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Peak Rail at Matlock.

Discussion in 'Heritage Railways & Centres in the UK' started by 46118, Sep 16, 2007.

  1. bluediamondman

    bluediamondman New Member

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    All the track has now been laid into platform 2.
     
  2. Woodster21

    Woodster21 Member

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    24052011056.jpg 24052011055.jpg

    Hopefully there should be two photo's attached taken at 6.00am this morning
     
  3. philw2

    philw2 Member

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    Ta for the pics Woodster21.

    Lot of work to do on the platform in four weeks..
     
  4. kestreleyes

    kestreleyes Well-Known Member

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    see i come back from one holiday and things progress along nicely, time to crack on then !!!!
     
  5. Royal Signals

    Royal Signals New Member

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    Kestreleyes,

    A question regarding signalling for Platform 2.

    If the Matlock signal box is going to be positioned at Riverside, how will drivers get the all clear from the signalman when it's time to depart? Will there be a home starter semaphore signal at the platform end, or some other method of confirming the route is set?

    (Congratulations to all your team on the excellent signalling work done recently at Riverside by the way.)
     
  6. dggar

    dggar New Member

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  7. kestreleyes

    kestreleyes Well-Known Member

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    Radio comms answers the question boss ,dont want to start putting operating signals controlled by one operator on the others property, the risk assessments and costs would go through the proverbial roof!!!, even providing a basic hard wired telephone could be costly!!

    thanks for the congrats boss,still a long way to go!¬
     
  8. Christopher125

    Christopher125 Part of the furniture

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    Any idea what the vehicles in the loop are, and where they've come from?
     
  9. Midland Relic

    Midland Relic New Member

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    I think you're referring to the Peak Rail works train. The vehicles live at Rowsley most of the time, and comprise (among a number of vehicles) a couple of lowmacs, a bogie flat, diesel crane, GUV and an LMS third open coach converted (by BR) into a tool and mess van. Someone has already pointed out the presence of the LMS coach at Matlock for the first time in donkeys.
     
  10. Christopher125

    Christopher125 Part of the furniture

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    Thanks, the presence of a Peak Rail train on NR metals is quite a landmark itself!
     
  11. kestreleyes

    kestreleyes Well-Known Member

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    the tool and mess van -combined ,used to be the Buxton breakdown train,well --one of the three coaches that lived at the depot at Buxton, it was there most of my childhood till we inherited it,it then changed from the faded red to the black it is now resident within.
     
  12. Sheff

    Sheff Resident of Nat Pres

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    As I recall it has some rather 'interesting' windows - i.e domestic metal framed one with outwardly opening lights. Just need a set of net curtains ;)
     
  13. kestreleyes

    kestreleyes Well-Known Member

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    hehehehehehehe ;)
     
  14. daveannjon

    daveannjon Well-Known Member

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    Some more pics taken Saturday 28th with the track nicely ballasted - anyone know what the hole in the wall is, seems to have a stone lintel?

    The blue plastic fencing had to be done to NR specification with 'gates' at intervals. I believe the platform is being done by a different contractor to the trackwork - the latter firm was Welsh, luckily they laid it to standard gauge :)

    Dave
     

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  15. Midland Relic

    Midland Relic New Member

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    Not the foggiest what the hole is/was. The adjacent building was the General Waiting Room, and that end was the Gents bog. The building didn't meet the retaining wall at that end, the wall forming a passage into the loo. So no idea what the odd square hole is- it probably wants boarding up to prevent people using it as a litter bin/small child repository/portal to The Discworld.

    Platform looks very smart- my fears that it would be a bit narrow were clearly groundless, plenty of space for lamp posts, benches and planters on there, strategically placed. Nice bit of platform wall reconstruction and a slight increase in height and it'll be swell. Interestingly, I think there's more platform wall under there, looking at the photos. The bottom few levels of stone have been covered up by the track being higher then it used to be (was canted in quite a lot back in the day for the expresses). Might be worth having a rummage around see what stonework comes out of there.

