Tag: Event

Nottingham Road Cemetery Walking Tour

An aerial view of Nottingham Road Cemetery at Derby showing many graves and the distinctive chapel and gateway.

The Friends of the Nottingham Road Cemetery at Derby are holding an Open Day on Saturday 12 September as part of the Heritage Open Days scheme. We are delighted to support the event with a small presence and will be talking to visitors about the multitude of Midland Railway employees who lie there for eternity. […]

The Greatest Gathering Windfall

A huge crowd of people entering the Greatest Gathering as the gates open

Last summer, volunteers from the Midland Railway Society were deeply involved in The Greatest Gathering, the unforgettable event hosted by Alstom at Derby’s Litchurch Lane Works as part of the wildly successful Railway200 celebrations. Given that this was the Midland Railway’s Carriage & Wagon Works, we very much regarded ourselves as the Home Team, so […]

Soar Lane Wharf Lifting Bridge

The lifting bridge is a large wooden frame with gears and chains which allows the deck of the bridge to be raised.

The Midland Railway Society were honoured to be present at a ceremony on Saturday, 25 April 2026  where the Leicester City Mayor, Sir Peter Soulsbury  officially opened The Soar Lane Wharf Lifting Bridge. Built in 1834 for the Leicester and Swannington Railway, to a design by Robert Stephenson this historic structure has been re-erected at the […]

Private Jacob Rivers V.C.

A montage of images taken at the rededication ceremony to Pvt. Jacob Rivers V.C. at Derby's Nottingham Road Cemetery.

Jacob Rivers of Derby gave his life in the most valiant of circumstances at the Battle Neuve Chapelle, 111 years ago today. He was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross. Although a professional soldier since 1899, by 1911 he was a Reservist living back home at Derby with his mother. His younger brother, Issac, was a […]

Our Display at The Greatest Gathering

Andrew Cholerton, the Midland Railway Society's Bookstall Manager, sits ready to welcome the influx of visitors to The Greatest Gathering on the Society's stand. In the foreground is a table of books, to the left is a three-dimensional model of Derby's Litchurch Lane Carriage & Wagon Works and behind him are two large display boards titled "The Story of Litchurch Lane" - first is "Thomas Clayton: Innovator in Design and Production Engineering The Many Good Years" and the second "...and a Few Bad Ones"

The Midland Railway Society had a fantastic weekend at The Greatest Gathering and we have nothing but praise and thanks to the small but exceptionally hard working team at Alstom who pulled it off. Over the three days we met and chatted with an incredible number of people on our stand – the breadth of […]

The “Other” Greatest Gathering

THE GREATEST GATHERING Derby Market Hall — 1-3 August The Derwent Valley Line Community Rail Partnership is hosting The Greatest Gathering fringe event. Taking place at Derby Guildhall Market, the event is family focused with a heritage display, model railway and train themed board games plus all the usual attractions in the market hall. The event is free and does not require a pre-booked ticket 200 to attend, just turn up and enjoy the train-related fun on offer! Friday 1 August 9am-6pm Saturday 2 August 9am-9pm Sunday 3 August 11am-3pm

Alstom’s once in a generation celebration of railway history at Litchurch Lane is barely days away and, as you might imagine, is taking up a lot of time on the part of the Society. We are really looking forward to it and are most grateful, not only to Alstom for the invitation, but most of […]