Latest News from the Railway.

Update 25th October 2007

Cement works update
Since the demolition of the old packing shed (what used to be our C&W shed) back in the summer things have moved a pace on the cement works site. All of the buildings have now been demolished leaving just the main chimney and the dwarf remains of the second chimney standing.

Work has gone on below ground level as well with most of the hard standing roadways now also being broken up to allow the contractors to treat soil contamination. Deep pits appear almost over night.

One down side of this work has been the temporary truncation of the one siding and the relocation of passenger vehicles away form the worst of the dust which has made for an interesting re-think of what stock is positioned where.

At the time of writing the railway is effectively land locked as the access road used for delivery and collection of rolling stock and other heavy items has also been dug up to allow the contaminated soil to be treated. This work was pre-planned and there has been full co-operation between the contractors and the railway, which ensured no planned rolling stock movements in or out of Chinnor were cancelled. We are expecting the roadway to be re-instated shortly.

The original planning application for the cement works site was withdrawn to allow modifications to the proposals to be incorporated. A revised application is in the process of being submitted at this time.

Carriage & Wagon
The LNWR brake 3rd 7340 has been refitted as mess coach. It is now sporting a new fitted kitchen, refurbished seating and working areas.

Mk 1 TSO 4580 was taken out of traffic following regular maintenance inspections. The coach was taken off site for wheel turning by EWS and was returned very promptly to traffic.

Locomotives
GWR Pannier 6430 visited us in July from Llangollen to celebrate 50 years since closure of the line to passenger traffic. The locomotive worked both regular passenger trains in addition to operating with GWR Auto Coach W 225 W on loan form the South Devon Railway for the celebrations. See 50 year anniversary page for more details.

Finally we are pleased to announce that Pannier Tank 9682 has been confirmed as our principle locomotive for 2008.

New Loco for Chinnor... PRESS RELEASE July 2007

The Chinnor and Princes Risborough Railway are proud to announce that ex-GWR Pannier tank No 6430 will be visiting Chinnor from 21st & 22nd and 28/29th July 2007.

This British Railways Green liveried locomotive has been hired by arrangement with the Llangollen Railway and will be working together with Carmine and Cream Autotrailer No W225W over the weekends of 21st/22nd and 28/29th July.

Chinnor Cement Works, BSK Refurbishment, Signal Box

Work has finally begun on the demolition of the old Chinnor Cement Works. The developers are still making adjustments to the final plans for the site but rest assured that the C&PRR will continue to operate throughout the whole development period. It is expected that a new entrance road will be created a little way up Chinnor Hill Road - just above our current entrance road - and we will eventually be using this as the entrance to the railway. We hope the plans will include an enlarged car parking facility for us. Obviously there may be minor disruption to access onto the site at time when earthmoving and other vehicles may be entering or leaving the site. Where possible these disruptions will be notified here.
Many thanks and well done to all the volunteers who worked many long hours to clear the loco/wagon shed (cement works packing shed) in time for the demolition to begin.

We have recently taken delivery of our refurbished BSK coach with freshly painted livery. Well done to the volunteers that worked so hard to reinstall the seats in time for our Thomas weekend (5th, 6th & 7th May). The coach looks great.

Work on the new (refurbished) Signal Box has slowed due to the season opening but it is hoped it will be ready for installation in the not too distant future. There is a lot of signally work to be done before the box can be put in place to allow the lever frame to operate correctly.

APPEAL: If you have any news, stories or memories about the railway when it was operating as a full branch line from Princes Risborough to Watlington or even just to the Cement Works, we'd love to hear them and publish them here on our celebration page for the 50th anniversary of the line closure later this year. Please use the feedback form to get in contact.

Now open again for the new 2007 season

We are once again up and running for the new season. Work is progressing well on the signal box project, the foundation is complete and work continues on the refurbishment of the box in Maidenhead.
We have been advised that the Chinnor Cement Works has finally been sold to Taylor Woodrow for redevelopment into housing and small business units. The volunteers have been very busy of late removing our equipment from one of the old packing sheds as demolition is due to start on the site in April. Well done all who helped with this. The proposed redevelopment means that some of our overflow parking has been reduced. Some of our events may have restricted parking on our site.
Our BSK is still away for refurbishment and may not be available for the Thomas event in May. This has reduced the number of exclusive compartments we have available.

Closed Season Work - 2007

We will now be closed until March for necessary maintenance work. There's lots to do. Further work on the foundations for the new signal box & telephone system. Also lots of sorting out of parts and stores. Maintenance on the small plant is very necessary as is ground work on the permanent way, so if you have some spare time over the next few months and would like to lend a hand, our team of volunteers would welcome you.

Santa & Mince Pie Specials

Despite some problems with carriages, lighting, and coalling, these events went off very well. Many customers took the time to feedback to us how happy they were with the events. Thanks to all those volunteers who took part with both the Customer Services, Operations and Behind the scenes work. Thanks also to the local Christian Aid Choir who took part in our "Carols Evening", they made the night most memorable.

Signal Box for Chinnor.

The project is progressing apace, the foundations have been dug, the concrete base has been laid and the support walls have been built. Work will progress throughout our closed period on the signalling rod-work and the cabling required.

New Telephone System.

Steve Growcott has been busy installing our new internal telephone system, making use of a donated Panasonic system. The original Merlin system that Richard Floyd installed some time back finally gave up on us a while back. The new system is smaller and neater and will give the railway considerable flexibility in the future.

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