WHAT IS INDIETRACKS?
Indietracks is a unique summer festival which combines heritage trains and indiepop music, and is located in the Derbyshire countryside. Guests are free to enjoy the regular facilities of the Midland Railway Butterley such as the steam train rides, farm and museum, and enjoy a range of new and established indiepop bands.
The Indietracks Festival is a fundraiser which raises money for the Midland Railway Trust. Read on to find out a bit of history about the charity and the railway!
THE MIDLAND RAILWAY
The Start
A proposal to commemorate the role of the Midland Railway in the industrial history of Derby led to a decision in 1969 by Derby Corporation to create a working and static museum dedicated to the history and development of the Midland Railway, its predecessors and successors. This project was supported from its earliest days by the Midland Railway Project Group which was a voluntary labour force set up to collect and restore exhibits and operating equipment. In particular the Group collected semaphore signalling equipment which was then being replaced by the modern multiple aspect lighting system. The Corporation arranged to purchase from Woodham's scrap yard at Barry two Jinties (3F 0-6-0T) numbered 47327 and 47357. Another Jinty (47445) was purchased from the National Coal Board who had acquired it direct from British Rail. After several false starts a site for the museum was identified along part of the former Pye Bridge - Ambergate line which had closed in 1968. Only part of the line was available because the track west of the A38 had vanished with the realignment of the A610. Therefore it was only the 31/2 miles from Hammersmith to Pye Bridge which was available. The line had been lifted, the station at Butterley had been removed and the only structure'at Swanwick was a 100' slag heap! The project was supported by Derbyshire County Council who saw the reclamation and leisure possibilities in an area of industrial dereliction. However, both the County Council and Derby Corporation had to withdraw from the scheme because of lack of funds.
The Early Years of the Trust
After this setback the volunteers decided to continue with the project and formed The Midland Railway Company Limited on 20th February 1973. The company changed its name to the Midland Railway Trust on 9th December 1976. Work started on the site in 1973 and it was a daunting prospect that faced the volunteers who could only see years of work before trains could actually carry passengers.
It was decided to make Butterley (the site of the only station on the original line) the base of the project with the museum at the Swanwick site. The original station at Butterley had been demolished so an identical one was moved from Whitwell in North Derbyshire and rebuilt on the site of the original station. By 1975 sufficient progress had been made to run a steam open day when locomotives were steamed and interesting items were placed on display to the public. Efforts were then made to restore and preserve items of historic interest to the Midland Railway as well as providing the basic facilities for train operation. A Light Railway Order was applied for in January 1980 with permission to run passenger services being granted in July 1981. The first passenger train to run along the 1 mile of track left Butterley at 11.30am on 22nd August 1981 - 8 1/2 years after the Trust started.
Up to the Present Day
Work continued on expanding the Centre with the line being extended firstly to Ironville and then almost to Pye Bridge in the east and to Hammersmith in the west. Stations were constructed at Swanwick and Hammersmith. Signal boxes were obtained from Ais Gill (on the famous Settle and Carlisle line), Kettering and Kilby Bridge and put into operating condition at Butterley, Swanwick and Hammersmith respectively. A locomotive shed was erected at Butterley (since changed to the Carriage and Wagon department) and the museum was erected at Swanwick. More recently Swanwick has seen the erection of a Static Power Museum, a transport museum and a diesel depot (the latter two only partly completed). Swanwick also has the Trust's demonstration signal box, the railway church from Westhouses and the gate house and coal merchant's office from St. Mary's Goods Yard at Derby. The narrow gauge railway has been extended to Golden Valley following the route of the original tramway from Butterley Engineering. The Swanwick site is also the home of the Princess Royal Class Locomotive Trust who have their own facilities at the West Shed. The Centre owns very little in the way of locomotives, most being owned by individuals or groups. The Trust is now open for passenger services most weekends of the year. Weekday services are run from April to October with trains being run every day during the school holidays. Special interest weekends are run throughout the year.
