Churnet Valley Railway General Discussion

Well bearing in mind at the 44422 EGM when the previous directors quit and John Peake and Mark took on the new roles there was a unanimous vote to transfer ownership of 44422 to the NSRC (north Staffordshire railway company) and for it to return to the CVR I would say it probably has quite a bearing on the future of the loco. Great news if you ask me as I love the CVR.

 

Great news for the CVR indeed! I must say a little part of me is slightly gutted at that suggestion though as I had small hopes that she might end up at the GCRN. A 4F would be perfect for us. But then a 4F is probably perfect for most preserved railways so one would expect it to be snapped up!

 

To avoid the speculation.

44422 Ltd held an EGM where a new (younger) board was voted in, and those members present said if the WSR agreement was to be cancelled their “preferred” future would involve donating the loco to the NSRC.

As a Director of the NSRC, I can say we have not received any official offer. As far as we know locomotive is still subject to a 25-Year legal agreement between WSR and 44422 Ltd. Should this change then we will be willing to listen, but until this happens everything else is just speculation.

 

I thought it was known that that agreement has been terminated? Appreciate that everything else is speculation. I for one would love to see 44422 on the CVR. I know it's all down to practicalities and I totally understand why it's been done, but I personally can't muster up much enthusiasm to visit the CVR with its current locomotive fleet, but the prospect of a 4F and an 8F on a 2 train timetable in a few years time will/would definitely tip the balance for me despite the pain in the bum journey to get there. I know most visitors aren't as fussy and that's fine, just my personal preferences.

 

While you are right in that Joe public might or might not care about what the loco is up the top Volunteers do! Whether it's loco crews, station staff etc etc etc, all the lines with a good host of BR steam locomotives seem to have a far better set up than those that run other locos. It's not doubt in my mind that you NEED both to be a success. Without the enthusiasm of volunteers to turn up there isn't going to be any extensions, additional stock, undercover facilities etc etc.

That's no criticism of Greg and his S160s as he has done a cracking job on them, and he has done a massive amount for the CVR. But you have to give people what they want at the end of the day, both Joe public and the enthusiasts/volunteers.

 

I absolutely agree on that, yes the public contribute most of the revenue to most railways, but railways rely on a *lot* more than operating revenue to stay as a going concern.

 

Has it been terminated? On a personal note, I’ve only seen a statement saying a preference to terminate. But I’ve seen nothing published to confirm it. I could be wrong, and I’ve just missed it. I’ve not stayed up to date with the WSR politics tbh.

And again on a personal note. I’d love to see Cheddleton full with Black 5s, 8Fs, LMS Moguls and a selection of BR Standards. The fact of the matter is though our volunteers paid just shy of £20k for the 2x TKh. If someone can get us 2x Jinty’s or a Black 5 for that figure let us know. Until then we can only work with what we have.

As a NSRC Director I regularly hear the moans / gripes of not having a “British” loco, but I equally witness the lack of willing people to help us to solve this supposed problem. Should a British loco find its way into the NSRC collection then things could change, but we won’t know until that happens.

 

Keeping up with WSR politics is sometimes akin to keeping up with national politics in recent years! But there was discussion on it beginning here, and this website suggests the locomotive is looking for a new base.

I was careful not to aim my post as a moan or a gripe, but merely to note how my personal preferences diverge from financial practicality! As a modeller of the NSR I absolutely love the CVR line's architecture and geography, but my main gripe isn't locomotives but just how awkward it is to get to, something you have even less control over than motive power, and probably contributes to volunteer shortage more than any perceived loco preferences!

 

Neither of this links are official WSR or 44422 sources. I’m sure should they wish to make a public announcement they will do.

 

They both refer to an article in steam railway which quotes their chairman, the nat pres link provides a reference. I merely provided the second to illustrate that apparently no new home had been officially found.

 

I havent too cheddleton for quite a while, but if getting motive power cheaply as those TKhs secures operation then so be it, ex br locos are expensive to get, i actually quite like churnets gone bit different, and s160s to me are handsome machines, still an 8fs coming along and will join the fleet in the future. A 4f would be handy machine for the line

 

If nothing else then the S160s make a good racket on a well-loaded Ipstones/Goathland/similar gradient run!

And the TkHs are good little things from what I've seen of them at Chedd and Bitton. Churnet's - having been cut down to the British loading gauge - probably looks no different from a British engine in the eyes of the majority of passengers who don't know all the ins and outs of steam loco history.

 

Progress in getting to Leek. Two weeks ago the PWI brought in equipment and trainees to install 150 metres of track from the existing buffer stop up to the level crossing by the sewage works. Things did not go as smoothly as they could have done because the gas main near the track had a part near the surface that nobody appeared to know about and it was fractured in the early clearance. That cost nearly a day so not all the line was laid and tamped. Today OAPway have put the remaining rails in place and the whole section can then be tamped and the minor lumps straightened out.

More photos to come

 

Still having trouble with a couple of photos - I think there is a gremlin somewhere that when it decides it does not like a photo no attempts to upload it will work

 

Thought I’d finally get round to uploading my pictures from the pwi event. I was one of the site managers training the delegates. Just want to say thank you to everyone at the cvr for the hospitality and welcome you gave. Was thoroughly enjoyable, despite getting soaked Monday setting out the new alignment. As mentioned few issues along the way, tamper blowing a hydraulic line pretty much put an end to it on the Thursday.

Glad to see my survey pegs are still just about there. Hopefully the offsets are still readable. For your height, the horizontal line mark is your top of rail level .

What I loved was the support you have from the locals when I spoke to them, mainly dog walkers, or from people who can remember what the line was like. Having had to drive around the local area for three days, it is plain to see that the line has to reopen.

Anyway, thank you again and all the best for your progress.

We need to find another preserved line to have a “play” on.....

 

Ow. That doesn't sound happy! Sounds like it's all good, now, though?

Noel

 

There is a full station to lay out at Weston near Oswestry....

 

Everything was made safe through the night by the gas board when we were on site into the Wednesday morning thankfully as it could have scuppered our plans and cvr’s. Just like the real railway, always plan for the unexpected.

 

I’ll pass it on, as I’m a western enthusiast it’s already ticked the box.... sorry to be biased to others!

 

Unfortunately the bad weather this weekend resulted in flooding on the railway and a major event was cancelled. This is an article in the local paper.
https://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/new...pLJbqt-BjNHeTDycD-KOFf5J21b76el1AP_PWRou-cqh4