Ambergate railway station - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Ambergate railway station is a railway station owned by Network Rail

Network Rail

Network Rail is the government-created owner and operator of most of the rail infrastructure in Great Britain .; it is not responsible for railway infrastructure in Northern Ireland...

and managed by East Midlands Trains (EMT)

East Midlands Trains

East Midlands Trains is a British passenger train operating company. Based in Derby, it provides train services in the East Midlands, chiefly in the counties of Lincolnshire, South Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire, Derbyshire and Northamptonshire, and between the East Midlands and London...

Train operating company (TOC)

Train operating company

The term train operating company is used in the United Kingdom to describe the various businesses operating passenger trains on the railway system of Great Britain under the collective National Rail brand...

. It serves the village of Ambergate

Ambergate

Ambergate is a village in Derbyshire, England, where the River Amber joins the River Derwent.Until the early nineteenth century it was known as Toadmoor, with no more than a few artisans' cottages. The southerly half of the village was still shown as such on the Ordnance Survey's maps.It is about ...

in Derbyshire

Derbyshire

Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...

. The station is located on the Derwent Valley Line

Derwent Valley Line

The Derwent Valley Line is a railway line from Derby to Matlock in Derbyshire.The line follows the Midland Main Line as far as Ambergate Junction, which is just south of Ambergate railway station, continuing to Matlock, following the course of the River Derwent.*Derby*Duffield**Former branch line...

from Derby

Derby

Derby , is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands region of England. It lies upon the banks of the River Derwent and is located in the south of the ceremonial county of Derbyshire. In the 2001 census, the population of the city was 233,700, whilst that of the Derby Urban Area was 229,407...

to Matlock, which diverges from the Midland Main Line

Midland Main Line

The Midland Main Line is a major railway route in the United Kingdom, part of the British railway system.The present-day line links London St...

just south of the station at Ambergate Junction.

The full range of tickets for travel for any destination in the country are purchased from the guard

Conductor (transportation)

A conductor is a member of a railway train's crew that is responsible for operational and safety duties that do not involve the actual operation of the train. The title of conductor is most associated with railway operations in North America, but the role of conductor is common to railways...

on the train at no extra cost.

In the year April 1, 2009 to March 31, 2010 journeys from the station had increased by 38.56%.

History

It has a complicated history. The original station was built for the North Midland Railway

North Midland Railway

The North Midland Railway was a British railway company, which opened its line from Derby to Rotherham and Leeds in 1840.At Derby it connected with the Birmingham and Derby Junction Railway and the Midland Counties Railway at what became known as the Tri Junct Station...

in 1840, between Derby

Derby

and Leeds

Leeds

Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...

. It was an ornate building, by Francis Thompson

Francis Thompson (architect)

Francis Thompson was an architect particularly well known for his railway work.He was born in 1808 in Woodbridge in Suffolk, England, to a family of builders. He married Anna Maria Watson in 1830 at Woodbridge church and emigrated to Montreal in British North America . Their son Francis Jacob...

, which would have graced a Lord of the Manor.

From Belper

Belper

Belper is a town and civil parish in the local government district of Amber Valley in Derbyshire, England.-Geography:Belper is situated eight miles north of Derby and is centred in the valley of the River Derwent...

the line ran along the Derwent Valley

River Derwent, Derbyshire

The Derwent is a river in the county of Derbyshire, England. It is 66 miles long and is a tributary of the River Trent which it joins south of Derby. For half its course, the river flows through the Peak District....

, along a stretch called Broadholme, with four bridges across the river, through Longlands Tunnel, across the River Derwent and Derby road with a magnificent five-arch viaduct. It then entered Hag Wood Tunnel

Toadmoor Tunnel

Toadmoor Tunnel was built at Ambergate as part of the North Midland Railway, which opened in 1840.128 yards long, it was cut through an unstable hillside on a notoriously difficult line of route. George Stephenson designed it with an elliptical shape so that it had least diameter vertically with...

as turned towards the Amber Valley

River Amber

The River Amber is a river in Derbyshire, England which rises close to the village of Ashover, near Clay Cross, and flows southwards through Ogston Reservoir to Pentrich then westwards to join the River Derwent at Ambergate...

.

The station building was just north of this tunnel. Shortly afterwards a proposal was made for an Ambergate, Nottingham, Boston and Eastern Junction Railway

Ambergate, Nottingham, Boston and Eastern Junction Railway

The Ambergate, Nottingham, Boston and Eastern Junction Railway was an early British railway company, which opened in 1850.The original aim was to link to the proposed Manchester, Buxton, Matlock and Midlands Junction Railway at Ambergate to link Manchester with Boston and the East Coast...

which however never materialised, apart from a stretch between Colwick

Colwick

Colwick is a suburb in the east of Greater Nottingham in England. It forms part of the Nottinghamshire borough of Gedling, although Colwick Country Park is actually within the city boundary. It lies between the River Trent and the railway line, with nearby places being Netherfield , Bakersfield ,...

and Grantham

Grantham

Grantham is a market town within the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It bestrides the East Coast Main Line railway , the historic A1 main north-south road, and the River Witham. Grantham is located approximately south of the city of Lincoln, and approximately east of Nottingham...

