‘One Last Push’: The Ecclesbourne Valley Railway REALLY Needs Your Support

A smashing bit of news in yesterday's Mail on Sunday. We got a mention in their travel section. The link is below:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/article-1288129/Travel-advice-How-father-drive-diesel-train.html

Worth a fortune in publicity - I'll never be rude about the MoS again!

Neil

 

A staggeringly impressive turnout today with 52, yes FIFTY-TWO sleepers changed in the baking heat! Only another 1,059 still to change but if you consider that in early May the figure was over 1,400 we have come a long way. One sleeper at a time...

By the way, if you want to download our One Last Push brochure, it can be found here: http://www.one-last-push.org/What-we-have-to-do.pdf

 

extremely interesting little yellow/black midland ground signal on page 8 of your brochure, the holes in the arm for the lamp,is it an original or something created to suit,more details please.

this would be of interest to a coleaugue of mine mr Allinson at the Institute of Railway Signal Engineers minor railways section!!

dom

s&t PR/CVR ETC

 

A proper yellow dolly! I believe that the holes are original but I shall check with my learned colleagues and let you know for certain.

Neil

 

Another 29 sleepers changed today; looks like we're beating 100 per week while the platform edge at Duffield is coming-together.

Not the best picture, but this view taken yesterday shows the work on the platform at Duffield while you can see a Voyager passing on the main line beyond.



If this doesn't embed, the link is: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=267270&l=3088a9aa33&id=1692958030

Neil

 

Just out of interest, will you be extending the Duffield platform or just renovating the existing section? I ask because from this image it looks like if you plan to run loco hauled trains there is only room for about one coach in the platform if the crossover is to be used to run round...

Not a problem for DMUs of course

Well done on the astonishing rate of progress.

 

Chris,

Initially we're renovating the existing section but there is a plan to extend northwards slightly. The image is slightly misleading as there's a bit more room than it seems and we should be able to cope with three coach trains without too much difficulty. And, as you note, DMUs fit with no angst at all, especially - as in your case - if it happened to be a BRCW unit that I used to take to school (Disley - Davenport, 1970s)!

We have placed the southern buffer in a position where there is room to access the platform without crossing the track and there is also access to the bridge linking to the main line platforms. I shall get a couple of pictures up later that show what I mean.

Thanks for your kind words about progress!

Neil

 

Well good luck with the renovation, in that case I can safely say that platform was made for a 3-car Met Camm set serving the branch!

 

This rather small view shows the bottom-end of the line at Duffield. Imagine fencing close to the track and you will see that we have a good-sized access area and step-free access to the platform.

 

On some of your website photos, the Duffield headshunt for loco release looks quite short. Is this the compression effect of a telephoto lens, or are you going to be restricted to tank engines when running round? You appear to have some space beyond the current head of rail; Can you extend into it if you wish?

I guess you wont be hiring Tornado anytime soon!!!

 

Well, if Tornado needs a rest in the Peak District, I'm sure we could come to some sort of arrangement...

I'm embarrassed to admit that I don't have the exact dimensions for the headshunt but the picture below confirms what I believe, namely that it's at least 60 feet long, so we should be able to accomodate a pretty fair representation of locomotives. Certainly we do have room to extend it if circumstances dictate.



Neil

 

An update from today. Our team changed another 25 sleepers, taking the total for this week to 116 and leaving 995 to do in 69 days!

Meanwhile, volunteer stalwart Richard Buckby sent me this excellent picture from yesterday showing the team hard at work. I've put it into a new Fotopic site for One Last Push and if you can give me a few days, I shall beef it up:



I must confess that these images links are driving me mad. First this picture displayed, now it doesn't. The Lord knows why.

Meanwhile, the page link for the image is here: http://wyvernrail-plc.fotopic.net/p65564920.html.

Neil

 

I am reliably informed that the headshunt at Duffield can accommodate the longest possible locomotive with ample room for Tornado! Keep up the good work.

 

Hello,

I have to say that I am very impressed by the work done. The pictures from Duffield on the fotopic website got me a bit confused in the first place, but I think I worked it out: The crossover to the new second track at Duffield is between Duffield Tunnel under the junction of King St. and Crwon St. and the bridge under the A6 Milford Rd.. There is a track which can be described as North headshunt which extends parallel to the running line until or into Duffield Tunnel. Is that correct? And passenger access will not be from the Mainline platform but from the west?

