WELL-WISHERS have responded generously to a £30,000 appeal to pay for repairs which will allow Ecclesbourne Valley Railway (EVR) trains to resume operating over the full-length of the line following a landslip.
As previously reported (RM July 2023), on April 2 it was found that a landslip had occurred in the cutting north of Duffield close to the footbridge. Interlocking concrete‘Lego’ blocks weighing about one ton each were installed to hold back the slope. EVR trains began running through to Duffield on June 10 – services having been curtailed since April.
However, heavy rain on October 20 (RM December 2023) caused the landslip to slump further, resulting in the ‘Lego blocks’moving by a few inches. Since then, trains have run only fromWirksworth to Shottle rather than the full route to Duffield.