NORTH RODE - ROCESTER. The Churnet Valley Line. Forgotten Railways. North Staffordshire Railway

A trip along the disused section of the Churnet Valley line. We start at North Rode station and walk thru to Leekbrook Jct. We then avoid the preservation line and rejoin at Froghall, following the route through to the end of the line at Rocester. A very rewarding walk I know you will enjoy.
A brief history.....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 Rocester, with connecting services to Uttoxeter in East Staffordshire. The line was closed in several stages between 1964 and 1988.
Train services settled to a small number of local trains between Macclesfield and Uttoxeter supplemented by a smaller number of slightly shorter workings e.g. Macclesfield—Leek. A lot of excursions were run over the line as the NSR made efforts to promote Rudyard Lake as a tourist destination. The lake, actually a reservoir, supplied water to the Trent & Mersey Canal and had therefore become the property of the NSR in 1846. However the NSR only owned the lake, not the land around it and protracted legal proceedings meant that the NSR were not fully able to promote Rudyard until the early part of the 20th century. Another important tourist destination for the NSR was also served by the line; Alton Towers, owned by the Earl of Shrewsbury, was open to the public on several days during the summer and the NSR provided special trains on these occasions.

The NSR were not the only group seeking to promote the Churnet Valley as a tourist destination and through the efforts of a number of local hoteliers the valley became known as "Little Switzerland". stations were built at Bosley, Rushton, Rudyard, Leek, Leekbrook, Cheddleton, Consall, Kingsley, Oakamoor, Acton, Denstone and Rocester.
Despite the picturesque description which arose from the valley's steep sides, the area was also an important site in the mineral industry with iron and copper as well as limestone and sandstone being quarried. Previously carried by canal, the output from the quarries and the associated industries was moved by rail especially when the NSR opened a line from Stoke to Leek in 1867. Principal among these were the copper wire works at Froghall and Oakamoor. At one point over 1000 tons a week was being shipped from Froghall to Brunner Mond.
Along with the rest of the NSR the line passed into the ownership of the London, Midland and Scottish railway (LMS) which made little change to the operation of the line. Passenger services remained much as they had done under the NSR, but Alton Towers became an increasingly popular tourist destination and frequent excursions terminated there. Further north, at Rudyard, there were quite a few changes as the LMS sold off the golf club and the Rudyard Hotel. One result was a confusing change of station names; Rudyard Lake was renamed Cliffe Park, and Rudyard was renamed Rudyard Lake.

One long distance train ran over the line, the Saturdays-only Eastern Counties Express between Manchester and Cromer ran in both directions along the Churnet Valley, stopping only at Leek to pick up/set down passengers to or from beyond Nottingham.
Following nationalisation, the line became part of the London Midland Region of British Railways. Passenger services remained fairly consistent with the wartime levels of five 'up' trains and six 'down' trains a day with additional workmen's services between Leek and Uttoxeter. Falling passenger numbers throughout the 1950s led to a proposal in 1959 for the withdrawal of all advertised passenger services between Macclesfield and Uttoxeter and the retention of the non-advertised workmen's services between Leek and Uttoxeter only. Despite objections the proposal was implemented on 7 November 1960. This did not stem the financial losses on the line, and the entire line between Leek and North Rode closed in June 1964. At the same time local goods facilities were withdrawn at all other stations except Leek followed in January 1965 by the withdrawal of the passenger service over the south section between Leek and Uttoxeter and the closure of the line south of Oakamoor.

This left the line with public goods services from Leek to Stoke and bulk sand traffic from Oakamoor. The Leek services lasted until 1970 when the line between Leek and Leek Brook Junction closed but the Oakamoor sand traffic continued until 1988.

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