Ecclesbourne Valley Railway

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Ecclesbourne Valley Railway
Wirksworth station in 2007
Locale	Derbyshire, England
Terminus	Ravenstor Duffield
Commercial operations
Name	Wirksworth branch
Built by	Midland Railway
Original gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Preserved operations
Operated by	WyvernRail plc
Stations	5 (to be 6)
Length	9 miles (14 km)
Preserved gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Commercial history
Opened	1867
Closed to passengers	1947
Closed	1964 (goods) 1989 (completely)
Preservation history
1992	WyvernRail is formed
1996	Light Rail order granted
1997	Derby and Wirksworth Railway Association is formed (later to become EVR)
2000	Volunteers start clearing vegetation from the line
1 October 2002	Wirksworth reopens and its passenger train services begin
2003	WyvernRail and Network Rail agrees 15 year lease-purchase deal
2004	Gorsey Bank reopens and 1⁄2 mile (0.8 km), passenger trains begin
1 September 2005	Ravenstor opens and 3⁄4 mile (1.2 km) passenger trains on 1 in 27 (3.7%) incline (of the same name) begin
2007	Iridgehay level crossing reinstated and later reopened
8 March 2008	Idridgehay reopens and 3+1⁄2 miles (5.6 km) passenger trains begin
8 April 2011	Duffield reopens and 10 miles (16 km) passenger trains begin
9 August 2014	Shottle reopens (after more than 65 years out of use)
Headquarters	Wirksworth

v t e Ecclesbourne Valley Railway
Legend
Cromford & High Peak Rly disused incline Ravenstor Stoneycroft Quarry Wirksworth Gorsey Bank level crossing Idridgehay level crossing Idridgehay Shottle A517 (Ashbourne Road) Hazelwood Duffield Tunnel (52 yards) A6 (Milford Road) Midland Main Line to Belper Duffield Midland Main Line to Derby

The Ecclesbourne Valley Railway is a 9-mile (14.5 km) long heritage railway based at Wirksworth station in Derbyshire, England. It operates passenger services between Duffield and Wirksworth, with occasional services to Ravenstor.

Passengers can board and alight heritage services at Duffield, where a platform was reopened in 2011. The station is shared with National Rail services on the Midland Main Line between Sheffield and London St Pancras, with local services between Newark Castle, Nottingham, Derby and Matlock, which call at platforms 1 and 2; EVR trains to Wirksworth use platform 3. The station is sited in Duffield village centre, just a few minutes from shops, cafés and pubs.

The Ecclesbourne Valley Railway is named after the River Ecclesbourne and the track follows the river from its source to its confluence with the River Derwent at the Derbyshire village of Duffield.

Despite being a branch in itself, there is also a separate 1⁄2 mile (0.8 km) branch operating from platform 3 at Wirksworth, up a 1 in 27 (3.27%) gradient incline to Ravenstor (for the National Stone Centre and the High Peak Trail).

The line is operated by heritage steam locomotives, including no. 2746 Bagnall saddle tank engine The Duke, and diesels include a BRCW Type 3 and a Brush Type 2.^[1]