Rowsley South railway station

Rowsley South

Rowsley South Station in December 2007, looking northward
Location
Place Darley Dale
Area Derbyshire Dales
Operations
Operated by Peak Rail
Platforms 1
History
Key dates Opened 1997
Stations on heritage railways in the United Kingdom
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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 passenger services in 1997, the station was for a time referred to as 'Northwood', which is the part of Rowsley settlement that is near to the terminus. This 'connection' can still be observed through the name of the café that stands on the station, which is known as the 'Northwood Buffet'.

History

The initial station in Rowsley was opened in 1849 and formed a terminus for the Manchester, Buxton, Matlock and Midlands Junction Railway line from Ambergate. That location became a goods yard in 1862, serving a new station built at that time, which lay on a through deviation. The latter took the line over the present day A6 road and the River Derwent, then into the Duke of Rutland's estate and on towards Bakewell. This later station in Rowsley closed in 1967 when the route itself was rationalised, prior to complete closure early in 1968.

Present day

Rowsley South is now the main centre for the activities of preservation and heritage group Peak Rail and its various affiliated societies. The former operate a heritage steam service over some 3.5 miles of the one-time London, Midland and Scottish Railway route to the south, with an intermediate station at Darley Dale a halt at Matlock Riverside and (since 2 July 2011) terminating at Matlock.

Built as it is by the site of Rowsley's former Goods Yard, the station has both good access and extensive space available for future developments. Part of the Goods Yard has been restored as sidings for locomotives and coaching stock, a number of which lead to the sheds that are operated by other societies (see next section).

Other tracks from the sidings lead to Peak Rail's locomotive shed, which is under construction, and also to a turntable (previously located at Mold Junction) which returned to full working order on 1 May 2010, being opened in a special ceremony by Pete Waterman.

The actual station is currently in the form of a single platform based, on the Up side of the track. It is currently Peak Rail's northern terminus, although Peak Rail has now secured a 99-year lease on the trackbed up to the A6 at Rowsley Village, for the proposed extension to and of course both rebuild and full restoration of the former Rowsley railway station site itself with hopes of extending (via a proposed Haddon Halt) towards Bakewell in the future.

Rowsley South may be expected to remain until closure when Rowsley itself re-opens with services extended forward up the line into the station site itself.

Other societies

Other societies on the site include:

Facilities

Facilities at the location include a Ticket Office (open many operating days), the 'Northwood Buffet' (open all operating days), and a shop (opening times as Buffet), along with disabled access toilets.

Parking at the station is both extensive and free of charge. Access to the station's facilities and to the yard is also without charge, though this only applies on operating days (on other occasions, the site is closed to the public). The LMSCA operate a small visitor centre inside their shed at the yard's southern end, and both they and the Heritage Shunters Trust welcome interested visitors. However, except in the case of such visits, the yard is closed to public access.

In 2008, Peak Rail was awarded £10,000 from the National Lottery's "Awards for All" scheme to upgrade facilities at the station itself, and this has since resulted in the construction of a new wooden station building, with new housing for a ticket office, shop and customer toilets, as well as rooms for stores and the stationmaster.

Narrow gauge line

At the station's northern end is a small park, a play-area and also the narrow gauge line of the Derbyshire Dales Narrow Gauge Railway Group. These are located on the other side of the line as the station, and can be accessed by a level crossing. The latter attraction is usually in operation in the summer and also on many Sundays when Peak Rail's own trains are in steam.

Preceding station   Heritage railways Following station
Darley Dale   Peak Rail   Terminus
  Proposed Heritage railways
Darley Dale   Peak Rail   Rowsley

Coordinates: 53°10′29″N 1°36′34″W / 53.1746°N 1.6095°W / 53.1746; -1.6095

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