Colne Valley Railway

Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use British English Template:More citations needed Template:Heritage Railway Template:Colne Valley and Halstead Railway The Colne Valley Railway is a heritage railway based at Castle Hedingham Station, near Halstead in Essex, England. The railway consists of a Template:Convert long running line, with a fully reconstructed station, signal box and railway yard.

History

The railway occupies part of the former Colne Valley and Halstead Railway (CVHR), which opened in stages between 16 April 1860 and 10 May 1863.<ref name=Gordon>Template:Cite book</ref> This part of the railway was a through line from Template:Stnlnk to Wakes Colne.

The line closed on 1 January 1962, when all passenger and freight traffic between Template:Rws and Template:Rws ended. On 19 April 1965, all transiting freight traffic ended.<ref name=Gordon/> The line was dismantled and infrastructure demolished or recovered by contractors a year later, and the land on which the heritage railway station now sits resold to a local landowner.

Preservation

The site was acquired from the landowner in 1973 and the Colne Valley Railway Company Limited formed to operate the railway. A volunteers' supporters body, the Colne Valley Railway Preservation Society (CVRPS), was formed in 1974. Although originally a main line railway, the track and infrastructure was taken up in the late 60s, so on acquisition there was no remaining infrastructure onsite. The original Sible and Castle Hedingham station Template:Convert away and was taken down carefully brick by brick, the bricks numbered, and the structure transported to the new site and subsequently reconstructed. The timber top half (first floor) of the signal box came from Template:Stnlnk, remounted on a new higher (ground floor) brick base. The bridge crossing the River Colne came from Earls Colne in 1982.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

The first steam locomotive to arrive on site was Hunslet "Austerity" 0-6-0ST No.WD190 shortly followed by No.72. Members of the CVRPS began to operate the locomotives on a short section of line. Despite its still short length, presently the CVR is home to three ex-mainline steam locomotives.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Closure threat

CVR Company Limited was acquired by Australian businessman Christopher Young in 2005. The CVRPS agreed a five-year renegotiable lease to take over the operation of the railway for the 2006 season. In 2014, when the 5-year lease expires on 31 December 2015, Young offered the CVRPS the option of buying the site's freehold. The CVRPS pursued sufficient funds and loans to complete the terms by December 2015, but were told that Young's plans had changed.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The CVRPS were informed at their Annual General Meeting on 22 March 2015 that CVR Co. Ltd. had decided the railway no longer featured in future plans for the site and<ref name=SR439/> planning permission would be sought for redevelopment of the site, which lies in a conservation area – a subsequent Freedom of Information request by local media discovered that outline planning permission had been sought for 600 houses on the station. The CVRPS were served notice that operations must cease after 31 December 2015, with the CVRPS having to remove all its rolling stock and buildings during 2016,<ref name=SR439>Template:Cite journal</ref> with possibility of relocation to another heritage railway.<ref name=SR440>Template:Cite journal</ref>

In June 2015, it was announced by Steam Railway magazine that a new site adjacent to the current one had been procured. Permission was being sought from CVR Co. Ltd. to operate as normal during 2016, with the railway operating from the new site from 2017.<ref name="SR439"/> A new station would be constructed at each end of the line, which would extend to Template:Convert.<ref name=SR442>Template:Cite journal</ref> Later that month, it was announced by Steam Railway magazine that the proposed new site was "no longer viable" due to reasons that were not disclosed.<ref name=HMS13352997>Template:Cite web</ref>

In September 2015, CVRPS was formally converted into a charity called Colne Valley Railway Preservation Ltd. (CVRPL).<ref>Charity Commission website</ref>

On 6 December 2016 CVRPL announced that the railway, on its original site, was now safe and the site purchased from CVR Co. Ltd. as a result of obtaining a heritage lottery fund grant for £1.75m along with support from Braintree District Council.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Locomotives and rolling stock

