Moorlands and City Railway

I have had permisson from Mick Rogers Photography to reproduce this photo of his of the use of the loop at Ipstones during the gala. Thanks Mick ck.

 

We who worked over the weekend of the gala know what went into planning this event. I was particularly impressed with the skill/ingenuity in returning Wadebridge to steam so quickly that we only lost 1 trip with her. Shame the other technical difficulties delayed things so much, but well done to Chris and Nick and the other behind the scenes guys who pulled it together.

 

For purely selfish reasons, it'd be nice to see Endon in use soon, and the gala to be 28th Feb and 1st March. Simply because I've been invited to a wedding in Endon on the 28th!

 

Clearly all the teams do their best work when faced with an important deadline. Roll on the next project - Endon, Leekbrook Triangle or Leek - but can we have a couple of weeks of peace and quiet first?

 

NO!

 

Haven't you got to Alton Towers yet then

 

The difficult we can do within a few weeks - The impossible we leave half finished for much longer.

 

Leek railway moves a step closer

A heritage railway company is looking to buy a Staffordshire Moorlands rail line to help safeguard it's future.

Churnet Valley Railway is looking to raise funds to purchase the remaining Leekbrook to Cauldon line from Moorlands City Railway (MCR)


So the CVR are now buying some of the Cauldon line to help MCR fund the line to Leek?

Chris

 

So all we need to do now is raise the funds to buy the rails and sleepers. Shouldn't be difficult to raise £200k.
A few jumble sales..

 

What's happening?
Sounds political.
Perhaps someone in the know would care to comment.

 

The link - Leek railway moves a step closer - states fairly accurately what I suspect is the case.

 

Catch up later

 

Bit of kick in the teeth about the cement works At least the Leek passenger connection is pressing on.

 

Catch what up later - have you had your toes toasted again.

 

Failure to secure a freight contract from Cauldon is obviously one of the "benefits" brought to us by the Competition Commision.

 

If Lafarge/Tarmac decide to sell Cauldon Lowe rather than their Tunstead site, it would be as a going concern, to a third party which may or may not be more interested in using rail transportation than themselves. With no track in place that must make the asset less attractive to any potential purchaser interested in using rail.

Lafarge/Tarmac has shown no interest in using rail so the Competition Commission decision is really irrelevant.

I am sorry but I can't see why MCR would wish to relay track to Leek as their priority. What freight potential is there between Leek and Endon?

 

Firstly the track that was there and from Ipstones down to Stoke was always going to be upgraded to carry freight... theres no intention of running freight to Endon..only CVR trains carrying people...the article states that there were discussions with the quarries about using an upgraded railway to move the stone etc...the opening of the Leek line with a station is to help attract more people coming into Leek....all of which is stated in the news article

 

Where does it say it's their priority? And since when has freight been mentioned with regards to Leek?

Leek has always been one of MCR aims, and it does not require any completion of work up Cauldon. It is its own separate Project, forming one part of the whole MCR plan. As there are issues with regards to Cauldon, why should Leek be ignored until these are sorted?

The opportunity is there to re-open the Leek line, so MCR are pressing ahead with this. It's all rather positive if you read the facts, but hey in 92 pages we've had 80% negativity so why change? Good old Nat Pres...

 

I like the idea of CVR purchasing the rails and sleepers from MCR until/if freight operations commence. It would ensure that heritage operations up the bank from Leekbrook Junction continues and the the sight and sound of steam at its most evocative can be experienced by enthusiasts and visitors to Staffordshire in years to come.
How are CVR going to gather funds to do it? There must be close to 400 panels of track 60ft long between Leekbrook and Ipstones. Perhaps donations of £200 for each panel and you can have your name on one. A separate fund would be ideal to avoid muddying the operational accounts.

 

Hi all.
Are there any updates on any ongoing work?