Churnet Valley Railway

The Churnet Valley Railway is a preserved standard gauge heritage railway in the Staffordshire Moorlands of Staffordshire, England. It operates on part of the former Churnet Valley Line.which was opened by the North Staffordshire Railway.
The railway is roughly long from Kingsley and Froghall to Ipstones. The land from Leek Brook Junction to Ipstones was opened by Moorland & City Railways (MCR) in 2010 after they took a lease out from Network Rail. This has subsequently been purchased by the Churmet Valley Railway. The main stations along the line are Kingsley and Froghall, Consall, Cheddleton and Leek Brook (which is only used as a run around loop). Work has begun to extend the line to the town of Leek which will act as the northern terminus of the line. The line between Leek and Waterhouses has also been reopened as part of the heritage railway far as Ipstones.

Preservation history

Early days of preservation: Cheddleton station (1964–1977)

The Cheshire and Staffordshire Railway Society'' (C&SRS) was formed in the 1970s by Ken Simpson and others to try to save some 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 of 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 intended to demolish the station at Cheddleton in April 1974, but local businessman and parish councilor 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.

The C&SRS became the North Staffordshire Railway Society (NSRS), Cheddleton station became Cheddleton Railway Centre, and the Churnet Valley Railway in effect began. The plans for the Oakamoor to Alton Towers track were put on hold, the old siding and goods yard at Cheddleton was purchased, and workshops were created with the first locomotives arriving in 1977. British Rail (BR) was at the time still using the adjacent railway to move industrial sand from the quarry at Oakamoor. This all resulted in the unusual sight of a Fowler tender being delivered to the NSRS at the rear of a sand train, arriving from Bescot, being uncoupled, and then left for the NSRS volunteers to crane over from the mainline into the NSRS yard before the sand train returned.

Developments to first running: track bed acquisition (1978–1996)

In 1978 the NSRS became the "North Staffordshire Railway Co. (1978) Ltd", which gained charity status in 1983. The bay platform area at Cheddleton was acquired in 1984 and the former NSR signal box from Clifton was put into use at the site, allowing demonstration runs to operate around the former goods yard. A commemorative plaque at the restored station acknowledges Norman Hancock and his role in ensuring the survival of the Jacobean-style building.

British Rail ceased using the remains of the former Churnet Valley Line in 1988, and the NSRC sought to purchase the stretch from Oakamoor to Leek Brook Junction. In 1992, the charity NSRC incorporated a subsidiary company: Churnet Valley Railway'' (1992) plc. In 1996, the company was granted a Light Railway Order to run between Leek Brook Junction to Oakamoor Sand Sidings. (This was the last such order before the implementation of a new legal framework in the Transport and Works Act.) The company was also responsible for applications for planning permission and other legal necessities. The first public share issue was launched in 1995, to fund the purchase of the land and track, following an agreement with the British Railways Board. Share Issue 1 was well supported, particularly by the local community, and raised over £120,000. The purchase was completed on 4 July 1996. The trading activities of the NSRC were subsequently transferred to the CVR following this initial success.

The track was then made ready for passenger trains, and on 24 August 1996 LMS Fowler Class 3F 47383 departed Cheddleton for Leek Brook Junction, a distance of roughly .

New stations: Consall and Kingsley & Froghall (1998–2003)

Share issue 2 in 1998 aimed to raise £160,000 to upgrade the line south from Cheddleton to Consall for passenger services, which was successfully achieved on 11 July 1998.

Shortly after this, the next section south to Kingsley & Froghall station was rehabilitated to provide an alternative to Cheddleton for visitors' car parking, and thus allow the business to expand. The third share issue was launched in the summer of 2000 in order to raise £185,000, and on 14 October 2000 "top and tailed" diesel-hauled passenger specials ran. Floods in November 2000 damaged at least three sections along the extension, but by 11 August 2001 the section of line was restored sufficiently to allow CVR's passenger regular operations to extend over the line to Kingsley & Froghall, and on 19 July 2003 Kingsley & Froghall's re-constructed station building was opened by Pete Waterman.

Upgrades and extension (2008–2011)

This single platform at Kingsley & Froghall station was supplemented by the restoration of the second platform in 2008 using grant money. The wooden waiting shelter was re-built to the original 1849 design and incorporated the original brick foundations. A new foot crossing at the south of the platform (there never was a footbridge) replaced a previous foot crossing at the north end. The restoration project jointly won "The National Express East Coast Volunteers Award" at the National Railway Heritage Awards 2008.

In 2010, the of track from Leek Brook Junction to Cauldon Lowe was restored to passenger-carrying standards, allowing services to run by November. The signal box at Leek Brook Junction was restored externally, and the platform and surrounding area were cleared of vegetation. Planning permission for full restoration of the site was granted in November 2011.

Route

Most CVR trains run between Kingsley and Froghall station in Froghall village (Kingsley is a further away) and Cheddleton via the intermediate station at Consall.

From Kingsley & Froghall the railway passes the historic Thomas Bolton Copperworks factory (some of which is derelict, with other parts still in use) and meanders through the forested valley, through Hazles Wood and Booth's Wood and on towards Consall. The station here is sandwiched between the Caldon Canal and the River Churnet.

There is a nature park nearby, and the Black Lion public house sits on a bank overlooking the railway, canal, and river. This pub is unusual in that there are no public roads leading to it. Access is by foot, via the canal towpath, or the railway. Consall station has been signaled with a passing loop that allows two trains to run on special events and during high season.

Trains leaving Consall face a slight gradient as they begin the section towards Cheddleton. This section of the railway is also heavily forested, but after or so the trees fall away to reveal open farmland and moorland.