.

From Ambergate, towards Chesterfield

Chesterfield

Chesterfield is a market town and a borough of Derbyshire, England. It lies north of Derby, on a confluence of the rivers Rother and Hipper. Its population is 70,260 , making it Derbyshire's largest town...

, the next difficulty for the North Midland Railway was the intersection with the Cromford Canal

Cromford Canal

The Cromford Canal ran 14.5 miles from Cromford to the Erewash Canal in Derbyshire, England with a branch to Pinxton. Built by William Jessop with the assistance of Benjamin Outram, its alignment included four tunnels and 14 locks....

, where the line intersected with the Bullbridge Aqueduct

Bullbridge Aqueduct

The Bull Bridge Aqueduct was situated on the Cromford Canal, built in 1794, at Bullbridge east of Ambergate along the Amber Valley where it turned sharply to cross the valley and the Ambergate to Nottingham road...

, before it carried on through a station at Wingfield

Wingfield Manor

Wingfield Manor is a deserted and ruined manor house some 4 miles from the town of Alfreton in the English county of Derbyshire...

to Stretton.

However, in 1849, the branch from Ambergate to Rowsley

Rowsley

Rowsley is a village on the A6 road in the English county of Derbyshire.It is at the point where the River Wye flows into the River Derwent and prospered from mills on both.-Overview:...

was built by the proposed Manchester, Buxton, Matlock and Midlands Junction Railway

Manchester, Buxton, Matlock and Midlands Junction Railway

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....

, with a west to north connection between the lines at the original Ambergate Junction.
When a south to west connection was made, for trains from Derby to Rowsley, in 1863 the station building was rebuilt adjacent to the new Ambergate South junction. The original bridge was also widened at its northern end to accommodate the new junction.

In 1867 the Rowsley line had reached New Mills

New Mills Central railway station

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...

, which meant that the Midland Railway

Midland Railway

The Midland Railway was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844 to 1922, when it became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway....

could operate from London

St Pancras railway station

St Pancras railway station, also known as London St Pancras and since 2007 as St Pancras International, is a central London railway terminus celebrated for its Victorian architecture. The Grade I listed building stands on Euston Road in St Pancras, London Borough of Camden, between the...

to Manchester

Manchester

Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...

and Liverpool

Liverpool

Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...

.

In 1875 Ambergate to Pye Bridge Line

Ambergate to Pye Bridge Line

The Ambergate to Pye Bridge Line is a partially disused, partially restored, and partially developed for other uses railway line in Derbyshire, England...

was opened from Crich Junction near Bullbridge

Bullbridge

Bullbridge is a small village in Derbyshire. The Bull bridge accident happened here in 1860.-The village:Bullbridge has a population of approx...

which ran through Butterley

Butterley railway station

Butterley railway station is a heritage railway station within the Midland Railway - Butterley in Derbyshire. Originally located on the Midland Railway's Ambergate to Pye Bridge Line, the station opened on 1 May 1875 as Butterley, being renamed Butterley for Ripley and Swanwick on 29 July 1935...

to Pye Bridge, near Ironville

Ironville

Ironville in Derbyshire, England, was built about 1830 by the Butterley Company as a "model village" to house its workers. It is situated between Riddings and Codnor Park....

on the Erewash Valley Line

Erewash Valley Line

The Erewash Valley Line is a railway line in Britain running from south of Chesterfield along the Erewash Valley to Trent Junction at Long Eaton, joining the Midland Main Line at each end.- History :...

. Much of its business was coal traffic from Nottinghamshire

Nottinghamshire

Nottinghamshire is a county in the East Midlands of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west...

to Manchester and Liverpool, avoiding Derby.

The triangular station

In 1876 a loop was built passing the west side of Hag Wood Tunnel, as a diversion from the original line to a third platform, which allowed for Derby to Sheffield

Sheffield

Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...

stopping trains. The station was completely rebuilt, with the old building remaining in use a plans store. This third and final station was the famous triangular one, reputed to be one of only three in the country.

Throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Ambergate was an important railway interchange with 28,207 tickets sold in 1872 rising to 90,157 by 1922.

In 1931 the line across Broadholme approaching from the south was upgraded to four tracks. Longlands Tunnel was opened up to form a wide cutting and the junction with the Manchester line was moved south of the river. A new modern steel bridge for the Manchester line was built alongside the original viaduct over the River Derwent and the A6 main road.

The line through Matlock which, in those days, was the 'main line', carried London to Manchester

Manchester

expresses such as the Palatine

The Palatine

The Palatine was the name given to an express passenger train, introduced by the London, Midland and Scottish Railway in 1938: the 10.00 from Manchester Central to London St Pancras and the return working, the 16.30 from St Pancras to Manchester Central....

and the Peaks. It also carried coal trains from Nottinghamshire, for a while with Garratt locomotives

LMS Garratt

The London Midland and Scottish Railway Garratt was a class of Garratt 2-6-0+0-6-2 steam locomotive designed for heavy freight. A total of 33 were built from 1927, making them the most numerous class of Garratt in Britain.-Overview:...

