Ecclesbourne Valley Railway Idridgehay Derbyshire 19th July 2019

In the rain Duncan walks along the platform at Idridgehay station to open the crossing gates as we wait on British Railways Standard 2 2-6-0 78018 with the returning train from Duffield.

The EVR is a game of two halves really: the Up trains coast downhill all the way from Wirksworth to Duffield while Down trains climb all the way at a ruling gradient of 1 in 100. It makes a change for the engine (& fireman!) to get a decent workout. 5 coaches up 1 in 100 is a bit more work for a Class 2 than it would get at the Great Central.