FoGS were delighted that His Grace, the Duke of Norfolk, took time out during his visit to the area to call at Glossop Station on Sunday 13th July.
Following his attendance at a special Drumhead Service in Manor Park commemorating lost local soldiers in the Great War and organised by Glossop British Legion, the Duke made his visit to the Station.
FoGS Chairman, Neil Williams accompanied Northern Rail’s Glossop Line Manager, Theo McLauchlin with Natalie Loughborough, Northern Rail's Customer Services Director, gave him a short tour of the station. Opened in 1847 by his ancestor the 13th Duke of Norfolk he was also able to see the more recent improvements that have taken place.

AN HISTORIC PLAQUE IS UNVEILED
Before leaving the Duke unveiled a plaque marking the historic link to the Howard family's building of the station by the 13th Duke of Norfolk in 1847. The iconic lion standing proudly over the station's frontage is now explained! In his speech the Duke made everyone laugh when he said the original cost had been £10,000 to build the station but the 13th Duke later sold it to the Sheffield, Ashton under Lyne and Manchester Railway Company and got his money back! Neil, from FOGS, spoke of the Duke's vision in creating Glossop Central station thus ensuring Glossop was connected to the main line just over a mile away. And with the station now 167 years old it continues to do its job and, currently passenger figures, approaching 800,000 annually are the highest in its history!
Accompanied by Natalie and Theo the Duke was shown the Poetry Platform where the current display commemorates The Great War. Like many families The Duke lost relatives in this period (Poems selected by Penny Greenwood/display by Paul Marsh).
Moving across to The Embankment Garden he was surprised to hear how this was tended when Neil explained that a little band of FoGS' gardeners had been doing work between 6am and 9am before he arrived! Natalie advised the Duke that the early start was necessary to meet the safety regulations issued by Network Rail.
He was then shown the Waiting Rooms with their displays where he met Norma Creedy and Doreen Ball whose paintings are currently on show in the Art Gallery. The tour concluded with a look inside the new Twig cafe where the Duke met owners Lee and Mike.
Other guests at the event included The Mayor and Mayoress of High Peak, Councillor Alan Barrow and his wife Sue, the leader of High Peak Council, Caitlin Bisknell, County Councillors Dave Wilcox and Damien Greenhalgh, Chair of The High Peak and Hope Valley Community Rail Partnership. Also inattendance was Borough Councillor Jean Wharmby whose support of work done at the station goes back over 8 years.
Before he left he was presented with two gifts; a specially created framed montage of historic station pictures, made by Paul Marsh and in a "book" (which deceptively was a box!) was a sample of Bunty Gibson's renowned rocky road cake!  A selection of poems written by pupils at The Duke of Norfolk Primary school was also given to the Duke by Caroline England and her daughter Charlotte.
FoGS would like to say a big thank you to Neill Manchee from Glossop British Legion for his help in arranging this visit and to Anthony Wright from Glossop Historical Society for support and advice. Our thanks to Natalie and Theo for attending, after a very busy period for Northern and, as always, for the unique support that Northern gives. And finally, of course our sincere thanks to His Grace, The Duke for being a most amenable and interested guest.

The big weekend finally came on 5th and 6th July - Allez Glossop and Le Tour de France! Saturday morning began with rain but quickly cleared to turn into a lovely day. Weeks of planning swung into action. Paul Spencer and Theo Mclauchlan from Northern had arranged for extra staff including many of their colleagues to man both Glossop and Hadfield stations from early morning to early evening. FOGS were offering a Welcome Table with some stunning posters created by Paul Marsh giving details of access to both the Longdendale Valley and Manor Park. Everyone looked cheery and bright in their Northern yellow "Taking you to the Tour" Tshirts! With barriers in place to ensure swift passage inside and outside the station passengers soon began to arrive and questions were many all day! Northern's free bang bangs for the children were very well received! The spirit of Northern at its best was evident again! Special thanks to John LeGrove, John Kimpton, Penny, Bunty, Andrea and Anthony from FOGS for hours of work at the Welcome Table and with SUNDAY CLEANING!
On the Sunday the day of Le Grand Depart Stage Two from York there was a sense of excitement in the air! Again Northern Managers were out and about at Hadfield and Glossop to ensure people got on the right trains and made the bus connections at Hadfield. Neil set off in his yellow Tshirt at 8.30 for Woodhead via the Longdendale trail where he joined an army of local folk heading in the same direction. It took him 2 and a half hours to reach Woodhead to find his viewing spot. Hundreds were gathering at the Holme Moss/Woodhead road junction in anticipation of an unusual viewing spot. Thousands of people eventually lined the route all with good humour! The weather was lovely despite a forecast of showers. Everyone was hoping that people watching on television would see our lovely Derbyshire Valleys at their best! Neil created a little oasis for Northern roadside by giving out Northern freebies which were very well received! The parade of sponsors passed by at around 1.30 pm with an array of French and English vehicles. The fun had begun! At 3.15 the first of 8 helicopters appeared to huge cheers and we knew the bikes were on their way! One breakaway leader Kadri, France shot by to huge cheers and sirens followed by packs of riders over the next ten minutes. Just when we thought it was over 3 more appeared to cheers of Keep Going! Sheffield that way! Then the long trek home begun and thousands hit the trail and roads. With thousands of cyclists the effect was of colourful waterfalls on the move! On the trail, in a very kind gesture, Derbyshire Fire Service and The Salvation Army gave out free sandwiches and water! Derbyshire Fire Service had also assisted in the putting up of the bunting around Glossop making it so very cheery and attractive! Neil called by the station at 18.00 to find all had gone well - a happy team of Northern managers were sharing stories. They were very appreciative of the help FOGS had given and the hospitality of the newly opened Twig cafe at the station.  David Jones, from the Glossop Chronicle, had taken a team photo in the afternoon. Apart from the disappointment of ITV cutting to adverts downhill from Holme Moss (Big groans from the crowd in Manor Park!) the day was judged a big success at the Stations, in Manor Park and in the Valley! FOGS would like to thank Paul and Theo for all their help, planning and support and their Northern colleagues too. We would also like to thank Sarah Porru, Economic and Regeneration Officer at High Peak Borough Council, for her inspired vision of transforming Glossop into Allez Glossop for Le Tour and the fantastic community spirit which was engendered. Merci beaucoup for a very special Tour de France weekend in Glossop!

