Monsal Dale railway station

Monsal Dale railway station was opened in 1866 by the Midland Railway on its line from Rowsley, extending the Manchester, Buxton, Matlock and Midlands Junction Railway.

Monsal Dale
The station remains in 2006
Location
AreaDerbyshire Dales
Coordinates53.2445°N 1.7357°W / 53.2445; -1.7357
Operations
Pre-groupingMidland Railway
Post-groupingLondon, Midland and Scottish Railway
Platforms2
History
1 September 1866Station opened
10 August 1959station closed for regular services
3 April 1961closed completely
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
Monsal Trail
 
to Buxton
Midland Railway
to Peak Forest
 Topley Pike junction
 Chee Tor No. 1 tunnel
 Millers Dale
 Millers Dale viaducts
 Litton Tunnel (
516 yd
472 m
)
 Cressbrook Tunnel (
471 yd
431 m
)
 Monsal Dale
 Headstone Viaduct
 Headstone Tunnel (
533 yd
487 m
)
 Great Longstone
 Hassop
 Bakewell
 Coombs Road viaduct
(end of trail)
 Haddon Tunnel (
1058 yd
967 m
)
(closed)
 Rowsley
(proposed extension)
 Rowsley South
 Darley Dale
 Matlock Riverside

Sources[1][2]

The original intention was merely to have a goods depot to serve the nearby Cressbrook Mill, to be called Cressbrook or Cressbrook Sidings. However a passenger station would also serve the villages of Upperdale and Cressbrook.

The down line and platform was built on a shelf carved in the rock face, while the up was built on wooden trestles over the hillside. The wooden buildings for the latter were obtained from Evesham railway station.

From Monsal Dale, the line proceeded through Cressbrook 471 yards (431 m) and Litton 515 yards (471 m) tunnels to Millers Dale on its way north. Cut through solid limestone, they were both complex tunnels on a gradient of 1 in 100, and curved to allow the line to conform to the terrain.

It was written:

There is not in the whole range of Peak scenery such a lovely landscape in so small a space as can be viewed from the platform of this singular and romantically situated station.[3]

The station closed to regular passenger traffic in 1959[4] but continued to be used by occasional ramblers specials and excursions until April 1961.[5] Trains continued to pass through the station until 1968 when the line was closed.

Today this section of line forms part of the Monsal Trail, an 8.5-mile (13.7 km) walk and cycleway. The down platform edge can still be seen, but nothing remains of the up platform or timber buildings. The tunnels previously mentioned were re-opened in 2011, and the previous path diversions over the river via a permissive path by Cressbrook Mill are still available.

Route
Preceding station   Disused railways   Following station
Millers Dale
Line and station closed		   Midland Railway
Manchester, Buxton, Matlock and Midland Junction Railway		   Longstone
Line and station closed

References
  1. "The Monsal Trail". A Taste of the Peak District. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
  2. Bickerdike, Graeme (June 2009). "The story of structures of the Monsal Trail: A Week in the Peak". Retrieved 10 April 2020.
  3. Truman, P., Hunt, D., (1989) Midland Railway Portrait Sheffield: Platform 5 Publishing
  4. Butt, R. V. J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85260-508-7. OCLC 60251199.
  5. "Disused stations" website by N.Catford
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