The former Midland Railway route from Pye Bridge to
Ambergate closed in 1968. The Midland Railway Trust ran its first trains out of
Butterley towards Swanwick Junction in 1981. The MRC now operates a 3½ mile
line from Hammersmith to Ironville, where there is a connection to Network Rail
and the London St Pancras to Sheffield main line. Swanwick became the main
museum centre as well as the junction for the former Swanwick colliery branch.
We first visited Butterley during a gala day in the autumn
of 1982, when these pictures were taken. There was certainly plenty of activity,
with a number of engines in steam and some double-heading taking place. Whether
that was sufficient on the day to entertain our children of 4, 2 and a few
months, I’m not so sure.
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