RMweb Gold The Stationmaster Posted June 29, 2011 RMweb Gold Share Posted June 29, 2011 Looks like NR is being co-operative at last! I wonder if the Peak Rail people are going to leave their platform surface like that? Definitely not looking at all finished even if it has been rolled. Incidentally yesterday i came across two pics I took there back in 1963 - it really has changed since them Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kempenfelt Posted June 29, 2011 Share Posted June 29, 2011 Mike, The platform surface is only temporary, if you read a few of the earlier messages all is explained! B) In addition to the short term platform works (including resufacing) I believe there are longer term plans to install a new building on the platform using building materials from the demolished goods shed. I'm sure Mike D can add a bit more detail on this! Looking good for July! Thanks all for the excellent supply of piccies! Paul Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold The Stationmaster Posted June 29, 2011 RMweb Gold Share Posted June 29, 2011 Mike, The platform surface is only tempory, if you read a few of the earlier messages all is explained! B) In addition to the short term platform works (including resufacing) I believe there are longer term plans to install a new building on the platform using building materials from the demolished goods shed. I'm sure Mike D can add a bit more detail on this! Looking good for July! Thanks all for the excellent supply of piccies! Paul I realise that it's only temporary Paul but if I understand things right and if NR have come up with the goods (which now looks as if it is the case) that platform will be in use this weekend - or maybe they will just run the trains in & out and not have people joining/alighting there? Equally of course they may well have decided in their risk assessment that they have no reason to be concerned that the platform surface will not be up to full standard for the time being and their ICP has accepted that assessment or perhaps the surfacing will be done by the weekend anyway as it doesn't look to be too big a job for a decent contractor. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Delamar Posted June 30, 2011 Author Share Posted June 30, 2011 PRESS RELEASE – IMMEDIATE FINAL TOUCHES UNDERWAY BEFORE PEAK RAIL MATLOCK OPENING THIS WEEKEND The finishing touches are now being applied to the newly-refurbished Platform 2 at Matlock station, as Peak Rail prepares to return heritage steam and diesel train services between the station and Rowsley South for the first time in 43 years this Friday. Refurbishment work on the platform – which has been disused since 1970 – has been carried out over the past few weeks, with years of vegetation cleared, before the retaining platform wall was rebuilt and raised by almost 10 inches to comply with current regulations. The work has been done by contractors to a very high standard and the platform has been fitted with authentic Midland Railway lamp-posts, seating, garden areas, and a ‘Matlock’ station running-in signboard to welcome visitors. Over the coming months, the station will gain further authentic fixtures and fittings before a permanent tarmac surface is added to complete the platform. It is also hoped to put a building on the platform at some stage in the future. Celebrations kick off on Friday, at the start of a four-day celebration of the railways achievements, which have culminated in the new extension to Matlock. The first passengers to be carried over the new ½ mile extension from Matlock Riverside halt to Matlock station will be Peak Rail plc shareholders and supporting members from the Peak Railway Association during a private celebratory event on Friday 1 July, in advance of the public opening on Saturday. The date of the reopening is significant in that the former Midland Main Line between Buxton and Matlock was closed on 1 July 1968. The official public opening ceremony will take place at Matlock station at 11.00am on Saturday 2 July, conducted by Sainsburys Zone Managing Director Neil Whitehouse and during the ceremony a plaque will be unveiled in memory of former Peak Rail PLC Joint Managing Director, the late Jeremy Clegg, who contributed so much to the railway and the Matlock station reopening project before his untimely death in July 2008. After the opening ceremony the first public carrying train will leave Matlock station at 11.07am, launching an exciting new era in the history of Peak Rail. Sainsbury’s has been an important partner organisation in the project and has long been supportive of Peak Rail’s ambitions to re-establish a regular train service into Platform 2 at Matlock to our current northern terminus at Rowsley South. The company has allowed an access ramp to be built onto the platform from the land which is occupied by their store. The previously derelict platform has been refurbished thanks to a grant from Derbyshire County Council towards the refurbishment costs. Also joining us for the official opening ceremony will be the Member of Parliament for West Derbyshire, Patrick McLoughlin MP. During the opening celebrations Mr McLoughlin will be invited to cut a celebratory cake at the official reception at Rowsley South station after the arrival of the first public train from Matlock for 43 years. On Sunday 3 July, attention will turn to the other end of the railway, with the official opening of our Engine Shed at Rowsley South. The opening will be performed at 2.00pm by members of the Rowsley Association, which includes a number of former members of staff who worked at Rowsley Shed when it was operated by British Railways prior to the closure of the railway. The event will also see the large Engine Shed Workshop dedicated as ‘The Roger Bennett Workshop’ in memory of one of our former volunteers who left a significant legacy to the railway which has funded a large proportion of the building costs. At 2.00pm on Monday 4 July, the Chair of the National Railway Heritage Awards Committee will visit the railway to unveil a commemorative plaque, which has been presented to Peak Rail in recognition of our volunteers who have restored our turntable at Rowsley South over a number of years. Peak Rail plc Joint Managing Director Jackie Statham said: “For many years, we have worked hard to get Peak Rail services into Matlock and it is fantastic to know that after all the years of negotiations, we are now less than 24 hours away from seeing the first Peak Rail trains pulling into the station. This is something the railways members, shareholders and volunteers have waited a long time for, and this weekend is a celebration of all their support and achievements.