Rudyard railway station served the village of Rudyard, in

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...

, England.

History

The station was opened by the

North Staffordshire Railway The North Staffordshire Railway (NSR) was a Great Britain, British railway company formed in 1845 to promote a number of lines in the Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire Potteries and surrounding areas in Staffordshire, Cheshire, Derbyshire and Shro ...

(NSR) in 1850 on the

Churnet Valley line 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 in Cheshire to in East Staffordshire. The line was closed in several ...

. In the village, the NSR also owned the Rudyard Hotel as part of the company's efforts to develop

Rudyard Lake Rudyard Lake is a reservoir in Rudyard, Staffordshire, located north-west of the town of Leek, Staffordshire. It was constructed in the late 18th century to feed the Caldon Canal. During the 19th century, it was a popular destination for day ...

and its environs as a tourist destination. In 1926, the

London, Midland and Scottish Railway The London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMSIt has been argued that the initials LMSR should be used to be consistent with London and North Eastern Railway, LNER, Great Western Railway, GWR and Southern Railway (UK), SR. The London, Midland an ...

renamed the station Rudyard Lake and the existing Rudyard Lake station, at the north end of the lake, was renamed . As Rudyard Lake station, it remained open until passenger services were withdrawn from the northern end of the Churnet Valley line ( – ) in 1960. Freight services lasted until 1964, when they too were withdrawn and the track was lifted.

Subsequent use

In 1978 a

miniature railway A ridable miniature railway (US: riding railroad or grand scale railroad) is a large scale, usually ground-level railway that hauls passengers using locomotives that are often models of full-sized railway locomotives (powered by Diesel engine, ...

was built on the west side of the trackbed from Rudyard Station to the Dam. This closed two years later and was moved to the Suffolk wildlife park. and then to Trago Mills in

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

. One of the locomotives, a model of the

Leek and Manifold Valley Light Railway The Leek and Manifold Valley Light Railway (L&MVLR) was a narrow gauge railway in Staffordshire, England that operated between 1904 and 1934. The line mainly carried milk from dairy, dairies in the region, acting as a feeder to the Rail trans ...

engine No.1 ''E. R. Calthrope'' now periodically revisits the current railway at Rudyard. A further minimum gauge railway was started in 1985 and extended to a distance of towards Cliffe Park station. Today the station area is used by the

Rudyard Lake Steam Railway The Rudyard Lake Steam Railway is a ridable miniature railway and the third railway of any gauge to run along the side of Rudyard Lake in Staffordshire, England. Overview The railway runs for on the track bed of an old standard gauge North S ...

as its headquarters and as a public car park. Rudyard station now includes engine and carriage sheds, workshop,

signal box A signal is both the process and the result of transmission of data over some media accomplished by embedding some variation. Signals are important in multiple subject fields including signal processing, information theory and biology. In ...

, footbridge, the Platform 2 café and a

level crossing A level crossing is an intersection where a railway line crosses a road, Trail, path, or (in rare situations) airport runway, at the same level, as opposed to the railway line or the road etc. crossing over or under using an Overpass#Railway, o ...

. The railway has five steam locomotives and 11 carriages and a number of wagons and operates year-round. This railway celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2010. The original up side standard gauge platform and retaining walls and flower beds are still visible. The Platform 2 cafe now uses this area for its seating and the original waiting shelter foundations for its buildings.

Route

References

Citations

Sources

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External links

Rudyard Lake Steam Railway website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rudyard Railway Station Disused railway stations in Staffordshire Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1960 Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1850 Former North Staffordshire Railway stations Articles containing video clips