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Peak Rail

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Peak Rail emblem

Peak Rail is a preserved railway operating timetabled steam services for tourists and visitors to the Peak District and the Derbyshire Dales. It currently runs for a little under 4 miles between Matlock Riverside and Rowsley South. It remains the intention of Peak Rail to incrementally extend their operations northwards to Bakewell and beyond, as time and resources allow.

History

Peak Rail
Legend
miles
from London St Pancras
148.43
Monsal Trail
(proposed extension to Bakewell)
Rowsley Yard
148.29
 Rowsley South
147.47
Church Lane Crossing
147.26
147.15
 Darley Dale
Station Road Crossing
South Yard (shunter depot)
146.75
Bridge 40 (Warney Brook)
Old Road
145.39
Bridge 35 (River Derwent)
145.32
 Matlock Riverside
Peak Rail
Network Rail
boundary
Cawdor Way
Network Rail run-around loop
 Matlock National Rail
Derwent Valley Line

First preservation attempts with the Buxton Steam Centre

In 1975 the Peak Railway Preservation Society took matters in hand and, after opening a Steam Centre at Buxton with restoration facilities based in the old goods shed and a 300 yard operating line running steam shuttles,signalbox and sidings, plus a successful restaurant based in two old carriages called the "Palatine Restaurant" (the land now subsequently sold/leased to Buxton Mineral Water), proposals at the time to gain access to the single freight line at Buxton- to increase operations were looked into without success, the site at Buxton was connected by a new bridge over Bridge street as part of these proposals.

Closure of the Buxton Steam Centre and relocation to Darley Dale

By 1991 the railway had reopened the section of line between Matlock and Darley Dale. In 1997, this was extended to half a mile short of Rowsley village, with a new station constructed next to the site of the former goods yard at Rowsley South capable of holding long incoming charter trains, with the car park being of a size sufficient to accommodate large numbers of cars and other vehicles. This has also been utilised for other local charity events, cycle races, as well as steam and vintage vehicle rallies.

Being on the edge of the Peak district the railway joins other attractions of the area, such as Bakewell, Haddon Hall, Chatsworth House, Rowsley shopping village and the picturesque village of Rowsley and the Cauldwell's Mill museum.

Special events

The railway operates special events as well as the normal timetabled services, such as themed "Halloween" and "Santa Specials" for children and families, to the "Warring Forties" event, with battle re-enactments of World War Two skirmishes, involving military vehicles and re-enactors on the site at Rowsley, plus Diesel Galas and local support events for music festivals, such as the jazz festival that occurred in the Whitworth park at Darley Dale in 2008.

A restaurant service, appropriately called 'The Palatine' operates on given days throughout the season, whilst at Darley Dale there is a museum of the line's local history.

Peak Rail in relation to other lines

Operating groups at the present railway

Several railway preservation groups are based at the railway, often working in support of and cooperation with Peak Rail, such as;

The Heritage Shunters Trust, which has a vast collection of former British Railways and private company shunters,

The Derbyshire Dales Narrow Gauge Railway, which operates narrow gauge trains over a short running line by the picnic ground at Rowsley

The London Midland and Scottish Carriage Association, which restore examples of L.M.S and other coaching stock

The Renown Repulse Locomotive Group, responsible for the restoration of two of two former British Rail Class 50 locomotives

The Briddons, who have a collection of locomotives based upon the railway

There are other locomotive and stock owners who are restoring wagons and stock upon the line.

For further details see Rowsley South railway station.


  • Line up of locomotives at the old Peak Rail Buxton steam centre
    Line up of locomotives at the old Peak Rail Buxton steam centre
  • The view of the platform and loco shed
    The view of the platform and loco shed
  • The duke of Devonshire officially opens the first section of the reopened line from Darley Dale
    The duke of Devonshire officially opens the first section of the reopened line from Darley Dale
  • Locomotive line up on the Derbyshire Dales Narrow gauge railway at Rowsley South
    Locomotive line up on the Derbyshire Dales Narrow gauge railway at Rowsley South

Motive power

Operational steam locomotives

  • RSH 0-6-0ST No. 7136 (Carries No.WD150 "Royal Pioneer")

Steam locomotives undergoing restoration

  • LMS 2-8-0 Class 8F no. 48624 - Nearing end of restoration, boiler removed for tubing and steam testing before reassembly, painting and running. Not expected to steam until Easter 2009.

