The incredible sight of ‘Crompton’ No. 33116 and NSE-liveried inspection coach No. 975025 at Dowlow Quarry on March 3, 1994. Today’s freight-only line from Buxton to here was formerly a through route to Uttoxeter via Ashbourne, with a connection to the Cromford and High Peak Railway at Parlsey Hay.
LONG associated with the South of England, the first half of the 1980s saw Class 33s spread their wings a little, eventually reaching the likes of North Wales and Manchester on regular booked passenger diagrams.
But nobody ever expected to see one in the quarries of the Peak District – that is until the beginning of March 1994, just a month before Privatisation of the rail industry began, when ‘Crompton’ No. 33116 Hertfordshire Rail Tours popped up in Buxton with inspection saloon No. 975025 (now named Caroline), which at that time carried Network SouthEast livery.