Ecclesbourne Valley Railway

The Ecclesbourne Valley Railway is a 9-mile (14.5 km) long heritage railway in Derbyshire. The headquarters of the railway centre on Wirksworth station, and services operate in both directions between Wirksworth and Duffield and from Wirksworth to Ravenstor.

From April 2011 onward, passengers are now able to board and alight heritage services at Duffield where in recent years a station platform (3) has been re-constructed. Heritage services are timed to connect with East Midlands Trains Nottingham - Derby - Matlock service at the adjacent Duffield Network Rail platforms and therefore it is now possible for passengers to travel to and from Wirksworth by train from anywhere on the national network.

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 Station up a 1 in 27 gradient incline to Ravenstor (for the National Stone Centre and the High Peak Trail, respectively).

The line is principally operated by a large fleet of heritage Diesel Multiple Units. Locomotive hauled trains operate on Enthusiast and special event days often alongside the DMU fleet.

Source: Wikipedia