8th
March 2012
On Sunday 4th March we were visited by Andrew Carter of the BBC who was recording a feature for BBC Radio Cumbria. This is being broadcast in two parts at about 11.10 am on Thursday 8th and Friday 9th March in Mike Zeller's programme. Unfortunately I was not notified of this before the first part was broadcast, but both parts will be available for 7 days on the BBC iPlayer, and we have been promised a copy of the feature which we can use on the website. More details when this becomes available. The Mike Zeller programme can be found at http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00hf92s , the feature being at about 2 hours 5 minutes into Thursday's programme and 2 hours 15 minutes into Friday's. Both parts are of about 10 minutes duration.
On Sunday 4th March we were visited by Andrew Carter of the BBC who was recording a feature for BBC Radio Cumbria. This is being broadcast in two parts at about 11.10 am on Thursday 8th and Friday 9th March in Mike Zeller's programme. Unfortunately I was not notified of this before the first part was broadcast, but both parts will be available for 7 days on the BBC iPlayer, and we have been promised a copy of the feature which we can use on the website. More details when this becomes available. The Mike Zeller programme can be found at http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00hf92s , the feature being at about 2 hours 5 minutes into Thursday's programme and 2 hours 15 minutes into Friday's. Both parts are of about 10 minutes duration.
The Appleby Exhibition
to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the opening
of the Eden Valley Railway has been rescheduled for
20th/21st October 2012. More details to follow.
On a recent trip down to Sandford Mire we encountered three trespassers! There was no need for them to run, as we were travelling very slowly as we neared the end of our journey. Deer are often to be seen around the Sandford Mire extension.
25th January 2012
This year's timetable has now been finalised and can be seen on the timetable page.
10th January 2012
Due to unforeseen circumstances the exhibition due to be held in Appleby in March has had to be postponed until a later date: more details will follow when they are available.
Our archivist, David Heywood is giving an illustrated talk on Tuesday 17th January at Club 35 in Carlisle. More details on the image below.
This year's timetable has now been finalised and can be seen on the timetable page.
10th January 2012
Due to unforeseen circumstances the exhibition due to be held in Appleby in March has had to be postponed until a later date: more details will follow when they are available.
Our archivist, David Heywood is giving an illustrated talk on Tuesday 17th January at Club 35 in Carlisle. More details on the image below.
23rd December 2011
The gap left by the departure of 37250 has been filled by Class 47 locomotive 47799, which is privately owned. Photographs will follow soon.
The gap left by the departure of 37250 has been filled by Class 47 locomotive 47799, which is privately owned. Photographs will follow soon.
17th November
37250 departed for pastures new (The Wensleydale Railway) in early November. There is now a large Class 37 sized gap by the car park at Warcop and I will have to revise the latest version of the stock book!
Following our attendance at the Locomotion Steam Gala, we are off on our travels again. This time it is to the Workington Model Railway Exhibition on 19th and 20th of November. More details can be found here: http://www.wtht.co.uk/mre/mre2009.htm
37250 departed for pastures new (The Wensleydale Railway) in early November. There is now a large Class 37 sized gap by the car park at Warcop and I will have to revise the latest version of the stock book!
Following our attendance at the Locomotion Steam Gala, we are off on our travels again. This time it is to the Workington Model Railway Exhibition on 19th and 20th of November. More details can be found here: http://www.wtht.co.uk/mre/mre2009.htm
The Railways on the Air
event on 24th and 25th September was the usual success.
A brief report can be seen on the GB2EVR page of this
site.
23rd September
Our running season has now finished for this year. Thanks are due to all the volunteers who have done so much to ensure another successful year. Although the figures are not yet available I would be surprised if it had not been our busiest year to date, starting with the glorious weather at Easter and ending with the boost in numbers (and awareness) caused by the Stainmore 150 event down the road in Kirkby Stephen. Photos and more updates will follow soon, now I have a bit more time to keep this section of the website updated.
Most of the 400 sleepers we received in March have been used already: many have been used on the extension to Sandford Mire and others to repalce rotten sleepers on the existing line, especially in the Wild Boar Cutting area. Whilst the speed at which we have been able to replace sleepers is excellent, it means we have to find the money for more sleepers rather sooner than in previous years, and the price quoted has gone up considerably in recent months!
