Tag Archives: Derbyshire heritage

My Sunday Photo: 11 February 2018

Carriage Being RestoredI’m posting this picture here today to illustrate the effort  that is put into restoration work on rolling stock at heritage railways around the country, mostly by volunteers. Hundreds of man hours will go into the restoration of just one coach. The work will involve metalworkers, woodworkers, mechanics, electricians, painters, and more. This coach here will one day be serviceable and look beautiful. Remember that when you visit a heritage railway and buy tickets, you are supporting a piece of this country’s history. Thank you.

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My Sunday Photo: 16 July 2017

Lea Francis TourerI found this extremely rare Lea Francis P-type tourer yesterday (Saturday) at the Ecclesbourne Valley Railway’s classic vehicle weekend. Only 1,093 P-types were built, and only 97 remain in roadworthy condition! This one has not been ‘restored’ but simply maintained in good condition – I think it is all the better for that. In the vintage and classic vehicle fraternity, vehicles like this are termed ‘oily rags’!

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My Sunday Photo: 25 June 2017

Steam at WirksworthToday’s photo is once again from the Ecclesbourne Valley Railway. The loco you see here has just hauled a train from Duffield to Wirksworth; not only does she need to be replenished with coal, but also with water, which is happening here. Standing still, the boiler pressure climbs quickly, even with the firebox draught cut back, so here, a spectacular blow-off of steam was imminent!

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My Sunday Photo: 14 May 2017

Old SleepersThis year, the Ecclesbourne Valley Rallway is 150 years old. I thought this scene was somehow poignant and symbolic, because sleeper changing has to go on all the time. It made me think about those platelayers of the 19th century, who worked so skillfully (for derisory wages) to literally lay the foundations of a railway. Those iron mountings for the rails, known as chairs, would have been cast at a foundry somewhere not too far away. How many working iron foundries have we got left in Britain, now? Not that I would wish the return of the ‘Bedlam’ furnaces…
Amazing, how the random sight of a stack of worn-out railway sleepers evokes personal debate of the socio-economic history of England, eh? But history, too, is an ever-advancing thing; time moves from the future to history, a second at a time.

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My Sunday Photo: 30 April 2017

Small Steam LocomotiveYesterday evening, the Ecclesbourne Valley Railway ran a special service – a steam-hauled trip from Wirksworth to Duffield and back, with a jazz trio on board, and the newly-restored bar coach fully operational! Here, the Henry Ellison prepares to pull the train back to Wirksworth. I always find there’s something rather charismatic about trains at dusk, especially when there’s a steam loco involved!

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Alphabet Photography Project: F is for Fire

F is for FireFor thousands of years, man has not only used fire to cook food and provide warmth, but also to process metal – to extract it from ore, to refine it, and to work it.
This working forge, which has a large hand-operated bellows unit at one side, is part of a Derbyshire heritage site, where on certain days you can not only see it in action, but also have a go with a hammer on hot metal, yourself! Here, a length of steel bar is being heated to a workable temperature.
This post continues my involvement in the Alphabet Photography Project.

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Monday Mobile : 4 March 2013

From Saturday, 2 March 2013: I enjoyed my visit to the Ecclesbourne Valley Railway based at Wirksworth, Derbyshire. Ah, those plumes of diesel smoke on the warm afternoon air…
Here, a Class 31 loco waits to take the 14:20 to Duffield.

Paris, sir? Change at Duffield...
Paris, sir? Change at Duffield…

The focussing system in the camera has optimised on the nearer part of the train, leaving the loco slightly blurred. However, this has resulted in showing the detail of these lovingly-restored carriages – all done at this site.

This post is linked to ‘Monday Mobile’ here at ‘Cakes Photos Life.’

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