Tracking Our Heritage
In 2018/19 the trust successfully secured funding for an oral history project which focused on the railway between Matlock and Rowsley. There were many successful outcomes from the project and the trust continues to promote the sound recordings, transcripts, booklet and exhibition which were just some of the products from the year-long work.
Having successfully secured a national lottery grant the trust invited people to record their memories of the Matlock, Darley Dale and Rowsley section of the former Midland railway line.
“Tracking our Heritage” was launched on Monday 16 April 2018 by the President of Peak Rail, Pete Waterman. He unveiled the full details of the project at a press briefing which took place at Darley Dale station.
He commented, “It’s important we don’t lose our history. The spoken word is one of the best ways to record events. People’s memories are fantastic and you find out stuff they would have never written down.”
The Derwent & Wye Valley Railway Trust project has received £10,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) with additional financial support from the Peak Railway Association, Darley Dale Town Council, Matlock Town Council, private individuals and DWVRT itself.
The research explored and recorded the oral histories of:
- former emplyees of the railway;
- people who used the railway for all sorts of purposes
- volunteers who have worked on Peak Rail since it was developed as a heritage line over 40 years ago.
“Tracking our Heritage” trained volunteers in how to conduct interviews, research historical documents and record information. Interviews and researched work was used to produce an exhibition, a booklet and a digital archive. Recordings and transcripts were deposited at the Derbyshire Record Office, the East Midlands Oral History Archive at the University of Leicester, and in the archives of the Peak Railway Association.
“Tracking our Heritage” engaged the local communities of Matlock, Darley Dale and Rowsley in uncovering local heritage based around the section of the former mainline railway, by working with people of many ages. Young people, schools and volunteers produced a “timeline” history of the heritage railway operation and the former mainline railway reproduced in the booklet. To get people involved the trust held “show and tell” events where people brought along memorabilia, shared stories and exchanged memories.
The booklet and exhibition banners can be viewed in the pdf files below:
Tracking Our Heritage Booklet
Tracking Our Heritage Exhibition Banner
Groups can always contact us if they want someone to talk to them about this project. If you would like us to loan you the pull-up exhibition banners, please contact us at dwvrtrust@gmail.com
Sound Clips
Dorothy Webster’s father worked as a train guard from the 1920s onwards.
Ethne Dawson recounts her first job as bookings clerk at Rowlsey station. She recalls the station team, the office and an unexpected visit from the police one day.
Ethne Dawson started work at Rowsley station when she was 16 in the early 1960s. Here she describes the station and station cottages.
Peter Else grew up around the railway. The lines and trains were part of his daily life.
Peter Else’s dad kept his in-laws sweet with coals ‘from the back of the loco tender’.
Peter Else recalls his first wage, when he started as a railwayman’s apprentice aged 15 at the start of the 1960s.
David Fearn’s mother used to take him by train to meet his dad during the war. Here he recalls some favourite journeys, late nights at the Derby picture house and a mystery station in Sheffield.
David Fearn’s family had always booked their family holiday rail tickets at Darley Dale station to travel for their annual holiday. In 1958, David began a daily commute to work. Here he tells Nigel Carabine about his regular commute and using the train for special work duties.
David Fearn describes a memorable 9th birthday and taking the train south for the football at Derby County.
Ralph Jackson was made redundant in the first wave of job losses in 1964 as Rowsley was scheduled for closure. Here he and Alma Jackson discusses the low morale at the time and how every rail worker had to decide whether to stay local or move away.
Ralph Jackson helped stop a runaway train and lived to tell the tale!
Mick Beigg recalls beginning work on the railway, aged 15, in the early 1950s, and explains his early jobs as a bar lad and working on a banker.
Mick Beigg recalling some memorable characters who worked on the local railways.
David Nevell describes the Darley Dale camping coaches of a 1950s childhood holiday. The camping coaches were railway coaches kitted out as static holiday accommodation.
Sheila Rayson describes the running down of the original Peak Rail base at Buxton. In the late 1980s as Buxton quarries sent stone to build the Channel Tunnel, and the Buxton line became a busy conduit for goods trains, Peak Rail could not gain access south to Matlock so moved the focus to Matlock and Darley Dale.
For Sheila Rayson, Peak Rail provided a welcome focus after she was widowed and retired from paid work. Here Sheila describes the 1990s expansion northwards to Rowsley South after rebuilding the line from Darley Dale to Matlock.
Former Peak Rail director Sheila Rayson tells the story of bringing Rowsley South station and the new Peak Rail headquarters site into being.
Sheila Rayson remembers the early days of Peak Rail’s first shop at Matlock station.
Sheila Rayson was involved with Peak Rail for over 40 years, from her initial interest as a volunteer photographer to becoming a Director of Peak Rail PLC in the 1990s. Here, Sheila describes how she first became involved as Peak Rail’s photographer.
Keith Sheldon, whose father was a Rowsley driver, describes engine banking on the Rowsley to Peak Forest gradient heading northwards.
Keith Sheldon recounts his father’s career on the railways, and walking to work at all hours of day and night.
As a schoolboy, Keith Sheldon used to meet his train driver dad for breakfasts fried on a shovel and illicit train rides.
Keith Sheldon remembers the line of the slow train in the 1940s and 50s, and what happened between Matlock and Darley Dale when the football crowd caught the Manchester express by mistake!
Tony Brook recalls 1950s summer holiday journeys to swim at Matlock Lido, and how he and his friends helped put out a fire by the line.
Trevor Whelbourn worked on goods trains, and sometimes had to lodge overnight in London. Here he describes the special route the night-scheduled fast goods trains took to London.
Trevor Whelbourn describes a very long night in the snow, waiting and hoping to get home from his shift.
Trevor Whelbourn loved the variety of his work on the trains. Here he recalls swapping in with the driver in order to learn how to drive.
Trevor Whelbourn explains why runaway trains were once a feature of the line, but don’t happen nowadays.
Trevor Welbourn began work as a Bar Boy. Here he describes the job and how he had to beat the height text in order to start work on the railways, and attend annual medicals once in post.
Stuart Woodhouse names the local railway men’s pubs and clubs.
Stuart Woodhouse has fond memories of his childhood on the local railways. Here he recalls footplate rides, Sunday school outings, the Miller’s Dale viaduct and Royal-watching at Rowsley.
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