The Midland Railway Trust is a registered charity.
www.midlandrailwaycentre.co.uk
PREVIOUS EVENTS
Indietracks Festival - 23-25th July 2010
Now in its fourth year and still going strong! As the festival and Team Indietracks keeps growing, so do the amount of lovely people who pass through the railway, the fantastic bands we all discover, and the ones we already know and love. We think it goes without saying that without the support of you all, the festival could not exist, but we also think it's important to remind everyone that we could also not exist without our wonderful hardworking and generous hosts, The Midland Railway. That's why this year we've set up a Charity Giving page so anyone can donate to the Midland Railway charity. If you love Indietracks as much as we do and want to keep it going, please do what you can for the railway - however small!
Thanks to the following bands, artists & DJs (in alphabetical order): Allo Darlin', Antarctica Takes It!, Attagirl, Astrogirl, Ballboy, Be Like Pablo, Betty and The Werewolves, Boy Genius, The Blanche Hudson Weekend, The Callas, The Cannanes, The Cavalcade, Cineplexx, Cowtown, Clint Play People, ComeOut2Nite, Crimes Against Pop, David Tattersall, Everyone Was In The French Resistance...Now!, Feeling Gloomy, The Felt Tips, Foxes!, Gordon McIntyre, Internet Forever, The Give It Ups, The Hillfields, How Does It Feel To Be Loved?, Jam On Bread, The Just Joans, La La Love You, Lime Chalks, Linda Guilala, The Loves, Mexican Kids At Home, Micktravis, The Middle Ones, The Millipedes, MJ Hibbett & the Validators, Offbeat, The Pains of Being Pure At Heart, Paisley & Charlie, The Parallelograms, Pic 'n' Mixx, The Pooh Sticks, The Primitives, The Orchids, Onward Chariots, Red Shoe Diaries, Sarandon, Secret Shine, Shrag, Springfactory, Slow Club, The Smittens, Socialist Leisure Party, The Specific Heats, Standard Fare, Stars In Coma, Stars of Aviation, The Sunny Street, Tender Trap, This Many Boyfriends, Urbantramper, Veronica Falls, White Town, Winston Echo, Yokoko
And to the following workshop leaders: Recycle Yo’Face!, Knit a Neuron, Sugar Paper’s 20 Things to Make and Do, Accessory Junkie , Ben from Onward Chariots, Bob from Shrag, Club Baby Honey, Stop Motion Commotion!, Something from Nothing, & Craft Guerilla
Indietracks Festival - 24-26th July 2009
The third festival, and many say the best yet. Certainly the busiest! We were overwhelmed by the amount of people who came along on the Friday afternoon to watch the three brilliant bands in the sunshine and dance in the discos. There were so many happy faces on display, people excitedly greeting other people who they hadn't seen since last year, our new friends from Spain's Elefant Records who were hosting this year's brand new outdoor stage, and the yummiest food available to humankind! This year's festival also boasted a craft tent hosting all sorts of workshops over the weekend and was a complete success. The sun shone on Saturday and the rain fell on Sunday, but whatever the weather everybody had a fantastic time! Team Indietracks expanded this year to make sure everything ran as smoothly as possible, and we even had a team of wonderful volunteers helping to steward the festival. All of the bands, DJs and workshop leaders were fantastic. The Midland Railway staff worked so hard and wore smiles on their faces from beginning to end. Thanks to all of the volunteers, railway staff, performers, DJs, workshop leaders and everyone who lent their support, either by spreading the word or flyering for us, and very special thanks to Luis at Elefant Records who did an amazing job hosting the main stage. Thanks mostly though to you, all the lovely lovely people who bought tickets and came along to make it the best festival (in our opinion) in the whole world!
