Huge potential forecast for line

Sep 9 2008 by Neil Mckay, The Journal

THE boss of a charity which helps run a troubled tourist railway yesterday predicted a brighter future following a US takeover.

Last week Iowa Pacific Holdings, which operates 700 miles of track in the USA, bought a 75% stake in Weardale Railway following negotiations with previous owners the London-based ECT Group over the railway’s 18-mile stretch of track between Bishop Auckland and Eastgate, County Durham.

Trains currently run on six miles between Wolsingham and Stanhope but Ian Gardner, chairman of the Weardale Railway Trust, a group of volunteers who give up their time to run trains, said he was now hopeful that the line would be extended to Bishop Auckland.

“I cannot put a date on when that will happen, but the extension will enable us to form a rail hub and a link to the East Coast Main Line at Darlington, which will encourage visitors from far and wide.

“A passenger service runs from Darlington to Bishop Auckland. Darlington is a railway town, and trains which run from there to Bishop Auckland stop at Shildon, just yards from Locomotion, the National Railway Museum.

“If visitors can link up to the Weardale Railway at Bishop Auckland, the potential benefits to the area will be enormous.”

Mr Gardner said the new majority stakeholders were aware of a landslip on the Weardale track just over a mile from Bishop Auckland.

“Once that is rectified then the track is not in a bad shape. Our works engine can already travel as far as Witton-le-Wear to get rid of the undergrowth on the line.”

Six months ago ECT disclosed that during 2007, a full year of normal operations which had included some use of steam haulage, the railway had attracted only 10,000 visitors – but it needed 35,000 visitors to break even. It was losing an average £10,000 per month.

But Mr Gardner said: “During the first few months of this year we saw an increase in passengers of some 30%, and we are now gearing up for the Santa specials at Christmas.”

On Sunday, September 28, there will be a display of Rolls Royce and Bentley cars at Stanhope Station car park.

Vehicles provided by Rolls Royce Enthusiasts Club (North East) will start to arrive from around 11am.

Iowa Pacific Holdings is a Chicago-based company that owns and operates six shortline railways (the US equivalent of community railways) in the United States with more than 700 miles of track, 180 employees and a current annual turnover rate in excess of $40m (US).

Ed Ellis, president of Iowa Pacific, said: “We believe in the community rail model and look forward to developing freight, tourist and passenger services on Weardale Railway.”