Steam locomotives undergoing overhaul

  • RSH 0-6-0T No. 7597 "Zebedee" - Work ongoing, frames being repaired and wheels away for re-tyring, boiler in very good condition.

Stored steam locomotives

Operational diesel locomotives

[2]

Diesel locomotives undergoing overhaul/restoration

Stored diesel locomotives

Signalling on the railway

Ex-Bamford signal box at Darley Dale

There are currently three signal boxes on the route. Two of these control the only two level crossings on the old Midland Railway main line route from Manchester to London St Pancras, both in the Darley Dale area, half way along the Peak Rail line. The third signal box, which is currently unused, came from Bamford in the Hope Valley. There are plans to move this structure to Rowsley South railway station for re-use.

Church Lane Crossing

File:Church Lane Level Crossing.jpg
Church Lane Level Crossing as seen from box

Church Lane Crossing Box controls the section from Darley Dale to Rowsley South under the one train staff key method, as well as the level crossing at Churchtown. Originally, this signal box came from Gorsey Bank level crossing on the nearby Wirksworth branch.

File:CLpic.jpg
Church Lane Crossing

Church Lane operates the only current example of preserved "Josslock" type motor points (electro-hydraulically worked electro-pneumatic point machine, whereby a standard electro-pneumatic point is driven by a hydraulic power pack).

Darley Dale Crossing

Darley Dale signal box controls the section from Darley Dale to Matlock Riverside under the one Train staff key, as well as the other level crossing at Station Road. This signal box is based on an L.M.S. ground level design and was built new in 2007 to replace the older Midland style cabin which had become life-expired.

Looking back at Darley Dale station, a view from the top of the bracket signal in the down loop
David Sheppard's 9F locomotive "Black Prince" next to the Darley Dale Up Starting signal
Darley Dale Crossing signal box as seen from the South Yard

Darley Dale station and passing loop

The passing loop at Darley Dale is worked using the Absolute Block method, with the signal box at the other end releasing the signal of the opposite signal box to allow trains to enter the applicable Up or Down loop line.

It is possible to run two trains at a time on the railway, passing in the loop at Darley Dale station. Each section of the railway is worked by a train staff, each with a key attached that operates the ground frames and electrical signal releases at the signal boxes and the ground frames at Rowsley South, Rowsley North, Darley South Yard sidings and Matlock Riverside.

Other signal boxes and ground frames

There is another signal box at Darley Dale on the Up platform (originally located at Bamford) which is not in use. It was originally located here when the railway first reopened to work the level crossing at Station Road, but for several reasons was not brought into use. During 2009 it is planned to be moved to Rowsley South and to refit the twenty nine lever frame to control initially the loco shed sidings and yard as a shunt frame, and then to encompass the station area and any alterations to the track layout to the station's northern end when the line extends towards Rowsley village.

Future plans for Matlock Riverside include a shunt frame signalbox which is normally unmanned and can be operated by staff other than a signaller, e.g. loco crews, if needed to control the movements here. This is likely as plans to operate into Matlock (National Rail) are now reaching fruition.

Recoveries

Over the years, many signal boxes have either been recovered, donated or sourced for the railway from such locations as Gorsey Bank, Lymm Station, Lymm Lane crossing and Hindlow. Lever and ground frames were sourced locally from the Midlands and North Western regions from places such as Whaley Bridge and Dunford Bridge, to name a few. Not all structures were obtained complete; some were acquired with the cooperation of other heritage railways along joint recoveries.

