2nd April 2008 - local craft businesses, local charity
groups, Scouts and , W.I Groups etc. are invited to be stall holders at
Kingsley and Froghall Station's Summer Fair on 26th and 27th July 2008.
Please click here for more details.
24th March 2008 - Easter Monday saw the second day
of two train running with Roger Spencer seen here driving the DMU. He looks
on while sisters Chloe and Lauren from Sheffield show off one of their Easter
Eggs having successfully found all the hidden Easter Bunnies at Cheddleton
Station. Photo Nigel Shaw
20th March 2008
- Cheddleton Coach Works begins restoration of a BR Mk1 Type FK Coach built
in 1959 at Swindon. Click here for more photographs.
13/03/2008 Driver Experience Courses
Although this years Steam Experience Courses
are all sold out we have now announced two dates for next year. Please
click here for details.
However if you can't wait till then you could
drive a DMU on Thursday 10th July! Please click here
for details.
In a change to the timetable, Sunday 9th March saw two
train running with both the 4F 44422 and the V2 Green Arrow 4771 in steam
and on an unexpectedly sunny day. Both photographs were
taken by resident photographer Dave Gibson
near Leekbrook Tunnel.
26/02/2008
Our highly successful Winter Steam Gala broke all records!
To see photographs of the weekends steamings please click here
21/02/2008
Brandnew Souvenir Guides and Stock Books for 2008 will
be available from the Souvenir Shop this coming weekend.
Click here to see some images from these
excellent new publications.
19/02/2008
4771 The Green Arrow catches the late afternoon sunshine as it passes
the Black Lion at Consall Photo: Nigel Shaw
17/02/2008 Green
Arrow Weekend Photograph Gallery added please click here
15/02/2008
4771 The Green Arrow, seen here at Cheddleton MPD,
being prepared for a busy six days steaming during the next ten days Photo: Nigel Shaw
11/02/2008
There
is still time to board the Wizard's Express
this half term holiday!!
Stanier
8F 2-8-0 48173 arrives at the CVR, click here for
the full story
The
Tender (inset bottom left) is originally from Stanier 8F 48305 which visited
the CVR in 2006.
The other Tender (inset) which has been associated 48173 still bears the number
44422.
Coincidentally the 1927 built Class 4F loco 44422 was the first resident operational
engine on the CVR.
5/12/07
Victory
in
Europe
! 1940s Weekend at the Churnet
Valley
Railway April 26th /27th April 2008
Saturday
26th & Sunday 27th April 2008 sees the Churnet Valley Railway in
Staffordshire hold its ever popular 1940s weekend.
This
years event saw a record number of visitors enjoying the exceptionally fine
weather at what as become one of the biggest events on our railways calendar.
Next
year's event promises to be better than ever with the emphasis on what peace
meant to thousands of families separated by war. Military
vehicle displays, 1940s entertainers, V E Day Celebratory Shows, Military hospital
displays, Home Guard on parade, Military
Marching Bands plus, new for next year, a night time troop train special bringing
the boys back home with music and hot food at Cheddleton Station plus much
more. Come along and step back
in time at this beautiful country railway.
Trains
will start Cheddleton and Kingsley & Froghall Station from 10.00pm on both
days.
Work
on re-creating the 'up' platform at Kingsley & Froghall continues with very
good progress being made. Attention is now focused upon the rebuilding of the
original wall between the shelter and the A52 road bridge. To follow the story,
please click here.
Pictured
below are seven members of the team responsible for the work along with
Margaret Mountford, Commercial Manager, enjoying a brief respite from the work.
A certain similarity to a well known Disney character and her followers hasn't
escaped the photographer's attention !
Snow
White & the Seven Dwarfs or
The Civils celebrate the roof completion ("topping out" in building
parlance)
27/11/07
Click
here for the Story of the Stanier 8F, 48173 Locomotive.
The
8F tender arrives at the railway
16/11/07
8F, 48173, COMES
to the CHURNET VALLEY RAILWAY
8F, 48173, has
been purchased by a director of the Churnet Valley Railway following the failed
purchase by another prospective customer. Some separated parts of the loco
should be arriving on Saturday 10th November, with the locomotive and tender
(Fowler) following within the next two weeks. The initial stages of a long
restoration are planned to commence in the New Year. The locomotive is missing
many parts and an appeal is being made to anyone with suitable 8F items for sale
and/or the whereabouts of any 8F spares to get in contact..
04/09/07
“STEAM
RAILWAY” visits the CVR.
On the 15th
August Richard Foster, Deputy Editor of the “Steam Railway” magazine visited
the Churnet Valley Railway. Following days of inclement weather the sun came out
to celebrate the event.
The Publicity
Department of David Gibson and David Bard had the pleasure of showing him
around.
Following a
welcoming cup of tea in the MPD ‘Mess Room’ we started by a visit amongst to
the Cheddleton signal box. with talk of the new station loop; our Mk 2 BSO
Coach, now under restoration; the loco shed and C. & W. shed; concentrating
of course on the steam theme, namely the inverted frames of S160, “6046” and
respective inner firebox and boiler, but also the installed machine items from
Swindon Loco Works and our much used blacksmith forge. In the sidings we were
able to show the now silent 7821 “Ditcheat Manor”, Class 4MT Standard Tank
80098, and our “Moorlander” Dining and Kitchen Car set.
