Rudyard railway station

Rudyard
Rudyard
	The site of the station in July 2012
General information
Location	Rudyard, Staffordshire, Staffordshire Moorlands ; England
Coordinates	53°07′05″N2°04′04″W / 53.1180°N 2.0678°W
Grid reference	SJ955579
Platforms	2
Other information
Status	Disused
History
Original company	North Staffordshire Railway
Post-grouping	London, Midland and Scottish Railway ; London Midland Region of British Railways
Key dates
22 July 1850	Opened
1 April 1926	Name changed from Rudyard to Rudyard Lake
7 November 1960	Closed to passengers
15 June 1964	Closed to freight

Last updated April 08, 2024

Rudyard railway station served Rudyard, Staffordshire and was opened by the North Staffordshire Railway (NSR) in 1850 on the Churnet Valley line.^[2] 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.

Subsequent use

In 1978 a miniature railway was built on the west side of the trackbed from Rudyard Station to the Dam. This closed two years later and was moved to the Suffolk wildlife park. and then to Trago Mills in Devon. One of the locomotives, a model of the Leek and Manifold Valley Light Railway engine No.1 E. R. Calthrope now periodically revisits the current railway at Rudyard.

A further 10.25 inches (26.0 cm) minimum gauge railway was started in 1985 and extended to a distance of 1.5 miles (2.4 km) towards Cliffe Park station. Today the station area is used by the Rudyard Lake Steam Railway as its headquarters and as a public car park. Rudyard station now includes engine and carriage sheds, workshop, signal box, footbridge, the Platform 2 café and a level crossing. The railway has five steam locomotives and 11 carriages and a number of wagons and operates year-round. This railway celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2010.

The original up side standard gauge platform and retaining walls and flower beds are still visible. The Platform 2 cafe now uses this area for its seating and the original waiting shelter foundations for its buildings.

Route

"Merlin" coupling up at Rudyard station in 2013

Preceding station	Historical railways			Following station
Cliffe Park Line and station closed		North Staffordshire Railway Churnet Valley Line		Leek Line and station closed

Related Research Articles

The Leek and Manifold Valley Light Railway (L&MVLR) was a narrow gauge railway in Staffordshire, England that operated between 1904 and 1934. The line mainly carried milk from dairies in the region, acting as a feeder to the 4 ft 8+1⁄2 instandard gauge system. It also provided passenger services to the small villages and beauty spots along its route. The line was built to a 2 ft 6 in narrow gauge and to the light rail standards provided by the Light Railways Act 1896 to reduce construction costs.

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.

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 10.5 miles (16.9 km) 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 Churnet Valley Railway. The main stations along the line are Kingsley and Froghall, Consall, Cheddleton and Leek Brook. 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 as far as Ipstones.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rudyard Lake Steam Railway</span> Miniature heritage railway in England

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Leek Brook railway station is a passenger station in Staffordshire, Great Britain.

Rushton Spencer railway station was a railway station that served the village of Rushton Spencer, Staffordshire. The station was opened by the North Staffordshire Railway in 1849 as part of the Churnet Valley line.

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.

Bosley railway station served the village of Bosley, Cheshire. The station was opened by the North Staffordshire Railway in September 1849 as part of the Churnet Valley line.

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.

Stockton Brook railway station is a disused railway station in Staffordshire.

Waterhouses railway station was a railway station that served the village of Waterhouses, Staffordshire. It was opened jointly by the North Staffordshire Railway (NSR) and the Leek and Manifold Valley Light Railway (L&MVLR) in 1905 and closed in 1943.

The St Edward's Hospital tramway was a tramway built for Staffordshire County Council for the construction of the St Edward's County Mental Asylum at Cheddleton, Staffordshire. Opened in 1899, the line ran until 1954 before being closed and scrapped.

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.

Bradnop railway station was a railway station that served the village of Bradnop, 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.

The Waterhouses branch line was a railway built by the North Staffordshire Railway to link the small villages east of Leek, Staffordshire with Leek, the biggest market town in the area. The railway opened in 1905 but closed to passengers in 1935. Freight continued on the line though until 1988, when the line was mothballed as the traffic from the quarries at Caldon Low ceased.

Winkhill railway station was a railway station that served the hamlet of Winkhill, Staffordshire. It was opened by the North Staffordshire Railway (NSR) in 1910 and closed to passenger use in 1935, but remained open to freight traffic until 1964.

Caldon Low Halt railway station was a railway station near the hamlet of Cauldon, Staffordshire. It was opened by the North Staffordshire Railway (NSR) in 1905 and closed in 1935.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wall Grange railway station</span> Former railway station in England

Wall Grange railway station is a disused railway station in Staffordshire, England.

References

Notes

Sources

Christiansen, Rex; Miller, Robert William (1971). The North Staffordshire Railway. Newton Abbot, Devon: David & Charles. ISBN 0-7153-5121-4.
Jeuda, Basil (1999). The Churnet Valley Railway. Lydney, Gloucestershire: Lightmoor Press. ISBN 978-1-899889-05-1.
Quick, Michael (2009) [2001]. Railway passenger stations in Great Britain: a chronology (4th ed.). Oxford: Railway & Canal Historical Society. ISBN 978-0-901461-57-5. OCLC 612226077.

External links

Rudyard Lake Steam Railway website

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Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
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[FOOTNOTEQuick2009336-1] 1 2 3 Quick 2009, p. 336.

[FOOTNOTEJeuda199962-2] Jeuda 1999, p. 62.

[FOOTNOTEJeuda199965-3] Jeuda 1999, p. 65.

[FOOTNOTEChristiansenMiller1971304-4] 1 2 Christiansen & Miller 1971, p. 304.

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