Once again, I was the driver on 'Lord Phil' with Richard (now a 'Passed Fireman' and able to perform driving turns) as fireman. As usual, we were 'top and tailing' with the Class 31 and a load of six coaches. This was the day of the Preserved Bus Gathering so there were lots of preserved buses on site, making a very colourful scene.
View of Rowsley station car park as 'Lord Phil' sets off for Matlock Town.
The Bus Gathering is organised by the Chesterfield 123 Preservation Group and they reported 64 buses attending, of which 24 ran in service. When we passed through Darley Dale during the day, we normally spotted one of the 24 buses in passenger service, making an attractive juxtaposition of train, level crossing and bus.
A London 'Routemaster' parked at Darley Dale station, a long way from Marble Arch.
Preserved Chesterfield bus passes over the level crossing at Darley Dale.
We usually make a special attempt to make our last arrival at Matlock Town on a Sunday 'right time', as passengers from our train are sometimes hoping to make a connection with the East Midlands Trains service to Nottingham. With the various permanent and temporary speed restrictions in force, this is not always an easy task.
2-car train of Class 156 units arriving at Matlock Town.
The Class 31 hauled us back to Rowsley, Richard uncoupled and we took our engine across to the pit outside the engine shed and completed our disposal duties.
'Lord Phil' stands on the pit outside the engine shed.
Related posts on other sites
Chesterfield 123 Preservation Group.
Related posts on this site
Vintage Commercial Vehicles at Peak Rail.
All my posts on Peak Rail can be found here.
My pictures
Peak Rail Preserved Bus Gathering 2015.
