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The Hayfield Branch was a 2+1⁄2-mile (4 km) single-track branch line that ran along the Sett Valley from the Hope Valley Line near New Mills Central to Hayfield, via one intermediate stop, Birch Vale. It passed under the town of New Mills through the 180 m (200 yd) rock-cut Hayfield tunnel.
The branch opened, in 1868, to serve the villages along the valley of the River Sett and the local mills. It became the joint property of the Manchester, Sheffield & Lincolnshire Railway (later Great Central) and the Midland Railway. It remained a joint line, latterly owned by the London and North Eastern Railway and the London Midland Scottish Railway, until nationalisation of the railways in 1948. [1] Passenger numbers were high especially in the summer months, as the line provided easy access to the countryside.
The branch was subsequently assigned to the London Midland Region of British Railways. Introduction of diesel multiple unit (DMU) trains led to an improvement in passenger services and, by the 1960s, there was an hourly frequency to and from Manchester Piccadilly, with some additional trains at peak times. Unlike some neighbouring lines, the station also enjoyed an hourly Sunday service which was popular with walkers.
A short-lived continuation of the line was built in the early 20th century to convey materials and workmen during the construction of Kinder Reservoir. [2]
After World War II, passenger traffic on the line reduced. The whole Manchester Piccadilly-Romiley-Hayfield line had been included in the 1963 Beeching cuts proposals; however, the government chose instead to retain the Hope Valley line in favour of closing the Woodhead line to passenger services. The Hayfield line was closed in January 1970. [3]
The line was purchased from British Rail by Derbyshire County Council in 1973 and now forms the Sett Valley Trail. [4]
New Mills is a town in the Borough of High Peak, Derbyshire, England, 8 miles (13 km) south-east of Stockport and 13 miles (21 km) from Manchester at the confluence of the River Goyt and Sett. It is close to the border with Cheshire and above the Torrs, a 70 feet (21 m) deep gorge cut through carboniferous sandstone, on the north-western edge of the Peak District national park.
The Hope Valley line is a trans-Pennine railway line in Northern England, linking Manchester with Sheffield. It was completed in 1894.
The Derwent Valley line is a railway line from Derby to Matlock in Derbyshire.
Hayfield is a village and civil parish in High Peak, Derbyshire, England, with a population of around 2,700. The village is 3 miles (4.8 km) east of New Mills, 4.5 miles (7.2 km) south of Glossop and 10 miles (16 km) north of Buxton, in the basin of the River Sett.
Hope railway station serves the villages of Hope and Brough in the Derbyshire Peak District of England, 14+3⁄4 miles (23.7 km) west of Sheffield.
The Manchester, Buxton, Matlock and Midland Junction Railway ran from a junction with the Midland Railway at Ambergate to Rowsley north of Matlock and thence to Buxton.
Bamford railway station serves the village of Bamford in the Derbyshire Peak District, in England and is managed by Northern Trains. It is located 13 miles (21 km) west of Sheffield on the Hope Valley line.
Buxton railway station serves the Peak District town of Buxton in Derbyshire, England. It is managed and served by Northern. The station is 25+3⁄4 miles (41.4 km) south east of Manchester Piccadilly and is the terminus of the Buxton Line.
New Mills Central railway station serves the town of New Mills in Derbyshire, England. It is on the Hope Valley Line between Manchester Piccadilly and Sheffield, 12+3⁄4 miles (20.5 km) east of the former. The town is also served by New Mills Newtown station, which is on the Buxton to Stockport and Manchester line.
Birch Vale is a village in the High Peak district of Derbyshire, just outside the boundary of the Peak District National Park, between New Mills and Hayfield. Most of Birch Vale, including the attached hamlet of Thornsett, comes under the administration of New Mills Town Council, though the small part to the east of the former Grouse Inn public house is within the boundaries of Hayfield.
The Buxton line is a railway line in Northern England, connecting Manchester with Buxton in Derbyshire. Passenger services on the line are currently operated by Northern Trains.
Strines railway station serves the village of Strines, in the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, on the outskirts of Greater Manchester, England. Until boundary changes in 1994, the station itself lay over the border in Derbyshire.
Marple railway station in Marple, Greater Manchester, England, is on the Hope Valley Line 8.9 miles (14.3 km) south-east of Manchester Piccadilly. The station, opened in 1865 by the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway, was demolished and rebuilt in 1970. It is managed and served by Northern Trains, who provide two trains per hour in each direction.
The Sheffield and Midland Railway Companies' Committee was incorporated by Act of Parliament in 1869 as a joint venture between the Midland Railway and the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway.
The River Sett is a river that flows through the High Peak borough of Derbyshire, in north western England. It rises near Edale Cross on Kinder Scout and flows through the villages of Hayfield and Birch Vale to join the River Goyt at New Mills. The River Goyt is one of the principal tributaries of the River Mersey. In the past, the river was known as the River Kinder; the modern River Kinder is a right tributary of the Sett, joining the river at Bowden Bridge above Hayfield.
The Sett Valley Trail is a 2.5-mile (4.0 km) cycle- and bridleway in Derbyshire, England, linking the village of Hayfield and the town of New Mills. It runs along the lower valley of the River Sett and follows the trackbed of a former branch railway line from New Mills Central to Hayfield, which opened in 1868 and closed in 1970. The line was purchased from British Rail by Derbyshire County Council in 1973. The station buildings at Hayfield were demolished in 1975; an information centre, picnic area, car park and toilets have now been built on the site. The Pennine Bridleway and Peak District Boundary Walk follow the section of the trail between Hayfield and Birch Vale.
The Mid-Cheshire line is a railway line in the north-west of England that runs from Chester to Edgeley Junction, Stockport; it connects Chester with Manchester Piccadilly, via Knutsford. After Chester Northgate closed in 1969, the section between Mickle Trafford Junction and Chester was used for freight trains only until it closed in 1992; from Mickle Trafford, passenger trains use the Chester–Warrington line to Chester General instead. The route taken by passenger trains has changed over the years and now differs considerably from the original. Between 2001 and 2014, passenger journeys on the line increased to over 1.7 million per year. A near doubling of the passenger service was expected to occur from December 2018, however this did not materialise.
The River Kinder is a small river, only about 3 miles (4.8 km) long, in northwestern Derbyshire, England. Rising on the peat moorland plateau of Kinder Scout, it flows generally westwards to its confluence with the River Sett at Bowden Bridge. En route it flows through the Kinder Gates rocks, over the waterfall known as Kinder Downfall, and through Kinder Reservoir, built in 1903–12 by the Stockport Corporation Water Works. Until the 19th century at least, the name was formerly also applied to the River Sett as far as its confluence with the River Goyt in New Mills.
Thornsett is a hamlet within the civil parish of New Mills in Derbyshire. It lies between New Mills and Hayfield, and features a primary school, a nursery, two pubs, a band room and a cemetery. It is roughly 13 miles (21 km) southeast of central Manchester and 22 miles (35 km) west of Sheffield. The hamlet is governed by High Peak Borough Council and, as it lies within New Mills' parish boundaries, New Mills Town Council.
Hayfield railway station was the terminus of the 3 mi (4.8 km) Hayfield branch from New Mills Central station in Derbyshire, England.
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