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Ecclesbourne Valley Railway: Countdown to Opening on 8th April"

Discussion in 'Heritage Railways & Centres in the UK' started by Chris A, Oct 7, 2010.

  1. martinr1

    martinr1 New Member

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    Today saw a rehearsal for the opening train with 78019 and three coaches venturing to Duffield and return. This represents another significant achievement for the Railway as the grand opening weekend approaches. It may be 60+ years since the last passenger trains ran but they are returning with some vengence and really cannot be missed. Seats still available on www.e-v-r.com - go on, help us to make it a real success.

    Martin
     
  2. sleepermonster

    sleepermonster Member

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    I had a grandstand view today, with the rest of the brake van restoration crew. There were two engines in steam which seemed to be whizzing about in all directions. Wirksworth is a wonderful arena for displaying trains in action, which is no doubt why so many official photographs were posed there. I called at a newsagents in Cromford today and they had a particularly nice postcard of last years star, Bellerophon, coming through the station overbridge on a demonstration freight. I look forward to more such scenes.

    Tim
     
  3. INSPIRATION

    INSPIRATION New Member

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  4. martinr1

    martinr1 New Member

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    It's quite close now! Wednesday 6th April will see a great recognition of some 500,000 hours of volunteer time to get this great Midland Railway branch line back in business. Enjoy!
     
  5. ady

    ady Well-Known Member

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    what coaches are they using? is one of them one of LMS coaches now there?
     
  6. nferguso_wyvern

    nferguso_wyvern New Member

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    We have three coaches, all beautiful and in order of loveliness: A Mk1 SK, an inspection saloon and a restored LMS Third Open.

    Defining the TO as 'restored' is the understatement of the decade: an empty shell less than twelve months ago, it has been lovingly restored to its former glory by the LMS Carriage Association here at Wirksworth.

    I shall upload some images shortly!

    Neil
     
  7. Chris A

    Chris A New Member

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  8. The Observer

    The Observer New Member

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    http://www.flickr.com/photos/12121739@N00/sets/72157624602578786/

    Of the two Stanier designed coaches at Wirksworth, the one that has been rapidly overhauled in time for the EVR opening next week is Diagram 1999 Third Open No' 27162. The flickr thread covers the period from its arrival at Wirksworth until quite recently, but we await the final exterior pictures showing the excellent finishing work of Ernie Bradley in lining out this magnificent restoration.

    The second coach is Corridor Brake Third 27001 to the "Porthole" design, which until now has been used as a mobile workshop and store to assist the 27162 restoration, but now that this coach is due to enter service, the opportunity to commence work on 27001 should present itself.

    The LMSCA has been fortunate, and very grateful, to receive assistance from a number of skilled and knowledgable EVR members who have taken a keen interest in the process of turning a derelict shell into a quality replica of the original vehicle.

    Further information on the LMSCA's stock can be found at http://www.lmsca.org.uk/

    Dave T
     
  9. pcgenius9

    pcgenius9 Member

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    The Grand Opening is now just a few days away. If you haven't yet reserved your ticket, you can do so online until tomorrow morning (Tuesday 5th April). We strongly advise making a booking if you would like to get a good seat as some of the services are either full or nearing full.

    Tickets will be available on the day although these will not guarantee a seat as it is likely to be busy.

    http://www.e-v-r.com/opening2011
     
  10. alig8048

    alig8048 New Member

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    Any idea if the 20 D8001 will be getting a passenger trip or 2 to duffield in the near future?

    regards
    Alistair
     
  11. nferguso_wyvern

    nferguso_wyvern New Member

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    Good evening. I thought you might find the following press release to be of interest:

    OBJECTIVE ACHIEVED
    ECCLESBOURNE VALLEY RAILWAY OPENS TO DUFFIELD: MORE THAN A DECADE’S TEAM EFFORT REWARDED WITH A VISIT BY H.R.H. THE DUKE OF GLOUCESTER


    Wirksworth, 6th April 2011:
    The Ecclesbourne Valley Railway, connecting Duffield near Derby with Wirksworth, the Gem of the Peak, became fully operational today when His Royal Highness the Duke of Gloucester travelled the whole line to open the line formally.

