Rowsley railway station

Rowsley
General information
Location	Derbyshire Dales England
Coordinates	53.190°N 1.614°W / 53.190; -1.614
Grid reference	SK258659
Platforms	2
Other information
Status	Disused
History
Original company	Manchester, Buxton, Matlock and Midlands Junction Railway.
Pre-grouping	Midland Railway
Post-grouping	London, Midland and Scottish Railway
Key dates
4 June 1849	Station opened
1 August 1862	Closed and new station opened on different site
1 September 1867	Renamed Rowsley for Chatsworth
14 June 1965	Renamed Rowsley
6 March 1967	Closed

Rowsley railway station was opened in 1849 by the Manchester, Buxton, Matlock and Midlands Junction Railway to serve the village of Rowsley in Derbyshire, England. It was resited in 1862.

History

Opening

The original plan for the line was to meet the proposed Ambergate, Nottingham, Boston and Eastern Junction Railway at Ambergate to provide a route from Manchester to the East Coast. The Midland Railway bought shares in the line, as it saw an opportunity to run through trains to London. The Manchester and Birmingham Railway, which would provide access from Stockport to Manchester over its own line, supported the project for the same reason. However, in 1846 it merged into the new London and North Western Railway which was opposed to any competition into London. The station, nonetheless, had a busy trade with some sixty or seventy thousand visitors to Chatsworth House each year.

The stalemate lasted until 1862, when the Midland realigned the track and moved to a new station as it extended the line into Buxton (Midland)). The original station building, which had been designed by Joseph Paxton, was used as a goods office until closure in 1967. It still exists within a shopping centre. The new station was particularly grand, with large first- and third-class facilities and, unusually, a subway between the platforms to cater for dignitaries visiting the Duke of Devonshire in 1891.

The through line

Finally, in 1867, the line reached Manchester and became part of one of the Midland's most prized assets. Besides the London expresses, some of which called at the station, there was substantial goods traffic; this included limestone southwards from the Peak District and, in particular, coal northwards from the Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Coalfield.

Northwards from Rowsley, the line climbed over 600 feet in fourteen miles to its summit at Peak Forest with punishing gradients. A large motive power depot and marshalling yard was opened in 1877 to provide banking engines and to split trains as necessary. This was not so much due to the lack of powerful engines, but because of the need to limit the strain on wagon couplings. Thus, in theory, a class 8F locomotive could haul 37 wagons, but a banker would still have to be provided. Moreover, account had to be taken of the braking capacity on the downhill stretch towards Chinley, such that larger engines were no more capable than the ubiquitous "4Fs".

The Midland Railway became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway during the Grouping of 1923.

Dairy

In June 1933, Express Dairies were granted a 99-year lease on approximately 2,538 square yards (2,122 m²) of railway land, on which to build a creamery. The company were also granted dedicated use of one of the five newly created sidings. Express built a facility that included a milk cooling depot, spray, pond condenser and filter plant. Milk Tank Wagons were normally attached to the 5.18pm local to Derby for Cricklewood or the 10.15pm express freight to Brent sidings. In the 12 months to the end of May 1934, the LMS noted that the carriage value of milk forwarded from Rowsley was £16,886.

Closure

The station closed in 1967; the line was closed the following year and the track was removed subsequently.

Stationmasters

• Henry Swift ????–1852
• William Beck c.1855–1875
• Amos Reed 1875–1890 (afterwards stationmaster at Hitchin)
• Thomas Pitt 1890–1897
• Samuel Pitt 1897–1907 (formerly stationmaster at Spondon, afterwards stationmaster at Buxton)
• James Sparling 1907–1913 (formerly stationmaster at Nottingham Road, Derby, afterwards stationmaster at Melton Mowbray)
• J.W. Griffin 1913–1920 (afterwards stationmaster at Redditch)
• W.E. Heming 1920–1925
• Henry Ernest Fews 1925 – ca. 1937 – ????
• George Raymond Hemming ????–1947 (afterwards stationmaster at Spondon)
• Derrick Hoyle ????–1963 (also stationmaster at Darley Dale from 1958)

Current status and future plans

The line has since been reopened in stages from Matlock by Peak Rail as a heritage railway, reaching its present terminus at a new station at Rowsley South, which opened in 1997.

Peak Rail are close to securing a 99-year lease with the local council on the disused trackbed from Rowsley South to the A6 road, at the site of the former station site. Rowsley station will have to be rebuilt.

Route

Preceding station		Disused railways		Following station
Darley Dale		Manchester, Buxton, Matlock and Midlands Junction Railway		Bakewell
	Proposed Heritage railways
Rowsley South		Peak Rail		Bakewell