Steam locomotives

Origin	Wheel arrangement	Class	Notes	Photograph
LMS	Template:Whyte	Class 5MT	No. 45293 built 1936, Under restoration.<ref name=SR439/>	File:45293 frames Colne Valley Railway.jpg
SR	Template:Whyte	Merchant Navy Class	No. 35010 Blue Star, built 1942. Under external restoration.<ref name=SR439/>	File:35010 Blue Star at Colne Valley Railway.jpg
Hunslet	Template:Whyte	Austerity	No. WD190,<ref name=SR439/> built in 1952. Out of service.	File:CVR 0-6-0 Saddle Tank Engine -2.jpg
Hunslet	Template:Whyte	Austerity	No. WD200,<ref name=SR439/> built in 1953. Under restoration/overhaul.	File:Hunslet Austerity 3800.jpg
Hawthorne Leslie	Template:Whyte		No. 1, built in 1928. Static Exhibit.<ref name=SR439/>	File:CVR 0-6-0 Saddle Tank Engine -4.jpg
RSH	Template:Whyte	56	No. 60 Jupiter,<ref name=SR439/> built in 1950. Under restoration/ overhaul.	File:RSH 0-6-0ST "Jupiter" in Drawell sidings 1993.jpg

Diesel & Electric Locomotives

Origin	Wheel arrangement	Class	Notes	Photograph
BR	Template:Whyte	Class 03	No. D2041, Built 1959. operational.	File:D2041 at Colne Valley Railway.jpg
BR	Template:Whyte	Class 03	No. D2184, Built 1962. operational.	File:D2184 at the Colne Valley Railway.jpg
BR	Template:Whyte	Class 03	No. D2046, Built 1968. Under Restoration.
BR	Template:Whyte	Class 08	No. 08706. operational.
Ruston & Hornsby	4wDM	88DS	No.887 (No. 3940009), Built 1955, Operational.	File:No.887,.jpg
Hibberd	Template:Whyte		No. 4007, Built 1947. Stored out of use.	File:Colne Valley Railway 997.jpg
Hunslet	Template:Whyte		No. 1968, operational.
Lake and Elliot	Template:Whyte	Fordson Major	No. 1 "Henry", operational	File:Henry at Colne Valley Railway.jpg
Robert Stephenson & Hawthorns	Template:Whyte		No.7284 "Doug Tottman" (Heysham Power Station No. 1) Operational but stored out of use.

Diesel multiple units

Origin	Class	Notes	Photograph
BR	Class 121	No. 55033, built in 1960, operational	File:W55033 at Colne Valley Railway 2.JPG
BR	Class 117	No. 51339, built in 1960, operational.	File:51339 Class 117 Driving Motor Brake Second.jpg
BR	Class 117	No. 51382, built in 1960, operational.	File:51382 Class 117 Driving Motor Second.jpg

Electric multiple units

Origin	Class	Notes	Photograph
BR	Class 307	No. 75023 (DT). Built 1955. Stored out of use.
BR	Class 308	No. 75881 (DTCoL). has the London Underground Victoria Line Cobourg Street signalling centre display inside.
BR	Class 312	No. 78037 (DTCoL). Stored out of use.
BR	Class 312	No. 71205 (TSO). Stored out of use.

HSTs

Origin	Class	Notes	Photograph
BR	Class 43	No. 43023, Under Restoration.	File:43023 at Reading.jpg
BR	Class 43	No. 43071, built in 1977, operational.	File:Class 253 HST 43071 ex-First Great Western.jpg
BR	Class 43	No. 43073, built in 1978, operational.	File:Class 253 HST 43073 ex East Midlands Trains - 52073416598.jpg
BR	Class 43	No. 43082, built in 1978, operational.	File:BoBo 43 082.jpg
BR	Class 43	No. 43165, Under Restoration.	File:HST 43165 Prince Michael of Kent at Swindon, 1G11 08.15 Paddington-Cheltenham Spa. - 20839205192.jpg

Coaches

Origin	Class	Notes	Photograph
BR	DVT	No. 82121, Stored out of use.
BR	MK3 TRFB	No. 40706, Operational.
BR	MK3 TGS	No. 44058, Operational.
BR	MK3 TFO	No. 41088, Operational.

External links

• Colne Valley Railway website