On Saturday 5th July Twig Cafe opened in the former booking office at Glossop station. Months of hard work have resulted in a stunning transformation of the room by owners Lee and Mike. Combining historic features with contemporary design the final result is one of style! The cafe offers a wide range of hot and cold drinks and sandwiches, paninis, baguettes and cakes - all at very competitive prices. The cafe opens at 6am weekdays until early evening. We hope you will visit! We wish Lee and Mike and their staff every success with Twig cafe at Glossop station

ON SUNDAY 6th JULY there will be no additional Northern Rail services into Glossop from Manchester, but there will be local shuttle bus services operating.
The (return) fare will be £4 for a ‘Day Ticket’. As these services are special there will be no further concessions although children under 5 who do not occupy a seat will be carried free of charge (subject to a maximum of 4 per fare paying passenger). Dogs will also be carried free at the discretion of the bus driver. The service to Crowden will pick up only at the places shown on the timetable. Return buses will pick up only at Crowden setting down only at the points shown on the timetable and at Hadfield Station (Station Road). The last shuttle bus from Hadfield Station is scheduled for 12:15 and there will be buses in the car park on return. Service buses on the day are planned to operate to normal routes and timetables except for in the centre of Glossop where they will not be able to use Henry Street. Service 61 (Glossop – Buxton) will terminate on High Street West with buses then running via Primrose Lane and Turnlee Road instead of Victoria Street. Buses in to Glossop will use Victoria Street as normal but will terminate on High Street West rather than Henry Street. Service 202 will terminate on High Street West rather than Henry Street.
CLICK HERE for a full timetable of the bus services on the day. For timetables and more information of Northern Rail's services on "Le Tour" weekend CLICK HERE.
Along with the other CARNIVAL IN THE PARK events in Manor Park on the weekend  5th and 6th July you will also be able to watch "Le Grand Depart" on the BIG SCREEN on 6th July.
For more details of "Le Tour" in the area go to the official Derbyshire County Council website with links to "Le Grand Depart" schedule

We are delighted to announce that the Dinting in Ceramics project run by High Peak Community Arts and Project earth was formally launched at Dinting station on Wednesday 18th June. Organised by the indefatigable Alison Bowry, (who has masterminded the whole project with aplomb!) Janet Gill, Deputy Chair of Derbyshire County Council formally opened the project at the station along with about 60 guests. The formal presentations/refreshments followed later on in Bradbury House. The ceramics were made by a group of about 20 people experiencing mental distress and other long term conditions. Working with Glossop ceramicist Adrian Holt, the project began in September 2013 with talks, photos and a station visit. Over many weeks the 5 ceramic pictures gradually took shape. They feature a whole variety of images in and around the station - Dinting Arches, the triangle of lines, DJ signal box cat!.....Adrian put finishing touches to them in the New Year and boxed them in blue ready for fixing. This proved the most problematical phase as extensive discussions were necessary with Northern to find a safe way of doing this. We are hugely grateful to Theo, our Line Manager, for all his advice and ideas as to how to best group them and to Alan the builder from New Mills who did the fixing helped by John Kimpton, Beryl and Neil on two very hot days at Dinting! Passengers and Network Rail staff were bemused but very interested! Passenger reaction has been extremely positive and Alison is doing her best to promote the project via local press. Do go and see these remarkable ceramics! FOGS would like to extend sincere thanks and also congratulations to Alison for her inspiration and enthusiasm with this project. And to the people who made them with such care and detail. We wish them well with future projects!
To see photographs of the launch event click here or to go to High Peak Community Arts Project website.

