Ecclesbourne Valley Railway

The Santa trains came to a very successful end on Christmas Eve, with just one cancellation due to Covid. Standard 4 No.80080 will be working the New Year services on 1st/2nd January, after which the PW dept will take a long possession for some fairly major renewals, a mixture of relaying on concrete sleepers plus spot re-sleepering elsewhere. If you are looking to lose some weight get in touch...

Bagnall 2746 has had the cladding fitted to the boiler, that still needs some finishing off, then the plumbing can start.

 

The New Year trains went very well; the railway will re-open in April to give the PW Dept as much uninterrupted possession as possible. We had considered running at February Half Term, but the disruption this would cause to the PW programme was judged not to be worth the possible income; not just the week itself, but the need to pack up and make good beforehand and then restart afterwards.

Just before the line was cut the directors of both Wyvernrail Plc and the Ecclesbourne Valley Railway Association made a joint tour of the railway to inspect progress and works in prospect; a lot of progress has been made, but there is still an enormous amount to do. EVRA have agreed to make a very generous contribution towards the cost of the current programme which will include replacing approximately 1/2 mile of wooden sleepers with concrete and changing hundreds of wooden sleepers on the rest of the line, plus fencing ballasting and drainage works, especially drainage. The EVR is at the bottom of the valley slope for much of its length and the amount of water flowing in the lineside ditches has to be seen to be believed. My contribution to the event was to suggest that it should conclude with a visit to the Railway Inn at Shottle on the return journey, and I can recommend it to anyone visiting the area. A very interesting and worthwhile tour, we are thinking of repeating it in a similar form for shareholders.

Meanwhile the site at Wirksworth has also been very busy; the Gresley coach for the NYMR is now back on the replacement bogies. BSO 4440 which had no windows now has nearly a full set; an RMB which arrived from the Bodmin and Wenford is being refurbished, initially just for static use. Some of the PW dept took time under cover to refurbish their stores van with new door skins and a new roof.

 

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We has a thorough briefing session for our volunteers yesterday, Saturday 26th March. It has been an interesting start to the year, to put it mildly, but the railway re-opens on 9th April.

On 27th January one of our works trains skated on greasy rails and ran through the gates at Gorsey Bank Level Crossing; it occurred at a relatively low speed and no one was hurt but it was a shock to everyone concerned. Leaf mulch can reduce rail adhesion by 90%. The matter was immediately reported to ORR and RAIB; for investigation by them and by the Railway. Changes in the way we run works trains are being implemented, for the time being we are prohibited from running loose coupled works/freight trains. Fortunately we have sufficient vehicles with working vacuum or air brakes for our current activities, but it took a while to re-set our operations (i.e. a mountain of work for a lot of people who all pulled together to overhaul the wagons, re-write the system and document the compliance) and the winter works programme has been cut back to the essential minimum, to be caught up with later in the year.

One job which has been completed is the complete replacement of the accommodation crossing to the Severn Trent works just south of Wirksworth; this required total replacement of the ballast, sleepers and decking after several years pounding by heavy sewage tankers.

80080 returns next Thursday and we have about 80 tons of coal on stock or on order, which will hopefully keep us going until things get a bit clearer. Royal Highland Fusilier is to visit shortly and will be on hand for our Diesel weekend, 22/23/24 April. The RMB purchased from the Bodmin and Wenford has been made ready for static service, named "Apollo" and now has a liquor licence; draught beer and an enhanced menu are in hand. We have set out to run as many catering trains as possible to cover the inevitable increased daily operating costs; these are fully booked to 2023. The latest carriage to arrive is a substantially restored LMS brake which came in from Butterley last week; the aim is to create an all-LMS rake for dining purposes. Sneinton Signal Box arrived safely and is stored in the car park at Wirksworth.

Other special events will include A Taste of Fawlty Towers" on 20th August and 10th September, and after a few years absence, "Witches and Wizards of Wirksworth" will be back in town on 9th October.

There will be an open day for aspiring volunteers or anyone just interested in seeing behind the scenes on 7th May.

EVRA are opening their shop and museum at weekends, starting now, and are selling second hand books at bargain prices, including a large number of USA titles.

 

55019 Royal Fusilier will be operating the service at Wirksworth today, 16th man and 22/23 May as well, further operating days are set out on the EVR website. So far the visit has gone very well, the new static bar Apollo is selling a variety of custom brewed ales as well as a local draught bitter, e.g. "Napier Ale" which are proving very popular.

The volunteer open day went very well with over 30 potential volunteers signed up. Extra siding space is being laid out to ease the congestion in the yard, here is a pictire of one new siding, the other one has required the removal of some hundreds of tons of spoil from alongside the ravenstor branch and will be in progress shortly. Other current projects include the repair of a geismar track slewing machine, obtained in near scrap condition just before the start of lockdown. We now have a full set of reconditioned and new components set out ready for reassembly.

We got in a good supply of coal before the start of the season, enough to cover the summer at least.

 

Today we welcome the Deltic Preservation society for their Members Day. Royal Highland Fusilier will also be in action over the Jubilee Bank Holiday weekend, which will also feature 2 train working with 80080. RHF will also be operating on Tuesdays 14th June and 28th June.

 

80080 will be running on Saturday and Sunday this weekend.

 

Apologies if this has been mentioned before, but I travelled on the EVR today and wondered what the structures at Idridgehay were? One that looks like a (colour light?) signal post north of the crossing and a double post with some photovoltaic panels just south.
Presumably there's an intention to have a crossing loop at Shottle in the future to allow a two train service?

