Peak Rail General Discussion

I have mixed feelings... I wonder if we are going to feasibility study ourselves out of existence? Let me explain...

It will probably take 6 months for prospective organisations to put their bids in, then 6 months to decide who to go for. Then we are probably looking at 6 to 12 months worth of study work, which I suspect will bring back a positive result (I hope) for the re-opening of the railway. So I think we will be looking at the back end of 2019 before the results are public.

Assuming a positive outcome, i.e. reopen the railway, what form will that be and what duration will it take? From the quarries point of view, they would want the railway re-opening as quickly as possible, not in railway preservation timescales (Current 4 mile railway took from 1987 to 1997). Besides, we have to be honest, Peak Rail does not have the capacity, finance or capability, and I emphasise at the moment, to extend the railway north.

So if the line were to be re-instated quickly (within 5 years?) this would have to be done by a separate organisation. The result would be a railway to modern mainline standards, which sounds great on the one hand, but there are others to consider...

There are the local surrounding communities and authorities. Now here's the question: Do we think they would be happy with a freight line that runs steam trains at the weekend and sometimes mid-week? My honest thought is that they would demand a 7 day a week 50 - 60 mph railway, not a 2 day a week 25 mph railway. So does Peak Rail fit into this? On the face of it no.

I do think there is an opportunity, however, for Peak Rail to actually run heritage trains at the weekends, but we would seriously need to up our game in terms of capability, capacity and volunteer numbers in the 7 to 8 years that such a line might open. If there is a plan, this is what it needs to focus on.

So what would be needed? If you compare with the NYMR (18 miles), the Peak line would not be so different in length and gradients. Consequently, we would be talking about being able to reliably call on 3 to 4 serviceable large steam locomotives and 3 to 4 rakes of serviceable carriages. We certainly can't at the moment. Steam locos might not be so much of an issue, but carriages would be. We do have enough carriages to provide four good rakes but the vast majority require full restoration...but to what standard for, what would effectively be, a mainline that is part of the national network?

Rowsley site would certainly have the capacity to provide the infrastructure to overhaul and maintain the entire required fleet, but it would need several £millions in a short time to provide that capacity, not to mention the influx of volunteers and paid staff(?) to do the work.

Would any of this be possible? Yes with enough money, an amazing plan and amazing people to make it happen. Is that too large an ask? Just pause for though and think on that and if it is possible as we are...

If the line was re-built, would the local community and owners of the railway (which would not be us, as we don't have the capability (at the moment)), want a steam railway along the route? I don't know the answer to that. Certainly the Peak Authority (or whatever they are called) have been quoted in a local newspaper as saying they would support the re-opening of the railway, but not as a steam railway.

The best option would that we could run the line at the weekends. If the answer is no, the two alternatives are: we become a steam center or we have to vacate.

Personally I would just to love to see the railway re-open, even if it was to become part of the national network and we have to leave. (And please note that I have been volunteering at Peak Rail for over 20 years and have a carriage there - my life has been heavily invested in Peak Rail.)

These are just my initial thoughts and I'm sure others will have their own. The thing to remember is that no matter how many scenarios we think of, it'll be the one that we don't think of that is most likely to happen!

 

The problem is that reopening would involve destroying most of what currently exists. Modern CWR on concrete sleepers, automatic crossing at Darley Dale etc etc.

Bridge wise i suspect the issues are not the unopened bit so much as the existing track and, more so, the Network Rail branch.

On the unopened bit, the cycle track is the weakest of the 3 in the white peak. CHPR and Tissington are better used, give better views and are more accessable. Whether or not you can dual use the tunnels, I expect they would want modern trains down the middle of Monsal viaduct.

I dont think it will happen but if it does it will be a modern freight railway.


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A further issue, perhaps comparatively minor but not negligible, is where the steam passenger trains would go at the Buxton end. If there were to be a separate Peak Rail station, where would it be? Where was it planned to be before Peak Rail moved to the other end? Remarkably the bridge over Charles St that formerly carried the line from Millers Dale into Buston Midland station seems to be still intact, but what are the prospects of reinstating track?

 

The biggest protest is surely going to come from the public who seem to swarm to the Monstal Trail on sunny days?

