Bradnop railway station

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,[3] but remained open to freight traffic until 1964.[2]

Bradnop
Location
PlaceBradnop, Staffordshire
AreaStaffordshire Moorlands
Coordinates53.0910°N 1.9860°W / 53.0910; -1.9860
Grid referenceSK010548
Operations
Original companyNorth Staffordshire Railway
Post-groupingLondon Midland and Scottish Railway
Platforms1
History
5 June 1905Opened[1]
30 September 1935Closed to passengers[1]
4 May 1964Closed to freight[2]
Disused railway stations in the United Kingdom
Closed railway stations in Britain
A B C D–F G H–J K–L M–O P–R S T–V W–Z

Construction and opening

The station was on the NSR branch from Leekbrook Junction to Waterhouses. The single line branch was authorised on 1 March 1899 by the Leek, Caldon Low, and Hartington Light Railways Order, 1898.[4][5] and construction took several years.

The station at Bradnop was built in a cutting on the long gradient from Leek Brook to Ipstones, digging the cutting required the excavation of 500,000 cubic yards (380,000 m3) of material to create a cutting 1 mile (1.6 km) long and, at its deepest, 60 feet (18.3 m) deep.[6]

Station layout
The station site in 1962 showing the goods yard high above the main running line

The station had a single platform and limited goods facilities.[7] Although the station buildings and passenger platform were in a cutting, the small goods yard was constructed at the top of the bank and this necessitated quite a steep gradient in the track leading from the branch line to the good yard.[8] A passing loop was installed and Bradnop was a block section with Ipstones and Leek Brook East signalboxes,[9] although Bradnop itself was not equipped with a signal box, only a ground frame.[10]

In NSR days the station staff comprised a Station Master, 1 porter and 1 porter/signalman.[11]

The station buildings were of wooden construction and had to be rebuilt following a fire in April 1926 which destroyed the original building.[12]

Closure

The branch line was never a financial success and passenger services were withdrawn on 30 September 1935.[13] The station remained open as a goods station until May 1964 when all traffic on the branch except mineral worksings from Caldon Low quarries was withdrawn.[2]

The site today

Mineral trains to Caldon Low continued until 1989 when the line was mothballed. In 2009 Moorland and City Railways purchased the line with the intention of reopening the line to mineral traffic from the quarry.[14] In 2014 this plan was placed on hold as the Competition Commission ruled that Lafarge Tarmac must sell one of its sites, possibly Caldon Low, so the heritage railway, the Churnet Valley Railway, are seeking to purchase the line themselves.[15]

Route
Preceding station Historical railways Following station
Ipstones
Waterhouses branch		   North Staffordshire Railway   Leek
Churnet Valley Line

Notes
  1. Quick (2009), p. 96.
  2. Jeuda (1980), p. 68.
  3. Christiansen & Miller (1971), p. 304.
  4. "Light Railways Act 1896". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). House of Commons. 21 March 1899. col. 1552.
  5. "No. 27062". The London Gazette. 14 March 1899. p. 1761.
  6. Jeuda (1980), p. 19.
  7. Jeuda (1980), p. 70.
  8. Christiansen (1997), p. 57.
  9. Jeuda (1980), p. 71.
  10. Christiansen (1997), p. 56.
  11. Jeuda (1980), p. 73.
  12. Jeuda (2014), p. 151.
  13. Christiansen & Miller (1971), p. 258.
  14. "Steaming back to Cauldon Lowe". Heritage Railway. 25 November 2010.
  15. "Leek railway line moves a step closer". Leek Post & Times. 12 March 2014. Archived from the original on 19 April 2014. Retrieved 23 April 2014.
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References
  • Quick, Michael (2009) [2001]. Railway passenger stations in Great Britain: a chronology (4th ed.). Oxford: Railway and Canal Historical Society. ISBN 978-0-901461-57-5. OCLC 612226077.
  • Christiansen, Rex; Miller, Robert William (1971). The North Staffordshire Railway. Newton Abbot, Devon: David & Charles. ISBN 0-7153-5121-4.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Christiansen, Rex (1997). Portrait of the North Staffordshire Railway. Shepperton, Surrey: Ian Allan. ISBN 0-7110-2546-0.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Jeuda, Basil (1980). The Leek, Caldon & Waterhouses Railway. Cheddleton, Staffordshire: North Staffordshire Railway Company (1978). ISBN 0-907133-00-2.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Jeuda, Basil (2014). The North Staffordshire Railway in LMS days. 3. Lydney, Gloucestershire: Lightmoor Press. ISBN 978-1899889-83-9.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
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