Peak Rail General Discussion

Day of collecting stuff today, lamp post, bench, Rowsley milepost, some stuff for Dom.

 

Thanks for the reply Dom, I can confirm there weren't any signs on the A6 though. I have nothing but great respect for the vols at PR, who have stuck to it through thick and thin. I've been a member since 1976, and a volunteer until the mid 90's, but the endless machinations of at board level finally proved too much to bear for me personally. Hopefully one day you'll get to the Peak Shopping Village, and maybe even Bakewell, but I fear my vision in 1976 of firing an 8F over Monsal Dale viaduct will now remain a dream, at least in my lifetime. Good luck, Iain

 

thanks boss, i didnt reply to the other question about visitor numbers, they seem well up on previous years, i think partly because of the credit crunch and all,people are staying local, also probably because of things like the radio derby piece and definitely also the fact that riverside station is right next the road now as opposed to being in the middle of knowhere like it was many years ago!.

usually on nice days you see more people about in the afternoon as steam lines i find tend to be wet day trips for families with kids!,once theyve had their day out in the peak district and drop in on us in passing along the a6,and were fortunate in that we have stations along the main road and on the edge of the peak district itself and in a tourist area too, ive noted a lot of couples more than usual visiting,not seemingly the usual male enthusiat bringing along his missus,plus a lot more families now,hopefully some good from the credit crunch then can come to the HR movement?

i counted around 30 peaople getting off the train at riverside on a midday train sunday and all walked to sainsburys or into town,thats unusual considering the years previous when riverside was in the fields,so a bonus being in the town,even moreso once we get into the station in town proper!

 

Thanks for the photo link - tantalisingly close, it looks as if the slewing has been done already??

Dave

 

Visitor Experience

Clearly, a train ride probably features in most people's list of things to do at a railway, but that's far from the extent of the experience we should be aiming for.

So, what do people want from a day on Peak Rail? Can we achieve these things within the bounds of safety and cost?

I love being able to sit at a fully restored station, gaze at the fittings and the gardens and drink tea whilst I wait for a train. Darley Dale is getting there now, don't forget that there was very little by way of furniture there when we started- lines like Keighley, the GC and the SVR have inherited rather more by way of station infrastructure than Peak Rail did.

So, get some lamps on the posts at Darley (I'm working on it, have just decided my degree is more important just now, but that won't be forever!). Benches are getting there. The Down building is a big job, and will probably make the biggest difference at the station, and will come with the chance of reopening some form of refreshment facility there, among improved waiting, museum and lavatory facilities.

The bridge will change the shape of the station, and I hope that when we're done at Darley, there will be enough to see and do for 30 mins or so if a passenger decides to detrain there and have a wander round, and encourage the use of the park next door. Darley is a bit of a linear village, not much to really walk to see (correct me if I'm wrong!), so the station should be a bit of an attraction in it's own right.

So- lamps, tidy up and paint, when the platform works are complete and the bridge is done and building reopened establish a cafe and enlarged museum. Anything else we could/should aim to do?

Matlock- platform to restore- and there's work started on that, just because there's no boots on the ground there yet, there's plenty going on. We can promote the bookshop more once we're in there, and I think that a Buffet in another of the builidings is under consideration. I would like to completely restore the whole station, so that it's a clean and well presented example of how a station can be shared between heritage and mainline services. It would be nice to think that passengers awaiting services for Derby etc could also enjoy a beautiful station. Perhaps waiting for a train shouldn't be a grim experience any more?

Rowsley South- shame there wasn't much going on in front of the platform at the weekend- that's usually because it isn't good practice to bimble stock about the yard when there are folks about unless one has to.

The LMSCA have been approached and agreed to prepare the exhibition coach for use this year, the DWVRT are working on improving signage and information about the site, and the whole place is undergoing a tidy up. I would say that I find Rowsley one of the tidiest railway yards around- friends I bring from other lines are always impressed by the neatness and lack of rubbish. Ok, there are materials lying around, but it is a working yard! We do very well there, and some small improvements to keep things tidy and looking fresh are appropriate.

Gradual improvements to the station are being made, including hugely improved signage. It is a quiet spot, and when the weather is good the view is awesome. It would be nicer to have a lovely heritage building to house traditional tea rooms and a booking hall to peruse whilst waiting- they're hopefully in the future some time.

What else can we do there to improve things? Cost is a factor, but often small changes make a big difference.

A6 signage- I quite agree with this, we need to push to get them reinstated/put up. Hmm...

C'mon, we all have views, let's share 'em! I hate reading a report of what I (yes, it's occasionally me!) have failed to fix and put up, and I tell you it's crushing when I'm working at full stretch to hear that 'oh this hasn't been done yet'. That said, Peak Rail should be (and is) on the up, and I hope we would all agree that it should stay that way.

Ben

 

as you say a lick of paint usually helps, i try to keep all the signals painted at least oncea year as theyre visible parts of the ambience and overall trackside features, the painting season starts next month for me,but Mr Dyson has already started on church lanes crossing gates!

 

If I cast a base on your lamp post, reckon you can work out where it wants planting?

Should we aim to repaint the Darley Dale crossing gates as well?

I have some paint for the up side lamp posts and benches at Darley- it's in the carriage shed.

