Trains to run again on tourist railway

Jul 28 2006 By Neil Mckay, The Journal

The new bosses of a tourist railway with a chequered past are on track to get trains running again within two to three weeks.

The ECT group, which took over the running of Weardale Railway in January, have announced that diesel-hauled trains between Wolsingham and Stanhope are set for a mid- August departure.

The group, a non-profit making organisation which already runs a railway on Dartmoor, will run trains daily until September 3 and on weekends throughout the winter. "Santa specials" are anticipated at Christmas with steam trains planned for next year.

A final reopening date will depend on inspections due in early August to give the service the official go-ahead.

John Hummel, the railway's deputy chairman, said: "We're very pleased that at last trains will be running again. We hope that tourists and local residents will support the new service.

"We plan to be mainly using class 37 locos and restored classic 1950s style coaches, with other locos or a diesel multiple unit as a backup." The buffet at Stanhope Station will reopen from this weekend.

In the summer of 2004, steam passenger trains began running regularly on the seven-mile stretch between Wolsingham and Stanhope for the first time in over 50 years, after the project received grants worth £1.5m in European and lottery funding.

But although it proved a popular tourist attraction, the railway went into administration within six months of opening with debts of almost £1m.

Its creditors - many of them local businesses - accepted an offer of 25p in the pound from the administrators earlier this year, allowing the ECT, a not-for-profit group, to take control in partnership with volunteer enthusiasts the Weardale Railway Trust, Wear Valley District Council and Durham County Council.

Weardale Railways Ltd exited administration in late June.

However, it remains in Company Voluntary Arrangement until that process is completed, when the creditors will be paid.

ECT chief executive Stephen Sears said: "The Weardale Railway was exactly the kind of investment the company was looking for, with an opportunity to work in partnership with local community groups to allow an excellent service to continue."