25/12/04 MERRY CHRISTMAS 2004!

A selection of Christmas scenes from Whitrope as snow covers the ground in a white blanket. Just a few photos to show the beautiful setting of the railway in this cold weather.

Whitrope Summit, looking north	Whitrope Culvert & Golden Bridge	Golden Bridge
Ninestane Rigg Cutting	63 1/2 miles from Edinburgh, Whitrope Summit	Looking south down the B6399 at Whitrope

02/12/04 CLASS 26 LOCOMOTIVE TO RETURN TO THE WAVERLEY ROUTE

We have secured the purchase of class 26 diesel locomotive 26010 (D5310). This particular engine worked on the Waverley Route in the 1960s and its return to the line will be a historic occasion.

CLICK HERE FOR THE 26010 PAGE

10/11/04 THE WAVERLEY ROUTE HERITAGE ASSOCIATION IS 3 YEARS OLD TODAY

That's right, 3 years old today, and made all the more special as our 300th member recently joined, a fantastic response to our membership appeal. Who would have thought it, when it was formed in November 2001 by 4 people with a vision. How that number has risen over the years is truly amazing and just goes to show the love & appreciation there still is for this fantastic railway line.

As of today there is a full page of merchandise, including books & videos which will keep even the most ardent Waverley Route enthusiast occupied for days if not weeks.

Don't forget to send your Christmas orders in early though, as we don't want to disappoint anyone.

WELL DONE TO EVERYONE WHO HAS HELPED THE W.R.H.A. REACH THE DOUBLE MILESTONE - 300 in 3 years - can we make it 400 in 4?

14/10/04 A TRIP DOWN THE LINE

Thanks to a local farmer/landowner a few of us took a trip down the line from Shankend towards Stobs in the pickup truck on Monday 11th to collect another sign for restoration. These photos were taken on the way south and show the tremendous views which can be found on this section of the Waverley Route, between Stobs & Shankend. This section also boasts the greatest number of surviving overbridges so typical of the Waverley Route, with three in under one mile, and a further one (not shown) north of Stobs Castle.

Underbridge 191, near Stobs Woods	The site of Milepost 58, looking south	Looking north towards Stobs Woods, Primrose Cottages on the left
Overbridge 192, still in ok condition ...	... which, under closer inspection	... has a British Railways Board notice on either side
Overbridge 193 was the last o/b to be rebuilt, following a crash on 29th September 1965 which saw the original demolished	Overbridge 194, to the north of Milepost 59 on the approach to Shankend	The views are literally stunning, looking towards Berry Fell ...
... and looking south over Shankend Viaduct (Underbridge 195)	... which now sports British Railways Board notices at either end	One last view of Shankend Viaduct, the classic pose

26/09/04 DUNCAN ARRIVES AT WHITROPE!

After a journey down from Edinburgh on Friday evening the 24th, and a good night's sleep, Duncan is ready to come off the trailer and start work at Whitrope.  With the traditional cranking of the handle and a puff of smoke, Duncan is wide awake and off to explore his new home.... and has already been busy in the cutting shifting trees and branches.

Duncan arrives following his journey through the Borders	One proud owner!
Duncan's down....	....Weyhey! He's off!

13/09/04 MORE WORK TAKES PLACE

Despite the bad weather over the weekend, volunteers turned out in force on Sunday 12th to aid the lineside clearance in Ninestane Rigg Cutting. Clearing of the remaining parapet of Bridge 201 was also carried out, with the removal of threatening tree roots, in order to protect the brick & stone work from further deterioration. It is hoped, sometime in the future, to rebuild this famous over bridge, together with some of the other "rickety" bridges the Waverley Route was once famous for. Only managed to get four photos though, as the camera took a hammering by the constant deluge of rain.

Just before the weather turned nasty Ian Storey, Len Ashton, Andy Stoddon, Andy Lee & Dave Husband (along with Oscar & Jasper) clear away saplings	Dave "Dad" Husband clears the famous over bridge, Bridge 201
Andy Stoddon prunes more branches	Looking round the curve towards Whitrope Siding, work vehicles on top of Whitrope Culvert

08/09/04 WHITROPE CULVERT RENOVATIONS

More than 35 years after the railway closed work is now taking place renovating Whitrope Culvert. This will involve the relining of sections, repointing and laying of a new base. Whitrope Culvert was listed at Category B in July 2003, after recommendation by the WRHA.

