Offer for 40-mile Railway
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AN offer from a Westmorland haulier to buy or rent the 40-mile stretch of line between Penrith and Barnard Castle, which British Railways plan to close because of a working loss, was discussed on Wednesday. The haulier, 52-year-old Mr. Watson Sayer, of Kirkby Stephen, whose other business interests include two garages, two stone quarries and a café, talked over the offer with the traffic manager of British Railways North-eastern Region in Kirkby Stephen,
Mr. Sayer, who was once a bus conductor, believes he can make a handsome profit from the line. In a letter to the general traffic manager of British Railways, in London, Mr. Sayer stated: "It does not make sense to me that 3,0004,000 tons of minerals sent each week by rail, plus 2,000 tons from Hartley Quarry, cannot be made into a financial proposition."
When they close the line the railways propose to carry the loads an extra 80 miles on an alternative route at the same charge.
Mr. Sayer said, last week, that he could run the line with a much smaller staff than the railways did. He would replace the present 10 steam engines with two or three powerful diesels. He would also attract passenger traffic back to the line by providing free travel, by bus, between the station and the town centre at each terminus.