Chapel-en-le-Frith railway station (formerly ''Chapel-en-le-Frith South'') serves the

Peak District The Peak District is an Highland, upland area in central-northern England, at the southern end of the Pennines. Mostly in Derbyshire, it extends into Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Staffordshire, West Yorkshire and South Yorkshire. It is subdivi ...

town of

Chapel-en-le-Frith Chapel-en-le-Frith () is a town and civil parish, in the Borough of High Peak, Derbyshire, England. It has been dubbed the "Capital of the Peak", in reference to the Peak District, historically the highland areas between the Saxon lands (below ...

, in

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and South Yorkshire to the north, Nottinghamshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south-east, Staffordshire to the south a ...

, England. It is sited south-east of

Manchester Piccadilly Manchester Piccadilly is the main railway station of the city of Manchester, in the metropolitan county of Greater Manchester, England. Opened originally as Store Street in 1842, it was renamed Manchester London Road in 1847 and became Manchest ...

on the Buxton Line.

History

The station was built in 1863 for the

London & North Western Railway The London and North Western Railway (LNWR, L&NWR) was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. In the late 19th century, the LNWR was the largest joint stock company in the world. Dubbed the "Premier Line", the LNWR's main line connec ...

, on its line from

Whaley Bridge Whaley Bridge () is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the High Peak Borough Council, High Peak district of Derbyshire, England. It is situated on the River Goyt, south-east of Manchester, north of Buxton, north-east of Mac ...

Buxton Buxton is a spa town in the High Peak, Derbyshire, Borough of High Peak, Derbyshire, in the East Midlands region of England. It is England's highest market town, sited at some above sea level.Alston, Cumbria also claims this, but lacks a regu ...

as an extension of the

Stockport, Disley and Whaley Bridge Railway The Stockport, Disley and Whaley Bridge Railway was an early railway company in England which was opened in 1857 between Stockport Edgeley and Whaley Bridge. Origins As early as 1828 when the Cromford and High Peak Railway and the Liverpool ...

. In 1867, the

Midland Railway The Midland Railway (MR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844 in rail transport, 1844. The Midland was one of the largest railway companies in Britain in the early 20th century, and the largest employer in Derby, where it had ...

built a station (known as ''Chapel-en-le-Frith Central'') on the

Sheffield and Midland Railway Companies' Committee The Sheffield and Midland Railway Companies' Committee was incorporated by the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway and Midland Railway Companies (Joint Lines) Act 1869 (32 & 33 Vict. c. xxv) as a joint venture between the Midland Railwa ...

line from

Millers Dale Millers Dale (Ordnance Survey: Miller's Dale) is a valley on the River Wye in Derbyshire, England, where there is also a hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, ...

Chinley Chinley is a rural village in the High Peak Borough of Derbyshire, England, with a population of 2,796 at the 2011 Census. Most of the civil parish (called Chinley, Buxworth and Brownside) is within the Peak District National Park. Historical ...

. The town therefore had a main line connection from

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, featuring expresses such as the ''Palatine'' and the ''Peaks''. However, with the closure of the former Midland route from Chinley to to passenger traffic in 1967, Central station was closed. The Midland line is still in-situ and used for freight to and from

Peak Forest Peak Forest is a small village and civil parish on the main road the ( A623) from Chapel-en-le-Frith to Chesterfield in Derbyshire. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 335. The village grew from the earlier settlement of ...

. The station is one of very few to retain its walkway to cross between platforms; most stations having had footbridges installed. The prime reason for this is the requirement to provide a vehicular crossing for those houses further up the hill which have no reliable alternative; it is blocked for days during snow and, even when open, requires a considerable extra distance to be covered to reach the town centre. A footbridge would therefore not be used. The former stationmaster's house was used as a restaurant called ''Brief Encounter'', but has been refurbished and is being used as a band room for Chapel-en-le-Frith Town Band.

Accident

The station was the site of a fatal collision in 1957, which is commemorated with a plaque at the station.

Facilities

The station is unstaffed, but has a ticket machine which also allows the collection of pre-booked tickets. There are waiting shelters on both platforms and train running information is provided by automated announcements, CIS displays, timetable poster boards and a customer help point on platform 1. Step-free access is available to both sides via the foot crossing at the Whaley Bridge end of the station.

Service

Northern Trains Northern Trains, Trade name, trading as Northern, is a British train operating company that operates Commuter rail, commuter and Inter-city rail, medium-distance intercity services in the North of England. It is owned by DfT Operator for the Dep ...

operates a generally hourly service in each direction between Manchester Piccadilly, and Buxton.

References

Citations

Sources

* Radford, B., (1988) ''Midland Though The Peak'' Unicorn Books

External links

{{Derbyshire stations Railway stations in Derbyshire DfT Category F2 stations Former London and North Western Railway stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1863 Railway stations served by Northern Chapel-en-le-Frith