RICHARD HOLDEN MP is keen to see the Weardale Railway extended (Echo, Feb 23). Little does he know that to go back to Wearhead, above Eastgate, there will be plenty of obstacles to overcome, most importantly two bridges which are no longer there that the railway travelled underneath.

All the former railway above Eastgate is in private ownership, be it part of household gardens, part of farmland or, in one case, there is an industrial estate built on the former station site.

The Durham North West MP makes comment about carrying out yet another survey, which will no doubt have hundreds of contributors, possibly including the tooth fairy, the Pope or possibly the Archbishop of Canterbury.

All people in Weardale know that the Weardale Railway has had public handouts for more than 20 years, and all that has been produced to date is a handful of low paid, part time jobs, which have not lasted for very long.

No one will forget when the railway went into administration the first time in January 2005, as there were many local businesses in the dale who lost thousands of pounds, and eventually, thanks to external public contributors, got paid 25p in the pound.

Similarly, the survey for a railway line from Consett to Newcastle will have the inevitable ‘hundreds’ of supporters, but as there is over £300bn to find to pay for the pandemic, I don’t think a couple of billion will be coming to North West Durham, somehow.

If it helps the Tories, I can lend them a Grimm’s fairy tale book which may give them some further guidance on becoming better ‘spin doctors’!

County Councillor John Shuttleworth (Ind),