Arbroath’s former miniature railway has been left like “a bomb has hit it” after a project to shore up the adjacent east coast main line.
And it’s seen Network Rail forced to compensate the third generation owner of the famous seafront attraction which carried east coast holidaymakers for 85 years.
But John Kerr says the damage to the site has extinguished any option of a return for the one-time family favourite.
The world-famous railway closed in 2020 because of falling numbers and the pandemic impact.
John said his grandfather and father would be “turning in their graves” over what has happened.
A signal box and carriage shed have been wrecked and yards of narrow gauge track now lie in a skip at West Links.
What went wrong?
Network Rail approached John to get permission to seal off the old site so ballast works could be carried out at the beginning of the year.
But an early morning operation to drive steel piles into the ground to shore up the embankment led to the collapse of an old wall at the miniature railway.
It damaged the carriage shed and prompted an emergency operation to get the east coast line open again.
John said the scene at the time was “like a bomb had hit it”.
Steel shuttering is now in place, although the site remains fenced off.
“Network Rail have got to do what they have to do – I completely understand that,” said John.
“But what has happened at the miniature railway is absolutely devastating.
“There has been a complete lack of sentimental understanding for the miniature railway.
“I appreciate they were faced with an emergency situation, and I have to say that all the people on the ground who I have dealt with have been very helpful.
“They’ve offered compensation – but it’s not about money.
“This is about the miniature railway and it should never have been affected.
“It’s absolutely devastating to see it now, it really is.”
It’s a main line from which drivers regularly blew their horn to passengers on the Arbroath seafront attraction.
And today’s east coast passengers can now see the fenced-off site full of equipment and materials.
Expansion plan ran out of steam
John locked the sheds up in 2020 after plans to extend the railway along West Links to the main council-run attractions fell apart.
John now owns two major English miniature railway attractions in Cleethorpes and Scarborough.
He previously said Arbroath’s loss had been their gain.
But he is sad the Arbroath site damage has killed off any prospect of a re-opening.
“The railway was closed, but we were trying to keep the site tidy.
“It was horrible to see something which had been such a famous attraction closed up.
“But the option of it coming back was still there.
“That’s now been taken away, or at least made very much more difficult, by what has happened.
“At the beginning of the Network Rail work, if I wanted to pull a train on the railway there was nothing to stop me doing that.
“Now there’s a mountain to climb.
“I don’t know what to think, but I’m going to have to come to terms with it.
“I hope we still have options, I really do. But I’m struggling to see them.”
Network Rail were asked about the project and whether the works to the east coast line at that section are now complete, but they did not respond.