 

The structures at Idridgehay are relics of an experimental solar powered signalling system, which we hope to conserve for the future. At Shottle the aim is to install a full signalling system for regular two train running, we have assembled a lot of the pieces which need connectiong together and this is going to take both work and finance; a particular need is for a 3 phase power supply.

Other news from the railway: Cathryn has been steamed, but has not yet moved under her own power. A notable first over the Bank Holiday; two trains consisting of Mark 1 coaches crossed at Shottle; in the past one train had to make do with DMU stock. We currently have 7 serviceable Mk 1 available. No.8 is on loan from the Nottingham Heritage Railway and is receiving a light overhaul and repaint, it should be in service around the end of this month. Other coaches are under active repair and the intemediate goal is two five coach rakes.

 

It is our mixed traffic gala this weekend, so far it seems to be going well. I have not been able to get down due to getting COVID, but the car park looks full on the webcams.

Meanwhile hers is a sgot of the Vanguard Diesel "Tom" looking rather purposeful at the head of a couple of engineers wagons, used for moving spoil away from the latest siding extension.
The loco is a rebuild of a former Sentinel steam shunter and has had an extensive rebuild, including tyre turning and the fitting of a "new" Rolls Royce diesel engine, which came from a generator set found at a very reasonable price; this has very few engine hours compared with the old one. Mike Fairburn reckoned the old one was fitted at the time of the conversion over fifty years ago, and that the hour counter had been several time around the clock.

The PW team will be off back down the line soon to replace a set of switches at Duffield and to re-timber a turnout at Shottle.

The picture of Shottle shows the two rakes of mark 1 coaches crossing a couple of weeks ago.

 

Two more arrivals at Wirksworth this week. 73001 has arrived from Crewe and after a cleaning and examination made a trial trip down the line on saturday evening; it will be operating at the Summer Diesel Gala on 5/6/7 August. Former TSO No. 5054 gas arrived from Rowsley, purchased from Locomotive Services Ltd. This was converted into a bar coach many yeards ago as part of the static Palatine Restaurant on the Peak Rail site at Buxton, from where it went to the Glocestershire and Warwickshire Railway and operated in their dining train. Another TSO, M4207, has been outshopped and is undergoing final checks and adjustment; it should be in traffic by the gala.

The Apollo bar is proving very popular and is open to around 6 pm on Fridays Saturdays and Sundays, also other operating days.We are looking to extend the hours into the evening as custom builds up. Our lunchtime customers are beginning to relise that they can arrive a little early and have a swift pint before joining the train.

The PW maintenance referred to in the last post was successully competed on time.

 

If you are visiting Wirksworth by car, keep an eye on the Co-Op, petrol there is usually a few pence per litre less than other local garages, currently 180.9p/litre.

 

The Duke takes further shape: the chimney has been lifted into place for marking and fitting, 30/8/22.

 

30th August? Have you been for a trip in the good Doctors Tardis? ​

 

I understand that the EVR is only running between Wirksworth and Shottle at the moment due to the Standard Tank being 'all wheels on the ballast' at Duffield after becoming derailed during the run-round.

 

The Derailment of BR Standard 4MT 80080 at Duffield

On the morning of Friday, 19th August, locomotive 80080 derailed whilst running-round an Ecclesbourne Valley Railway service at Duffield, near Derby.

The cause of the derailment is being investigated and actions are being taken to restore services between Wirksworth and Duffield in time for the Bank Holiday weekend. Damage to the locomotive and trackwork both appear to be minimal, subject to a full engineering assessment.

Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of this incident was how the EVR’s team and indeed the whole railway family worked together as one to recover the situation. On the morning, a double decker bus was found within fifteen minutes of the incident to take stranded passengers back to Wirksworth, and for the weekend, services operated between Wirksworth and Shottle, these including several fully booked ‘Faulty Towers’ dining experience services on the Saturday.

The East Midlands Railway rail vehicle recovery team, led by Mark Coney, EMR’s Head of Engineering deserve special recognition. Mark’s Team, several of whom are also EVR volunteers, arrived at Duffield on Sunday 21st August and had 80080 rerailed in four hours. The locomotive was then ‘topped and tailed’ back to Wirksworth using two locomotives provided by Locomotive Services Limited of Crewe.

 

Repairs to the track at Duffield have been completed and the loop there is back in commission. Mechanical repairs to 80080 have been completed and on Saturday the locomotive was shunted to receive water; subject to a succesful trial run during this week it should be back in traffic for next weekend. It has been most impressive to see the calm and professional behaviour from everyone involved in this episode.

 

For those thinking of coming up to visit, petrol os now 165.9 at the Co-Op at Wirksworth, and 164.7 at the independant garage on the A6 just before Cromford.

 

The word is that 80080 has had a succesful trial run and will resume its place in the timtabled operations.

 

The EVR is geting ready for the Autumn events; these are:

9th October: Wirksworth Wizarding, primarily an independent event based in the town, but we shall be offering pre-booked tickets to the event via Duffield, tickets from Wirksworth may be booked on the day; we expect swams of children and others in pointy hats.

15th/16th October: Wirksworth Model Railway Exhibition, the first since COVID. Held at various locations in the town and at the railway station. Adults £6-00 concessions £5-00, Family £15-00.

27/28/29 October "Ghost Train"; halloween themed event. Group tickets, £65-00 for up to 6.

Please see the website for further details.

The Bagnall Locomotive Group will be attending at the station, selling among other things one of our latest 00 wagons