Peak Rail at Matlock.

Ralph:
I'm not a Peak Rail person, but as I drove through Matlock on Thursday it looked to me as though the "connection" would join part way up the existing loop at the PR Riverside station, so the implication would be possibly moving the loop a little further North.
I guess though that the physical connection would be a relatively easy issue to resolve, as and when both parties get to that stage in the future.
Because the webcam is looking down from a higher level, it is difficult to assess the levels, but on the ground the two lines are on the same level.

On Thursday the new car park opposite Sainsbury's had a low loader with a large tamper sat upon. Without looking at the webcam I dont know if it was arriving to tamp the new NR track, or was leaving having completed the job. I suspect the tamper was moving by road because of the fragile nature of the rail bridges South of Matlock.

46118

 

Evening All,

I was in the Peak District last month and included a trip on Peak Rail. As always, I took a few pix and some of these are now on my Fotopic site. There are still more to come, but if anyone is interested to see what I've done so far, this is the link : http://ronfisher2.fotopic.net/c1099919.html

As usual, this is the 'Stop Press!' collection for new pictures. In due course I shall transfer them to their permanent home in a new Staffordshire and Derbyshire collection. Then they will be here : http://ronfisher2.fotopic.net/c1399605.html

Hope that they are of interest.

 

The tamper was leaving it had tamped the NR loop. There are still other items of contractors plant left though, i noticed this morning a geotechnical company were on site putting netting on a newly exposed rock face at the end of the NR loop

 

Also noticed on my travels, glimpsed through the trees, that the shed at Rowsley south is progressing, but not yet quite complete.

Any Peak Rail person say how the turntable is progressing please?

It is a pity that Rowsley south is a bit of a "camera-free" site! Where's your pics folks?? =D> =D>

46118

 

Well, I've just put a couple on my Fotopic site! There are still some more to come; they will be there in due course and will include some lovely LMS coaches, the turntable being worked on and a Deltic thingy.

 

Here's a couple from 1960 - will they do?

http://ronfisher.fotopic.net/p41515306.html

http://ronfisher.fotopic.net/p41515300.html

 

Cheers Ron!

Regards

46118

 

Woodster21:

Yes, I noticed the "new" rock-face!

I also wonder if the road above is a temporary affair, or is to be made permanent. Not much to stop someone driving off. Thats the unmade road immediately above the line, not the metalled road further up.

46118

 

Ron: Are you scanning your own archive, or having it done commercially?

I've settled on the Epson 4990 scanner for the task ahead, but unsure about whether to print my own hard copies or have them done commercially.
Also do you save to a disc, or hard drive/external hard drive?

Thanks

46118

 

They'll do very nicely Ron, any more from that era? Mine are all b/w. Incidentally I replied to your question about our ex-LMS Track Recording Coach the other day, and by coincidence we were contacted almost the same day by someone who used to work on it, he sent several photos of it in action and is hopefully gpoing to write an article for our newsletter The Droplight.

Cheers
Dave

 

Hello Royal Welch Fusilier,

Epson 4990, eh? Good plan! Coz that's what I've got.

I started off with a cheapo HP Scanjet, mainly because that was all that they had in the shop at the time that would do slides. However, I realised that the results were not very good and did a bit of internet surfing to see what else there was out there. And the Epson 4990 from Amazon worked out best. The results are far better than the old Scanjet, so I am therefore in the (somewhat slow) process of re-scanning all the ones done on that scanner.

If you look at : http://ronfisher.fotopic.net/p28553739.html and compare it with : http://ronfisher2.fotopic.net/p46491482.html you will see the difference. And the first one is one of the better results from the old scanner.

I haven't, as yet, had any printed, mainly because I am rapidly running out of space to keep everything. However, I might experiment with Bonusprint as they are quite cheap if you have a lot to do. As to saving them, at the moment they are only saved on the computer as my CD/DVD writer has gone wrong. Once I have had that fixed, I shall save them onto DVDs. I have, of course, still got the original faded slides, and I could look at them on Fotopic if I lost them on the computer before I get the DVD writer mended.

What slides/negs have you got to scan? I shall look forward to seeing them, especially if you have steam age ones.

 

Yes, lots, but not from Rowsley as far as I know.