The area becomes even more of a rail preservation hotspot now, with Peak Rail, Crich Tramway Museum and the EVR very close to each other and Midland Railway Butterley not too distant either. Now we really need a bus museum in the vicinity to provide an adequate vintage bus connection doing a triangular journey along the B5036 to Matlock, along the A615 and via Wheatcroft to Crich and back to Wirksworth via the B5035, maybe even doing a journey Crich to Swanwick and back. And to dream even further: Heritage DMUs on the East Midlands Trains Nottingham to Matlock service... Maybe not daily but as an event "Derbyshire Dales and Amber Valley Transport spectacular". O.K., I'll wake up now.

Regards

Christoph

 

Christoph,

Thanks very much for your comments, especially regarding the work done. We changed another 36 sleepers today, while there is much parallel activity taking place with fencing and vegetation management. However, the real heavy activity is taking place at Duffield itself where the platform edge is being rebuilt.

Regarding the site at Duffield, you are absolutely right about the location of the crossover which, incidentally, is exactly where it used to be 40-odd years ago. The north headshunt does indeed parallel the running line into Duffield tunnel, again replicating the situation up to the 1960s. Access to the platform will be from two directions: from Chapel Street to the west but also via the old 'Down Slow' platform which parallels the main line. We have a Harry Potteresque secret gate to that platform and one operational, interchange with main line services will be very straightforward. I have uploaded an image that should help explain things:



If this doesn’t work, the link is: http://wyvernrail-plc.fotopic.net/p65652554.html

Regarding the area, yes it is indeed an excellent grouping of attractions and I must confess to being keen to exploit its potential once we open to Duffield. In the meantime, we’re offering our own bus service in a few weeks time with a classic bus and rail gala on 24th and 25th July. Details here: http://www.e-v-r.com/busgala10.htm

Kind regards,

Neil

 

indeed thats not a bad idea having some kind of joint running attraction day, i remember we did something similar at peak once with the midland railway centre on a joint deisel gala day! was a good day that.

like you say with the number of attractions, yourself,peak,crich,midland,barrow hill,the narrow gauge at the top of the hill there and being on the edge of the Peak park all work in the areas favour.

 

One thing we have been exploring is through ticketing with the Big Railway. There are potential opportunities to be had there too. How about a 'Dales Explorer' linking, say, Rowsley to Wirksworth?

 

as you say, weve all embraced the internet with our railways` webpages ,electronic and digital systems and media is certainly looking how the futures going, joint ticketing isnt a bad idea at all.

especially if it can be interfaced with other local attractions,gardens,big houses etc....

 

During the spring, we invested in a new till / business management system that supports event bookings, shareholder and local resident passes etc. It starts to make the analysis of what sells and doesn't sell very clear. Similarly, speaking to one or two ticketing experts and one local TOC, there seem to be several options to "punch-out" from one system to the national ticketing system, thus opening-up the prospect of through ticketing and all sorts of other innovations. For example, it is possible to connect with other attractions' sites, thus creating a combined ticket for several events.

Now is definitely the time to get smart with this stuff!

Neil

 

This is from today's report (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wirksworths_railway/ or http://wyvernrail.blogspot.com/):

Dear all

We have now entered the second half of 2010 and the enterprise saw a frenzy of activity! At Duffield the platform is beginning to take on shape at the south end with a further 60 breeze blocks laid that will support the coping stones. Further north 20 sleepers were changed in the area of Milepost 134 exhausting supplies until next week. More old sleepers were dug out ready and 8 pairs of fishplates were greased up. Even further north the VCT cleared the area around footpath F5, the river bridge above Hazelwood, opening up the vistas and completing the installation of a new wicket gate with its approach fencing.

Wirksworth too saw activity with Jamie Henry being passed out as a shunter driver on Hydra. This was in addition to his Booking Hall duties and taking a further 8 portraits for the PTS cards. JHT and Matt deserve a special mention for again cleaning No 3 together with emptying the smoke box and ash pan, coaled up and fixed covers on the bunkers to stop coal filling the cab. The LMSCA collected an industrial sewing machine and cutting table ready for the seat trimmers. They will, of course, be able to effect repairs to your settee and arm chairs - just call in and surprise them.

The great all line flail task reached Gorsey Bank with the Up line being dealt with from Wash Green and a little down side attention beyond the buffer stop. The area around the Hannages footpath crossing received extra special attention to open up the sight lines. A tribute to the Komatsu and Mick and Mike who operate it to such good effect.

All in all, another good day.

Martin

We keep pushing...

Neil