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The Heart of a Peak District Community
The Railway Scene
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In the beginning...
When the railways came to Buxton during
1863, two companies, The London and North Western, whose line arrived
from Manchester to the north, and The Midland Railway, which came from
Derby in the south, had stations which were similar in layout, each
having a magnificent, yet identical window arched in stone and bearing
the names of these proud companies.
These were designed by Sir Joseph Paxton, who had already made a great
impression and influence on the town's architecture. Only the
impressive window of the L&NWR company, can still be seen in situ.
The Midland Railway station fell into disuse after the demise of steam
operation in 1968, when the line to the south-east was closed under the
Beeching axe.
This station has long since vanished, and the remains of the site
disappeared entirely, when the construction of the ring road that
skirts the town centre and Precinct, was built. Only the lower portion
of the end wall, along with a few MR posts, are all that remain at the
top of the station approach. They alone give evidence of this once
magnificent company's presence within the town.
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The third of Buxton's
stations consisted of a single platform to the north of Lightwood Road,
and just beyond the old railway sidings along the L&NWR line. This
was known as Fairfield halt, and was constructed to serve the golf
course on Fairfield common.
Long after these companies came to Buxton, the L&NWR decided that
it would take its own line southwards, in order to connect up with the
North Staffordshire Railway Company at Ashbourne, and thence to London.
This line is marked by the viaduct that crosses Spring Gardens, plus a
further magnificent feat of engineering, the viaduct that spans Duke's
Drive, to the south-east of the town. Just before the line crosses Dale
road, Buxton had a fourth station, Buxton South.
The site of this is opposite the new housing where St Anne's School
once stood on Pevril road. This line to Ashbourne was closed to
passenger traffic after only 50 years of use, although for quarry
freight, it continues to be used taking diesel hauled trains along the
track that climbs towards the quarries at Hindlow, which is a few miles
to the south of the town. |
However, this does not mark the beginning of the railways coming to
Buxton. Long before the L&NWR and Midland railway companies brought
their visitors into the area, one railway existed almost solely for the
purpose of moving stone from the quarries in the south of the region,
to their customers elsewhere in the north of the country.
This was the Cromford and High Peak Railway. This steeply inclined line
ran all the way from the canal wharfe at Cromford, some 17 miles to the
Southeast of Buxton, right through Ladmanlow and on to Whaley Bridge in
the north-west, where traffic joined the Peak Forest canal basin within
the town.

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The line skirted around Buxton at Ladmanlow, to the west. For a very
short time, this railway did carry passenger traffic on a limited scale.
Unlike the two major railway companies, the C&HPR faced very steep
gradients along certain sections of its line. The visitor can still see
where these gradients were, today.
The Sheep Pasture incline, at the Cromford end, forms part of the
C&HP Trail, but during the line's working life, this incline was
accessible by rail traffic where it utilized a cable and chain gravity
system. |
Not so long ago, plans were laid to reinstate the rail link from Buxton to Matlock, Derby and beyond.
It was hoped to run passenger steam hauled trips over the course of the
old Midland Railway company track bed. Although still in situ part of
the way, it first runs along Ashwood Dale towards Blackwell Mill
Junction, then as the track bed through to the tiny village of Millers
Dale and on towards Bakewell and finally Matlock. |
The Lines Today
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Despite the huge amount of money and human resources spent on trying to
re-open this line, it appears that those in charge, felt that it would
be best to do more for the southern-most end, since their attempts to
re-open the line were hampered by British Railways, who owned the track
at that time.
And so, once more, Buxton's old Midland Railway site, owned by Peak
Rail, was cleared of the engines, rolling stock and rails that stood
there patiently awaiting restoration, then slowly thereafter, nature
decided to take hold of this now empty yard.
Recent news states, it is intended to have yet another feasibility
study of the possibilities of re-opening the Buxton to Matlock railway
line. Once again, the powers that be have decided against re-opening
this truly beautiful railway route through the Peak District.
Although those busy days of Buxton's rail scene are long over, it none
the less plays host to interesting rail traction that visits the town
now and again.
Steam specials have visited the town more recently (2007), a sign that
steam may yet play a more important role in Buxton's railway future.
Freight trains still run along what remains of the line through Ashwood
Dale and on to the ICI quarries near Peak Dale.
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45057
seen on shed at Buxton during summer 1981. This class of engines has
now all but disappeared. One or two remain in the hands of preservation.
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It's here, that the line forms the old route to London from Manchester Central Station during the final years of use.
Continuing, the line passes Peak Forest station, through the Dove Holes
tunnel and the picturesque town of Chapel-en-le-Frith, and on towards
Manchester via Chinley. Passenger traffic continues to link Buxton with
Stockport and Manchester, along the L&NWR route to the north of the
town. |
Photographic contributions to the rail community are always welcome,
and may consist of scenes modern and old. Please e-mail me beforehand
to say what you have to offer. All images will be fully credited to the
photographer concerned.

Buxton Railway Station - August 2007 |

Information Board - February 2008 |

Buxton Railway Sign - 2008. A Reminder of British Rail |

LNWR Brackets |
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ensure the accuracy of the information displayed on this website, the
owners cannot be held responsible for any mistakes found therein.
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