†More details of the opening celebrations can be found on our website at www.peakrail.co.uk. ENDS Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jc92 Posted June 30, 2011 Share Posted June 30, 2011 I do like the watering facility at Rowsley from a TTA with an electric pump fitted! wow its me on the tank! lol on a serious note ive read through this entire thread and it seems alot of the comments are based on (incorrect) suposition. the railtour was cancelled due to double booked stock for a start for example. also the work at matlock will be ongoing as and when theres chance. ill be at matlock on the 2nd and im looking forward to it finally all coming together. then church lane on the 4th Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Delamar Posted June 30, 2011 Author Share Posted June 30, 2011 public enquiry held in Buxton from April this year about the re-opening of the line http://transitionbuxton.co.uk/sites/default/files/all/Buxton%20Matlock%20Rail%20Inquiry.pdf Mike Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike W Posted July 1, 2011 Share Posted July 1, 2011 Thanks for that link Mike, very interesting. I'd love to see Peak Rail extend and I'm glad to see people say it can co-exist with the cycle way. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Delamar Posted July 1, 2011 Author Share Posted July 1, 2011 have to sign up to see these pics, (only takes a minute so dont moan ) but there are shots of the first train into Matlock station today http://www.railwayforum.net/gallery/ Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Delamar Posted July 1, 2011 Author Share Posted July 1, 2011 some more pics here http://www.fdvl.org.uk/News Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horsetan Posted July 1, 2011 Share Posted July 1, 2011 public enquiry held in Buxton from April this year about the re-opening of the line http://transitionbux...l%20Inquiry.pdf Highly interesting, particularly the (very small) mention of the Haddon Estate...... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmsforever Posted July 1, 2011 Share Posted July 1, 2011 Looks good for a temporary surface the platform looks good ,hope the railway prospers now they are higher profile in the town. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Delamar Posted July 2, 2011 Author Share Posted July 2, 2011 some archive footage of Darley dale. Mike Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
craigwelsh Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 You can't imagine Darley Dale like that when you go there now even when they have had a Peak there operating. Its got branch line ambiance at the moment. Hope they get the station building done up there though and that the network link brings in more locals and some railtours. A push round the corner at the other end would then be great as the line would move from a car park nowhere to a river bank onto a network rail connection to a nice village at Rowsley and they can start an appeal for the A6 bridge. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Delamar Posted July 2, 2011 Author Share Posted July 2, 2011 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Delamar Posted July 2, 2011 Author Share Posted July 2, 2011 and another Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Delamar Posted July 2, 2011 Author Share Posted July 2, 2011 and another Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Delamar Posted July 3, 2011 Author Share Posted July 3, 2011 nice shot http://www.flickr.com/photos/parmar2009/5895113398/ Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold The Stationmaster Posted July 3, 2011 RMweb Gold Share Posted July 3, 2011 nice shot http://www.flickr.co...009/5895113398/ Interesting to see it and all in all something of an achievement considering the rather large hole they had dug themselves into barely a month or so back - looks as if NR have been leant on (or have relented?) on a few items to get things sorted, or possibly firm promise of sorted, by the opening date. Looks too as if they have made best use of the benefits of ROGs with that platform as going on past direct experience there was no way HMRI would sign off a platform surface in that state in the past although they might just have been persuaded to give a limited period temporary ok for it. Anyway at least they're now running and hopefully getting in the cash to get things finalised. The link to the council sponsored meeting was very interesting although I suspect that it won't really lead to very much in terms of development - which I reckon would at least be beneficial to Peak Rail as it looked unlikely that there would be any other sort of rail passenger train redevelopment of the route (and in any case I wonder if 75mph max speed would be commercially acceptable? The distances involved and comparisons with elsewhere suggest to me that 90mph would need to be the target wherever possible in order to attract 'new' commuter etc traffic.) Freight will simply be a matter of economics for any potential user and as is ever the case those economics will mean the entire business case which in turn might mean that low speed (25mph) running might not be acceptable to potential operators/customers. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fay Singpoint Posted July 3, 2011 Share Posted July 3, 2011 Looks too as if they have made best use of the benefits of ROGs with that platform as going on past direct experience there was no way HMRI would sign off a platform surface in that state in the past although they might just have been persuaded to give a limited period temporary ok for it. I didn't think the HMRI existed anymore as it was now vested within the ORR? F Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium phil-b259 Posted July 4, 2011 RMweb Premium Share Posted July 4, 2011 I didn't think the HMRI existed anymore as it was now vested within the ORR? F IIRC that is the case, and ever since the implementation of the ROGS legislation, in fact I am led to believe the HMRI actually have very little to do with inspecting anything these days. I believe that under ROGs the requirement is for new infrastructure, etc to be inspected by a "competent person" not a HMRI inspector (something the HRA were very concerned about as