Thanks to the following bands & artists (in alphabetical order): Alaska, Art Brut, Au Revoir Simone, BMX Bandits, Bonne Idée, Butcher Boy, Camera Obscura, Cola Jet Set, Cooper, Countryside, Disasteradio, Downdime, Emmy The Great, Eux Autres, Fitness Forver, Friends, Gordon McIntyre, Helene, Hong Kong In The 60s, Kevin McGrother, King of Cats, La Casa Azul, Labrador, Le Man Avec Les Lunettes, Let's Whisper, Little My, Loyal Trooper, Lucky Soul, Mighty Mighty, MJ Hibbett, Modular, Moustache Of Insanity, Nick Garrie, Northern Portrait, One Happy Island, Pocketbooks, Poppy & Friends, Ray Rumour & The No Eyed Dears, Rose Elinor Dougall, Speedmarket Avenue, Ste McCabe, Stereo Total, Sucrette, Teenage Fanclub, Tender Trap, The Frank & Walters, The Lovely Eggs, The Manhattan Love Suicides, The Marshmallow Kisses, The Pete Green Corporate Juggernaut, The Rocky Nest, The School, The Smittens, The Specific Heats, The Understudies, Wake The President, Zipper
And to the following DJs: P!O!P Kombinat Berlin, Lipstick On Your Collar, How Does It Feel To Be Loved?, Bonnie & Clyde, Songs For Children, DJ Polar, Pop Art
And to the following workshop leaders: Colin Clary - The Only Way To Write A Song, The Bunty Collective, Tatty Devine, Eithne Farry - Hey Ho Let's Sew, Sean Price - Fortuna Pop!, Gordon McIntyre - Super Sunday Pop Quiz, Anastasia Cohen/Rory Mackie - Twee As F**k, Craft Guerilla, Faye Cooke/Leonna O'Neill - Buttons For Eyes
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Christmas Twee - 6th December 2008
Well there we were again - a whole six months after we baked in the summer sun at the Indietracks festival, this time we huddled round a log fire sipping hot mulled wine, rubbed our mittened hands together, and wrote our Anorak names in the steamed-up windows of the train disco carriage! The brilliant bands and DJs got us all in the Christmas spirit - especially Mascot Fight's snowman outfit, complete with a carrot nose made from one of our own flyers! Thanks to all who came out to the Derbyshire countryside in the cold, who helped out on the night, the wonderful Midland Railway staff, the bands, the DJs, and everyone who donated a raffle prize and made a CD!
Thanks to the following bands: Phil Wilson, Horowitz, Mascot Fight
And to the following DJs: Kris (Don't Die On My Doorstep, Malmo), Stuart (Indietracks)
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Indietracks Festival - 26-27th July 2008
Phew! We'd been in such a high state of over-excitement for so long we just couldn't see how it was going to live up to all our expectations......but it did, and much, much more besides! From MJ Hibbett's hilarious My Exciting Life in Rock in the tea tent on Friday, to Los Campesinos' storming performance on Sunday evening, the whole weekend was just a perfect concoction of wonderful new music, glorious weather, steam train fun, friendly faces, enthusiastic dancing, impromptu singalongs and fruity real ale! Congratulations to Stuart for organising such a perfect festival, and thanks to the bands, volunteers, railway staff and everyone else who helped with the organisation and spreading the word. And most importantly, thanks to everyone for coming along and helping make Indietracks one of the most friendly and welcoming festivals around.
Thanks to the following bands & artists (in alphabetical order): A Classic Education, Airport Girl, Allo, Darlin', Amida, Ballboy, The Bobby McGees, Penny Broadhurst, Brontosaurus Chorus, The Brownies, The Candy Twins, Colin Clary, The Colliding Lemons, Comet Gain, Darren Hanlon, Darren Hayman, The Deirdres, Dirty Fingernails, Esiotrot, The Foster Kids, The Good Natured, Pete Green, Gregory Webster, Harvey Williams, MJ Hibbett, Je Suis Animal, The Just Joans, The Kabeedies, KateGoes, The Kick Inside, Lardpony, Liechtenstein, The Lodger, Los Campesinos!, The Mai 68s, The Manhattan Love Suicides, Marjit Vinjerui, Mexican Kids At Home, The Middle Ones, Milky Wimpshake, Mono Taxi, The Occasional Flickers, The Parallelograms, Pocketbooks, PunkTV, Red Pony Clock, The Retro Spankees, Roadside Poppies, Rory Hill, The Rosie Taylor Project, Shrag, Silence At Sea, Silverdrop, Slow Down Tallahassee, The Smittens, Socks & Shoes, Still Corners, The Starlets, St Christopher, Strawberry Story, Tortoise Shout!, Town Bike, The Voluntary Butler Scheme, Winston Echo, The Wave Pictures, The Wedding Present, The Zebras, Zoey Van Goey
And to the following DJs: How Does It Feel To Be Loved?, Moogie Wonderland, Helen Love's Bubblegum Killers
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Christmas Twee - 1st December 2007
There were mechanical santas and reindeer, twinkly lights in a heated marquee, a stage set in front of a puppet show, three wonderful bands, DJs, and of course a steam train waiting in the station to take us on another adventure - all the makings of the perfect start to an indiepop Christmas! Thanks to everyone who came out to the Derbyshire countryside in the cold, everyone involved in making it possible, the staff of Midland Railway Butterley, the bands, and the DJs!
