Eden Valley Railway (heritage railway)
The Eden Valley Railway is a standard gauge heritage railway in Cumbria, England. It runs over a section of the original Eden Valley Railway in a north-westerly direction from the line's base at Warcop station. The line is run by the Eden Valley Railway Trust, formerly the Eden Valley Railway Society.
The railway operates passenger trains from March to September on the weekends and Bank Holidays and some weekday workings in summer.
History
The original Eden Valley Railway opened in 1862, linking Penrith and Kirkby Stephen via Appleby-in-Westmorland. Passenger traffic ended in 1962 and the line was reduced to the track between the junction at Appleby station with the Settle-Carlisle Line and Kirkby Stephen which served a quarry. By 1976 all that was left was of track between Appleby in Westmorland and Flitholme. It was used by infrequent British Army services to Warcop Training Area until 1989.In 1995 the Eden Valley Railway Society was formed with the primary objective of restoring the Warcop to Appleby section of the line, and a secondary object of, if possible, extending it to Kirkby Stephen once the initial section was in operation. On 3 August 2004 the Eden Valley Railway Order 2004 came into action, allowing the trust to undertake railway operations on the track from Appleby to Flitholme near Warcop.
Heritage railway services resumed in 2006 between Warcop and Sandford, with an extension of to Southfields being opened in 2013, giving a current running line of almost.