Over the weekend, Jamie visited the Churnet Valley Railway for their 25th Anniversary Gala. Here is an article about my visit.

Saturday 21st October 2017

I started my day off by arriving to Froghall Station, for the first train of the day. The station was quieter than i thought it would be, so i took full advantage of this and snapped the below picture of S160 no. 5197. 5197 is pictured after backing onto its train, ready to set off for the next stop at Consall Station.

I rode the first train all the way back to Froghall, admiring the beautiful view out of the carriage window.

The sequence of stations/stops after Froghall is as follows, Consall, Cheddleton, Leek Brook and finally Ipstones Loop before returning back to Leek Brook. The round trip from Froghall up to Ipstone Loop and back took roughly 2 hours.

On returning back to Froghall at around 12 o clock, i decided to have lunch at Froghall Station’s cafe. It was delicious! After finishing lunch, i took the opportunity to take some photos of 7820 “Dinmore Manor”, which was waiting for the next train to arrive, just like me.

Cheddleton Station & MPD

For my second journey i departed the train at Cheddleton Station, to have a look around the station itselfs and the MPD. Sitting outside in the MPD’s yard was S160 6046, which had unfortunately failed and couldn’t participate in the Gala. Class 33 no. 33102 filled in for 6046, and with other steam locomotives running, the Gala was just as good.

After exploring Cheddleton Station and MPD, i returned once again back Froghall, where i could finally gets some shoots of 4277. At Froghall i boraded the train again, for its last run which had a special twist, it was a 10 coach special. At Cheddleton, on the way to Leek Brook, the 4 and 6 coach sets were merged. 7820 piloted 4277 at the front, 5197 was at the rear. This train ran up to Ipstone Loop then all the way back to Froghall, where the train terminated.

Overall, was a very enjoyable day at CVR. I would recommend a visit to CVR, especially anyone who is looking for a great day out.

• Visit the Churnet Valley Railway Website
  For more information