Ecclesbourne Valley Railway – Driver Retires after Twenty Years

Driver Retires after Twenty Years

A train driver has retired after driving on the Matlock to Nottingham Branch line for twenty years.

Local train driver David Bevington visited the Ecclesbourne Valley Railway to take the controls of heritage railcar ‘Iris’ as part of a retirement gift organised by Phil Helme, Driver Manager at East Midlands Trains.

David started his railway career as a guard before realising a boyhood dream of becoming a train driver. He is a keen enthusiast of both steam and diesel locomotives and has always wanted to take the controls of a heritage train. The visit fuelled David’s passion for a bygone era and he has decided that much of his new found spare time will be spent as a volunteer on the Ecclesbourne Valley Railway.

Retired Driver David takes the controls

  About the Ecclesbourne Valley Railway:

Wyvern Rail plc has worked with the Ecclesbourne Valley Railway Association to reopen the Duffield to Wirksworth railway in the heart of Derbyshire.

The line passes through the beautiful Ecclesbourne Valley to the award winning and beautifully restored town of Wirksworth, nestling in the foothills of the Peak District.

The line is a time capsule, with its intermediate stations largely intact and the layout at Wirksworth virtually unchanged since the days of steam.

There are 9 miles of single-track railway, which meet the Midland Main Line at Duffield Junction near Derby. There are five station sites, two level crossings, a yard with extensive sidings and a mineral branch to the old Middlepeak quarry at Wirksworth.

Services run at weekends between March and October and midweek throughout the summer and are timed to connect with Derwent Valley Line services between Nottingham, Derby and Matlock operated by East Midlands Trains.