Thanks to the following bands: The Icicles, The Poppycocks, The Deirdres
And to the following DJs: Dan & Emma (Pocketbooks), Don't Start Feeling All "Romantic", Gavin Dunbar (Camera Obscura)
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Indietracks Festival - 28-29th July 2007
Well, there we were, in the middle of the Derbyshire countryside. In a locomotive shed and a church, with steam trains drifting past. There were sheep and hens in the farm, and a llama. And there were forty indiepop bands. This was the first Indietracks Festival! Thanks to all involved, including the management and staff of the Midland Railway Butterley, Debbie, Emma, Marianthi and Morgan, the people who came, and of course...
Thanks to the following bands & artists (in alphabetical order): A Smile And A Ribbon, Arthur & Martha, Bearsuit, Cats On Fire, Chiara L's, Countryside, Darren Hayman & The Secondary Modern, Das Wanderlust, Friends Of The Bride, Horowitz, La Famille Catastrophe, MJ Hibbett & The Validators, Persil, Pete Green, Pocketbooks, Robert Church & The Holy Community, Rose McDowall, Roy Moller, Santa Dog, stephenhero, Strange Idols, The Bobby McGees, The Chemistry Experiment, The College Pinks, The Cut Outs, The Electric Pop Group, The Felt Tips, The Gresham Flyers, The Hermit Crabs, The Indelicates, The Jerks, The Lovely Eggs, The Loves, The Orchids, The Parallelograms, The San Marinos, The School, Their Hearts Were Full Of Spring, Victorian Gentlemens English Club, Wake The President, Wintergreen.
And to the following DJs: How Does It Feel To Be Loved?, Pop Miwsig
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Indietracks - 28th April 2007
How did Indietracks come to be? What was the inspiration behind combining steam trains and indiepop? Unfortunately nothing more than the fact that I work here every day. I'm new to the indiepop scene, it was less than a year ago that I started travelling to the likes of How Does it Feel? and Offbeat. I occasionally worked on the bar on the train (as a volunteer, like all the railway staff working tonight) and it was during the Halloween disco that my mind started toying with the idea of holding my own indiepop night. The train seemed ideal as the local towns of Sheffield and Nottingham already had well established nights. I was fortunate to have befriended some of the Pocketbooks gang by then, and it was with their encouragement and insight into the inner workings of the indiepop world that plans evolved. And of course as soon as they heard that bands sometimes played in the station, they wanted to be part of the night. Then I found the delight that is Tottie playing at Bing It On in Islington one December Sunday, and the line-up was complete. Flyers were made. I first took some to a Sodastream gig at the Glebe in Sheffield, but was actually too embarrassed to hand any out. I nearly cancelled the whole thing that night; I thought that no-one would come to a little railway in the middle of nowhere, from where it was hard to go home from. But thankfully I went ahead anyway, starting just by befriending people on Myspace. People can say what they like about Myspace, but word spread quickly from that, and all 100 tickets were sold in three weeks. And that was in January - three months before the show! I had originally planned to DJ with my friend Tom, and I had a few people in mind to ask to do guest slots. But almost immediately I was asked by the clubs playing tonight if they could take part, so my time at the decks would have to wait! The Sodastream gig was also significant in this tale as it was the first time I got to see Slow Down Tallahassee, who had a bigger crowd than the headliners that night, and it was obvious why. I had them in mind for headlining a second Indietracks, but with the night sold out I asked them to play tonight pretty much as a thankyou to everyone for having faith in buying tickets. This was the first gig I'd ever put on. I hope it didn't show! Stuart x
Thanks to the following bands & artists: Pocketbooks, Slow Down Tallahassee, Tottie
And also to the following DJs: Spiral Scratch, Offbeat, Tasty Fanzine
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