Ecclesbourne Valley Railway: Countdown to Opening on 8th April

Good evening.

As we are now on the final countdown to the line's opening o 8th April, I have taken the liberty of starting a thread to keep members updated with press releases, newsletters and other snippits of information.

After a decade on the ground and nearly 18 years in the planning, this promises to be quite an event and I hopew that not only will you find this thread to be of interest but you will be tempted to come and visit us (by rail, naturally) this year.

Kind regards,

Neil Ferguson-Lee
WyvernRail plc

FOR IMMMEDIATE RELEASE
The Ecclesbourne Valley Railway
Contact: Neil Ferguson-Lee
Tel. (01629) 822806
Email neilfl@wyvernrail.co.uk

TIMETABLE PUBLISHED FOR 2011 REOPENING SERVICE
PUBLIC SERVICES COMMENCE ON 8TH APRIL WITH TICKETS ON SALE FROM FEBRUARY

Wirksworth, 4th January 2011: The Ecclesbourne Valley Railway will reopen the Wirksworth Branch in full to Duffield on Friday, 8th April, 2011, followed by a gala on Saturday 9th and Sunday 10th. Tickets for the reopening train will go on sale in early February and be available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Prior to the first public train, two days will be devoted to special services for the line’s volunteers and shareholders.

The 2011 timetable has been published and contains an exciting schedule of services and events for the 2011 season. Featuring 76 operating days, the core service provides four services per day from Duffield to Wirksworth, departing from Duffield at 11:10, 13:10, 15:10 and 17:10 and connecting with the East Midlands Trains service from Nottingham to Matlock.

The reopening gala over the first weekend will provide an exciting and intensive service featuring visiting British Railways Class 2MT locomotive no. 78019 and the railway’s rake of vintage carriages which will include a freshly-restored former London Midland & Scottish Railway vehicle that has been under restoration at Wirksworth since 2008. Services will also include the railway’s collection of vintage diesel locomotives and railcars to give a truly spectacular reopening event over the three days.

Locomotive 78019 will be resident at the Ecclesbourne Valley Railway for over two months and form the core of the events programme alongside Wirksworth-based 0-4-0 ‘Ferrybridge No.3’. The exciting programme includes an Easter Eggstravaganza and May Day Bank Holiday and a series of weekend steam events in April and May.

The full timetable and events programme can be can be downloaded from the following location:
http://www.e-v-r.com/documents/2011leafletweb.pdf

All dates are subject to final approval by the appropriate regulatory authorities.

Ends.

Note to Editors:
We shall be providing a series of updates in preparation for the line’s opening including a press briefing document and information for journalists and media crews who may wish to attend the opening event. Please contact Neil Ferguson-Lee (neilfl@wyvernrail.co.uk) if you require further information.

About the Ecclesbourne Valley Railway:
WyvernRail plc is working with the Ecclesbourne Valley Railway Association to reopen the Duffield to Wirksworth railway in the heart of Derbyshire.

The line passes through the beautiful Ecclesbourne Valley to the award winning and beautifully restored town of Wirksworth, nestling at the foothills of the Peak District.

The line is a time capsule, with its intermediate stations largely intact and the layout at Wirksworth virtually unchanged since the days of steam.

There are 8½ miles of single-track railway, which meet the Midland Main Line at Duffield Junction near Derby. There are five station sites, two level crossings, a yard with extensive sidings and a mineral branch to the old Middlepeak quarry at Wirksworth. Since 2004, 4½ miles of the line have been reopened and the line will open fully on 8th April 2011.

 

Hi Neil,

When will tickets for the event be available?

 

Hi Harry

The plan is for tickets to be available on the Web from or very soon after 1st February.

Neil

 

That's great. Are there any tickets available for the first train and is it steam hauled or a DMU?

 

Hi
With regards to the opening train i have no idea how it will work, but there will be steam on our Duffield line behind a visiting loco for the first few weeks after the opening.

 

thanks for that. Just wanted to know if you were using steam for the first official public run. Are you having a celebrity to oopen the line?

 

Yes we are having a celebrity to open the line but this is not to be revealed publicly just yet. When it is time the announcement will go out on here and other forums as well as to the general press.

 

Great news, it's already on our to do list for April! I remember many moons ago coming down to the station at Wirksworth when it was just a station... How time flies! All the volunteers and staff deserve a massive pat on the back!