CHURNET VALLEY RAILWAY

The 'Churnet Valley Railway' is a 5 and 1/4 mile (8.4 km) long standard gauge heritage railway based at Cheddleton station to the East of Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire.

Contents

Early days

The route

Stations

Locomotives

External links

Early days

The North Staffordshire Railway Society was formed in the 1970s and bought the old goods yard at Cheddleton Station. Workshops were created there and the first locomotives were moved there in 1977, however British Rail were still using the adjacent railway to move industrial Sand from a quarry at Oakamoor. The line was finally closed in 1988 and the society began to arrange for the purchase of the stretch from Oakamoor to Leekbrook Junction.
The first trains ran on the preserved line in 1996.

The route

Trains start from Cheddleton station and run along the valley of the river Churnet through varied scenery, to Consall station. Consall is sandwiched between the Caldon Canal and the river.
Nearby, there is a nature reserve and the 'Black Lion' public house overlooking the railway, canal and river. This pub is unusual in that there are no public roads to it. Access is on foot via the canal towpath or the railway. The only "road access" is through farm property which is not owned by the pub and is not usable by the general public. Consall is now fully signalled and the passing loop allows two trains to run on special events and bank holiday Mondays.
Beyond Consall lies Kingsley and Froghall station. At Froghall, a short walk away, is the canal wharf which is the site of some historic lime kilns.
On the return journey, trains run non-stop through Cheddleton and on to Leek Brook station through one of the longest tunnels on a preserved railway. Here, they reverse and run back to Cheddleton. There is no passing loop or run-round loop at Cheddleton and although there is a run-round loop at Leek Brook station, there is no usable platform.
Beyond Kingsley and Froghall station, the line continues to Oakamoor sidings which are used for storage of equipment. This line is not yet open for passengers.

Stations

★ Leek Brook

★ Cheddleton

★ Consall

★ Kingsley and Froghall

Locomotives

★ 'Operational Steam locomotives'

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★ BR 2-6-4T Class 4MT no. 80098 (current boiler ticket expires in 2008, on loan from Midland Railway Butterley for 12 months)

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★ Lima 2-8-0 Class S160 no. 5197 (Resident locomotive)

★ 'Resident Steam locomotives Currently Elsewhere'

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★ LMS 0-6-0 Class 4F No. 44422 (current boiler ticket expires in 2015, currently at Crewe Heritage Centre)

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★ Hunslet 0-6-0ST No. 3777 ( Running In pseudo-BR Livery as 68030 ) (On loan to the Strathspey Railway)

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★ BR 2-6-4T Class 4MT no. 80136 (boiler ticket expires in September 2007, currently at the Llangollen Railway.)

★ 'Other Steam Locomotives'

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★ Lima 2-8-0 Class S160 no. 6046 (Kit of parts, located in Cheddleton Yard)

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★ GWR 4-6-0 Manor Class no. 7821 ''Ditcheat Manor'' (on long term loan, boiler ticket expired in early 2007.)

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★ BR 9F 2-10-0 no.92134 (Undergoing restoration at LNWR Crewe)

★ 'Operational Diesel locomotives'

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★ BR 0-6-0 Class 08 no. D3991

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★ BR Bo-Bo Class 33 no. 33102

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★ BR Co-Co Class 37 no. 37075

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★ BR Co-Co Class 47 no. D1842

★ 'Diesel locomotives Undergoing Overhaul or Restoration'

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★ BR 0-6-0 Class 04 no. D2334

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★ BR Co-Co Class 47 no. 47524

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★ BR Bo-Bo Class 73 no. E6016

★ 'Stored Diesel Locomotives'

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★ BR Bo-Bo Class 25 no. D7672

★ 'Operational Diesel Multiple Units'

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★ BR Class 104 no. 50455+50517

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★ BR British Rail Derby Lightweight no. 79900 on loan from the Midland Railway Butterley

★ 'Diesel multiple units Undergoing Overhaul or Restoration'

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★ BR Class 104 nos. 53437, 53494, 54182 and 59137

★ 'Electric Multiple Unit (Used as Coaching stock)'

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★ BR Class 423 no. 3822

External links

★ Churnet Valley Railway

★ History of the North Staffordshire Railway plus news