The Derbyshire Dales Narrow Gauge Railway () was a short,

narrow-gauge railway A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller struct ...

located at Rowsley South at

Peak Rail Peak Rail is a preserved railway in Derbyshire, England, which operates a steam and heritage diesel service for tourists and visitors to both the Peak District and the Derbyshire Dales. The preserved railway line is over 3½ miles (5.6 km) i ...

. It operated ex-industrial

diesel locomotive A diesel locomotive is a type of railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine. Several types of diesel locomotives have been developed, differing mainly in the means by which mechanical power is conveyed to the driving whee ...

s and carriages.

History

The DDNGR was established by Henry and Mary Frampton-Jones at Rowsley South during the 1990s. They had accumulated a collection of narrow-gauge rolling stock at various other railways and needed a running line. At Rowsley South the area behind the turntable was found to be suitable and work started on clearing and laying the track. 1998 saw the arrival of the first items of rolling stock, and the two 40-foot containers used as engine sheds. In 2001 the Derbyshire Dales Narrow Gauge Supporters Group formed to support the narrow-gauge operation. Initially, the main running line ran from Nannygoat crossing, through Parkside Station, across a level crossing to a buffer stop beyond where the containers were positioned. A loop was created at Parkside and various sidings laid to access the containers.

Top and tail A top-and-tail railway train has locomotives at both ends, for ease of changing direction, especially where the terminal station has no run-round loop. This is a British term. It is normal for only the leading locomotive to power the train when ...

operation was the norm, with a locomotive formed either side of the carriages.

HMRI HMRI may refer to: *His Majesty's Railway Inspectorate, in the UK *Housing Market Renewal Initiative, in the UK *Huntington Medical Research Institutes Huntington Medical Research Institutes (HMRI) is an independent, nonprofit, applied medical re ...

approval was gained for operations in 2004, and the first DDNGR passengers were carried on

Easter Sunday Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the ''Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel P ...

, 11 April 2004. The railway operated on 44 days (mostly Sundays) and carried approximately 1,400 passengers in 2009. During 2018 - 2019 the track was lifted and stock sold. The site is now being developed by the Ashover Light Railway Society.

Rolling stock

Locomotives

All are , although some were built/rebuilt to different gauges.

References

External links

DDNGR page on Peak Rail Website
{{Heritage railways in England Heritage railways in Derbyshire 2 ft gauge railways in England