ON SUNDAY 6th JULY the second stage of the world famous Le Tour de France Cycle Race passes Glossop and Hadfield at nearby Holme Moss and Woodhead in Derbyshire Up to 40.000 people are expected to visit this scenic section of the Peak Park in the Longdendale Valley via Glossop.

The race starts in Leeds on Saturday for the first part of "Le Grand Depart" with the second stage on Sunday from York to Sheffield. The caravan of vehicles preceding the cycles is expected through at around 13.00 with the cycles following at around 15.00. For more information for Glossop and our region visit our dedicated "Tour de France" page here.

FOGS is delighted that His Grace the Duke of Norfolk is to visit Glossop Station on Sunday 13th July. The Duke is attending a special Drumhead Service organised by Glossop British Legion in Manor Park on that day to commemorate lost local soldiers in the Great War.
The Duke has kindly agreed to make a short visit after this service to Glossop Station. Northern and FOGS then hope to give him a short tour so that he can view the improvements that have taken place.The Duke will then unveil a plaque to link the opening of the station in 1847 by his ancestor the 13th Duke of Norfolk and the opening of the branch line to Dinting in 1845.
Private construction of lines and stations were most unusual in these early days of railway development. The Howard Family has significant local links to Glossop and the Howard family lion still stands proudly over the frontage of the station!
The current Duke has the additional title of 5th Baron Howard of Glossop. More details about this visit, including timings, will appear on this site. Provisionally the visit is scheduled for late afternoon.

FOGS reported with sadness the death on 23rd April of Jimmy Melia at the age of 92.
Jimmy was the last surviving signalman who worked Glossop signal box up to its closure. He, of course, worked many other boxes on the Woodhead route including Dinting the only signal box now operational on the Glossop Line. Jimmy was a staunch supporter of Friends of Glossop Station and he took a keen interest in our various improvement projects. He was generous in his support of the restored gardens.
It was reported in the Glossop Chronicle that Jimmy, as a keen cricket fan, was able to keep an eye on North Road matches from Glossop Signal Box as well as maintaining safe passage of the trains!
Jimmy was a special guest at the 2011 opening of the new booking office/waiting rooms' ceremony and FOGS gave him a specially framed montage of historical Glossop station images created by Paul Marsh. Pete Gaskell, Network Rail signaller at Dinting and a friend to Jimmy and his family, represented FOGS at the funeral held at St Mary's RC Church in Glossop. Jimmy will be much missed and we offer our sincere condolences to his family.

 On Thursday 17th April Darren of STG installed two new sash windows at Glossop station. One faces Howard Street externally and the other, externally is behind the buffer stop. Both internally are in the storeroom. The project has been under negotiation for two years and it was a delight to see them finally in place yesterday afternoon! For the first time in over 60 years the station now has external windows which are all historically correct. These two windows had been boarded up since the early sixties!
  The project has been funded with a significant grant from The Railway Heritage Trust with additional funding from Northern. FOGS would like to say a big thank you to Andy Savage and Malcolm Wood of the Trust for their support of this work. Neil would also like to thank them for their patience in recent weeks during the strains and stresses of Northern's Franchise extension bid. Theo's perseverance, during this period, with the window project was very much appreciated as was Peter Reid's professional advice at Northern! FOGS also benefited from the interest and support of Joanne, High Peak Borough Council's Conservation Officer, who toured the sites last summer with Neil. Our thanks!
  Inside the storeroom the light levels are significantly improved which will be a real bonus as the room will be used by FOGS even more once the work to convert the old booking office into a cafe gets underway. Go and have a look, if you can, at these new windows and share our pride in them!!

 On Tuesday 15th April Neill Manchee, Chairman of the Glossop Branch of the British Legion unveiled the new commemorative Great War Poetry Display. Neill gave a short address on the poignancy of young lives cut short by war - the theme of the display. He alluded to the recent television programme featuring Simon Weston to emphasise that conflict and its effects are with us today. Also joining Neill as a guest was Jean Wharmby, Chair of the Women's section British Legion Glossop, accompanied by her husband George. Tea/coffee and biscuits were offered to those present by Bunty. FOGS would like to thank Penny Greenwood for choosing 10 thoughtful poems and Paul Marsh for an evocative display that is already deservedly being read. We'd also like to thank the Buxton Advertiser - Rachel and Jason - and the Glossop Chronicle,  - David - for their support and reporting of this event. And of course thanks to Theo and Northern for permission to hold this event.