Redundant signal box being recovered from the old Buxton Steam Centre
Signalling diagram for the Darley Dale and Church Lane area

Ongoing projects

Darley Dale in June 2007, looking north

On the engine shed project, as of December 2008, the roof and walls are finished, the external doors are nearly complete on the workshops, the rest of the doors being completed and many internal elements have been fitted. The Engine Shed is now due to be completed in time for Easter 2009. The turntable at Rowsley South remains close to becoming operational, although this will now be in the medium rather than the short-term.

Negotiations for the lease of a further mile of trackbed to the North have finally resulted in a 99-year lease on the trackbed from Rowsley South to Rowsley village, whilst discussions regarding access to Matlock station Down Platform have recently resulted in a 50-year lease being agreed. This will naturally include the reconnection of Network Rail and Peak Rail metals, just south of the present Matlock Riverside station.

In late February 2007, the railway's 'Two-Train Running' project reached fruition and was approved by HM Railway Inspectorate. Through improvements to infrastructure and signalling, this project allows two trains in steam on the line, utilising a refurbished and extended passing loop at Darley Dale. This enhancement has allowed the working of freight and passenger services on special event days, with multiple passenger workings to follow in future operating seasons.

The signalling engineers are currently working on several promising projects:

  1. Final testing of token machines between Rowsley south and Church Lane signal box, to allow the locomotive shed at Rowsley to be used to full potential.
  2. Moving the redundant ex Bamford signal box to Rowsley South, to be used initially to control the exits from the sidings and locomotive shed, then when the line extends northwards, the track alterations to the north of the site can be incorporated within the signalling needed here. This will replace three ground frames which would need to be altered for the extension works. Eventually the shunt frame could be signalled if required to act as another passing loop signal box to add capacity.
  3. Plans for working into Matlock National Rail station are well advanced. A method of signalling these operations is progressing to its conclusion and will be in place shortly.

Future developments

No.WD 150 'Royal Pioneer' at Matlock Riverside in June 2007

Essentially the former Manchester main line as it is can be considered in four sections:

From London via Derby to Ambergate Junction as the Midland Main Line

Overlapping this from Derby to Ambergate and on to Matlock as the Derwent Valley Line.

Peak Rail operates a section from Matlock to Rowsley and has an interest in the line onwards through Bakewell to Buxton station. From there, the line could follow the former LNWR line to Manchester although through trains would have to reverse, or extend from Millers Dale on its original route, to join the still-existing line to Chinley on the Hope Valley Line.

In 2004 Derbyshire County Council published a study which concluded that reopening the line for a local service was technically feasible and that the track bed should remain clear of development, but not an economic possibility in the near future.

Meanwhile the Derwent Valley Line, which connects with the railway at Matlock it is said, has been allowed to deteriorate both in infrastructure and quality of service and in 2005 a document was published by the Friends of the Derwent Valley Line, assisted by the County Council, arguing for improvements to the current service. Network Rail has stated its intention to carry out necessary repairs in 2008, which includes the strengthening or rebuilding of three bridges on the branch. Structural reviews took place early in 2008 and the work is scheduled to be completed by the end of the year.

Extensions to the current Heritage line

Discussions in 2008 into the potential use by Peak Rail of the unused platform 2 at Matlock for running Peak Rail services into are at an advanced stage with proposals ready to take forward to the commencement of works in the near future, a leashold upon the connection and platform has been agreed to by Peak Rail and Network Rail.

Towards the Northern end of the line, the local council have plans to reuse part of the land beyond Rowsley South station for an area recycling centre, the railway has as part of the neccessary local plans included a proposed route for its infrastructure to be relaid around these developments,a lease on the land required to do these works has been agreed with the local council, but as yet there is no starting date for these works to begin on a northern extension to the railway.

See also

References

  1. ^ Fox, Peter & Hall, Peter; Preserved Locomotives of British Railways, Platform 5, Sheffield, UK, 11th Edition 2002, pp. 66–67
  2. ^ Industrial Railway Society; Industrial Locomotives, Industrial Railway Society, Melton Mowbray, UK, 14EL 2006, pp. 63–64
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