Foxfield Light Railway
| Foxfield Railway | |
|---|---|
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| Wimblebury seen working a train at Dilhorn Park | |
| Locale | Staffordshire |
| Terminus | Caverswall Road |
| Coordinates | 52°58′33″N 2°03′52″W / 52.97570°N 2.06454°WCoordinates: 52°58′33″N 2°03′52″W / 52.97570°N 2.06454°W |
| Commercial operations | |
| Original gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge |
| Preserved operations | |
| Stations | 2 |
| Length | 2 1⁄4 miles (3.6 km) |
| Preserved gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge |
| 1893 | Opened |
| 1965 | Colliery closed |
| Preservation history | |
| 1965 | Railway preserved |
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The Foxfield Railway is a preserved standard gauge line located south east of Stoke-on-Trent. The line was built in 1893 to serve the colliery at Dilhorne on the Cheadle Coalfield. It joined the North Staffordshire Railway line near Blythe Bridge. It is open at weekends and operates trains on Sundays, Bank Holidays and some Saturdays from April to October and Santa Special trains in December.
The Foxfield Railway was built in 1892-1893 to provide a link to the North Staffordshire Railway for the Foxfield Colliery. The railway was built by local labour provided by North Staffordshire Railway employees at weekends and supervised by the North Staffordshire Railway foreman plate layer Noah Stanier, using second hand material, again obtained from the North Staffordshire Railway.
When the colliery closed in August 1965, local volunteers formed the Foxfield Light Railway Society to preserve the line. At first, passengers were taken in converted trucks up the formidable 1:19 to 1:26 gradient out of the colliery site at Dilhorne, accompanied by a tank engine.
Eventually, new coaches were purchased and a station was built at Caverswall Road, Blythe Bridge, half a mile from Blythe Bridge station. The service runs for 2 1⁄4 miles (3.6 km) from there to the top of Foxfield Bank. The last half mile into the colliery is currently being relaid to suitable standards for passenger trains to be re-introduced.
The original line left the Crewe to Derby Line a little west of the station. The link has been lifted, but several abandoned wagons can be seen in the old sidings from passing trains. A station and depot have been built at Caverswall Road, half a mile north of Blythe Bridge railway station along Blythe Bridge Road.
Although located in Staffordshire, the railway has been used for the filming of sequences for the BBC Television series Cranford, which is set in Cheshire. The railway featured in the two-part Christmas special that was first broadcast in December 2009. Judi Dench, who played the part of Matilda 'Matty' Jenkyns, invited several of the main characters to ride on the train in an attempt to alter their opinions about the benefits of the railway being extended into the town of Cranford.
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Wikipedia