Churnet Valley Railway (1992) PLC

02/09/2026

🔧 Another Week, Another C&W Update! 🚂
It’s been another busy week in Carriage & Wagon, with plenty of progress being made across the fleet!
🛠️ 4392
4392’s wheels have been away for turning and, very soon after, they were back with us.
On Sunday last week, Jack, Melvin and Gary took the opportunity to get the bogies reassembled, strip and free up the brake gear, and get everything back together. A great day’s work, and all being well, 4392 should be back in traffic before next weekend! 👏 (We can confirm 4392 was back on the train for the August bank holiday weekend.
🚃 35473
Mechanically, 35473 is now complete apart from the vacuum cylinders, with all the bogies reassembled. It now needs a good clean and a few paint touch-ups.
Melvin has continued with the wiring, and the coach now has two charging sockets back in place, along with a few other improvements.
Bodywork is progressing well too, with the aim of having the coach in gloss soon. Inside, the old carpet from the luggage end has been removed as we progress with installing a new cupboard for train storage. We're also looking at tidying up this area as the usual water ingress in places around the doors of which a BSK has a lot of doors.
Work on the roof is continuing too, with the aim of getting that painted over the coming week. 🎨
🙌 WE NEED YOUR HELP!
Whether you're handy with:
🔌 Electrical work
🎨 Painting
🪚 Woodwork
🧹 Cleaning
🔧 General maintenance and practical jobs
…it’s all welcome!
There’s plenty to get stuck into, including repairs and improvements to Mk1s and Mk2s, along with upgrades, tidying and preparation work.
Even if you can only spare a few hours, we'd love to hear from you. Every pair of hands makes a difference!
🚂❤️ Come and be part of the team keeping our trains moving!

01/09/2026

31/08/2026

Rain, rain, go away… our passengers came anyway! 🌧️🍽️

As the rain pours down at Cheddleton and WD 701 rests at the MPD, another Bank Holiday weekend draws to a close — and what a weekend it has been!
We’re delighted to report that this has been our most successful August Bank Holiday weekend to date! 🎉

With back-to-back Murder Mystery evening services, our new-for-2026 Greek Evenings, and today’s good old-fashioned roast, there’s been plenty to enjoy.
Since Friday evening, we’ve welcomed 619 dining passengers across our services, and we’ve absolutely loved hosting every single one of you. ❤️
We’d also like to say a huge thank you to the 800 passengers who joined us for a train ride over the weekend. 🚂

None of this would be possible without the continued support of our customers. Your support allows us to keep operating this little piece of Staffordshire’s industrial heritage.
But, more importantly, without our fantastic volunteers, we simply couldn’t operate a single train.

So, a massive THANK YOU to each and every volunteer who gave up their time and supported us over what has been an incredibly busy weekend. From stations and operations to the Motive Power Department and everything in between — we couldn’t do it without you. 👏

Fancy becoming part of the team? We’re always looking for more volunteers! Whether you’re interested in station staff, the operations team, the Motive Power Department or something completely different, there’s a place for you.

[email protected]

Thank you once again to everyone who supported us this Bank Holiday weekend. ❤️🚂

01/08/2026

Whilst we always try to keep our posts positive, celebrating the incredible work of our volunteers and staff, and sharing the wonderful experiences our visitors have, occasionally something happens that simply leaves us shaking our heads.

Over recent days we have discovered that the fence we erected at the site of the future Leek station has been deliberately dismantled. Rather than being damaged accidentally, the fence has been carefully unscrewed, paling by paling, with the screws removed as well.

Sadly, that wasn't the end of it.

Our small JCB mini digger, generously funded by one of our volunteers some years ago, had been left on our land for just 24 hours awaiting collection back to our maintenance depot. During that short time, someone decided to vandalise it. Controls have been ripped off, electrical components torn out, the dipstick removed and, unbelievably, dirt and grit poured into the engine sump.

This wasn't an abandoned machine. It wasn't causing anyone any harm. It was simply waiting to be collected after helping our volunteers maintain the railway.

The real victims are our volunteers. They give up their own time, freely and willingly, to preserve and improve this railway for everyone to enjoy. They now find themselves without a vital piece of equipment that makes so many maintenance tasks quicker, safer and easier. We must now either find a replacement or hope that someone with the necessary expertise can repair what has been damaged.

We simply cannot understand why anyone would choose to do this. It serves no purpose, benefits nobody and only diverts money and volunteer effort away from improving the railway.

If anyone has seen anything suspicious around the Leek extension or has any information that may assist us, however small it may seem, we would be grateful if you could contact us privately.

Let's hope that the vast majority of people, who support and care about the railway, continue to outweigh the actions of the very few who do not.

18/07/2026

15/07/2026

🍴✨ FOOD, GLORIOUS FOOD! ✨🍴

No festival is complete without fantastic food, and we've got plenty on offer across the weekend at our wonderful Beer Festival! 🍺🚂

🍰 Friday – Warm Up for the Big Weekend

Join us at Froghall where our tearoom will be serving its usual delicious selection of food and refreshments throughout the day. With all bars across the site open as we launch the festival weekend, it's the perfect opportunity to ease yourself into the celebrations before the big day on Saturday!

