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The blog of a retired marine engineer who is old enough to remember the steam era and the joys of holiday trips in trains hauled by steam engines. Please feel free to comment or contact me on teachertalk1234@yahoo.co.uk. The blog is updated daily so please look back or follow regularly so as not to miss information and pictures
Friday, 28 August 2020
K&WVR Locomotive Roster for Saturday 29th - Monday 31st August and Wednesday 2nd & Thursday 3rd September 2020
Friday, 21 August 2020
KWVR is back
Ivatt 2-6-2T 41241 operated on both days of our re-opening public services that started on Wednesday 19th August. Our 'Back in Steam' passenger service continues this week with non-stop through services between Oxenhope & Keighley in operation using a selection of compartment coaches The motive power for all four days' services will be as follows:
Timetable - 'Back in Steam' Timetable Tickets are still available:
Whilst every effort will be made to ensure that the advised motive power is available, the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway reserve the right to change this when operational circumstances so dictate. |
Wednesday, 8 July 2020
K&WVR Virtual Locomotive Roster for ‘Little Engines’ Gala 11th & 12th July & Wednesday 15th – Friday 17th July 2020 by news@kwvr This week we drop back just three years to 2017 when in early July the KWVR held its first Little Engine's Gala which operated over 3 days, 7th - 9th July. This Gala harked back to the early days of the preserved Railway and the KWVR honoured those early pioneers when the smaller locomotives of the fleet will took centre stage to reflect the days before the larger locomotives ruled the roost. We welcomed two visiting locomotives, both with connections to the Railway but in diverse ways. The first to be announced was ‘Austerity’ 0-6-0ST 71515 ‘Mech Navvies Ltd’ from the Pontypool and Blaenavon Railway a type of engine that featured in the early days of the KWVR with two examples of the class operational during the early years. The second guest locomotive was London & South Western Railway ‘Beattie well tank’ 2-4-0WT 30587 courtesy of the Bodmin & Wenford Railway. These well tanks were never seen in the north of England but similar locomotives, designed and owned by the Midland Railway, operated the branch in the very first years that the Railway was open in the nineteenth century. Although only over two days of our virtual weekend, as well as the two visitors, the home fleet consists of: Taff Vale Railway 0-6-2T No. 85 London & North Western Railway 0-6-2T ‘Coal Tank’ No.1054 (courtesy of the Bahamas locomotive society) Hudswell Clarke 0-6-0T no. 1704 ‘Nunlow’ (courtesy of the Bahamas locomotive society) ... these latter two now withdrawn for overhaul ... plus some rare passenger workings of our smaller diesel fleet. TVR 0-6-2T no. 85 will have the honours hauling the Wednesday - Friday services between Oxenhope to Keighley after taking part in the Virtual Little Engines Gala.
This week we drop back just three years to 2017 when in early July the KWVR held its first Little Engine's Gala which operated over 3 days, 7th - 9th July. This Gala harked back to the early days of the preserved Railway and the KWVR honoured those early pioneers when the smaller locomotives of the fleet will took centre stage to reflect the days before the larger locomotives ruled the roost.
We welcomed two visiting locomotives, both with connections to the Railway but in diverse ways. The first to be announced was ‘Austerity’ 0-6-0ST 71515 ‘Mech Navvies Ltd’ from the Pontypool and Blaenavon Railway a type of engine that featured in the early days of the KWVR with two examples of the class operational during the early years. The second guest locomotive was London & South Western Railway ‘Beattie well tank’ 2-4-0WT 30587 courtesy of the Bodmin & Wenford Railway. These well tanks were never seen in the north of England but similar locomotives, designed and owned by the Midland Railway, operated the branch in the very first years that the Railway was open in the nineteenth century.
 
Although only over two days of our virtual weekend, as well as the two visitors, the home fleet consists of:
Taff Vale Railway 0-6-2T No. 85
London & North Western Railway 0-6-2T ‘Coal Tank’ No.1054 (courtesy of the Bahamas locomotive society) Hudswell Clarke 0-6-0T no. 1704 ‘Nunlow’ (courtesy of the Bahamas locomotive society) ... these latter two now withdrawn for overhaul ... plus some rare passenger workings of our smaller diesel fleet.
TVR 0-6-2T no. 85 will have the honours hauling the Wednesday - Friday services between Oxenhope to Keighley after taking part in the Virtual Little Engines Gala.
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Friday, 3 July 2020
K&WVR Virtual Locomotive Roster for Weekend 4th & 5th July and Wednesday 8th – Friday 10th July 2020
Four year's ago all was well in the Valley with COVID-19 not even on the horizon, but all was not well with BR Class 4MT 4-6-0 75078 which had to be withdrawn from service the previous weekend. However repairs were concluded and the 60 year old locomotive took up its next scheduled duty the next weekend. This week we go back to 2016.
