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Bakewell railway station

Bakewell
The station in 1905
General information
LocationBakewell, Derbyshire Dales
England
Coordinates53°13′04″N 1°40′08″W / 53.2177°N 1.6689°W / 53.2177; -1.6689
Platforms2
Other information
StatusDisused
History
Original companyMidland Railway
Pre-groupingMidland Railway
Post-groupingLondon Midland and Scottish Railway
Key dates
1 August 1862Station opened
6 March 1967Station closed[1]
Listed Building – Grade II
FeatureFormer Bakewell railway station
Designated28 January 1994
Reference no.1316505[2]

Bakewell railway station served the town of Bakewell in Derbyshire, England. It was built by the Midland Railway on its extension of the Manchester, Buxton, Matlock and Midland Junction Railway line from Rowsley to Buxton. The station was closed in 1967. Peak Rail Heritage Railway intends to reopen the station to trains by extending its existing Matlock to Rowsley South line 4 miles through Rowsley to Bakewell.[3]

History

View northward in 1961
Diesel-hauled down express in 1961

The station was opened by the Midland Railway on 1 August 1862.[1] Being the nearest station to Haddon Hall, it was built in a grand style as the local station for the Duke of Rutland over whose land the line had passed. Designed by Edward Walters of Manchester, the buildings were of fine ashlar with intricate carvings which incorporated the duke's coat of arms.

Since the line climbed steeply towards its summit at Peak Forest, the station was located uphill about half a mile from the town, which became a disadvantage when road transport developed.

It was used most frequently during the Bakewell Show, but the station was also popular with campers and tourists. The station was host to a London, Midland and Scottish Railway camping coach from 1935 to 1939; one was also positioned here by the London Midland Region from 1954 to 1967.[4][5]

Following the grouping of all lines into four main companies in 1923, the station became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway.

During the nationalisation of Britain's railways in 1948, the station was passed on to the London Midland Region of British Railways and, despite escaping the Beeching Axe, the station was closed when passenger services ceased on 6 March 1967.[1] Trains continued to pass through the station until 1968 when the line was closed.


Preceding station   Disused railways   Following station
Rowsley
Line and station closed
  Midland Railway
Manchester, Buxton, Matlock and Midland Junction Railway
  Hassop
Line and station closed
Heritage Railways  Proposed Heritage railways
Rowsley   Peak Rail   Terminus

The site today

Monsal Trail
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[6][7]

The station buildings still survive and are Grade II listed.[2] They are sited half a mile east of the centre of Bakewell, high upon the hillside due to the alignment that the railway was forced to take.

The main building is now used by an electronics company, which has retained many of the station's original features; the goods shed is now part of an industrial estate. The gap between the platforms has been filled in, as the Monsal Trail shared-use path now passes through the site along the former trackbed.[8]

The ridged canopies over platform 1, the goods shed and cattle dock have all since been removed.

See also

References

Citations

  1. ^ a b c Butt 1995, p. 23
  2. ^ a b Historic England. "Former Bakewell Railway Station (Grade II) (1316505)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 26 March 2019.
  3. ^ "Our reinstatement proposals for the Peaks and Dales Railway". Peaks and Dales Railway Limited. Retrieved 28 September 2024.
  4. ^ Kingscott, Geoffrey (2007). Lost Railways of Derbyshire. Newbury: Countryside Books. ISBN 9781846740428.
  5. ^ McRae 1997, pages 22 & 50
  6. ^ "The Monsal Trail". A Taste of the Peak District. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
  7. ^ Bickerdike, Graeme (June 2009). "The story of structures of the Monsal Trail: A Week in the Peak". Retrieved 10 April 2020.
  8. ^ Wright, Paul (4 June 2017). "Station name: Bakewell". Disused Stations. Retrieved 13 September 2024.

Bibliography

Further reading

  • Jowett, Alan (2000). Jowett's Nationalised Railway Atlas (1st ed.). Penryn, Cornwall: Atlantic Transport Publishers. ISBN 978-0-906899-99-1. OCLC 228266687.
  • Jowett, Alan (March 1989). Jowett's Railway Atlas of Great Britain and Ireland: From Pre-Grouping to the Present Day (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85260-086-0. OCLC 22311137.
  • Station on navigable O.S. map
  • Truman, P.; Hunt, D. (1989). Midland Railway Portrait. Sheffield: Platform 5 Publishing. ISBN 0906579724.
  • Radford, B. (1988). Midland Through the Peak: A Pictorial History of the Midland Railway Main Line Routes Between Derby and Manchester. Unicorn Books. ISBN 1852410019.