Its been a while since the last post, but work has been continuing over the last month once the Covid-19 Recovery Plan had been implemented for the station. The work on the main blue station sign reframing restarted, the sink area in the side room to the exhibition room has been given a fresh look and work has started on the Clay Mine Hutch display area on the platform embankment has commenced.
However, on the evening of Tuesday 11th and in the early hours of Wednesday 12th August, much of Scotland was battered by severe thunderstorms. During a subsequent inspection of the Bo’ness Kinneil Railway, the Scottish Railway Preservation Society (SRPS) Civil Engineer identified multiple landslips along approximately a mile-long stretch of the railway. The line was declared unfit for traffic and the railway closed to passenger trains. Please note that engineering trains will still operate to facilitate repairs: do not trespass on the railway. The worst of the landslips has occurred on a steep embankment near ‘High Bridge’. A geo-structural engineer has inspected the site and we have since estimated that this damage may cost £100,000 to repair.
The significant damage to our railway line could not have come at worse time: we had planned a limited reopening of the Bo’ness Kinneil Railway in mid-September, after a lengthy closure due to the Coronavirus pandemic that has left our income at a record low.
Until the embankment is repaired, we cannot operate any trains meaning that we cannot generate any income. Once again, we are reaching out to our generous supporters: we need your help to raise £100,000 to fix the storm damage on the Bo’ness & Kinneil Railway. Any donation large or small will help secure the future of our railway. Soif you can help in any way please donate here;