🥧 Saturday – A Feast Across the Valley

At Froghall, tuck into freshly prepared pies, peas and mash as well as the usual offering of tea, coffee, cake and sandwiches – the perfect festival comfort food.

Jump aboard the train and head to Consall, where our popular in-house BBQ team as well as the fantastic Cheddleton Oatcakes will be firing up their grills alongside 35 ales and a fantastic programme of live music. 🍔🎶🍺

Over at Cheddleton, we are excited to introduce La Piccola Pizzeria, joining Dizzies Fish & Chips – a familiar face to many of you from our magical Polar Express™ Train Ride. 🍕🐟🍟

Both vendors will be serving from 10:30am until 10:00pm, keeping festivalgoers fuelled all day long.

🥞 Sunday – One Last Treat

The popular Cheddleton Oatcake van and our BBQ will be serving at Consall, while at Froghall the tearoom will once again be offering its usual delicious selection of homemade favourites.

Wherever you choose to spend your weekend, make sure you arrive hungry! 😋🍴

14/07/2026

🍺🎶 **The Rail Ale Trail Beer Festival is here this weekend!** 🎶🍺

Join us for a fantastic weekend of real ales, great music, and good times across our two venues at Consall and Cheddleton. You heard correct, this year for the first time since 2019 we have live music at Cheddleton. Located in the lower car pake you will find 20 ales, Fish and Chip Van and a Pizza van all open all day Saturday.

We've got an incredible line-up of live entertainment running all weekend to keep the festival atmosphere going from first pint to last orders! 🍻

Friday
📍 **Consall**
• Amy Sue – 5:00pm
• 3s A Crowd – 7:00pm

📍 **Cheddleton**
• Andy Johnson – 5:00pm & 7:00pm

Saturday
📍 **Consall**
• The Ronnies – 12:30pm
• Louise Millar – 2:30pm
• Chasing Twisters – 4:30pm
• Out Foxed – 6:30pm

📍 **Cheddleton**
• DJ Set – from 10:00am
• Wayne Ryles – 3:30pm
• Mileage – 5:30pm
• Crosshair – 7:30pm

Sunday
📍 **Consall**
• Johnny Lowe – 11:00am
• Ocean Drive Duo – 1:00pm

📍 **Cheddleton**
• DJ Set all day with requests welcome! 🎧

Bring your friends, enjoy some fantastic beers, support local musicians, and make a weekend of it! We can't wait to see you there. 🍺🚂🎶

01/07/2026

**Better late than never!**

As a team, we find ourselves in a bit of a lull period at the moment due to the fantastic weather, which isn't necessarily a bad thing as it gives us the opportunity to crack on with some of the more tedious and long-winded jobs.

Starting with **RK 80030**, we've now fitted an underfloor vent to improve the flow of cold air into the fridge room. With the increased number of services we're currently running, we've found the batteries are really taking a hammering in this hot weather. We're currently operating **eight dining services a week** 😳

Progress on **4354** continues, with work pressing on with all the new panelling. There are now well over 100 brand-new panels, all cut and fitted out, which are currently receiving their second coat of varnish — just one more coat to go!

**35473** continues to progress in the background. Melvin returned from holiday this week and has made a start on running all the new wiring from the roof down underneath the vehicle. Everything is now terminated in the roof, and materials have been ordered to complete the remaining underfloor work.

We're also making new battery box doors and improving a number of existing components, as we do across all of our stock. The footboards have now been removed and will be replaced with completely new ones. On the wheelsets, we've completed the bearing work and have started painting them ready to be refitted beneath the bogies. Unpictured is the considerable amount of bogie components that have been cleaned and prepared ready for painting and reassembly.

28/06/2026

Sunday Lunch... on a Monday (31st August)! 🍽️🚂**

Looking for a special way to round off the August Bank Holiday weekend?

We're pleased to say that we still have a small amount of availability remaining on our **Monday dining service**, where you can enjoy a traditional **Sunday Lunch on a Monday** aboard the Churnet Valley Railway.

Join us on what will be the final Bank Holiday of the year for a delicious meal, beautiful Staffordshire Moorlands scenery, and a relaxing steam-hauled journey through the valley.

Spaces are limited, so book now to avoid disappointment!

https://www.churnetvalleyrailway.co.uk/events/calendar?date=31/08/2026

19/06/2026

A little history lesson on our guest

Celebrating 70 vibrant years, Wimblebury, built in 1956 for the NCB (works number 3839), proudly carries the name of the colliery she served—Wimblebury—and bore the number 7 (distinct from Littleton No. 7). Part of the Cannock Chase system, she likely crossed paths with other our own diesel shunter Roger. Preserved since 1973 by Alan Williamson, an Endon farmer, she was a powerhouse at Foxfield throughout the ’70s and ’80s. After a brief rest in the ’90s, she steamed back to life in 2004, and her latest overhaul in 2017