North portal of the culvert	Looking north from inside	A section of the lining
Looking north	Len Ashton examines the south portal	South portal

08/09/04 A SELECTION OF RECENT ACTIVITIES

To give everyone an idea of the huge amount of work which has been and continues to take place by our volunteers, the following photographs show some of the works undertaken.

Andy Lee (p-way officer) continues the strimming of the cutting embankments	Bill Morrison measures & itemises the 240 individual sections of rail	Looking north up the recently cleared Ninestane Rigg Cutting, Leap Hill ahead
Sections of drain removed at Whitrope Summit, in readiness for rodding out	Looking south from on top of Whitrope Tunnel south portal, stacks of track just visible middle right	The embankment on the south side of Whitrope Culvert & the Golden Bridge (200), recently strimmed

26/08/04 OVER THE SUMMIT!

After finishing the cutting clearance, Len & Ian turned their attention to the section between the mock crossing gates and Whitrope Tunnel, which means that Whitrope Summit has now been fully cleared. The appearance of the line here is one which will rekindle memories for many people, and seeing the centre markers only adds to this as it really shows the how great the curve is, heading down grade at 1 in 96 towards the tunnel and also down towards the siding at 1 in 90.

WE NOW NEED HELP TO CONTINUE THE CLEARING & TRACK LAYING - IF YOU CAN ASSIST IN ANY WAY PLEASE CONTACT US.

Len & Ian begin to scrape the grass and mud away as Joe strims the embankment	Ian clears the cess on the up line at the centre of the summit, the 63 1/2 mile sign
Another shovel full of spoil is loaded up, the tunnel visible in the background	The curve which has been hidden for over 30 years is shown off in all it's glory - a great shot down towards the south portal of the Whitrope Tunnel

 15/08/04 NINESTANE RIGG CUTTING ALMOST FULLY CLEAR!

Having worked right through the week, Ian Cairns & Len Ashton have almost completed the clearance of the large cutting to the south of Whitrope. There is now around 2 days work left to finish this particular task, one of the last major challenges prior to tracklaying.

Len adds more spoil to the original massive spoil heaps at the south of the cutting	The massive task is plain to see from this shot	Ian & Len load up more spoil as the clearance continues
Winston Cole up to his arms in drain clearing - this particular one being located at the site of a natural spring	Looking north - the Waverley Route is back!	The full width of the line shows off the potential for this section
Toe wall (and drain) near milepost 64	Andy Lee strims the first section along the 1000 yard long cutting	Milepost 64 For those with Roger Siviter's book "Waverley - Portrait of a famous route", compare this photo with that of the late Paul Riley's, (Photo 80 in the book), showing A3 60100 Spearmint heading north

 

11/08/04 THE RAIN POURS DOWN BUT THE JOB CONTINUES

The task of clearing Ninestane Rigg Cutting continues, with Ian Cairns working right through the terrible weather. We knew the ballast would require cleaning, and the rain is helping immensely with this - plus it's not costing a penny!

Ian works away on the up line, with the exposed ballast on the down line being cleaned by the rain.	WRHA Chairman Len Ashton watches over the clearance works.	Viewed from the south, the excellent work is easily seen.
With the rain like stair rods, it wasn't easy getting this shot, but the full line width becomes easy to see from this angle.	Jasper & Oscar watch intentively whilst Ian works away.	Heading south, Ian approaches milepost 64.

 

09/08/04 NINESTANE RIGG CUTTING CLEARANCE

A number of our volunteers have spent the last couple of days clearing the large cutting to the south of Whitrope. Beneath the grass & soil the ballast remains where it was left in 1969, and will be reused on the new heritage railway, to be laid in the next few weeks.

Andy Lee, Joe Taylor & Ian Cairns stand proud over the freshly uncovered ballast.	Ian scrapes back another section of line, Milepost 64 visible between the vehicles.	Joe waits to transport the spoil whilst Ian loads the tipping trailer.
Looking north over the uncovered section. The ballast will be be cleaned prior to reuse.	Looking south, with the parapet of bridge 201 to the left, and the mini-digger in the far centre, way down the cutting.	Andy checks the latest additions to the spoil pile, which will reinstate the embankment at Whitrope Culvert.

