For 2016 the Churnet Valley Railway is delighted to see the return of
 our popular "Winter Steam Gala" on its traditional last weekend of
 February date. Unfortunately due to an issue beyond the CVR's control, we are forced to
 announce that our plans for a fourth loco have had to be scrapped due
 to access issues at Froghall.
We are hoping the issue does not prove
 to be long term, in fact positive talks are presently ongoing. However
 at present we currently have no way of allowing low loaders to access
 the CVR, and with the event less than a month away the decision has
 been made to cancel the proposed hire agreement we had for Beattie
 Well Tank no. 30585 now rather than hold out in hope, only to then
 cancel at the last minute. This change has only happened
 recently, and subsequently some of our press releases we sent out are
 now wrong for which we can only offer our apologies.

The show will go on though with the three engines we have onsite
 operating to a new gala timetable. Star of the show will
 be the return to service of USATC S160 no. 6046, operating her first
 trains along the CVR since April 2014. The locomotive suffered a
 catastrophic failure in September 2014 whilst out on hire, and has not
 pulled a train since, so this will be the first chance to ride behind
 her following repairs.

Winter guest GWR 'Taffy Tank' no. 5619 will be operating her final
 public services along the CVR before her planned return home to Bodmin
 in March. The locomotive arrived on hire to cover for 6046 absence
 over the Christmas period, and the locomotive has proved to be a
 powerful and efficient engine on the services she has operated along
 our line.

She will spend the weekend though operating as sister loco 6643, as part of the weekend one of the many railtours run in 1950s and 60s is to be re-created. 6643 hauled the Swansea Railway Circle’s ‘The Rambling 56’ tour on 31st July 1965, which was a farewell to the class around the Welsh Valleys they were associated with during their last year in operation.
The third and final engine in service will be our ever-reliable Polish
 TKh no. 2944. Having received her "Hotspur" nameplates during the
 course of her winter maintenance, the loco will be operating at her
 first steam gala since restoration was completed in June 2014.

Further attractions for the weekend will see a re-creation of Station Pilot duties around Cheddleton, where both the line's Engine
 Shed and Carriage & Wagon workshop will be open to visitors, allowing people
 to see behind the scenes.

For further information please see our events’ page >here<.