Darley Dale railway station
Encyclopedia
History
Lying at the bottom of Station Road in the settlement of Darley DaleDarley Dale
Darley Dale, also known simply as Darley, is a town in Derbyshire, England, with a population of around 6,000 people. It lies north of Matlock, on the River Derwent and the A6 road.- History :...
, Darley Dale in its current form is not the first station to have existed upon the site. That halt was built in 1849, by the 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....
, and existed on the other side of the level crossing. The present structure dates back to 1873, and at one time the station possessed both a footbridge and a goods yard.
The station survived into the British Rail
British Rail
British Railways , which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was the operator of most of the rail transport in Great Britain between 1948 and 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the "Big Four" British railway companies and lasted until the gradual privatisation of British Rail, in stages...
era, but succumbed to the round of closures that followed the government economies of the 1960s. The station reopened in its current guise at the beginning of the 1990s, as a result of the efforts of heritage and preservation group Peak Rail
Peak Rail
Peak Rail is a preserved railway in Derbyshire, England, which operates a steam service for tourists and visitors to both the Peak District and the Derbyshire Dales....
. Since then, the latter have run heritage steam services on the former 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...
route to both Matlock
Matlock railway station
Matlock Railway Station is a railway station owned by Network Rail and managed by East Midlands Trains. It is located in the Derbyshire town of Matlock in Derbyshire, England. The station is now currently the terminus of both the Derwent Valley Line from Derby and Peak Rail who operate heritage...
via Matlock Riverside
Matlock Riverside railway station
Matlock Riverside was the terminus of Peak Rail, a preserved steam railway of approximately 4 miles in length. For many years Peak Rail had planned to run trains into Matlock station, shared with the main line from Derby ....
and since 1997, to Rowsley South
Rowsley South railway station
Rowsley South railway station lies approximately a mile short of Rowsley village, the location of the settlement's previous stations. This makes Rowsley South the third station to be built in the area, constructed as it was by Peak Rail volunteers in the latter part of the 1990s.Opened to...
.
Present day
Peak Rail
Peak Rail is a preserved railway in Derbyshire, England, which operates a steam service for tourists and visitors to both the Peak District and the Derbyshire Dales....
. The station building on the Up platform contains an exhibition and waiting room, other facilities at the location include toilets with disabled access and parking for a small number of cars. Tickets must be purchased on the train however, as there is no longer a dedicated ticket office at this location.
The station also possesses a signal box
Signal box
On a rail transport system, signalling control is the process by which control is exercised over train movements by way of railway signals and block systems to ensure that trains operate safely, over the correct route and to the proper timetable...
at the southern end of the Up platform, with a level crossing
Level crossing
A level crossing occurs where a railway line is intersected by a road or path onone level, without recourse to a bridge or tunnel. It is a type of at-grade intersection. The term also applies when a light rail line with separate right-of-way or reserved track crosses a road in the same fashion...
(Station Road) just beyond it. Contrary to first impressions, this signal box is merely of cosmetic use, with the crossing controlled by a crossing keeper's hut at road level (located on the Down side, and across the road from the station). Part of the reason for this is the visibility required to operate the crossing is unavailable from the raised signal box, a structure once located at Bamford
Bamford railway station
Bamford railway station serves the village of Bamford in the Derbyshire Peak District, in England and is owned by Northern Rail.-History:Bamford station was built by the Dore and Chinley Railway, a company which was absorbed by the Midland Railway prior to opening...
. In March 2008, the crossing keeper's hut was replaced by a more extensive traditional structure (albeit a new build), required as part of the increased signalling
Railway signalling
Railway signalling is a system used to control railway traffic safely, essentially to prevent trains from colliding. Being guided by fixed rails, trains are uniquely susceptible to collision; furthermore, trains cannot stop quickly, and frequently operate at speeds that do not enable them to stop...
equipment on the railway. The latter has, in effect, split the operation into three controlled sections, permitting better timetabling and more efficient services, while also providing the necessary infrastructure to cater for extensions to the present line.
Darley Dale also possesses two small yards, at the north and south ends of the station. Previously used to stable small amounts of rolling stock
Rolling stock
Rolling stock comprises all the vehicles that move on a railway. It usually includes both powered and unpowered vehicles, for example locomotives, railroad cars, coaches and wagons...
and locomotives, these have now been cleared pending a full-scale refurbishment of the life-expired facilities. Ultimately, it is anticipated that the yard will effectively form the railway's Diesel Depot, although no date has been set for this to happen. Neither yard at Darley Dale is open to the public.