 

If I remember correctly Peak Rail paid for the installation of that bridge before decamping to Rowsley

 

Hello
Im new to the forum, but been following the saga of peak rail. Been a good few years since i left paid a visit. Alot of potential there if given half a chance. Got a lms carriage set that would rival the severn valleys, and darley dale is lovely station but with its aparrent internal problems taking over. I think any getting more of the line rebuilt by peak rail ain't goimg to happen any time soon and whilst good news i think peak rail might find itself left behind espeically if the big quarries and network rail etc decide case is good enough economically and fiancially to put it back in use.

 

Apparently they still own a sliver of land of the old Midland Station site. Looking at Google Earth, I suspect it's the small sliver of trackbed just past the bridge.

The rest was built on by Nestle, and is due to be built on again with a new hospital and retirement home or somesuch on the site.

Hardly going to be an impressive terminus if that's the case, I sadly suspect.

 

Is that remaining strip even worth keeping now, with new hospital/carehome to built on nestles site
Still see the remains of piece of platform im guessing from google earth

 

From my perspective the land they own is the only thing standing in the way of the powers that be getting what they want and building a private retirement complex and crappy hospital on THE most contentious development site in buxton, I hope they dig their heels in and fight to get their way. Those locals who see this development for what it is don't want it, just like we didn't want a monstrous Tesco on that site, but unfortunately the 'right people' won't be fighting it like they did Tesco so we may be relying on peak rail.

 

Just a thought - but I wonder if they could trade the land in Buxton for enough money to get to Bakewell? It would be a big wrench to give up on Buxton, but on the other hand it might be a practical compromise. I'd love to see the whole line reopen but if that's not realistic then maybe Bakewell could be.

 

Until PR it was a Midland mainline to Chinley via Peak Forest with a Buxton branch. Peak Forest has semaphore a station a signal box still I think.

 

See Note 9 to the PLC's 2016 accounts - the freehold land owned by the PLC (it rather implies that this is the land at Buxton) was valued at £90,000 in 2011. Don't think you could get much track for that!

 

The whole issue of developing Buxton site is a can of worms. A land swop was proposed to give PR a more useful area for a station but events may have overtaken that. PR's trump card is that they have a LRO for it, something any developer will have to take account of.

Dave

 

Could be worth a lot more if someone wants it badly enough though (e.g. if it's in a very strategic position).

 

You can see the platform at the back of Aldi. When I drove past it there is still a water column on the platform

 

Which I'm guessing is this one.

Image from Google images, Wikipedia

 

Will everyone sign and share this please

https://www.change.org/p/re-open-the-matlock-bakewell-buxton-and-manchester-railway

 

So still doable, but I suspect the council will ask Peak Rail to start putting track down in a "use it or lose it" attempt.

That station would be ideally situatated, but the way the land is slowly getting, or going to get eaten, will be very interesting, especially as they clearly just want the site cleared for the hospital and retirement complex.

Amazing how different attitudes councils can have, down my way the local council has slapped orders in place to prevent redevelopment too close to a barely used rail line and thus prevent development on what they hope in the future to be carparks and stations!

 

Thanks to the work of shires cranes chesterfield and a.lot of volunteers the ex Bamford ex Darley Dale cabin has been re-erected at Rowsley,the upright purlins have also been fitted and a.start made on bolting up the underfloor steel rail needed to both support the frame and used for setting up the self.balancing weights on the points, next job will be to clad the ends as we've enough boards and make up the woodwork needed to support the locking room cast windows donated by Mr. Sealey and restored by Mr Dyson, we've also got to turfor the front left post in as it needs shimming at concrete level to get the post properly vertical again and sat proper under the leg,

 

Thanks to the work of shires cranes chesterfield and a.lot of volunteers the ex Bamford ex Darley Dale cabin has been re-erected at Rowsley,the upright purlins have also been fitted and a.start made on bolting up the underfloor steel rail needed to both support the frame and used for setting up the self.balancing weights on the points, next job will be to clad the ends as we've enough boards and make up the woodwork needed to support the locking room cast windows donated by Mr. Sealey and restored by Mr Dyson, we've also got to turfor the front left post in as it needs shimming at concrete level to get the post properly vertical again and sat proper under the leg,