Alton is a village in Staffordshire, England. It is noted for the theme park Alton Towers, built around the site of Alton Mansion, which was owned by the Earls of Shrewsbury, and designed by Augustus Pugin. In the 1914 map by Whiston, there were copper works in the village.
The North Staffordshire Railway (NSR) was a British railway company formed in 1845 to promote a number of lines in the Staffordshire Potteries and surrounding areas in Staffordshire, Cheshire, Derbyshire and Shropshire.
Caldon Canal is a branch of the Trent and Mersey Canal which opened in 1779. It runs 18 miles (29 km) from Etruria, Stoke-on-Trent, to Froghall, Staffordshire. The canal has 17 locks and the 76-yard (69 m) Froghall Tunnel.
The Uttoxeter Canalpronounced (listen) (help·info) was a thirteen-mile extension of the Caldon Canal running from Froghall as far as Uttoxeter in Staffordshire, England. It was authorised in 1797, but did not open until 1811. With the exception of the first lock and basin at Froghall, it closed in 1849, in order that the Churnet Valley line of the North Staffordshire Railway could be constructed along its length. The railway has since been dismantled and there are plans to reinstate the canal.
The Churnet Valley Railway is a preserved standard gauge heritage railway to the east of Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire, England, that operates along a part of the former North Staffordshire Railway's (NSR) Churnet Valley Line. Regular services travel between the two main stations at Cheddleton and Kingsley and Froghall. There is an intermediate station at Consall. Most trains also head beyond Cheddleton to Leek Brook Junction and on to Ipstones, but Ipstones station is not in use.
Uttoxeter railway stationpronounced (listen) (help·info) in Uttoxeter, Staffordshire, England, is served by trains on the Crewe-Derby Line, which is also a Community rail line known as the North Staffordshire line. The station is owned by Network Rail and managed by East Midlands Railway. The full range of tickets for travel are purchased from the guard on the train at no extra cost since there are no retail facilities at this station. It is the closest railway station to Alton Towers to which it is linked by a semi-regular bus service. A taxi rank also exists just next to the station.
Kingsley and Froghall railway station is a former railway station of the North Staffordshire Railway (NSR) that is now a preserved station on the Churnet Valley Railway in Staffordshire, England.
Consall railway station is a former passenger railway station of the North Staffordshire Railway (NSR) and is now a preserved station on the Churnet Valley Railway in Staffordshire, England.
Cheddleton railway station is a former passenger railway station of the North Staffordshire Railway (NSR) and is now a preserved station on the Churnet Valley Railway in Staffordshire, England].
Leek Brook railway station is a passenger station in Staffordshire, Great Britain.
Alton Station, previously called Alton railway station and Alton Towers railway station, is holiday accommodation and an abandoned railway station in Staffordshire, managed by the Landmark Trust. Opened in 1849 by the North Staffordshire Railway, the station was part of the Churnet Valley line and served the village of Alton and the country estate at Alton Towers. In 1954, the station was renamed Alton Towers. After being closed in 1965, Alton Towers was purchased by Staffordshire County Council in 1969 to curtail persistent vandalism of the station building, and in 1979 was sold to the Landmark Trust, who renamed the site to Alton Station and converted the former station buildings into holiday accommodation.
Rocester railway station was a railway station built by the North Staffordshire Railway (NSR) located at Rocester in Staffordshire.
Oakamoor railway station is a closed railway station in the Churnet Valley, Staffordshire. The station was opened in 1849 as part of the Churnet Valley Line constructed by the North Staffordshire Railway. Serving the village of Oakamoor the station remained open until 1965 when all services were withdrawn, A little north of the station, freight traffic from Oakamoor Sand Sidings continued until 1988.
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 North Rode in Cheshire to Uttoxeter in East Staffordshire. The line was closed in several stages between 1964 and 1988 but part of the central section passed into the hands of a preservation society and today operates as the Churnet Valley Railway.
Macclesfield Hibel Road railway station was a railway station serving the town of Macclesfield in Cheshire, England. It was opened as a joint station by the North Staffordshire Railway (NSR) and the London and North Western Railway (LNWR) on 13 July 1849, with the opening of the NSR route to Uttoxeter via North Rode and Leek and it replaced an earlier, temporary, LNWR station at Beech Bridge. Built right at the point where the track of the two companies made an end-on junction, the station was managed by a joint committee of the two companies.
North Rode railway station originally North Rode junction served the village of North Rode, Cheshire. The station was opened by the North Staffordshire Railway (NSR) on 18 June 1849 and formed the junction of the Churnet Valley Line from the main NSR line between Stoke-on-Trent and Macclesfield.
Cliffe Park railway station was opened by the North Staffordshire Railway (NSR) in 1905 on the Churnet Valley line to attract visitors to Rudyard Lake, which the NSR were trying to develop as a leisure and tourist attraction including a golf course. The station was originally named Rudyard Lake and was at the northern end of the lake. There were no settlements nearby and consequently the station had no goods facilities. There was one siding but this was used more for stabling excursion trains rather than freight vehicles.
Rudyard railway station served Rudyard, Staffordshire and was opened by the North Staffordshire Railway (NSR) in 1850 on the Churnet Valley line. In the village the NSR also owned the Rudyard Hotel as part of the company's efforts to develop Rudyard Lake and its environs as a tourist destination.
Ipstones railway station was a railway station that served the village of Ipstones, Staffordshire. It was opened by the North Staffordshire Railway (NSR) in 1905 and closed to passenger use in 1935, but remained open to freight traffic until 1964.
Leek railway station is the proposed and future terminus of the Churnet Valley Railway and is currently awaiting construction. It will be the second railway station in Leek.