 

TOTEMS

Want to help fund an iconic set of station furniture for Matlock station? Any family, individual or company would like to purchase a slice of heritage station for thousands of passengers to enjoy every year?

We need reproduction totems in stove enamel for Matlock station- can you help?

If we buy FOUR British Railways totems for Matlock at the same time, we can reduce the price to £219.58 each! This doesn't include VAT, but buying through the DWVRT means we can reclaim the VAT, which I shall pay for all four signs, to make up the actual price of £263.50 each.

We have the lamp posts, I've got the brackets to mount the totems on them, and I've even found some screws!

I've had one expression of interest, and I'll stump up for one myself. So, who's in?

Ben

 

interesting pics of the removal and replacement of the bridge over the a6 road

http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/r/rowsley/index51.shtml

 

Please note I have changed the web address of my Flickr gallery to

http://www.flickr.com/photos/peakrailprogress/

I have updated my signature so the link will appear in it in place of the Fotopic link.

Pictures of this weekends work are now in the gallery.

Regards Pete

 

Some great shots of the progress - so near!

Dave

 

some questions regarding the Rowsley 2nd station site.

http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/r/rowsley/index.shtml

and the mile or so from the current site, is it all peak rail's land?
is there sufficient land available for a station in the same location as the original? or are any buildings or obstacles in the way.
if we forget the cash for a moment is it physically practical to restore this once the trees are cleared? up to the bridge abutment at the A6 in a similar style to the s&d trusts midsomer norton station

I think itd be fantastic for the railway to extend here, the fact it is a town with pubs etc would make it very popular with visitors and also Chatsworth house being close, this could be a good selling point.
advertising in Matlock town for a steam train ride to Chatsworth for example may also help soften the chatsworth people to let peak rail run through the estate, if they see visitors arriving. could also name the Station Rowsley for Chatsworth as it was in BR days.

the railway would go from somewhere to somewhere then.

I hope this has been planned and could start soon

 

and the mile or so from the current site, is it all peak rail's land?
"is there sufficient land available for a station in the same location as the original? or are any buildings or obstacles in the way.
if we forget the cash for a moment is it physically practical to restore this once the trees are cleared? up to the bridge abutment at the A6 in a similar style to the s&d trusts midsomer norton station"

TO THE BEST OF MY KNOWLEDGE! there is sufficient land,currently the land off harrisons way is being cleared for a county recycling scheme,to which we run down the river edge of the alignment,i remember trapsing through thorn bushes with a 70 metre tape to mark out the edge of the land for it well!

theres also room once you get to the end to locate a station,now operationally you need to consider what you do there,do you have a station on an incline within the legal limits you can or higher the land ready to go over the a6,then again there other options relating to the bridge etcetera worthy of volumes of discussion,im told the old station is still there,the platforms being filled in ,so you could dig them out,repoint and reuse,but then you have to consider the bridge and all, we also own the viaduct over the a6 side of the missing bridge .

"I think itd be fantastic for the railway to extend here, the fact it is a town with pubs etc would make it very popular with visitors and also Chatsworth house being close, this could be a good selling point.
advertising in Matlock town for a steam train ride to Chatsworth for example may also help soften the chatsworth people to let peak rail run through the estate, if they see visitors arriving. could also name the Station Rowsley for Chatsworth as it was in BR days.!"

indeed,chatsworth and rowsley village are two good attractions right on the doorstep, there are plans to get there but after matlocks done and dusted.

 

be great if the platforms are still there as you say, but then the problem of the height of the road bridge.

it certainly looked a beautiful station in its heyday.

 

oh absolute shame it got demolished,a real gem with those canopies as well, still thats why weve people like ben and others to thank for all their hard work getting the smaller bits that make up a railway like it used to be,well done to those people i say!

 

We in Bedford had a beautiful Victorian Station with a similar canopy it had a preservation order on it tho they still knocked it down.O we made a mistake said the demolition guys .mmm
Now we have an ugly box

 

You can see on http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/r/rowsley/index.shtml that on the up platform one of the canopy supports has been taken out and a lattice girder put in, I believe this was done to make it more suitable for royal visits to Chatsworth, the train also working wrong line into the up platform as we couldn't have their HRHs walking through the subway could we?

Dave

 

am I right in thinking that the land near to the entrance roundabout to the Rowsley site was the marshalling yard proper?

and again if so, is all of that land available for more sidings if ever needed?

 

The land north of the roundabout was the sidings and I doubt it would be available to the railway as the council are about to build a recycling centre on it
May I recomend a book to you it is called "Through Limestone Hills" it covers the route from Ambergate to Buxton and has every detail of the route you can imagine in it. track plans, buildings, bridges, stations not just photographs but scale drawings, it is the bible of the route and available from the Matlock book shop

Regards Pete

 

I will definatley buy a copy of that when I visit the railway in the next few months.

got quite a lot of books, favourite is a small paperback with a pink cover and plenty of shots and info in it from the 80s which Ive had since back then. also the scenes from the past buxton one.
my main questions are usually on what it is like now, and who owns what land etc etc

just noticed this shot

http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/r/rowsley/index94.shtml
which shows the sidings in the background and the river behind, this will be a very picturesque and popular location Im sure when the railway reaches here again