritage moment. Arson , graffiti and vandalism .

[@michaelpilling9659]

Very interesting and a very well put together film. Really enjoyed it. It's a year this May since you were there. Can we have update please this May?

[@theovanstaden5766]

Good video Guys, i am glad you went to a working heritage railway, i thought you always visit disused and abandoned railways, Lol i was getting worried , i though the the Whitewicks dont like trains! Hahaha just pulling your legs, big like for this video from a trainspotter!

[@pwhitewick]

Thanks Theo. We love trains! No question of that. Perhaps more to come!?

[@davidfordom1216]

Literally grew up here. Was the best 7 years of my life

[@pwhitewick]

..... excellent David. Wait... You're called Dave too!!

[@davidfordom1216]

@@pwhitewick yeah. Haha

[@ianvallender7892]

Not sure Paul when your doing the Honeybourne line but when you do you will get the opportunity to look at the Gloucestershire Warwickshire steam Railway which at present travels from Cheltenham Racecourse to Broadway a much longer heritage railway 🛤 🚉!

[@pwhitewick]

Sounds good Ian. No definite plan as yet but certainly on the cards 👍

[@amraceway]

While the costs mentioned are high they are very reasonable compared to official government infrastructure costs for roads etcetera. Thanks for the very inciteful video.

[@pwhitewick]

Very good point Bill. Glad you enjoyed it.

[@MrJtappin]

Must have just missed you there! I still miss their old ginger cat...

[@pwhitewick]

We shall be back at some point soon Giovani!

[@Roblilley999]

Another lovely video. Have fond memories of travelling in an old 2 car class 101 dmu from Cleethorpes to Doncaster or Sheffield. Are they linked to the main line anywhere? Also nice to see a preserved class 73

[@pwhitewick]

Sadly not linked to the main line which as you can imagine makes life a lot more difficult

[@pwhitewick]

Oh and yes the only 73/0. Cheers Robert.

[@philtimson5449]

Right, get that roundabout moved and slap the station back where it was! 🚂

[@pwhitewick]

I'm game... !

[@andrewbayliss5421]

Latest news the push is on, clearing track bed.

[@pwhitewick]

Excellent news

[@paulcharlton4788]

I know where there are a couple of hundred concrete sleepers doing nothing if they need some more. They’d need transporting from Derbyshire though!

[@pwhitewick]

Great stuff Paul. If you can drop me an email (or the centre directly) that would be great. whitewickpaul @ gmail.com

[@davie941]

hey paul and rebecca , great video very interesting , im a dave too lol , :)

[@pwhitewick]

Stoooooppppp. Please, no more Dave's...... 😉😅😂

[@davie941]

@@pwhitewick lol :)

[@raphaelnikolaus0486]

10:58 "Santa - This Way" (sign) :D ❤️

[@pwhitewick]

Eagle eyed.

[@raphaelnikolaus0486]

@@pwhitewick Probably because my second name is Nikolaus (really). ^^

[@saltleywsc]

great video ...looks like its well worth a visit t!

[@pwhitewick]

Thank you. Yup most certainly is.

[@yorkiemalone8727]

One questin for Dave Herbet?? How much does it cost per mmile to open up an ""old"" railway line and get it running again ?? Best and worst situations Please

[@jayh9529]

Not as much as it costs to go to Mars 🛐

[@Roblilley999]

85% of men that work on Britain's railways are called Dave

[@pwhitewick]

And drink a lot of tea!!

[@danq.5140]

And 85% of them in Australia are named Bruce ☺

[@johnpenny5638]

@@pwhitewick it's compulsory!

[@cargy930]

These guys are proud of what they have achieved, and have every reason to be so. Top video too. Did you manage to get the flip-flops out yet? :D

[@pwhitewick]

Absolutely and that shins through. Flip flops won't be long 😅😅

[@griff9of13]

Another great video, thanks. There are thousands of such wonderful people up and down the country keeping our heritage railways going and this highlights the effort and dedication they have to put in.

[@pwhitewick]

Absolutely Griff. We make mention of this in our next video and have a quick waffle about the amount of time to giving centres like this a life. Something for the community. Hats off.