    Arriving by train from London, His Royal Highness crossed from the main line platforms at Duffield and joined the first scheduled passenger train from Duffield to Wirksworth since June 1947. Hauled by a former British Railways locomotive, no. 78019, the train included a carriage, built the year the line closed, that has been restored by a dedicated team of volunteers at Wirksworth.

    The train was filled with the working volunteers who could celebrate over a decade of hard work to the reopening of the railway and John Snell, the Chairman of WyvernRail plc, paid credit to them: “We have waited, anticipated and dreamed of this day for over a decade and it is so very fitting that the people who made this dream a reality are those who are present on this very special day”.

    Riding on the footplate for part of the journey, His Royal Highness toured the station at Wirksworth and visited the railway’s museum before unveiling a plaque commemorating his visit and the line’s reopening.

    Present at the event were Martin Miller, General Manager of WyvernRail and Mike Craft, Secretary of the Ecclesbourne Valley Railway Association, both of whom were present on the very first day of clearance work in November 2000. “It is truly amazing to consider not only what we have achieved in just over a decade but the sheer dedication of both our shareholders and volunteers in keeping faith in our plans, often when we literally could not see the wood for the trees” remarked Mr. Miller, while Mike Craft was in reflective mood: “To see so many of our friends here today is a wonderful experience and I think everybody present will take a moment to remember some of the team who passed-away before our dream could be realised”.

    The celebrations today pave the way for a festival lasting the next four days with public services commencing on Friday 8th. This event forms the start of what promises to be an exciting season for the railway with steam and heritage diesel trains, all of which connect with East Midlands Trains’ services between Nottingham, Derby and Matlock.

    Today, Wirksworth has returned to the railway map and the town looks forward to welcoming rail travellers for the first time in over six decades.

    Ends.

    Finally, I am sure there will be a lot of images hitting the Web in the next few days but here's a good start: http://www.flickr.com/photos/robin_stokes/sets/72157626441625400/with/5595425190

    A new eight-mile long railway has joined the network and you can get there on a ticket from any National Rail booking office, especially those from East Midlands Trains (the best TOC in Britain). Come and visit us!

    Neil
     
  12. railway

    railway New Member

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  13. Superheater

    Superheater New Member

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    Congratulations to everyone involved in this magnificent achievement !

    Simon H.
     
  14. nferguso_wyvern

    nferguso_wyvern New Member

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    Thank you! 1,600 shareholders and 150 volunteers can work miracles.

    Useful local news piece here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-1vZDoZno4
     
  15. Kinghambranch

    Kinghambranch Well-Known Member

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    A good clip of the reopening shown on ITV East Midlands News last night around 1030pm. Excellent stuff and congratulations to you all! I must come over and sample this great railway!
     
  16. railway

    railway New Member

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  17. Chris A

    Chris A New Member

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    Not as far as I am aware... I think the next time is for the Home Fleet Gala, but I stand to be corrected on this.
     
  18. alig8048

    alig8048 New Member

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    okay, thanks
     
  19. Mike Delamar

    Mike Delamar Member

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    congratulations!

    the railway looks fantastic, everything looks spotless and new.

    cant wait to visit in the summer.

    standard 2 looks great nobbed up too
     
  20. INSPIRATION

    INSPIRATION New Member

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    Following on from the hugely successful opening celebrations, The Ecclesbourne Valley Railway will be running steam and diesel trains every Weekend and Bank Holiday from Sat 16th April to Sun 22nd May 2011.

    Tickets are valid for standard class travel all day on any of the services on the date of purchase.

    http://www.e-v-r.com/eventinfo/
     

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