WRHA & BURC Official opening of the line

July 1st 2012 was the day that the railway was reborn on the Waverley 150 years to the day after it originally opened in 1862.
Members and volunteers have worked hard over the years to get the railway to where it is now. And without the support it would be still a forgotten relic of years gone by when Mr Beeching waved his axe.
The official opening was done by Madge Elliot, a veteran campaigner against the closure of the line way back in 1969.

[@Isochest]

A symbolic moment but backed by real developments further north. The Edinburgh -Tweedbank reopening is just the start of the full reopening of the 90 mile route. With such high numbers of people without acces to cars in Borders today, I feel it is incredible the road haulage interest bodies got away with it at the time.

[@MrJezza31]

Would really love to see the line down to Peebles that diverged to the left (if you were looking north) at Eskbank re opened aswell, Would definitely use it!

[@john87013]

The route should never have been allowed to close in the first place. British Rail and The Ministry ignored the people of the Borders. Thank God the 'protest movement' had matured sufficiently to prevent the closure of the Settle & Carlisle in the late 1980's.
Good luck to the WRHA and BURC with their new railway.

[@sandletters39]

Richard Marsh (1928-2011) whom allowed the line to close was appointed as Minister of Transport as part of Harold Wilson's frequent cabinet reshuffles in a deeply unpopular and ailing Labour Government. In fact, Beeching's claim that line closures would save £30m appeared to be a total farce as it only saved £7m yet why build another 80 Class 25 diesels when traffic cuts were on the way?