23rd September
Our running season has now finished for this year. Thanks are due to all the volunteers who have done so much to ensure another successful year. Although the figures are not yet available I would be surprised if it had not been our busiest year to date, starting with the glorious weather at Easter and ending with the boost in numbers (and awareness) caused by the Stainmore 150 event down the road in Kirkby Stephen. Photos and more updates will follow soon, now I have a bit more time to keep this section of the website updated.
Most of the 400 sleepers we received in March have been used already: many have been used on the extension to Sandford Mire and others to repalce rotten sleepers on the existing line, especially in the Wild Boar Cutting area. Whilst the speed at which we have been able to replace sleepers is excellent, it means we have to find the money for more sleepers rather sooner than in previous years, and the price quoted has gone up considerably in recent months!
29th August
The three days of the Stainmore 150 event at Kirkby Stephen East were a great success, both for the Stainmore Railway Company and the Eden Valley Railway. The financial gain from the weekend was very good, but more important was the increased awareness many people now have about our railway both in terms of our location and our aspirations.
The three days of the Stainmore 150 event at Kirkby Stephen East were a great success, both for the Stainmore Railway Company and the Eden Valley Railway. The financial gain from the weekend was very good, but more important was the increased awareness many people now have about our railway both in terms of our location and our aspirations.
14th April
The 13th Easter Classic Commercial Vehicle Rally, run by the Eden Classic Vehicle Group, takes place on Saturday 23rd and Sunday 24th April. It is based at Kirkby Stephen and Brough, with afrequent service of free vintage buses between the various sites where vehicles are on show, including Kirkby Stephen East Station, home of our neighbours, the Stainmore Railway Company.
This year sees a bus service linking Brough with Warcop, making it an ideal way to visit the Eden Valley Railway and the Stainmore Railway on the same day as well as indulging on some vintage bus travel. Details of the service to Warcop are not yet known, but it will be at least one bus per hour on both days. More details as they become available.
13th April
Class 37 locomotive 37042 arrived at Warcop yesterday, having been transported from Doncaster by Heanors. Following some excellent impromptu ramp building by Keith Lowthian, the loco was successfully unloaded. A couple of photos of 37042 below, taken today. The loco is a little faded, but is mechanically in good order, apparently.
4th April
The latest edition of the magazine has been published, and should now have been received by our members. Copies will be available to buy from the Emporium on running days, along with some previous issues.
Apologies for the hiatus is news reports: much work has gone on in the last couple of months, a lot of it quite mundane but necessary to the running of the railway, suich as drain and culvert clearance (again!) and more spot resleepering.
We received another 400 sleepers last month, seen in the pictures below on the sturgeon: these are for relaying the stretch of line beyond our current terminus at Sandford Bridge and will facilitate the extension to Sandford Mire (aka Dingley Dell). We are hoping to be running to Sandford Mire before the end of this season.
Although much work has been done on resleepering, the neglect of the permanent way in the latter years of BR control and the period before the Eden Valley Railway took over means we need many more. Donations to the sleeper fund are always welcome: the form for this can be found in the appeals page of the site
Following the repairs to the Lowmac (photos to follow soon, hopefully), a start has been made on repairing the bodywork of the shark, parts of which are in very poor condition as seen below.
31st January 2011
The railway's presence at the Kendal Model Railway Exhibition proved to be a worthwhile exercise, both in terms of finances and the dissemination of information about the railway and its activities. Thanks to the volunteers who manned the stand over the weekend.
22nd December 2010
Life goes on at the railway, despite the worst that the weather can throw at us. The intrepid p-way gang has been busy with sleeper replacement in recent weeks, with associated tree management and drainage work. It doesn't matter how cold it is, we soon get warm with all the physical activity.
Although Warcop missed the worst of the snow, the extreme cold certainly made it's mark: these views of Warcop in early December were taken on a day when the temperature reached -11 celsius. Brrrrr.