29/06/04 MORE NEWS FROM WHITROPE & ELSEWHERE

Having forgotten all about it until kindly reminded by "The Waverley" Journal 5, we have recently acquired our first set of points for use at the Heritage Centre. These are a set of left facing 1 in 10 to those who are interested (and even those who aren't) and these will be more than useful to rebuild the trackwork at Whitrope. We are still on the lookout for other sets, so if anyone knows where else we can get any please drop us a line.

The tractor has recently had  a makeover which Carol Smilie would be proud of - and now looks resplendent in it's new livery of red, brown, erm .....  and any other colour which we could find at the time to protect it from deterioration. Plus, it also works now - which is an added bonus - although is yet to be used in anger with the 5 ton tipping trailer and the track bed scarifier. Thanks to Alan, our new Mechanical Maintenance Officer for spending endless hours on this.

Our ballast grader (which is absolutely huge!) and brakevan are currently at Ian Storey's works receiving some well needed attention before being brought to Whitrope. It is hoped to have the ballast grader fully operational in order to clean the old ballast from the line and re-use it, saving on thousands of pounds. 

The WRHA tractor gleaming at Whitrope	Ballast Grader at Ian Storey's works.	WRHA-owned brake van, with Stewart, Andy & Ian.

23/05/04 WEATHER PERFECT FOR THE MOAT - PENTON WALK

An absolutely wonderful day was had by all those who attended the walk from Moat Village Hall, to Penton & return. The weather was perfect and the breeze kept the midges at bay.

Total number of WRHA members to contribute to this event was 17 - for which we thank them all.

Thanks should go to Susan & the ladies of Moat, who organised the day, which included tea, coffee & refreshments afterwards.

1) First thing of note was Milepost 83, with missing milesign from the top of the post	2) Like many sections of track, the drainage is a problem which requires work	3) At Penton, the boundary stops walking any further along the line, beyond this point being private property not covered on the walk
4) Although it is still possible to catch a glimpse of the 3 arched bridge at Penton, carrying the road over it	5) The group of walkers convene for the trek back to Moat from Penton	6) The walk back shows off some impressive scenery
7) And even more scenery	8) And this track cant marker, stamped Down 27	9) And Up 55
10) Whilst even more of the trackbed clearance can be seen by this shot, of ash removal	11) Meanwhile ... the walk back to Moat goes on	12) And over the fields the viaduct for Langholm can easily be seen.
13)As the walk grows to a close, the trackbed (unable to be traversed) passes beneath us as we walk over this bridge	14)Whilst the viaduct towards Langholm can easily be spotted	15)And over the bridge we go, back towards Moat : all up hill!
16)And into the village hall, where everyone received a bite to eat & a drink

 

10/5/04

The 2nd Annual General Meeting of the WRHA was held at Hermitage Community Hall yesterday (Sunday 9th May). The majority of the members who attended are pictured here. The WRHA wishes to thank the residents of Hermitage for providing the excellent venue.

10/5/04 WHITROPE FENCING PHOTOS ADDED AT LAST !

Daffodils planted by the WRHA last year add brightness to the roadside at Whitrope	Section of new fencing adjcent to Bridge 199, looking south	The new fence at the Golden Bridge
Replacement sleepers hold the tensioners at the Golden Bridge	Whitrope Culvert with the new fence over the top	The Golden Bridge with the recently exposed toe-wall and new fence

15/04/04 MORE WORKS AT WHITROPE

Despite the "damp" weather work has carried on at Whitrope. A few photos showing the new large drainage ditches which should prevent deterioration at both Ninestane Rigg (Whitrope) Cutting, and at Whitrope Tunnel.

General view looking north at Whitrope	The stone & brickwork stands out at Whitrope Culvert & the Golden Bridge	Ninestane Rigg (Whitrope) Cutting The newly excavated drainage ditch on top of the eastern embankment should help prevent further slips in the cutting.
Whitrope Tunnel One of the new drainage ditches at the tunnel. The new ditches will keep water away from the south portal.	Oscar & Jasper don't mind getting wet if it gets them out of the house

 

1/4/04 PERMANENT WAY WORKS UNDERWAY

WRHA's Permanent Way Officer Joe Taylor and his squad have recently been busy excavating the problematic ditches on the top of Ninestane Rigg (Whitrope) Cutting, the cause of several large landslips. Further work has been undertaken on renovation of the fences at Whitrope, the new fence wire ready and waiting for more posts to be straightened or replaced. Thanks also to Shankend Mac.

Scene of the slip by MP64 in the cutting	The 3 excavated ditches on top of the cutting	The front ditch (nearest the lineside)