WEARDALE
RAILWAY TRUST
NEWLY
REOPENED WEARDALE RAILWAY SCOOPS NATIONAL AWARD
At a ceremony in London yesterday the Weardale Railway
was presented with the Ian Allan Award for the best UK station preservation
project for 2006. The plaque was presented as part of the National awards
organised by the Heritage Railway Association and held in the Merchant Tailors
Hall. It was received by Trevor Hewitt and Graham Lord, two of the many Weardale
Railway Trust volunteers who worked over a period of 10 months from late 2005,
to complete the restoration of the canopy at Stanhope station, which was
designed to be a replica of the original North Eastern Railway structure.
The present station dates from 1895 when the railway
between Stanhope and Wearhead was completed. It remained in use for passengers
until the service closed in 1953. The building was saved from dereliction and
destruction by Wear Valley Council when British Rail offered it for disposal. It
was later partially restored by them and is now leased by the Weardale Railway
Trust and Limited Company. Further restoration of the platform and station
buildings took place for the reopening in 2004.However work on the distinctive
platform canopy, which had been demolished in 1970, did not restart until
October of last year.
The completion of the restoration of the platform
canopy was made possible by a grant from the Railway Heritage Trust of £20,000.
The Project required 2200 metres of timber, 30 sheets of plywood, 2,600 slates,
192 panes of glass and 80 litres of paint, plus sealant, screws and nails.
Steve
Raine the Managing Director of Weardale Railways Limited and also one of the
volunteers said “The railway now has a station headquarters at Stanhope of
which it can be justly proud – the completion of the canopy brings the station
almost completely up to the design standards of the original station of 111
years ago. This could not have happened without the help of over a score of
Trust volunteers who put in many hundreds of hours of work, most of it outdoors,
over the winter of 2005 and 6. Well done to all concerned”.
Kevin Hillary the Weardale Railway Trust Chairman
commenting on the award said “In previous years this award has gone to some of
the larger and longer established Heritage railways. I am pleased to see the
Weardale Railway get this national recognition, it is another step in the
process of re-establishing the reputation of our Project and the objective of
reopening the line through to Bishop Auckland. Now we need to keep up the
momentum. The next step for which we are now finalising plans is to erect a
platform building with passenger facilities at Wolsingham station – so another
call out for financial support and volunteers will be coming soon.”
Plans for the
Wolsingham station Project are being drawn up by David Briggs the Project Manger
for Weardale Railways Limited who, with Steve Race, oversaw the work on the
canopy at Stanhope. It is hoped to have a temporary building with a waiting
area, ticket office and shop ready for the spring and summer services of 2007.
Meanwhile the
railway is now operating Santa specials between Wolsingham and Stanhope. Two
Santa trains will run each Saturday and Sunday in the run up to Christmas at
10am and 1.15pm from Wolsingham, except on December 24th when only
the10am train will run. Tickets which include a gift for children, refreshments
and entertainment are priced £10 for adults and children aged 3 or over. To
book call 01388526203 or 0845 6001348.
Service
trains will also run everyday from December 26th to January 2cd
leaving Wolsingham at 11am, 1pm and 2.45 pm. Further details of times and prices
are obtainable from the website: www.weardale-railway.org.uk