D8 on ‘Peak’ form with gala freight working

‘Peak’ D8 Penyghent rumbles south through Darley Dale on August 13, with a short freight train (the 1545 Rowsley South to Matlock Riverside). Peak Rail operates the line as a preserved four-mile section of what was once the Midland Railway’s main line to Manchester. Network Rail owns the line south of Matlock, which joins the main London St Pancras-Sheffield route at Ambergate Junction. Part of the disused trackbed further north from Peak Rail forms the 8½-mile Monsal Trail, which is popular with walkers and cyclists.