Churnet Valley Railway General Discussion

Back in action today. We only do tree work on the river bank when the water temperature is below 5 C !! This location near the Black Lion should give photographers better shots

 

Nice job. That's going to look absolutely lovely if and when spring really starts.

 

Started today - due to finish tomorrow.

 

Hi I was wondering is anyone could shed some light on something..
I recently walked the old line from Rudyard end towards leek, but it just comes to an abrupt stop by a housing estate. It looks like a cliff face where a tunnel could have been. Just wondered if anyone knew whether the tunnel to leek station was demolished or buried underground?

 

Hi will everyone sign and share this please

https://www.change.org/p/chris-gray...ine-from-stoke-on-trent-staffordshire-to-leek

 

I seem to remember reading somewhere that it was used for landfill. So, it's still under there.

 

It looks like theres 300mts of land fill...

http://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/side...FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF&right=BingHyb

 

Yet again, another Heritage Railway targeted by vandals:

https://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/news/local-news/carriages-damaged-at-heritage-railway-1442300

 

The good news is that a volunteer task force descended on Chedd and got them all cleaned up and were in service yesterday. Still need to be re-varnished.

 

Yup, a top effort by CVR staff and volunteers, though I say so myself (having done my shift on Monday). The whole dining carriage was cleaned up by mid-late Monday morning. At one point there were about a dozen of us in there scrubbing away.

My fingers still smell of Parafin, thinners or whatever.

 

Hope they catch the little barbarians. Too bad they can't hang them by their thumbs for a couple of hours, to help them understand the error of their ways.

Noel

 

Thumbs -? I can think of a couple of better things to use.

 

Heard today that planning permission has been granted for the extension to Leek. There are still conditions to be fulfilled - design, method statements and management plans and of course finance but this is good news.

 

A CVR statement is due to go on the CVR website imminently. There's a lot of stuff to be done before work on site can start, finalising the CVR - SMDC lease for the use of the trackbed for a start (I think I said incorrectly above that this had been done) then lots of detailed planning - Severn Trent Sewers, detailed plan for the trackbed etc all the usual stuff that takes time and effort but is invisible to those on the outside.

Top news though hey?

 

Interesting. The committee date seems to have been brought forward to yesterday, unless I'm going mad or read it wrongly before. The public consultation isn't due to finish until the 24th.

Not complaining, though.

 

Just found the original planning application SMD/1977/0033. They sealed up both portals and filled the north-end cutting with spoil from a nearby building site. The main objection seems to have been that it would have made a good air-raid shelter in the event of war breaking out. Thank God, those days have gone... Er...

 

Leek extension news item now on CVR website.

https://www.churnetvalleyrailway.co.uk/news/leekextension

 

Sleeves rolled up and ready .......

 

Ditto....

 

Yes it is there but the design of the website makes it quite difficult to find news items.