Our Vintage Sunday service was in action with Taff Vale Railway no. 85 at the head of a set of mixed vintage coaches, from the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Trust and Vintage Carriages Trust:
The motive power for these virtual passenger services will be as follows:
Timetables:
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Friday, 26 June 2020
KWVR AWARDED HERITAGE LOTTERY FUND GRANT
KWVR AWARDED HERITAGE LOTTERY FUND GRANT
Thanks to the support of the National Lottery Heritage Fund, THE KWVR can complete the replacement of Bridge 11 with a view to passenger services returning in mid-August.
The Keighley & Worth Valley Railway has received £50,000 National Lottery support to help address the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on heritage railways
The Keighley & Worth Valley Railway has received £50,000 from The National Lottery Heritage Fund to enable the Railway to complete the replacement of a 115-year-old bridge, work on which was halted at the outbreak of the pandemic.
Since the Covid-19 pandemic began the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway has been completely closed, and during lockdown activities were limited to essential maintenance and security tasks. The Railway has had no income from passengers since the last trains ran in mid-March.
Dr Matt Stroh, Chairman of the Keighley & Worth Valley said: “Thanks to the National Lottery and its players we can now complete the work necessary to replace the venerable 115-year old bridge and will then be in a position to reopen the railway to passengers.
Without their support, we would have struggled to meet the additional costs caused by having to pause and then recommence the work at a time when we have had no income from operations for over three months. We are so very grateful that The National Lottery Heritage Fund is supporting us at this crucial time, especially as they were able to process the application and provide the funds in such a timely manner – it is a lifeline to us and others who are passionate about sustaining heritage for the benefit of all. As a result of their funding, we can look forward to reopening the Railway to passengers, currently planned for mid-August , albeit with continued restrictions to protect the safety of our volunteers and visitors.”
The funding, made possible by National Lottery players, was awarded through The National Lottery Heritage Fund’s Heritage Emergency Fund. £50million has been made available to provide emergency funding for those most in need across the heritage sector.
The UK-wide fund will address both immediate emergency actions and help organisations to start thinking about recovery.
Ros Kerslake, Chief Executive of The National Lottery Heritage Fund, said: “Heritage has an essential role to play in making communities better places to live, supporting economic regeneration and benefiting our personal wellbeing. All of these things are going to be even more important as we emerge from this current crisis.
“Thanks to money raised by National Lottery players we are pleased to be able to lend our support to organisations such as the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway during this uncertain time.”
Like the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway, other charities and organisations across the UK that have been affected by the unprecedented impact of the coronavirus outbreak are being given access to a comprehensive package of support of up to £600 million of repurposed money from The National Lottery. This money is supporting some of the most vulnerable people in our communities and span the arts, community, charity, heritage, education, environment and sports sectors. Thanks to National Lottery players, £30 million is raised every week for good causes, including heritage of local and national importance. By playing The National Lottery, people up and down the country are making an amazing contribution to the nationwide-response to combatting the impact of COVID-19 on local communities across the UK.
K&WVR Virtual Locomotive Roster for Friday 26th to Sunday 28th June and Wednesday 1st to Friday 3rd July 2020
In 2020 this coming weekend was earmarked for the return of the Diesel Gala after an absence of 6 years, although we had diesels at our 50th Anniversary celebrations and at our Mixed Traffic Gala in 2019.
So we take a trip back this week to 2014 when we hosted the last Diesel Gala and welcomed three guest locomotives plus one returnee after many years of toil by it's owner, Ben Wade, to return it to action. So our virtual lineup this weekend will be
Class 25 no. D5217 - owned by Nemisis Rail and currently under restoration
 Class 33 no. 33 035 - owned by the Pioneer Diesel Loco Group, is normally based at the Ecclesbourne Valley Line in Derbyshire.  Class 31 no. D5830 - owned by Type One Loco Ltd and based at the Great Central Railway 
From the home fleet
Class 20 no. 20 031 Class 25 no. 25 059 Class 37 no. 37 075 0-6-0 D0226 Vulcan 0-6-0 D32 returning to action after a long period of restoration
In 2014 as today, there was a weekday steam service with the locomotive taking the honours this virtual year as in 2014, USATC S160 2-8-0 5820
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Thursday, 4 June 2020
K&WVR Virtual Locomotive Roster for Weekend 6th & 7th June and weekdays 10th -12th June 2020
In looking back over past years, it would be very helpful if the services we ran matched the services we would have been running in 2020. In 2017 our roster post stated "A weekend of normal" running with no special trains and the standard Green timetable on Saturday and Blue timetable on Sunday". So in our look back, we have to be a little more inventive as in 2020 we would be running Vintage Trains this Sunday.
The mainstay of this weekend's virtual steam service will be BR Standard 4 4-6-0 75078, the first steam service on Saturday departing Oxenhope at 11.00 for 5 round trips to Keighley and the diesel turn will have our Class 101 Diesel Multiple Unit running the services with the first train leaving Oxenhope at 09.00 on Saturday. On Sunday 75078 will be joined by LNWR 0-6-2 'Coal Tank' no. 1054 hauling the virtual vintage train service comprising coaches from the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
The virtual weekday service, just as in 2017, will have WD 2-8-0 90733 hauling the service.
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