A Sunday in the Peak District

On Sunday 9th June 2013 I was rostered as Steam Driver at Peak Rail. The operation was the customary top-and-tail with D8 diesel-electric (brief description here) at the north end and the six-coupled 'Austerity' named 'Lord Phil' at the south end. Chris was Fireman and Dave was Cleaner. Unusually, we had no 'Driving Experience' candidates prior to the first train at 11:15, so the steam locomotive was not needed until later than normal.

A Craft Fair was being held at Rowsley and, this time, the weather was kind so the stall holders had a much better time in the marquee at Peak Park - earlier in the year, the winds were so severe, the outdoor stalls became impractical and the Fair had to be squeezed into the station buildings. On the 9th June, the Derbyshire Dales Narrow Gauge Railway was running as a further attraction.

Chris standing beside 'Lord Phil' on arrival at Matlock Town.

We had no difficulties during the day although we were running with a seven-coach train. The 'Exhibition Coach' (a converted 'BG' bogie brake) had been added to the usual rake of six. This coach has an attractive display of photographs giving information about volunteer activities at the railway in order to encourage passengers to consider becoming members.

I was told that the new signalling at Matlock Riverside had been completed and it was only a matter of completing staff training before the facilities could be commissioned.

Matlock Riverside Signal Box. The lever frame is just visible through the windows.

A professionally-built wooden Waiting Room had been installed on our platform at Matlock Town and, although as yet unpainted, everybody agreed that it was a handsome addition.

New Waiting Room at Matlock Town.

'The Usual Suspects' try out the new Waiting Room.

My pictures

New Station Building at Peak Rail.
'Lord Phil'.
Resignalling at Matlock Riverside.

A Saturday in Manchester

On Saturday 8th June 2013 I was rostered as Operating Officer on the steam railway at the Museum Of Science and Industry (MOSI) in Manchester. I took the 06:49 'Voyager' train from Wolverhampton to Manchester Piccadilly operated by Cross Country but decided to 'bail out' at Stockport to take a few pictures (I wanted a shot of the 'Platform 0' sign).

Platform 0 at Stockport with two '0' signs visible.

Then, I continued on a local service to Piccadilly, took the Metrolink tram to the Deansgate-Castlefield stop and walked to the Museum.

The 'Planet' replica was 'on its holidays', with its blue coaches), visiting Shildon (the 'Locomotion' Museum, more details here). At Manchester, we were using 'Agecroft No. 1' (described here) with the 'North London' coach and the Guard's Brake Van. This was similar to our Easter service, which I described here but with the Guard's Brake Van substituting for a blue coach.

We had four volunteers rostered to run the live steam operation - Peter (Driver), Richard (Fireman), David (Guard) with Jan as Operating Officer. We started off by retrieving the 'North London' coach from the Power Hall with with the Battery Electric Shunter (my pictures of the Battery Electric Shunter are here. We secured the coach just inside the railway 'compound' (the operating railway is fenced-off from the public areas). I then parked 'The Battery' (as its usually called) further down the running line, temporarily out of the way. 'Agecroft No. 1' had been left outside on the pit so Peter and Richard started locomotive preparation whilst I carried out a permanent way inspection. The 'North London' coach we were using was prohibited from our 'Pineapple Line' (which forms a 'Y' with our 'Main Line') so I had less track to examine. I also had to open and secure the gates adjacent to the Water Street bridge.

By the time I'd completed these inspections (and taken some photographs around the running line), 'Agecroft No. 1' was in steam. Peter picked up the 'North London' coach and set back to the platform, attaching the Guard's Brake Van which was standing at the buffer stop. I then moved 'The Battery' to the spot where the 'North London' coach had been parked and 'tied it down' for the day, clear of the running line. I secured the final set of handpoints, with the open switch scotched and the closed switch clipped and locked with a Point Clip.

For the next four hours, in glorious sunshine, we provided train rides to the public. Since we couldn't use the 'Pineapple Line', each trip comprised two runs from the station to the limit of our line, adjacent to the Network Rail Line. Part of the time, I 'rode the brake' with the Guard, part of the time I fired and I also drove a few trips. Our reversal at the far end of the line frequently coincided with one (or sometimes two - one in each direction) diesel multiple units passing on the busy main line. We usually exchanged whistles with these trains.

At the end of passenger operations, the brake van was left at the buffer stop and 'Agecroft No. 1' and the coach were drawn forward to the 'Disposal Point' where the fire was 'knocked out' and the ashpan cleared. The Battery Electric Shunter was attached in front of the steam locomotive and used to shunt all three vehicles into the Power Hall.

The popular steam train rides may not be able to continue - two distinct threats exist, outlined below.

The Ordsall Chord

Computer Generated Image of the proposed Ordsall Chord

Network Rail have an ambition to build a new line - the 'Ordsall Chord' - allowing trains to go directly from Manchester Victoria to Manchester Piccadilly. As you can see from the above view, their proposed route would 'chop' the existing demonstration line just beyond the Water Street Bridge, isolating the present connection to the main line and and the Museum's 'Pineapple Line' over Stephenson's original bridge across the River Irwell.

MOSI and the Science Museum Group

In February 2012, MOSI became part of the Science Museum Group, which now comprises the Science Museum (London), the Museum of Science and Industry (Manchester), the National Railway Museum (York), the National Media Museum (Bradford) and the National Railway Museum (Shildon). The Group modestly claims to be "The most significant group of museums of science and innovation worldwide". However, Director of Science Museum Group Ian Blatchford is reported recently as saying that the prospect of a further 10% cut in funding in the next round of government spending proposals meant that one of the three northern museums in the group almost certainly would have to close.

External websites

Ordsall Curve (Network Rail).
Ordsall Chord (Wikipedia).

My pictures

Manchester Area Rail.
Museum Of Science & Industry, Manchester.
Agecroft No. 1.
Battery Electric Shunter.