Peak Rail General Discussion

S and t

Friday Andrew and myself sought about digging the errant Darley fpl crank bench out with plans to replace the sleeper as it looked life expired but in reality it was just loose,so after a good retightening,and a couple coach screws through the crank being replaced with through bolts it was back in working order, what didn't help is that years of water ingress probably from the old south yard had made the ballast around it a mud bath, so all that needed digging out and replacing, which looked weird in thick fog but I'm glad that jobs done.

The rest of the day was set aside to get the wiring started on Darley dales point heater being wired from the signalbox,save for a replacement transformer ,fitting a relay and an extra fuse that jobs nearly done, we also fitted some extra trunking into north yard loc too, The next job will be a slight rewired and tidy up of the 12 volt supplies as some of the wire is due for replacement anyway.


D8

Work on D8 continues, some welding in of a new piece where water ingress under one of the grills has been done,sanding down and filling, and one side is ready for repainting now,the other side has started already.

Some pics of the work courtesy Mr K Rigby.

 

I called in yesterday to do a little more rewiring of the signalling circuits before the evenings entertainment courtesy of the volunteers of the Ashover Light Railway society with a presentation of the original Ashover light railway,as part of the regular Matlock branch meetings held at Darley Dale station,the presentation it's history through to closure and were promised next time a presentation of the work on their current fleet,the new shed and their future plans including the recovered "Where the Rainbow ends Cafe" which they have in storage.

The volunteers have been continuing with their outside concrete apron and trackwork outside their new shed.

Elsewhere the pway will be busy over the coming weeks with the usual fishplate oiling prior to summer .

 

Called in with the missus today to have a wander on the bit of the cycleway between Rowsley and Northwood,its actually not bad considering the trail isn't yet fully connected save to say it was good to see more walkers using it as well as.cyclists, bit concerning though to see an oily sheen on the bit of the elevated section from what looks like run off from the A6 road drains into the manmade marsh.

The original Rowsley station building is presently a gallery and the building spears to have had a good repaint outside too

Apart from that I noted the pway were busy at it lineside towards Matlock and Ben and gang have started to get things ready to replace the up side Darley station lamps with the correct type rather than what's there now,work on D8 continues with filling,sanding and priming prior to its repaint.

 

I also went for a nose round the cycle trail last weekend, I was very impressed with the plastic boardwalk. what struck me was the task ahead for peak rail and I got rather concerned, firstly as you mention the 'man made marsh' shows some quite significant drainage issues in the area. it also seems like some significant embankment stabilisation will be required in this area. What also struck me was the 'fortress like' garage that you have managed to photograph is built over quite a bit of the trackbed and with the addition of the cycle trail it leaves very little room for a single track to pass by. I assume that PR were in negotiations all through the planning of the trail, but there doesn't appear to have been too much thought for passive provision going on. I also noticed Looking from the new car park On the a6 bridge approach back towards rowsley South there is one hell of a gradient, I assume the trackbed has been built up a lot for the access road to the industrial estate. It is rather disconcerting however. In this area I can't see any extension happening without the new trail getting moved over in areas, and I don't think the council will be too helpful with that, being that they just built it. It was very interesting to see it all however, and I remain hopeful despite the challenges! I'm happy that things are starting to stir at darley dale. Appreciate the regular updates kestrel

 

Indeed the drainage issues haven't been lost on us,you can't have a formation built with water one side and a steep downhill to water on the other without having potential problems,the latest copy of one of the rail magazines notes problems with a canal breach on the Cvr again of which I'm very familiar with being a volunteer there too, so noting the amount of surface water and oil that frequents the top of that man made bog it's something we've all noted as needs addressing as have we looked at what would be needed structurally when a line is relaid against the derwent side of the bank, there is enough room to get the line past the stone firm though the cycle way wanted us to put a station back into the bog bit rather than near the old station site, it'd be easier if the shopping village letting us back in the original terminus,though it's good to see some of the unused buildings finally getting reused rather than staying dormant and unused but that's nowt to do with us though a greater tourism fitting in the shopping village would work wonders for the area as a whole.

As with all things it's in process of discussion as the cycle way are still awaiting the hall to sort out the tunnel ,and there's still many other issues for them before the rest of the path gets finished. Anyhow you're more than welcome on the updates,very pleased to do them.

Bit late breaking news. Jennifer from the Langollen railway has joined us on hire for the start of the season.

 

Is Ring Haw still with you and is it staying a while yet?
Is there any news about the steam gala which is not far off now?

 

Ring Haw is safely back at the NNR and all ready as backup for the B12 tomorrow.

 

Steam gala? A loco from Llangollen arrived earlier this week

 

Not heard owt as yet, been a bit busy digging in snow and generally wondering how long I can go before I definitely Need that brew

In other news the Ashover gang have been busy getting ready for one loco ready for a gala at which they are displaying/running at the Ffestiniog ,they've also been busy with the electrics for their shed which is coming on nicely.