, which would be split at Rowsley for the long climb to Peak Forest

Peak Forest

Peak Forest is a small village on the main road the from Chapel-en-le-Frith to Chesterfield in England.The village grew from the earlier settlement of Dam at the conjunction of Perrydale and Damdale. There is an inn, a village shop and a Primary School...

Grouping and Nationalisation

Having gathered in the Midland Railway

Midland Railway

The Midland Railway was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844 to 1922, when it became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway....

, the lines through the station became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway

London, Midland and Scottish Railway

The London Midland and Scottish Railway was a British railway company. It was formed on 1 January 1923 under the Railways Act of 1921, which required the grouping of over 120 separate railway companies into just four...

during the Grouping

Railways Act 1921

The Railways Act 1921, also known as the Grouping Act, was an enactment by the British government of David Lloyd George intended to stem the losses being made by many of the country's 120 railway companies, move the railways away from internal competition, and to retain some of the benefits which...

of 1923. The station then passed on to the London Midland Region of British Railways

London Midland Region of British Railways

The London Midland Region was one of the six regions created on the formation of the nationalised British Railways and consisted of ex-London, Midland and Scottish Railway lines in England and Wales. The region was managed first from buildings adjacent to Euston Station and later from Stanier...

on nationalisation in 1948.

When Sectorisation

British Rail brand names

British Rail was the brand image of the nationalised railway owner and operator in Great Britain, the British Railways Board, used from 1965 until its breakup and sell-off from 1993 onwards....

was introduced in the 1980s, the station was served by Regional Railways

Regional Railways

Regional Railways was one of the three passenger sectors of British Rail created in 1982 that existed until 1996, 3 years after privatisation. The sector was originally called Provincial....

until the Privatisation of British Rail

Privatisation of British Rail

The privatisation of British Rail was set in motion when the Conservative government enacted, on 19 January 1993, the British Coal and British Rail Act 1993 . This enabled the relevant Secretary of State to issue directions to the relevant Board...

ways.

Decline

Most of the trackwork on the Manchester line was lifted in 1968 at the same time as the line from Rowsley to Manchester was closed. The station buildings were removed in 1970. Although the triangular station site remained for a number of years the road bridges were finally removed in the late 1980s. All that is left now is a platform on a single track to Matlock, and the original main Derby to Sheffield line through Hag Wood (Toadmoor) Tunnel, Clay Cross

Clay Cross railway station

Clay Cross railway station was a railway station built by the North Midland Railway in 1840. It served the town of Clay Cross in Derbyshire.It was originally planned to have been built within the Clay Cross Tunnel, however it was clear that it would be impossible to ventilate it effectively, so...

and Chesterfield

Chesterfield railway station

Entrance to the station is on Crow Lane and includes a car park, taxi rank and bus stop. There is also a small car park on the other side of Crow Lane which does not have a parking charge. The main entrance leads to the station concourse, which is very spacious and was built in the late 1990s. It...

. This led to its mention in the song "Slow Train

Slow Train

"Slow Train" is a song by the British duo Flanders and Swann, written in 1963.It laments the loss of British stations and railway lines in that era, due to the Beeching cuts, and also the passing of a way of life, with the advent of motorways etc....

" by Flanders and Swann

Flanders and Swann

The British duo Flanders and Swann were the actor and singer Michael Flanders and the composer, pianist and linguist Donald Swann , who collaborated in writing and performing comic songs....

Services

The station is served by East Midlands Trains Local

East Midlands Trains

, who operate the services from Nottingham to Matlock via Derby. For journeys beginning at Ambergate, tickets may be bought on the train for any destination in the country (From Derby, tickets must be bought at the ticket office). Journey time to Derby is approximately 16 minutes. Services are hourly Mon-Sat.

Services are formed using diesel multiple unit

Diesel multiple unit

A diesel multiple unit or DMU is a multiple unit train consisting of multiple carriages powered by one or more on-board diesel engines. They may also be referred to as a railcar or railmotor, depending on country.-Design:...

s of Classes 153

British Rail Class 153

The British Rail Class 153 Super Sprinter is a single car diesel multiple unit converted from British Rail Class 155s.-Description:These units were originally built as two-car Class 155 units by British Leyland from 1987–88, but were converted by Hunslet-Barclay at Kilmarnock from 1991-92...

, 156

British Rail Class 156

The British Rail Class 156 Super Sprinter is a diesel multiple-unit train . 114 of these units were built from 1987 to 1989 by Metro-Cammell at its Washwood Heath Works in Birmingham...

, or 158

British Rail Class 158

British Rail Class 158 Express Sprinter is a diesel multiple-unit train, built for British Rail between 1989 and 1992 by BREL at its Derby Works. They were built to replace many locomotive-hauled passenger trains, and allowed cascading of existing Sprinter units to replace elderly 'heritage' DMUs...

External links

in 1887 showing the triangular layout

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