Churnet Valley Line
| Churnet Valley line | |
|---|---|
| Overview | |
| Type | Heavy rail |
| System | North Staffordshire Railway |
| Status | part disused part in heritage use |
| Locale | Staffordshire, England |
| Termini |
North Rode Uttoxeter |
| Stations | 14 |
| Operation | |
| Opened | 1849 |
| Closed | 1988 |
| Technical | |
| Line length | 27 miles 54 chains (44.54 km) |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
The Churnet Valley line was one of the three original routes planned and built by the North Staffordshire Railway. Authorised in 1846, the line opened in 1849 and ran from North Rode in Cheshire to Uttoxeter in East Staffordshire. The line was closed in several stages between 1964 and 1988 but part of the central section passed into the hands of a preservation society and today operates as the Churnet Valley Railway.
Various proposals were put forward for a line through the Churnet Valley in the 1830s and in 1841 plans were published by the Manchester & Derby Railway (Churnet Valley) Company for a line from Macclesfield to Derby via Leek, Cheadle, Rocester and Uttoxeter. At Macclesfield the line would connect with the Grand Junction Railway and at Derby with the North Midland Railway and would result a direct route between Manchester and London. In 1844 the company by now renamed simply the Churnet Valley Railway Company laid out its prospectus for construction of the line in 1844 and following approval of the plan by the Board of Trade preparation was made for the necessary approval of Parliament to be sought.
As the draft bill was being considered by the House of Commons the directors of the company agreed an amalgamation with the Trent Valley Railway and the Staffordshire Potteries Railway to form the Churnet, Potteries and Trent Junction Railway soon to be called the North Staffordshire Railway (NSR). The Churnet Valley bill was withdrawn and in 1846 a new bill was submitted to Parliament entitled the North Staffordshire Railway (Churnet Valley Line) Bill.
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