Ecclesbourne Valley Railway

Our main steam running plans for 2019 have been released for publication:

LYR A class 0-6-0 will visit between 19th April and 16th June

BR 2MT No. 78018 will visit between 15th June and 8th September.

The Barclay tanks will be operating the incline on selected dates and both visitors will be operating on the steam gala weekend, 15/16 June. There might just be another steam locomotive operational at some point next year.

Meanwhile, the new station building is making good progress, the outer walls are starting to go up. Santa bookings are going quite well, slightly but significantly up on last year so far.

 

Sounds great, I'll certainly be along to see the A class at least!

 

I'll certainly be visiting for the steam gala then

 

Progress on one of the LMR brake vans at Wirksworth; still quite a bit to do but it should be ready next season. Painting by Craig Hibbert and Phil Hutson, photo by Craig Hibbert.

More news on the June gala plans: there should be steam on the incline as well, and also from Platform 1 to Wash Green.

 

The new station building is making good progress, roof timbers on the Phase One structure are now going up, much of this can be seen live on the Station To Yard camera through the railway website. This and several other projects will be available for inspection and discussion at the Open Day on Saturday 16th February. Entrance to the Open Day itself is free, naturally we particularly wish to hear from anyone interested in joining and/or working as a volunteer. Diesel trains will be running on the day, half price fares for anyone taking out membership on the day.

 

The railway is busy gearing up for the Multiple Memories Weekend on 16/17 March. Meanwhile, more good progress is being made on Phase 1 of the new station building, the roof structure is well advanced. The steel supports for Shottle Signal Box have been erected and the refurbished cabin should be craned into place before too long.

 

Yet more progress on the station building; the windows and doors have been installed, the roof insulation is in place and the roof tiles should follow shortly. If you are planning to visit the railway and live in Derbyshire you may like to make use of the 2 for 1 voucher at the rear of the current Derbyshire Now! magazine. These vouchers are valid on ordinary services through the year, but not at some gala weekends.

 

The "Multiple Memories" Gala seems to have been a success; Saturday was a washout of course, but the weather was much brighter on Sunday and we seem to have had a lot of visitors.

The new station building continues to make good progress; the waterproof sheeting is going on the roof in readiness for the tiles. As we used to say on the roof of Buxton goods shed 30 years ago, "he who laths last laths longest".

 

Are there any imminent plans to develop the second platform at Shottle? During my visit on Saturday we noticed the good progress on upgrading the signalling arrangements (i.e. the box), but the trains still pass through in the down direction non-stop preventing efficient swapping between trains. There appears to be a small platform not yet in use?

I realise "leaping" between trains is a priority only for enthusiasts during galas, and therefore won't represent a key development for the railway's 99% of day to day public trade.... However I still ask as I'm curious. On Saturday, I changed trains by jumping off at Idridgehay and waiting 10 minutes for the set coming the other way, getting a serious dousing in the process! It was still an enjoyable gala though, I'm pleased the EVR keeps the event in their calender as so few railways run DMU galas! Look forward to next year!

Sent from my HTC U Play using Tapatalk

 

The answer is yes, but it will not be absolutely imminent. The current priority for the civil engineering team is to complete the pre-season work to the track, fencing, and especially the drainage. Next, get the Oddingley crossing cabin up on the new steel supports to become Shottle Signal Box. There is also an urgent need to build at least one extra carriage siding, as the website pictures show. Meanwhile, the supporters association, EVRA is heavily committed to the new station building and an extension to the carriage shed is under construction; Wirksworth needs at least the beginning of a signalling system so that passenger trains can use platform 1. Even timber platforms cost a substantial amount of money. Subject to all that, yes we do intend to complete the Shottle Down platform and build an access to it.

There are two other things we would really like to get our hands on: a signal box lever frame (or two), preferably the REC/LMS 4 1/2" tappet pattern and a decent handy sized P.W. rail crane. The WyvernRail share issue is still open....

 

I brought the Old Man down for the Saturday of the Gala and we thoroughly enjoyed it. The only (slight) gripe would be that it's a long way down from a DMU to the platform at Idridgehay (we got off there to switch trains and also to cop the Station).

The Old Man is in his 80's and it although we managed to get off alright getting back on the next train was a bit of a problem and we had to use the steps to get into the Guards Van, we managed that OK but...

I wondered at the time if it might have been better to have at least one carriage alongside the raised part of the platform, thus making embarking/disembarking easier.

Anyway, that being said we enjoyed the day out, in spite of the rain, and each year the EVR is one line the Old Man looks forward to visiting (he's a fan of anything Midland Railway) and so do I. Keep up the good work, it is evident to all and is definitely appreciated.

 

Just wondered if someone could identify the vehicle shown in this photograph on the EVR blog?
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vWO1hQuqg...4BGAYYCw/s1600/IMG_20190324_154838-757630.jpg
No not the Type 73 but the other vehicle in the background. I'm assuming that it is a DMU though its appearance is reminiscent of a rail bus or even a tram car.

 

Wasn't an experimental light rail vehicle undergoing trials there?
Ray.

 

Looks like it has something bigger behind it.
Is there a Wickham coach unit at the site?

 

Looks like an ex Blackpool tram

 

Photo from Facebook. Image belonging to Nick Melling.

 

Got lost trying to find Crich or someone's university degree project?

 

It is an ex-Blackpool tram, converted to a battery powered research vehicle with a perspex observation floor. Take a close look at the bogies: I'm not sure of the details, but I think one of them has self steering stub axles.

 

I may know of one up for sale.

 

We are still looking for a crane; please can you send me a private message.