Our little department was out in Friday's snow doing some digging out for cable troughs and bolting the altered route bracket stop that rod had kindly fabricated up for us at riverside,plus other electrical jobs.

Penyghent has one end now repainted,the work on her sides have started,lots and lots of painting,pic courtesy K Rigby.

 

Locals aren't happy near Matlock as an occupation crossing linking the cycle track has been padlocked.

 

. Would that be the old farmers access gated crossing locals have been using for years mind you if the cycleway completed its last bit into Matlock it wouldn't be needed ,we did wonder whether the last bit would be shortcut out the grandplan when the pavement was.retarmacced and widened on the a6 instead of finishing the cycleway

On other news Mr fisher and roger have been attacking the errant foliage between darley and Rowsley,track maintenance by the pway and repainting D8 continue and we've managed to do some.more cable works today and getting all the lineside circuits in for to swap the point heater over at church lane onto the box.

Services start next weekend.again.

 

This is an excerpt from the 'latest' newsletter on the cycle trail progress, the relevant info is in bold, dated December 2016:

"The trail surface along the railway line from opposite the Arc Leisure Centre to behind the Red House Carriage Museum at Darley Dale is complete and included the repair of a significant length of retaining wall near Red House. The new section across farmland to join up to Old Road will be finished by the middle of December and will then be open to the public. This is a lovely new section and well worth a visit.

However there have been considerable delays in getting formal approvals for the link across the railway line towards the A6 and the Arc so Phase 1 cannot be officially opened for cyclists until these approvals have been finalised. It is open for walkers as there is still a public footpath that crosses the railway at this location"

So as the story normally goes, they are still planning to link it up with the A6 by Matlock, they've just run into delays, maybe the padlocked occupation crossing could be something to do with it, I guess that is the public footpath that is mentioned in the newsletter that you can walk across, but is not suitable for cyclists. Hope this clears things up.

 

Yes that's the crossing I thought,we call it arc leisure crossing now,cant remember what we used to call it, it's always had public crossing thee and if I recall there used to be stiles either side which HMRI originally required us to put in when we started running, maybe the approvals relate to the proposed number of cyclists using it when it gets altered as those gates won't stay, thanks for the update,any news on the Haddon end????

 

Saw a couple of cyclists heaving their bikes over the gate on Saturday, not good. What if you get large families trying to get across and there's a train coming down the gradient - I wouldn't want to be the driver, and ORR agree.
The only sensible thing to do is what was originally promised i.e. slew the track on Bridge 35 (which is why the railway closed Jan - Feb) and share the railway bridge with the multi-use trail (it's not just a cycleway).

Dave

 

some haddon info kestrel, it's from December mind, DCC used to release a newsletter every 3 months, though nowadays they seem to release them when they feel like it, so not sure when the next update on proceedings will appear, but this is what I have:
"The County Council has approved some money to continue with the design and planning work on the remaining 4km section between Rowsley and Bakewell. Negotiations are ongoing and the next stage is to liaise with landowners and relevant groups and organisations and work up more detailed designs. Once this section has been designed and received planning permission the Council will be in a stronger position to seek funding to deliver this section."

So not much happening on the surface, but it's important behind the scenes work nonetheless.

I would imagine the most sensible option for the crossing would be those single cyclist stiles to restrict the flow and improve safety, maybe something that forces the cyclists to dismount:

Or this: (a switchback is probably the best configuration however)


They've probably already decided what's best and are just waiting the long wait for the response from the regulatory body.

 

Interesting but would you get a mobility scooter through? I've already seen them being used on the trail.

Dave

 

It's the one just north of Bridge 36

 

DCC have only got the funding for the design work - but no money to build it. They are suggesting an alternative route from Coombs Rd Viaduct using an existing bridleway to Church Lane at Rowsley - ideal for mountain bikes but not for families

Don't forget the route is also for disabled users who may not be able to get through those barriers

 

From Matlock Mercury http://www.matlockmercury.co.uk/news/walkers-anger-over-blocked-footpath-1-8400879

Dave

 

Not sure if I even dare mention this without whipping up a storm................. But any news/developments on the rowsley south extension of the railway?

Obviously this'll be 1 of the biggest, monumentally complex & difficult 1s to make happen on any preserved railway as there's been a lot of the old trackbed built on & getting through the haddon estate will be a major ballache.

Also i'm planning to visit soon, is there any possibility of being allowed to have a nosy round the yard at rowsley please & take some pics of the rolling stock/locos etc there??? A fellow enthusiast I know has said that people can just walk round the yard unaccompanied but I wanted to clarify if i'd need to make any arrangements to be escorted round by a member of staff or if i'll need hi vis etc.