Millers Dale railway station

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Millers Dale Railway Station showing the island platform (left) and the station building.

Millers Dale railway station was a station situated in Millers Dale in the Peak District. It was built in 1863 by the Midland Railway on its extension of the Manchester, Buxton, Matlock and Midlands Junction Railway from Rowsley.

It served an important junction where passengers for Buxton joined or left the trains between London and Manchester. It was originally to be called "Blackwell Mill", but, in the end, was named "Millers Dale for Tideswell". For such a rural location it was unusually large - indeed it was one of the largest stations on the line, and was one of the few stations in England to have a post office on the platform.

Built on a shelf carved out of the hillside, it originally had two platforms, but a bay platform was added in 1905 to accommodate Buxton trains, plus the down platform became an island platform to serve the extra tracks. At this time the second (northerly) viaduct was added. Whilst the piers for the two viaducts are identical, the older viaduct is supported by an arch structure, whereas the later one is a more practical box structure.

For a while, 'through' carriages for Buxton were attached to and detached from expresses. Part of the original Parliamentary Act, approving the line, considered the needs of invalids taking the waters at Buxton. This therefore alleviated the problem of changing trains. In addition, the two main platforms were connected by a subway.

The station was immortalised in the 1964 song "Slow Train" by Flanders and Swann. Since the railway was closed in 1967 the station has become a car park, although the main buildings remain.

The older of the two viaducts today forms part of the Monsal Trail, an 8.5 miles (13.7 km) walking and cycle track.

[edit] External links

Map sources for Millers Dale railway station
Ingenious.org Millers Dale Viaduct, 1892
"Picture the Past" Midland railway station 1964
http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/

Coordinates: 53.25377° N 1.76164° W

v • d • e Railways in Derbyshire

Railway lines	█ Buxton Line • █ Crewe to Derby Line • █ Derwent Valley • █ Erewash Valley • █ Hope Valley • █ Midland Main Line █ Robin Hood Line

Railway stations	Alfreton • Ambergate • Bamford • Belper • Buxton • Chapel-en-le-Frith • Chesterfield • Chinley • Creswell • Cromford • Derby • Dinting • Dove Holes • Dronfield • Duffield • Edale • Furness Vale • Glossop • Grindleford • Hadfield • Hathersage • Hope • Langley Mill • Langwith-Whaley Thorns • Long Eaton • Matlock Bath • Matlock • New Mills Central • Peartree • New Mills Newtown • Shirebrook • Spondon • Strines • Tutbury and Hatton • Whaley Bridge • Whatstandwell • Whitwell • Willington

Closed stations	Alsop en le Dale • Barrow Hill • Borrowash • Chesterfield Central • Chesterfield Market Place • Clay Cross • Clifton Mayfield • Cresswell and Wellbeck • Derby Friargate • Derby Nottingham Road • Dowlow Halt • Draycott • Eckington • Grassmoor • Hartington • Heath • Higher Buxton • Hindlow • Hurdlow • Killamarsh Central • Killamarsh West • Long Eaton (MCR) • Longstone • Millers Dale • Norbury and Ellaston (Derby) • Parsley Hay • Pilsley • Pye Hill and Somercotes • Ramsline Halt • Renishaw Central • Sheepbridge and Brimington • Sinfin Central • Sinfin North • Staveley Central • Staveley Works • Stretton • Thorpe Cloud • Tibshelf Town • Tissington • Trent • Upperthorpe and Killamarsh • Wingfield • Whittington

Heritage line stations	Butterley • Darley Dale • Matlock Riverside • Rowsley • Wirksworth

Operators	█ CrossCountry • █ East Midlands Trains • █ First TransPennine Express • █ Northern Rail

UK railway stations: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z