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A London bus found in the Peak District!!
Members of the NE area recently visited Tunstead Quarry in the heart of the Peak District to view the busy rail operations at the quarry. This popular visit, which had been fully subscribed for many weeks, involved a journey of a difference, on board a vintage London ‘Routemaster’ bus.
Not only were we treated to panoramic vistas of beautiful Derbyshire from the unusual vantage point of the top deck of a big red bus, but it caused quite a stir amongst the Derbyshire residents when a big red bus went past heading for Marble Arch!
The visit started with a short presentation about the history of the railway operation, followed by a visit to the rail sidings. The sidings are extensive and contain a variety of loading facilities to load limestone in rock form, lime as a powder and cement. The trains within the sidings are worked by Tarmac owned diesel hydraulic locomotives.
We walked into the south sidings and were able to see the last five of the now redundant 1930s vacuum braked hopper wagons originally supplied to ICI (a predecessor of Tarmac) to take limestone to Oakleigh Sidings at Northwich. This traffic still passes but is carried in modern air braked vehicles. These old vehicles have not worked for many years, but may still find a new lease of life elsewhere.
Tarmac then arranged for us to take a trip on one of their locomotives north to the Great Rocks end of the site, which gave the footplate of the locomotive as a remarkable vantage point for viewing the entire rail system. We also saw a train being loaded with stone, which was a complex manual operation of the loading controls. As an added bonus we were able to view Great Rocks signal-box, which controls the entrance to the limestone works.
All agreed it was a great day out, with a request to repeat the visit again next year.
St. Pancras visit
The NE area recently ventured a long way from home when we visited both St. Pancras and Stratford International stations. The visits, hosted by Network Rail, proved very popular, with a second tour guide being necessary to cater for the number of members who wanted to join this visit.
Our reputation for visits generating sunshine continued with this event, which made the great Barlow St. Pancras trainshed look totally outstanding. The visit began with an overview of the station operations, followed by a visit to the station control room and then to the waste disposal area. A walk around this magnificent station then took place, including a look in the hotel and grand staircase.
A short ride on the Javelin Highspeed service to Stratford International (courtesy of Southeastern) gave members the opportunity to see how the station will play a pivotal role in the Olympics, in addition to serving a soon to open shopping complex.
A thoroughly enjoyable and informative visit.