All of that in
time for the 11:50 service to Froghall. David Gibson was able to demonstrate,
during the journey, his extensive knowledge of the North Staffs Railway in the
area as well as other past industries in the Churnet Valley, all a complement to
his photographic archives. A detailed study of the progressing restoration of
Froghall Up platform gave Richard an insight into the thoroughness of all of our
CVR restorations.
Next, lunch in
the Froghall Tea Room, very busy on the day, but finished in time to watch the
arrival and run around of S160 “5197” and the opportunity for more
photographs. With the kind offer from our highly respected, but imminent
emigrant, Driver, John Scothan, Richard was able to ride on the footplate via
Leekbrook back to Cheddleton.
The last visit
from the “Steam Railway” editorial staff with a view to writing an article
was by Tony Streeter, their features writer, in the summer of 2000.The result
was being an excellent write up in Issue No 250 in the October of that year. We
hope for a similar complimentary article.
Richard
Foster on the footplate of 5197
12/07/07
Work
on reconstructing the 'up' waiting shelter and platform at Kingsley &
Froghall station is continuing with excellent progress being made. Slowly, the
scene on the 'up' platform is being returned to how it was in the 1950s
& 1960s.
Compare
the two pictures below to get an idea of how the project is evolving.
Visit here
for the full story or, better still, come down and visit us to see the progress
first hand.
Kingsley
& Froghall in the 1960s
Kingsley
& Froghall in July 2007
05/07/07
Over the last
months the Churnet Valley Railway has assembled an impressive array of
serviceable wagons and vans. They will form the basis of regular freight train
operations during the coming year offering photographic opportunities and
(possible) Brake Van rides.
Class
37, 37075 (D6775) has now arrived at the Churnet Valley Railway and was in
action over the weekend of the Diesel Gala. Now 45 years old, having been built
by Robert Stephenson & Hawthorn in 1962, it has the honour, investigations
suggest, of being the first Class 37 ever to have run over the North
Staffordshire rails south of Leekbrook.
Owned by Paul Bayliff and the 5C Locogroup, 37075 will be in operation
throughout the 'Anything Goes' weekend, running on the 23rd & 24th of June.
The Class 37 Loco is scheduled
to remain at the Churnet Valley Railway for at least 12 months.
37075
leaving Cheddleton during the Diesel Gala Weekend
02/04/07
The
Churnet Valley Railway is delighted to announce the appointment of two
Educational Officers. David Lowndes and Graham Joiner will be responsible for
planning and organising educational visits to the railway from surrounding
schools. If you're involved in education please visit their new
page to see what's on offer.
23/09/06
A
significant number of historical photographs have again been added to the
gallery section. This is in addition to the several hundred already added to Galley
6 over the last few months. The work of creating the sub-galleries within
gallery 6 is still
ongoing and will be for some time but definitely visit the gallery to see what's
been achieved so far. The pictures are best viewed via Broadband as the file
sizes have been left fairly large to preserve the quality of the original
pictures.
22/08/06
The
24th of August was the railway's 10th anniversary of passenger operation on
the Churnet Valley Line.
The
first passengers since 1966 travelled from Cheddleton to Leekbrook and back on
24th August 1996. Although just under half a mile in each direction, his event
was a huge milestone in the history of the CVR, all passenger operation previously
being confined to Cheddleton yard and marked the culmination of years of
determined effort, started back in 1973. For more information on Cheddleton,
please click here.
For
the next two years passenger services continued from Cheddleton to Leekbrook
whilst work continued apace to refurbish the trackwork two miles further south
to Consall. The first passenger train ran from Cheddleton to Consall and back on
the 11th July 1998. Consall station, as such, consisted of a derelict waiting
shelter overhanging the canal (the only remains of the original station), a
platform and the remains of the original station building floor protected by
steel barriers. A very basic station facility was established in a static
railway coach for several years before an exact replica of the original
station building was erected in 2000. The award winning site has only recently
been completed and now boasts two working platforms, a fully functional signal
box, replica iron fencing and, of course, the replica station building, now
nicely weathered. For more information on Consall, please click here.
On
the 11th August 2001 passenger services were extended another two miles south to
Kingsley & Froghall. Again, a very basic station site greeted the first
passengers with tickets being sold out of a wooden hut and a tea room operating
out of a portacabin. Over the subsequent few years a new station building was
erected on the site of the original, the car park extended and the site
developed. This work is steadily continuing, the disused 'up' platform now the
main focus of attention. For more information on Kingsley & Froghall, please
click here.
The Churnet Valley Railway is an
organisation operated almost entirely by volunteers. We always
welcome new staff - you don't need to have any railway knowledge
to come along and help. We need people to do all sorts of jobs -
from gardening, painting, working in the souvenir shop, making
tea/cakes/sandwiches, right through to being a driver, guard or
signalman. Feel free to come along to Cheddleton
Station any weekend for further details of
jobs available. You will be made very welcome and given
appropriate training where necessary. See the 'becoming
a volunteer' page for more details.
