# Wirksworth Branch, a dip into the past



## TK421 (Jan 31, 2009)

The branch line from Duffield (5 miles north of Derby) to Wirksworth in the peak district is around 8 miles long. It opened to traffic in 1867 by the Midland Railway. It was built to mainly serve the limestone traffic (there was a large quarry at Wirksworth), but in it's latter years saw noteriety in special passenger trains taking day visitors to see the famous 'well dressings' in the peak district. It closed to regular passenger traffic in 1967, but remained for freight until the mid 80's (I turned down a chance to travel on what would be the last passenger train as I was offered 'time & 3/4 pay' for working a rest day, Doh!). It is now seeing a new lease of life by the preservation group the 'Ecclesbourne Valley Railway' however the connection to Network Rail infrastructure at Duffield was severed a few years ago, and the restoration is not fully complete yet, but I wish them well.

In 1994 myself and my partner (now wife) with some friends decided to spend 2 Sundays 'walking the line'. Being a railwayman I would normally advise against this, however given that there were 5 year old trees growing in between the track, there was a reasonably good chance of not getting run over. So off we went, a couple of bottles of wine, some sandwiches and salad, and with all of the blackberries growing along the line for desert, a fine time was had, urban exploration at it's best!!

I present a few of the photos I took of the infrastructure being reclaimed by nature, walking in order from Wirksworth to Duffield.

Wirksworth yard:







Weighbridge hut, just outside of the yard:






Approaching Idridgehay station:






Level crossing at Idridgehay station, note the metal structure in the middle of the photo, which is the back of the solar panels used to power the level crossing warning lights:






Idridgehay station and for sale at the time, how I wish I had the money to buy this!!






Signal:






Buffer in the grass, presumably from a prang at some point:






Platelayers hut, it still had a smell of creosote!






Grassy track:






Shottle station, used for a fuel depot and private residence:






Another view of Shottle station:






Track removed, I think the rails went to be part of the Nottingham-Mansfield 'Robin Hood Line' which was being rebuilt at the time:






Pedestrian bridge bypasses the line on the outskirts of Duffield:






Duffield Tunnel, only 52 yards and the only tunnel on the line:






The A6 road bridge passes over the line just prior to the station site:






Finally, the disused platform looking towards the connection to the Midland Mainline, with a class 150 unit having just left the operational part of the station on it's way from Matlock to Derby. I like how the signal was still powered and displaying red!!






Hope you enjoyed this tour, I am glad I recorded the line when it's fate was uncertain, and have captured it before a preservation group restored it.

Cheers

Some links to photos of the stations in their original condition:

http://www.wirksworth.org.uk/X155.htm
http://www.derbyshireuk.net/idridgehay.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecclesbourne_Valley_Railway
http://www.e-v-r.com/


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## smiffy (Jan 31, 2009)

Thats absolutely brilliant mate! 
I know this will sound weird to some folk but................
.......I got absolutely no interest in 'working' railway lines....
...I also have absolutely no interest in 'preserved' lines either.....
.....I also have no interest whatsoever at all.......... in rolling stock and carriages etc or whether an engine is an 0-2-4-6-8 Bassett Super Turbo Heavy Draw Bar Goods Peckett DoDah blah blah whatever the hell it may be .
........But.........
............You show me a railway line thats dis-used...........especially one with the tracks still down and grass growing up through the rails..OoooooooooHhhhhhhhhhhh!!
Heaven...!!!
A great job mate ...really loved this one !!


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## ThenewMendoza (Jan 31, 2009)

I like it. You don't seem to see that much stuff in situ very often.

M


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## Skaterdrew (Jan 31, 2009)

You just reminded me of one of me and my girfriend's first "dates"!

I took her to the Ecclesbourne Valley Railway last year (the name of the branch now), one week day as the heritage trains didn't run during the week at this point, dont know about know though.

Locals seem to know this as well as we came across many a dog walker and even a farmer with a shot gun.

Somewhere in the undergrowth is the farmer and his shot gun as he offered to hide so I could take this photo






Many of the sleepers are in a terrible state and this is why the line was only used at weekends






If you follow the track in the picture you can just see a platelayers hut, may even be the same one that TK421 saw.






Finally the same bridge from TK421s photos


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## smiffy (Jan 31, 2009)

Whats the time lapse between the 'amorous adventure' photos and when TK421 took his ????? That old line sure has got overgrown however long it was!......
Nature reclaiming whats hers etc !

And the answer is:
Duhhhhh! ..... read the post!!.......a year then !


Sorry!
Hang on......I've rerad it again and TK421s photos were in 1994 if I'm reading it right?/
So the line has been partly cleared since then and when Skater took his?

Christ this is gettig confusing.......................


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## Skaterdrew (Jan 31, 2009)

My photos were taken last year, the line had been cleared recently but there were still small stumps of plants between the sleepers surgesting it got a lot more overgrown after TK421 visited.

I believe TK421 took his in 1994 so that would make a gap of 14 years approx.


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## Labb (Jan 31, 2009)

*What about todays status*

You have got some really good pictures here. Havwe you got any idea of the status of the line today


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## **suzy** (Jan 31, 2009)

Those pictures are great, I'd love to of had a walk along there. It looks so peacefull.


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## Skaterdrew (Jan 31, 2009)

I believe that the line is owned by WyvernRail plc, there are in the middle of restoring the line.

As of last year, trains would run from one end to the other on saturdays and at one end, where the majority of the restoration has happened, all week.

My photos are taken at the end that only see saturday service.


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## Foxylady (Jan 31, 2009)

Sounds like a fantasic couple of days out. Some really interesting bits and pieces to be seen too.
Great to see the photos.


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## TK421 (Jan 31, 2009)

Thanks for all of the comments, nice one Smiffy, glad you liked it mate! 

I took my photos in 1994, and I understand that the line remained in that state until about 5-6 years ago. 

Skaterdrew, good to see your photos after some extensive clearance. When we did this walk the line was really 'nettle hell' so it was a case of find a large stick and beat your way through the Wirksworth end of the line, the rest of it wasn't so bad. I wish I had explored more of the Wirksworth yard end, however we had a long walk ahead, and railway walking along the ballast is hard going, so we pressed ahead, still I am glad I took so many photos, and was able to entertain you with a selection.

Cheers all


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## thompski (Jan 31, 2009)

Good stuff TK, I don't suppose you ever photographed other routes in Derbyshire? I've been looking for photos of the Derby-Melbourne-Ashby route for some years with little success 

I've heard that Derbyshire County Council have looked into the feasibility of returning the Wirksworth Branch to conventional services, though I think they're prioritising the eventual reopening of the Buxton-Matlock stretch of the Derby-Manchester line.


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## the-sinner (Feb 1, 2009)

Great photos TK, I was born and raised in Wirksworth and spent many a happy hour watching the activity in the yard and at the conveyor head behind the main yard. There is also a tunnel that goes from the yard to to a quarry further into town! I think the quarry has been filled in now but the yard entrance should still be visible! The Sinner.


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## Lightbuoy (Feb 1, 2009)

Good stuff 

Well done for having the foresight to photograph this line. Must make for a good "now & then".

Cheers for posting,

Lb :jimlad:


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## james.s (Mar 16, 2009)

Nice photos. I wouldn't want to walk it now, it is preserved by the local railway museum. I drove a train down it a year or two ago


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## ww2nut (Mar 16, 2009)

*fab*

these old lines make the best walks, seeing the black stained brick underneath the old bridges, quite fantastic, well captured.


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