traditionally the HMRI would inspect heritage railways for free / greatly reduced fee). Quite who is a competent person is left up to the railway itself to decide, but crucially should something go wrong, then the railway must be able to prove in a court of law that the "competent person" who signed it off was actually competent to do so. This represents a fundamental shift in terms of responsibilities away from the regulator and transfers it over to the railway. i.e. what the regulator is now concerned with is does the railway have the correct procedures in place to demonstrate any changes are safe, not whether the changes themselves are actually safe. Having good procedures they argue will stop unsafe things from happening and its not the job of a government agency to provide a technical or engineering based judgement. If you want an option on say a new track layout - the HMRI / ORR will tell you go and ask someone from a signalling design company (e.g. Westinghouse) as they will be much better position to comment than a civil servant - or so the thinking goes Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold The Stationmaster Posted July 4, 2011 RMweb Gold Share Posted July 4, 2011 HMRI still exists - very much so in fact - but it was transferred from the HSE to the ORR under the most recent of reorganisations (and Fay might be impressed to hear that the feminine gender now occupy a number of HMRI posts). they still have an inspecting role on 'minor railways' although the way that is dealt with organisationally was revised late last year/early this and there is no longer basically a single Inspector covering 'heritage' and in most cases the 'heritage etc' sector is covered by the relevant regional HMRI office; I'm still not entirely sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing ROGS and the HRA is something of a non-subject to be honest. The HRA got itself into a right knot over ROGs when basically it meant comparatively little change from what had gone before except that the role f the HMRI as an unpaid consultant was ended and railways were given responsibility for managing their own concerns, developments and so on. However HMRI has the very real role of inspecting to see that proper ROGS procedures are in place and also when visiting a railway has free rein to inspect whatever it wishes to inspect from unguarded machines in workshops to lack of steps on brakevans to inadequate Rules & Regs to loco maintenance records to FPL gauging procedures & records - in fact the lot. HMRI also has a general remit to oversee and investigate any allegations of unsafe working or practices and can call for the records of the investigaton of any incident. To back this up it has powers to issue various orders ranging from advisory notices up to and including suspension of activity or operations on a 'heritage railway' site/line although most of what has been issued to date has been Improvement Orders (albeit occasionally accompanied by threats of more severe action if the Railway concerned does not do what it has been told to do. The HRA not only got itself into something of a knot over ROGs (the largest part of which its members and others should have already had in place - but frequently hadn't) but got rather silly over the withdrawal of the HMRI 'consultancy' role. In reality this boils down to a need to ensure that what they do, especially on new works, is done correctly and that it is independently verified by an ICP (Independent Competent Person) - a big concern around the latter is the question of liability as Phil has touched on but in reality it is simpler than that for those who have actually got on with it. I'm aware of two railways where major signalling work has been/is being undertaken with no problems over either ROGS compliance on the paperwork or the ICP angle (and the IRSE - having got fed up with the HRA's messing about has launched a 'Heritage' section where much of this sort of thing has been sensibly thrashed out). Meanwhile others of us who get involved in the role of ICP in other areas (and the HRA has missed some important areas but seemed not to notice that it has) are involved in a more professional manner and have insurance cover. In most respects the role is little different from that of an ISA (Independent Safety Assessor) as now used on the big railway for various technical and operational developments such as, e.g. in my own case the 'yellow peril' NMT HST where I assessed the completeness and application of the operational safety aspects for both testing and subsequent operation. The difference there tho' is that the thing is going through a major safety validation process and the role of the ISA is both to ensure that the project development is covering all the angles and to reassure, or otherwise, the validation panels that everything has been adequately and correctly covered. The situation at Matlock a month or two back was that they were scratching round for folk to not only act as ICP on work which was largely completed but also to get the paperwork done to support it (it should of course have preceded what they were doing), and they appeared to want the job done for as small a fee as possible. In addition NR had required a lot of documentation, including risk assessments, from them and I can but presume that documentation was eventually done to NR's satisfaction or that some sort of compromise was reached? However HMRI can at any time go in there and demand to see all the documentation and drawings etc relating to the various works at Matlock, together with all the other paperwork and procedures the Company should be have in place in order to comply with ROGS, and if not satisfied can place an Improvement Order etc on the company. Hence my comment about the platform surface at Matlock - it appears to consist only of rolled loose material, not paving or asphalt, so there should be evidence of a risk assessment to explain why that situation was considered acceptable (albeit only on a temporary basis) and for how long plus evidence that an ICP has seen that the correct procedures have been followed to an acceptable standard. If I was going in there to carry out a procedural audit that is what I would be looking for. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Delamar Posted July 20, 2011 Author Share Posted July 20, 2011 cabride into platform 2. Mike Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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