Trains pass the motive power depot as they arrive at Cheddleton station, where locomotives under repair may be glimpsed in the yard. The Grade II listed Victorian station building at Cheddleton houses a small relics museum, toilets, a ticket office, and a waiting room.

In July 2011 a new catering facility the Goods Shed Tearoom was opened on the platform, marking the location of the original goods shed that once stood nearby. Continuing from Cheddleton, trains run past a caravan park and through the tunnel (the fifth-longest tunnel on a UK heritage railway within preservation), emerging at Leekbrook Junction.

This was a four-way junction serving railways from Stoke, Leek, Alton, and the quarries at Cauldon. The former platform for the old St Edwards Hospital tramway has been restored, as has the sole surviving NSR signal box. Normally CVR services terminate here, but on selected dates trains continue onto the steeply graded Cauldon Lowe Line for the to Ipstones.

The CVR also owns the trackbed between Kingsley & Froghall and Oakamoor. The railway is in situ as far as the Oakamoor sand sidings, which once served the now-disused quarry, but the track is not up to standard for carrying passengers. In order to reach Oakamoor railway station the main line across the River Churnet and through Oakamoor tunnel needs to be rebuilt, which is one of the medium-term objectives of MCR as part of their plan to reopen the line to Alton (for Alton Towers).

Signalling

Signal boxes

Each station (or station site) served by passengers has a signal box, although only one is fully operational:

Leek-Alton Towers section

* Leek Brook: Only original box standing on the line. Externally restored as part of the Lottery funded "Churnet Valley Living Landscape Partnership" in 2014. Internally work is ongoing to return the box to service.
* Cheddleton: North Staffordshire Railway box relocated in 1978 from Elton. This houses a lever frame which allows access between the "main line" and the bay platform/motive power depot but operationally is regarded as a ground (shunt) frame, no other operational signalling equipment being present.
* Consall: The signal box came from Clifton, near Ashbourne and was stored for around 18 years in Cheddleton yard before moving to Consall in 2002. This is the only fully operational box on the railway, being commissioned in 2004 to allow two trains running.
* Kingsley and Froghall: Kingsley & Froghall never had a signal box at the station, the area instead having two boxes. One was located north of the station to control Bolton's sidings (an important industrial exchange site), the other being south of the station, controlling the junction to the small Froghall Wharf branch. In preservation, a platform box (from Rushton) has been installed ''NSR style'' on the down platform where it is used as an outpost for catering on high season days. It has no signalling equipment inside.

Current operations

The railway mostly runs the "one train staff" system, Consall box spending most of its time "switched out". The railway is split into three sections: Leekbrook Junction-Consall; Consall-Kingsley & Froghall; and Kingsley & Froghall-Oakamoor. The last of these, not being used for passenger trains, is protected by a stop board south of passenger operations at Froghall. Leek Brook-Ipstones is an additional fourth section as well, with its own separate signalling staff. Most running days see the Leekbrook Junction-Consall and Consall-Kingsley & Froghall staffs locked together with a single engine/train in service. On peak days they can be split, with Consall box opened, and a simple two-train service operated.

Stations

Passengers may join the railway at only three stations: Cheddleton, Consall and Kingsley and Froghall. Cheddleton is the operational headquarters and site of the motive power depot, engine shed and the carriage and wagon restoration workshops. The original Victorian station building houses the North Staffordshire Railway museum. There is also a refreshment room and booking office. Consall is a small rural station with Victorian buildings and waiting room. There is also a passing loop. Kingsley and Froghall station is newly built in the style of the old North Staffordshire Railway. There is a run-round loop of track and a watering column.

The CVR's station at Leek Brook is in passenger use, but there is no access to the platform other than the railway.

Given the various nearby former railway tracks, the CVR has various plans for expansion. Extension north to Leek is the current priority, where a platform has been granted outline planning permission. And works are ongoing to relay track to a site half a mile from the historic site of leek station. The former quarry at Oakamoor is planned to be converted into a holiday, for which the CVR hopes to re-open its line to connect with at the former sand sidings where a new platform will be built. South of the sidings is another bridge crossing over the River Churnet and the "Oakamoor Tunnel" and Oakamoor railway station, which might be rehabilitated if a southern extension of the line is built to Alton Towers (which has the potential to service the nearby theme park), despite the former station buildings being a Landmark Trust-owned holiday property.

Leek Brook-Waterhouses section

* Bradnop
** 36-yard "Bradnop Tunnel" directly north of station
** Former Bradnop station site cleared (no public access)
* Ipstones
** Apesford level crossing close by
** Current terminus of the route, no public access
** Platform not in-use, plans are being looked at for re-opening
** Ipstones Summit (further south) at 1,063 feet above sea level
* Winkhill
** No track at present (2014)
** Former station building now private residence
* Cauldon Lowe
** Track torn up for reuse at Endon
* Waterhouses
** Possible future terminus of the CVR
** Former Leek & Manifold signal box now a cycle hire
** Start of the Manifold Trail

Awards

* 2005: National Railway Heritage Awards, Ian Allan Publishing Award, awarded for Consall station and signalling and Kingsley & Froghall station
* 2008 National Railway Heritage Awards, National Express East Coast Volunteers Award, awarded for the reconstruction of the Up platform and waiting shelter at Kingsley and Froghall. The project was joint first with the Great Central Railway.
* 2013: Winner of "ACES Best Dinner Award 2012"
* 2015: Winner of "Best Use of Production Music in Radio Advertising" at Library Music Awards for Signal1 Radio "1940s Event" advert
* 2016: Winner of ''Daily Mirror'' Top 10 UK Steam Train Trips
* 2019: 9th in Telegraph Travel "Best One-Day Rail Journeys in the World"

Media coverage

* In 1983, Simon Groom visited as part of the BBC
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