Twin Peaks Diesel Gala 15/4 & 16/4

[Iskra]

The Ecclesbourne Valley and Peak Rail have teamed up this year to create a Diesel Gala across both lines with a heritage bus running inbetween both railways. I find this quite novel and interesting so thought I would share it on here to make other forum members aware.

Running on the Ecclesbourne Valley are:

Class 14 D9537 "Eric"
Class 31 31601 "Devon Diesel Society"
Class 47 D1842
Class 73 73001
Class 121 DMU W55034

Running on Peak Rail are:

D8 (Class 44 Peak)
D7659 (Class 25)
D1501 (Class 47)
03 901 (Class 03) *Subject to confirmation

Heritage Bus Shuttle provided by:

KNU 446 AEC Regal 1946
UTC 672 AEC Regent 1955

Hopefully we will see more cooperation between these railways in the future (it would be nice if EMR could get involved since they link both railways too). Is anyone planning to attend?

Twin Peaks – Ecclesbourne Valley Railway

www.e-v-r.com

 

[DarloRich]

That is an intresting approach. The key will be the shuttle bus. We covered both lines in a day so it is feasible

 

[37114]

Good idea and good line up

 

[A0]

Hopefully we will see more cooperation between these railways in the future (it would be nice if EMR could get involved since they link both railways too). Is anyone planning to attend?

No point in EMR getting involved - Matlock - Wirksworth is only 5 miles apart - much better to lay on a heritage bus link.

Matlock - Duffield (the far end of the Ecclesbourne line which is adjacent to the mainline station) is about 3 times as far.

 

[43055]

26007 has joined the EVR lineup.

The Ecclesbourne Valley Railway | Wirksworth

The Ecclesbourne Valley Railway, Wirksworth. 13,268 followers · 496 talking about this · 9,094 were here. The Ecclesbourne Valley Railway is Derbyshire’s longest heritage railway, running steam and...

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BREAKING NEWS: Class 26 007 is to visit the Ecclesbourne Valley Railway for the 2023 season, courtesy of Victor Korzeniewicz. The beautifully repainted locomotive is expected to arrive in time to star at the Twin Peaks joint Diesel Gala in two weeks time. We are in the process of finalising the timetables at the moment which should be available soon. Grab your tickets online at www.e-v-r.com/twinpeaks

 

[Iskra]

26007 has joined the EVR lineup.

The Ecclesbourne Valley Railway | Wirksworth

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That's fantastic news; I had it on the NYMR a few years back and it was a great, thrashy loco, immaculately turned out in BR Blue at the time. Looks interesting in that grey livery

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 1 Apr 2023 ==

No point in EMR getting involved - Matlock - Wirksworth is only 5 miles apart - much better to lay on a heritage bus link.

Matlock - Duffield (the far end of the Ecclesbourne line which is adjacent to the mainline station) is about 3 times as far.

A bus makes sense for this event, but a permanent ticket that links both by rail would find some use and attract additional custom for all concerned, I suspect.

 

[A0]

A bus makes sense for this event, but a permanent ticket that links both by rail would find some use and attract additional custom for all concerned, I suspect.

An Off Peak return from Duffield to Matlock is £5.90.......

This is another of those "lets do something even cheaper for half a dozen rivet counters" suggestions. It merely reinforces the perception that too many enthusiasts have deep pockets and short arms.

 

[Iskra]

An Off Peak return from Duffield to Matlock is £5.90.......

This is another of those "lets do something even cheaper for half a dozen rivet counters" suggestions. It merely reinforces the perception that too many enthusiasts have deep pockets and short arms.

I don’t think the price of it really matters. It’s more the convenience of only needing one ticket, and a marketing exercise. I’m sure there are many people who don’t even know where the EVR is, or possibly even Peak Rail too, or that they are both close together and connected by a regular mainline service. Such a ticket would raise awareness and visitor numbers, which even if there’s only a minimal take up would cover the minor administrative task of introducing a new fare.

 

[Skymonster]

Anyone attending who has a liking for the slightly unusual might also want to try another preserved railway also in Wirksworth, just up the hill from the EVR. Steeple Grange Light Railway (sglr.co.uk) is well worth a visit too, and should be open on the Sunday of Twin Peaks.

 

[50002Superb]

Living in Long Eaton this event is on my radar but was waiting for the timetables to be released before deciding

 

[A0]

I don’t think the price of it really matters. It’s more the convenience of only needing one ticket, and a marketing exercise. I’m sure there are many people who don’t even know where the EVR is, or possibly even Peak Rail too, or that they are both close together and connected by a regular mainline service. Such a ticket would raise awareness and visitor numbers, which even if there’s only a minimal take up would cover the minor administrative task of introducing a new fare.

In this day and age, there is precisely no reason why somebody looking for a heritage railway won't be aware of the proximity of these two lines.

Even a casual visitor to Derbyshire can fund that information from either the web or the various tourist leaflets.

It won't be a "minor administrative task" to introduce a new fare, particularly one where the income would need to be split. And it's been discussed on these boards before, several times, that even the lines with a direct NR rail connection only get a small minority of their visitors arriving by rail - from memory it was something like 10% at best and that includes lines like the Isle of Wight Steam Railway where there are fully integrated ticket options.

