Driving diesels at the Ecclesbourne Valley Railway.

What happens when three railway geeks get bought a present by their respective family and friends of the "Diesel Driving Experience" from the Ecclesbourne Valley Railway.
We got to drive a 1960s diesel railcar and then a Class 31 diesel locomotive, and as Darren said, "this is amazing!"
Our line of track ran for 9 miles from Wirksworth to Duffield in Derbyshire. That was plenty of track to get a really good idea of the feeling of driving a real train.
Everybody at the railway was wonderful and made the day so truly memorable, with special thank you to Lewis and Peter, our very able instructors, who made sure we all had fun and stayed safe at the same time!
If you'd like to book a similar experience or if you just fancy a day visiting a most excellent preserved railway in Derbyshire then go to:
www.e-v-r.com/
where you can find all the details.

[@ianjones4116]

Im 61 nnow, i still remember my dad letting me drive a dmu on the Central Wales line, passengers hadnt got a clue a 13yr old was driving lol. Not many trains you had to change gear manually. Wish i hadnt taken it all for granted back then. The cab rides over the Cambrian in the baby Sulzers or the 37s beat the dmu though. Didnt realise just how lucky i was. If only we could go back. Thanks Dad ❤👍

[@JohnnyHooverTravels]

What brilliant memories! I did a diesel driving experience a while ago. It is on the channel. I got to drive a railcar with manual gears.. and a Class 31 too. You might enjoy that 😃 Thanks again and thanks for watching 👍

[@cryzcryz2345]

Amazing experience! Why are you not driving? 🙂 I love all trains! Greatings from Hull x

[@JohnnyHooverTravels]

Haha. I need more training than that. Too old to start now! But it was nice to give it a go for one day. Thanks, as ever, for watching and saying such kind things about the videos 👍

[@cliffyoung4612]

Excellent. Looks like you were all having lots of fun, especially Darren.

[@JohnnyHooverTravels]

Yes, Darren's enthusiasm really made the day more special. 👍for Darren!

[@cryzcryz2345]

Oh yes, Darren charmed me!

[@Northerner_Transport_Hub]

Hi Johnny, on the 121 how long did you get driving each? It didn't seem very long!

[@JohnnyHooverTravels]

It maybe seemed short on the video, but we were out on both trains for nearly 2 hours for each as I recall. So we all got a reasonable go in the driver's seat. And it was really fun even when you weren't driving.

[@Northerner_Transport_Hub]

@JohnnyHooverTravels I love 121s so maybe some time I'll give it a try