    We may yet see trains in July!
     
  16. Ianb47306

    Ianb47306 New Member

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    All looking very nice at Matlock. I think we're all very much looking forward to the opening day.

    Out of curiosity, are there any intentions to rebuild the waiting room, toilets and so on that were on platform 2?
     
  17. Midland Relic

    Midland Relic New Member

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    Yup, believe so. Probably not this year, but once we're open there will be a serious look at rebuilding the two waiting rooms, and some investigation has been done into the reconstruction of the canopy. But a lot will depend on what permission we can get. There are funding bodies out there to help restore stations still on the national network. So yeh, not quite yet, but in the not too distant future. We really will need something there, or waiting passengers will drown! That said, what we plan to put on there will affect the surfacing we do now.

    Possibly not toilets back on Platform 2. There are full public facilities in the former parcels shed, including a disabled loo, so not sure yet... Perhaps if we have very real problems with the length of walk from the platform, round the back, over the bridge, down the ramp and to the goods shed and back.

    What would you like to see?
     
  18. Breva

    Breva Well-Known Member

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  19. Ianb47306

    Ianb47306 New Member

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    Thats sounds excellent, albeit very costly I'm sure. A few buildings and a canopy on platform 2 would certainly make a huge difference to the station and it'd provide a far more impressive terminus than 'just' a platform. Hopefully the funding bodies will like your ideas.

    I already like the plans for the benches, planters, lamp posts, totems, running in board etc.. That will all make the station look nice for its first season and other than the some area undercover that is probably all the station really needs. For the future though...

    a) Given that it can't be removed, is there any chance you could repaint the footbridge over the south end of the station? Something more akin to maroon and cream might help it to blend in better. If not could some plants be trained to climb up parts of it like the support on platform 2?

    b) If the funding bodies really want to throw money at you... What are the chances of rebuilding the footbridge one day? Looking at past photo's of the station the footbridge appeared to make quite a difference to the site and it'd obviously be useful nowadays in helping to get people from platform 1 to platform 2 without the walk. Obviously with footbridge in you certainly wouldn't need any toilets on platform 2.

    c) Assuming the footbridge to be a pie-in-the-sky, seriously long term idea... Would it be possible to have a barrow crossing between the platforms? It appears that there was formerly one at the south end on the station, but the buffer stop may be right across this location now.

    A barrow crossing would provide a much shorter distance path between the platforms, and if the footbridge could ever be reinstated the crossing would still be useful for allowing wheelchairs/pushchairs across. The west somerset railway make similar use of the barrow crossing at Bishops Lydeard and have a gate across the top of the platform ramps to prevent people crossing when there are trains moving. If you were to do likewise, when there aren't enough volunteers to control movement, or when PR is not operating the gates could simply be padlocked shut.

    Also one further question... What facilities are there already on platform one?
     
  20. Midland Relic

    Midland Relic New Member

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    Platform 1 has the shop, and a bit of canopy to wait under. The remainder of the waiting rooms are currently the PR office. I think the toilets exist but have been closed for some time. What further development takes place on there I do not know, but it will probably be based on useage of the station, together with any funding we can get.

    I doubt we could paint the ugly footbridge. Maybe black is the right colour for it, certainly nothing to make it stand out. Worth a thought in case it comes up in future though.

    Barrow crossing- would think that's a nightmare to establish, especially crossing two independently operating railways.

    Station footbridge- not sure what to say on this one really, all sorts of of issues with building replica bridges, but if I just say that it's being given some thought? There isn't a desperate need for another bridge. I tend to find if you say something might be possible you're assumed to be thick and if you write it off you're obviously more intelligent, so I won't fall into either category on that. It would be nice tho, eh?

    So for this year, with a bit of luck the platform will be just that, a platform, but hopefully a tidy and well presented one. You can always go and shelter in front of (inside the cafe of?) Sainsbury's if there's torrential rain. That's where I shall be...

    Ben
     

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