27th September 2010
Three of our volunteers (David Heywood, Stephen Mitchell and Caroline Mathews) attended the Steam Gala at Locomotion (NRM Shildon) this weekend with an excellent display put together by David and various items for sale. A good sum was raised for the railway, but of greater value in the long term was the increased public awareness of our railway and our aims. Hopefully attendance at similar events will be a regular thing. It was also good to discuss matters with other preservation societies, including our near neighbours from the Stainmore Railway.
20th September 2010
Our operating season has now ended, and a good year it has been aftera slow start due to all the hard work put in by our dedicated volunteers in publicising the railway more effectively than in previous years.
18th September saw the delivery of three diesel shunters from Haig Mining Museum in Cumbria by Lawsons of Cockermouth. The three locos are:
Hunslet 2389 of 1941, an 0-4-0 diesel mechanical
Thomas Hill Vanguard 130c of 1963, an 0-4-0 diesel hydraulic, rebuilt from John Fowler's 0-4-0 diesel hydraulic 22971 of 1942
Drewry Cars 2181 of 1945, an 0-4-0 diesel mechanical, actually built by Vulcan Foundry as their works number 5262 to an Andrew Barclay design.
More details and photos of the locos can be seen inthe rolling stock section.
The shed in which these locos resided at Haig Colliery Museum is also on it's way to Warcop, which will be of great benefit to the railway once it has been re-erected.
The arrival of the locos was reported by the Cumberland & Westmorland Herald
In connection with the arrival of the locos and the shed, we have launched an appeal for funds to assist with the costs involved in transporting and re-erecting the shed at Warcop. This can be seen here
31st August 2010
A fine late August running week and a bit has ended, with good passenger numbers and some excellent work done by the P-Way workers. A big thank you to all volunteers who gave their time over the last week and a half.
A major event was the collection of a redundant building from Belgravia Yard in Appleby. The building can be seen in the image below, between Appleby North Box and 62005. The building is now in store in a dismantled state at Warcop, awaiting re-erection as time and manpower permit.
Another acquisition this week has been a Warcop Running-in Board:
Much work was put in to get 4-CEP 2315 ready for service: a deep clean inside and thorough cleaning both inside and outside.
Work on the line has been concentrated in the Wild Boar Cutting area, with fence repairs and culvert clearing being the major tasks:
David Harper clearing a culvert
Graham Hercock and Jonathan Day working on the fencing at Wild Boar Cutting
A fine late August running week and a bit has ended, with good passenger numbers and some excellent work done by the P-Way workers. A big thank you to all volunteers who gave their time over the last week and a half.
A major event was the collection of a redundant building from Belgravia Yard in Appleby. The building can be seen in the image below, between Appleby North Box and 62005. The building is now in store in a dismantled state at Warcop, awaiting re-erection as time and manpower permit.
Another acquisition this week has been a Warcop Running-in Board:
Much work was put in to get 4-CEP 2315 ready for service: a deep clean inside and thorough cleaning both inside and outside.
Work on the line has been concentrated in the Wild Boar Cutting area, with fence repairs and culvert clearing being the major tasks:
David Harper clearing a culvert
Graham Hercock and Jonathan Day working on the fencing at Wild Boar Cutting
1st August 2010
A fine article about the Eden Valley Railway has been published in the Cumberland & Westmorland Herald, giving a brief history of the line, our aims for the future and detailing some of the work that our team of volunteers do.
Having made a walkway for train crew use at Sandford Bridge in February this year, it was very annoying (bit of an understatement, but no obscenities are wanted here) to have the majority of it "disappear" during the Appleby Horse Fair. In recent weeks work has been done to rebuild this walkway, which of course diverts volunteer time from other jobs needing to be done.
The original walkway being built in February.
The rebuilding operation in July 2010: far fewer bodies available as it is the operating season. All the uprights and most of the sleepers have gone.
A fine article about the Eden Valley Railway has been published in the Cumberland & Westmorland Herald, giving a brief history of the line, our aims for the future and detailing some of the work that our team of volunteers do.
Having made a walkway for train crew use at Sandford Bridge in February this year, it was very annoying (bit of an understatement, but no obscenities are wanted here) to have the majority of it "disappear" during the Appleby Horse Fair. In recent weeks work has been done to rebuild this walkway, which of course diverts volunteer time from other jobs needing to be done.
