For latest news of progress with the project Updated 07/08/2008

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The Weardale Railway, situated in County Durham, U.K. was a mothballed branch line from Bishop Auckland following the River Wear westwards to Eastgate-in-Weardale, a distance of approximately 18.7 miles (30km).

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The line was originally built by the Stockton & Darlington Railway in 1847 to transport limestone to the ironwork of Teesside, and by 1895 had been extended to its final terminus of Wearhead. Although the passenger service was withdrawn in 1953, the line was retained for freight use transporting bulk cement from the Blue Circle works at Eastgate. This use also ceased in 1993, so the line was mothballed and threatened with lifting.

For more about the line's history

With support from Wear Valley District Council, 1993 saw the formation of The Weardale Railway Preservation Society. This was a group of supporters of the line whose aims were firstly to prevent its removal, and secondly to promote its future. This original support group is now registered charity number 1088897, The Weardale Railway Trust Ltd. This organisation helps to fund the work involved and provide the voluntary assistance, and its members receive a regular magazine to keep them informed of the project's progress.

Volunteers - Working volunteers are always in demand whether helping operations as driver, guard, crossing keeper, etc, station duties in the shop, cafe, ticket office, or behind the scenes maintaining and refurbishing rolling stock and track. All volunteers need the protection of training and the Trust's insurance, therefore it is in everyone's interest that:
All working volunteers must first become members of the Trust.
Upon receipt of the completed application form and payment new members are invited to submit their skills and time available to the Volunteer Coordinator who will put them in touch with the relevant team leader. If you are already a member, the volunteer form is here.

The Trust office is located at Stanhope Station.

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The aim of creating a community project that would integrate a regular passenger service with enthusiasts' specials and freight facilities is unusually ambitious. Therefore the specialised tasks of negotiating with Network Rail, accessing national and EU grants and running scheduled services has been undertaken by Weardale Railways CIC (formerly Weardale Railways Limited).

Every heritage railway depends heavily on its volunteer workforce to source, maintain and renovate the necessary infrastructure and rolling stock. In our organisation, many of the 'hands-on' workers are members of The Weardale Railway Locomotive Preservation Group, currently based in part of the Wolsingham site formerly owned by Weardale Steel, adjacent to the line itself. This site is being developed as The Wolsingham Railway Centre, the main depot for our operations. Other volunteer groups are also starting to operate. 

Further information on each of these partners can be found by "clicking their signal" to enter their area of the site.

If you want to be part of our future, please visit the TRUST area for more information, then print an application form and return it to Stanhope Station.
If you would like to sponsor a "Yard of Track" to further our aims, then print a form and return it to Stanhope Station.
If you shop on the internet and would like to boost donations to our funds, visit retailers' websites via our portal.