Cab ride in 33035!

This weekend I got to do something that I've never managed to do before, have a cab ride in a mainline diesel loco. The Pioneer Diesel Locomotive Group's 33035 (the former D6553) was the locomotive in question and although the ride was a short one what it lacked in length in made up for in steepness!

33035 at the top of the Ravenstor Incline, 5/10/13

After spending five months under repair 33035 was undergoing testing of its electrical system on the 1 in 27 Ravenstor Incline at Wirksworth on the Ecclesbourne Valley Railway in Derbyshire.

View of the Ravenstor Incline from the Secondman's seat of 33035, 5/10/13

After a spirited ride up the incline there was time for a brief chat with Mike Jacobs and James from the PDLG about the loco itself, the railway and the local quarries that were one of the reasons that the line was built in the first place (and why it remained open until the late 1980s) before a more sedate trip back down to Wirksworth station.

Thanks must go to the The Pioneer Diesel Locomotive Group and John Evans, the Duty Manager at the Ecclesbourne Valley Railway for making it possible.