Ecclesbourne Valley Railway       

Eric Boultbee

The story of the Ecclesbourne Valley Railway (The Milk and Honey Line) which operated with both passenger and freight services. Although passenger services were suspended after the war in 1947, freight lasted until 1989.

In the 1990s a small group in Wirksworth planned to reopen the railway, by which time it had become overgrown and derelict. By 2010 almost 10 miles of railway had been restored and the Ecclesbourne Valley Railway officially reopened in April 2011 and now numbers amongst the top heritage railways in the country having won numerous awards, creating employment and training, adding to the local economy and providing healthy activity for volunteers.

The talk relates to the background and development of the railway into the enterprise it is today.