All my old slides are slowly finding their way onto my Fotopic site and are in the first gallery : http://ronfisher.fotopic.net/ . I have created collections for all six regions and the earliest colour ones are from 1959. If you click on the link above and scroll down to the bottom, you can't miss them.

More will be added as time permits, but, as I said in the previous post, I am also re-scanning all the early ones as my new scanner is so much better than the old one. I have done quite a few, but there are still lots that I haven't. Usually, when I put re-scanned ones on, I put them in the 'Re-scanned Pictures' collection in the second gallery ( http://ronfisher2.fotopic.net/c1252386.html ) for a few days before replacing the originals.

 

As far as i am aware the unmade road is the access to Permanite Asphalt (although i may be wrong) It is the intention of the landowners to develop the site to the west of the PR / NR tracks for housing / business use.

 

Ron, 45669:

Re your earlier post, will respond in a day or so, but via the PM system.

Tied to the kitchen at present, fitting new doors and cupboards..... :-#

46118

 

peak rail now have two train running, i was reading on wikipedia that trains will stop at darley dale on the way up to rowsley south only and not on the way to matlock. It was saying that there are plans to restore the buildings on the unused platform.
who owns the buildings?, have the dwvrt been succesful in buying them?
also when are they projected to be back in use?
finally what will they be used for?, holiday let?, museum?
Also are they any station buildings at rowsley, ive been to peak rail before but didnt have time to go to rowsley. Stopped at darley dale had a bowl of soup in the cafe with the fire roaring and sitting in comfy carrage seats, thats the way to do it!

 

The buildings on the disused platform are owned by Derbyshire Dales District Council (as is the trackbed between Matlock and Rowsley) The line north of Rowsley is owned by the Haddon Estate.

I am not sure whether the DVWRT have secured the lease / ownership of the buildings one would speculate that the financial problems of the District Council may bring about a speedy resolution to this. I think that the intention is to use them as a museum

With regards to Rowsley Station, the original building forms part of a retail park, the Midland Railway buildings were demolished and much of the stane was salvaged - some went to build the Darley Dale Station toilet block, quite a lot suffered the ravages of the weather, some was sold to architectural reclaim dealer and some was stolen

 

I thought they planned to close the Darley Dale buffet which would be a shame, but if trains are only stopping in one direction it's probably not doing much business. Darley Dale is the nicest building on Peak Rail in my opinion, Rowsley South being a bit of a mish-mash buildings wise - nice long platform and loop though.

Lordy

 

i only thought there was one station at buxton but reading in my book i found out that there where two, both of simular design. one has gone under a road and the other survives, i know it is still used but has it still got its roof etc and is good condition?
pictures aswell would be nice

 

For once the LNW and Midland railways agreed to have very similar designs to their stations, apart from anything else for the aesthetics of the town I guess. The Midland side was pulled down a long time ago shortly after the closing of the Midland Main line over the Peak and withdrawal of the Buxton-Millers dale service, part of the site was used as the obligatory car park, and Peak Rail had possession for a few years of part of the yard near where the Midland Loco shed was, a few years back Peak Rail were persuaded to move and the town bypass was built straight through the Midland site. The LNW station is now rather sad looking, awkward to get to from the town, because of the new road, no surprise there, and devoid of its roof, although still worth a visit as some of the main building survives and the glass screen at the end of the platform is still intact.
There was another station called Higher Buxton, about 1/2 mile from the LNW terminus along the Ashbourne line, this being so close to the main stations was poorly used and closed in the early 50's.
The Foxline books are a must for anyone interested in the Railways of Buxton.

 

Both the Midland and the North Western needed to buy land off the Duke of Devonshire, and he was able to impose a degree of co-operation, leading to the twin stations. Part of the end wall of the Midland station is still there if you know where to look, at the end of the town centre car park. There are still some MR bollards at the top of the footpath alongside.
The original plan for the inner relief road would have swallowed just about all of the Midland site, but the councils were persuaded to modify the design in favour of Peak Rail who then occupied the eastern half of the site including the old goods shed from February 1980. The relief road was built over the western half a few years afterwards, I seem to remember building the dividing wall across the platform bay at Christmas 1984. Later slices of the Peak Rail site were sold to the mineral water company next door, who were offering prices that were just too good to refuse.

Tim