 

[STINT47]

Sad to report that the EVR is cutting unable to run into Duffield due to a landslide on an embankment. Hopefully it will be a quick fix or it could unfortunately disrupt this gala and the Easter events next week

 

[Iskra]

In this day and age, there is precisely no reason why somebody looking for a heritage railway won't be aware of the proximity of these two lines.

Even a casual visitor to Derbyshire can fund that information from either the web or the various tourist leaflets.

It won't be a "minor administrative task" to introduce a new fare, particularly one where the income would need to be split. And it's been discussed on these boards before, several times, that even the lines with a direct NR rail connection only get a small minority of their visitors arriving by rail - from memory it was something like 10% at best and that includes lines like the Isle of Wight Steam Railway where there are fully integrated ticket options.

As a casual rail enthusiast, I didn't even know of the EVR until after I moved to Sheffield and it became one of my nearest railways to visit after the Elsecar Steam Railway closed down a few years ago... Ecclesbourne sounded somewhere distant and down south to me... I would therefore never have placed it anywhere near Peak Rail, and definitely not known that they are both on the same EMR route. Obviously, I've visited both now, so I'm much more aware. If I didn't know that until relatively recently, I very much doubt a casual non rail enthusiast would!

I disagree. I also think that 10% is significant. You'd be very happy with a 10% payrise, I assume?

Sad to report that the EVR is cutting unable to run into Duffield due to a landslide on an embankment. Hopefully it will be a quick fix or it could unfortunately disrupt this gala and the Easter events next week

That is incredibly unfortunate, I hope the railway can recover quickly.

 

[A0]

I disagree. I also think that 10% is significant. You'd be very happy with a 10% payrise, I assume?

That's a non sequitur.

10% of visitor numbers is a minority and even if that were increased by 10% to 11%, which is unlikely, it would almost certainly not cover the costs of introducing such a ticket.

As a casual rail enthusiast, I didn't even know of the EVR until after I moved to Sheffield and it became one of my nearest railways to visit after the Elsecar Steam Railway closed down a few years ago... Ecclesbourne sounded somewhere distant and down south to me... I would therefore never have placed it anywhere near Peak Rail, and definitely not known that they are both on the same EMR route.

Yet with websites like http://www.heritage-railways.com/ which has a map showing the geographic location of each railway and books like https://amzn.eu/d/0x93HRA and guides in a number of the railway magazines, the information is all out there. If people aren't using *those* resources, I fail to see how or why another marginal train ticket will make any difference.

 

[Skymonster]

Both EVR and Peak Rail have stand out features in their own rights. The initiative to run dieasel galas on the same dates is - IMHO - to be commended even if there wasn’t any joint ticketing. Anyone travelling by train to Matlock (for Peak Rail) would be able to break the journey at Duffield (EVR), rendering the bus between the two fairly insignificant to some (landslip near Duffield notwithstanding, which although not directly invasive of the line could restrict services if it cannot be stabilised in time). As I live not too far away the joint effort would be a no-brainier to me normally, but I hear rumblings that the loco roster might change again and if it does - and if Duffield cannot be reconnected in time - these factors might influence my decision to attend (or not!).

 

[Trainfan344]

Sad to report that the EVR is cutting unable to run into Duffield due to a landslide on an embankment. Hopefully it will be a quick fix or it could unfortunately disrupt this gala and the Easter events next week

From the EVR Facebook page the current service is running top and tailed from Shotton to a point about 100m from Duffield which means there's a work around at least in the worse case scenario.

 

[Iskra]

From the EVR Facebook page the current service is running top and tailed from Shotton to a point about 100m from Duffield which means there's a work around at least in the worse case scenario.

The same source is also saying that contractors have been brought in to get the issue resolved as quickly as possible, so the Gala will go ahead as planned

 

[43055]

Timetable is now available on the EVR website using the link in the first post. Generally the following:

Peak Rail: running approx every 45-60 mins between Matlock platform 2 and Rowsley
Bus - 6 to 7 journeys with varied connections
EVR: approx every 70 min departing towards Shottle where train will be Top and Tail to near Duffield (twice). On the return to Wirksworth the original loco will be detached at Shottle.
The Ravenstor branch will also be running quite frequently.

 

[31160]

Pity about the land slip, I'm sure this will cost them in terms of numbers, alot of people will have got to it via the Duffield connection. I have to be fair I am considering not going now as its a bit of a slog to get up there the disappointment not being able to cover the whole line... hmm

 

[nferguso]

Pity about the land slip, I'm sure this will cost them in terms of numbers, alot of people will have got to it via the Duffield connection. I have to be fair I am considering not going now as its a bit of a slog to get up there the disappointment not being able to cover the whole line... hmm

So for a few hundred yards, you can't be bothered to cover the other eight or more miles?

 

[Iskra]

So for a few hundred yards, you can't be bothered to cover the other eight or more miles?

To be fair, it’s more the disruption and additional complexity that it adds to the timetable, which is already complex when you have two lines and a shuttle bus to think about.

 

[31160]

So for a few hundred yards, you can't be bothered to cover the other eight or more miles?

If I'm going to travel a few hundred miles at not inconsiderable cost and miss out not doing the full line with the full knowledge that I'm going to have to spend the same amount again fora few hundred meters of track, then to me thats a reason to have second thoughts yes, sorry if that seams unreasonable to you