The original walkway being built in February.
The rebuilding operation in July 2010: far fewer bodies available as it is the operating season. All the uprights and most of the sleepers have gone.
26th July 2010
It is intended to operate the 4-CEP and MLVs over
the August Bank Holiday Weekend (Saturday 28th August to Monday
30th August). The train is likely to consist of MLV S68003
at the Appleby end of the train, with S68005 behind it and
the 4-CEP at the Warcop end as in previous years. Although
S68005 has a diesel generator, this is only used to supply power for lighting,
heating, compressors and the MG sets of the 4-CEP, the train being hauled (and
propelled) solely by the batteries in the MLVs.
The first stage of the Model Railway project is now complete: an N-gauge layout has been installed in the Motor Car Van 889020 and is operational, although there is a bit of work to do on the interior of the Motor Car Van, which has been used as a stores vehicle in recent years.
24th July 2010
After an interregnum caused by circumstances beyond our control, a selection of items from the Warcop Emporium is again available for purchase on e-bay. These can be found at http://hub.ebay.co.uk/community and typing madhoppingannie into the find a member box.
The first stage of the Model Railway project is now complete: an N-gauge layout has been installed in the Motor Car Van 889020 and is operational, although there is a bit of work to do on the interior of the Motor Car Van, which has been used as a stores vehicle in recent years.
24th July 2010
After an interregnum caused by circumstances beyond our control, a selection of items from the Warcop Emporium is again available for purchase on e-bay. These can be found at http://hub.ebay.co.uk/community and typing madhoppingannie into the find a member box.
2nd June 2010
An intrepid band of permanent way workers has been
to Network Rail's Belgravia yard in Appleby and has, with
the permission of Network Rail, collected about 100 used
wooden sleepers, rendered surplus by recent track renewals
on the Settle & Carlisle line.
31st May 2010
Another excellent bank holiday weekend, with a bright sunny day on the Monday and the Thumper providing the passenger service. Even better, perhaps, was the discovery that for the first time ever, blue tits are using the nest box near the Radio Shack, and are already feeding young. Less likely to succeed are the swallows which are keen to explore the inside of the Exhibition Coach, as it is locked up for most of the week.
One of the parent blue tits at the entrance hole.
31st May 2010
Another excellent bank holiday weekend, with a bright sunny day on the Monday and the Thumper providing the passenger service. Even better, perhaps, was the discovery that for the first time ever, blue tits are using the nest box near the Radio Shack, and are already feeding young. Less likely to succeed are the swallows which are keen to explore the inside of the Exhibition Coach, as it is locked up for most of the week.
One of the parent blue tits at the entrance hole.
A closer view of one of
the parent birds
One of the parents caught on camera as it flies away from the nest box
7th April 2010
The running season got off to a very good start over the Easter Weekend, spoiled only by the awful weather on Monday. Even this day was brightened up (for those who like vintage commercial vehicles) by the visits of two Scottish buses and the gas board, making their way home from the Eden Classic Vehicle Group Rally.
Motive power for the weekend was Thumper 205 009
A 1970 Karrier, originally used as a mobile
showroom by the North West Gas Board, in the car park at
Warcop.
Alexander Midland 1960
built Leyland Tiger Cub/Alexander WSK509 on the lane outside
the western end of the site.
Western SMT 1974 built
Alexander bodied Leyland Leopard SCS335M pulling away from
Warcop.Winter Progress
Over the winter progress has been made on the usual tasks, such as resleepering, ditch clearance and fence repairs. The new siding in the top yard has been ash ballasted and tested with the shunter Darlington (RSH8343), and a walkway has been built at Sandford Bridge to make our driver's life easier when transferring from one cab of the Thumper to the other, the Sandford terminus being on a single-track embankment.
Over the winter progress has been made on the usual tasks, such as resleepering, ditch clearance and fence repairs. The new siding in the top yard has been ash ballasted and tested with the shunter Darlington (RSH8343), and a walkway has been built at Sandford Bridge to make our driver's life easier when transferring from one cab of the Thumper to the other, the Sandford terminus being on a single-track embankment.