The Eden Valley Railway (EVR) is a

standard gauge A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), International gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge and European gauge in Europe, and SGR in Ea ...

heritage railway A heritage railway or heritage railroad (US usage) is a railway operated as living history to re-create or preserve railway scenes of the past. Heritage railways are often old railway lines preserved in a state depicting a period (or periods) i ...

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumb ...

, England. It runs over a section of the original Eden Valley Railway in a north-westerly direction from the line's base at Warcop station. The line is run by the Eden Valley Railway Trust, formerly the Eden Valley Railway Society. The railway operates passenger trains from March to September on the weekends and Bank Holidays and some weekday workings in summer.

History

The original Eden Valley Railway opened in 1862, linking Penrith and

Kirkby Stephen Kirkby Stephen () is a market town and civil parish in Cumbria, North West England. Historically part of Westmorland, it lies on the A685, surrounded by sparsely populated hill country, about from the nearest larger towns: Kendal and Penrith. ...

via

Appleby-in-Westmorland Appleby-in-Westmorland is a market town and civil parish in the Eden District of Cumbria, England, with a population of 3,048 at the 2011 Census. Crossed by the River Eden, Appleby was the county town of the historic county of Westmorland. I ...

. Passenger traffic ended in 1962 and the line was reduced to the track between the junction at Appleby station with the Settle-Carlisle Line and Kirkby Stephen which served a quarry. By 1976 all that was left was of track between Appleby in Westmorland and

Flitholme Flitholme is a hamlet in the parish of Musgrave, in the Eden District, in the English county of Cumbria. __TOC__ Location It is located on an unclassified road about a quarter of a mile away from the A66 road. Nearby settlements Nearby sett ...

. It was used by infrequent

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

services to Warcop Training Area until 1989. In 1995 the Eden Valley Railway Society was formed with the primary objective of restoring the Warcop to Appleby section of the line, and a secondary object of, if possible, extending it to Kirkby Stephen once the initial section was in operation. On 3 August 2004 the ''Eden Valley Railway Order 2004'' came into action, allowing the trust to undertake railway operations (excluding non-self generated electrical railways) on the track from Appleby to Flitholme near Warcop.The Eden Valley Railway Order 2004
Statutory Instruments, 2004 No. 1817, Office for Public Sector Information, ''www.opsi.gov.uk''

Heritage railway A heritage railway or heritage railroad (US usage) is a railway operated as living history to re-create or preserve railway scenes of the past. Heritage railways are often old railway lines preserved in a state depicting a period (or periods) i ...

services resumed in 2006 between

Warcop Warcop is a village and civil parish in the Eden district of Cumbria, England. The parish had a population of 491 in the 2001 census, increasing to 532 at the Census 2011. It is near the A66 road and is north of Kirkby Stephen and about 5 ...

and Sandford, with an extension of to Southfields being opened in 2013, giving a current running line of almost .

Rolling stock

Warcop Railway Station, Eden Valley Railway - geograph

The Eden Valley Railway has mostly ex-British Rail built rolling stock, including

British Rail Class 205 The British Rail Class 205 ( 3H) diesel-electric multiple units were built by BR at Eastleigh from 1957 to 1962, and in service for 47 years from BR Southern Region to Connex South Central and finally to the Southern franchise. They were eventu ...

diesel-electric multiple unit no. 205 009, British Rail Class 411 electric multiple units nos. 2311 and 2315 and British Rail Class 419 units nos. 9003, 9005 and 9010. The railway also operates a British Rail Class 37

English Electric N.º UIC: 9094 110 1449-3 (Takargo Rail) The English Electric Company Limited (EE) was a British industrial manufacturer formed after the Armistice of 11 November 1918, armistice of World War I by amalgamating five businesses which, during th ...

diesel-electric locomotive, no. 37 042, and

Brush Traction Brush Traction is a manufacturer and maintainer of railway locomotives in Loughborough, England. It is a subsidiary of Wabtec. History Hughes's Locomotive & Tramway Engine Works Henry Hughes had been operating at the Falcon Works since t ...

Type 4 Class 47 diesel-electric locomotive, no. 47799, which sometimes hauled the

British Royal Train The British Royal Train is used to convey senior members of the British royal family and associated staff of the Royal Household around the railway network of Great Britain. It is owned, maintained and operated by DB Cargo UK. The Royal Trai ...

from 1990 to 2004, during which time it was named ''Prince Henry''. Also on site are several ex industrial shunters: Robert Stephenson & Hawthorn 8343 ( "Darlington"), Fowler 4220045 (), Hunslet 2389 (), Thomas Hill 130c () and Drewry Cars 2181 () in addition to a number of freight wagons and a 15-ton railway crane. The Railway does have a steam locomotive, in the form of industrial "Askham Hall". The former

Lakeside and Haverthwaite Railway The Lakeside and Haverthwaite Railway (L&HR) is a heritage railway in Cumbria, England. Location The L&HR runs from Haverthwaite at the southern end of the line via Newby Bridge to Lakeside at the southern end of Windermere. Some services are ...

locomotive is currently at

Threlkeld Quarry and Mining Museum The Threlkeld Quarry and Mining Museum is located in Threlkeld east of Keswick, in the heart of the Lake District in Cumbria. It is suited for families, school classes, and enthusiasts. It includes a quarry with a unique collection of histor ...

having

asbestos Asbestos () is a naturally occurring fibrous silicate mineral. There are six types, all of which are composed of long and thin fibrous crystals, each fibre being composed of many microscopic "fibrils" that can be released into the atmosphere b ...

removed.

References

External links

The Eden Valley Railway official website
''www.evr-cumbria.org.uk''
The Eden Valley Railway
''www.visitcumbria.com''
Warcop Station and the Eden Valley Railway

{{Heritage railways in England Heritage railways in Cumbria