Churnet Valley Railway
| Churnet Valley Railway | |
|---|---|
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| A steam hauled train at Consall station | |
| Commercial operations | |
| Name | British Rail |
| Built by | North Staffordshire Railway |
| Original gauge | 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
| Preserved operations | |
| Owned by | Churnet Valley Railway (1992) PLC |
| Operated by | Churnet Valley Railway (1992) PLC |
| Stations | 4 |
| Length | 10 1⁄2 miles (16.9 km) |
| Preserved gauge | 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
| Commercial history | |
| Opened | 13 June 1849 |
| Closed to passengers | 4 January 1965 |
| Closed | 30 August 1988 |
| Preservation history | |
| 30 October 1992 | Incorporation of "Goldenlaunch plc" (renamed "Churnet Valley Railway (1992) plc" 15 December 1992) |
| 3 May 1996 | CVR Granted Light Railway Order |
| 4 July 1996 | CVR PLC buys Leek Brook - Oakamoor trackbed |
| 24 August 1996 | First service train runs from Cheddleton to Leek Brook |
| 11 July 1998 | Consall station re-opened |
| 11 August 2001 | Kingsley & Froghall station re-opened |
| 13 August 2004 | Consall Signal Box commissioned, allowing two-train operation |
| 21 September 2008 | Track to Oakamoor Sand Sidings re-open for limited use |
| 12 November 2010 | Cauldon Lowe branch re-opened |
| 6 February 2014 | Ipstones Loop re-opened |
| Website | |
| http://www.churnet-valley-railway.co.uk | |
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The Churnet Valley Railway is a preserved standard gauge heritage railway to the east of Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire, England, that operates along a part of the former North Staffordshire Railway's (NSR) Churnet Valley Line. Regular services travel between the two main stations at Cheddleton (the base of operations and motive power) and Kingsley and Froghall (the commercial and Administrative base). There is an intermediate station at Consall. Some trains also head beyond Cheddleton to Leek Brook Junction (the limit of the Churnet Valley Railway's track) and on to Ipstones, but Ipstones station is not in use.
The railway is roughly 10 1⁄2 miles (16.9 km) long from Kingsley & Froghall station to Ipstones. The land from Leek Brook Junction to Ipstones is owned by Moorland & City Railways (MCR), a company aiming to run freight trains from the quarries at Cauldon to the national network at Stoke-on-Trent, and to re-introduce a commuter service between Leek and Stoke.
The Cheshire and Staffordshire Railway Society (C&SRS) was formed in the 1970s by Ken Simpson and others to try to save something of the lines built by the old NSR, which first began to close in 1964. Their original target was the Biddulph Valley route which branched north from the Stoke-Leek line at Milton Junction, and headed north to Biddulph Wharf and Congleton, but Cheshire County Council showed only lukewarm interest. Leek station was also considered for a heritage line north to Rudyard Lake, but was demolished in 1973. The society then aimed to re-open the Oakamoor to Alton Towers section, using the former Oakamoor tunnel for stock storage.
The council also intended to demolish the station at Cheddleton in April 1974, but local businessman and parish councillor Norman Hancock parked his car on the level crossing in front of the bulldozers, preventing the demolition. This delay allowed the building to be Grade II listed on 14 May 1974 after a campaign by the C&SRS, Sir John Betjeman and The Victorian Society. In 1976 the former station building was let to the C&SRS to use as a museum.
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Wikipedia