| Rowsley | |
| Status: | Disused |
| Borough: | Derbyshire Dales |
| Country: | England |
| Coordinates: | 53.19°N -1.614°W |
| Grid Name: | Grid reference |
| Platforms: | 2 |
| Original: | Manchester, Buxton, Matlock and Midlands Junction Railway. |
| Pregroup: | Midland Railway |
| Postgroup: | London, Midland and Scottish Railway |
| Years: | 4 June 1849[1] |
| Events: | Station opened |
| Years1: | 1 August 1862 |
| Events1: | Closed and new station opened on different site |
| Years2: | 1 September 1867 |
| Events2: | Renamed Rowsley for Chatsworth |
| Years3: | 14 June 1965 |
| Events3: | Renamed Rowsley |
| Years4: | 6 March 1967 |
| Events4: | Closed[2] |
Rowsley railway station was opened in 1849 by the Manchester, Buxton, Matlock and Midlands Junction Railway to serve the village of Rowsley in Derbyshire, England. It was resited in 1862.
The original plan for the line was to meet the proposed Ambergate, Nottingham, Boston and Eastern Junction Railway at Ambergate to provide a route from Manchester to the East Coast. The Midland Railway bought shares in the line, as it saw an opportunity to run through trains to London. The Manchester and Birmingham Railway, which would provide access from Stockport to Manchester over its own line, supported the project for the same reason. However, in 1846 it merged into the new London and North Western Railway which was opposed to any competition into London. The station, nonetheless, had a busy trade with some sixty or seventy thousand visitors to Chatsworth House each year.[3]
The stalemate lasted until 1862, when the Midland realigned the track and moved to a new station as it extended the line into Buxton (Midland)). The original station building, which had been designed by Joseph Paxton, was used as a goods office until closure in 1967. It still exists within a shopping centre. The new station was particularly grand, with large first- and third-class facilities and, unusually, a subway between the platforms to cater for dignitaries visiting the Duke of Devonshire in 1891.[4]
Finally, in 1867, the line reached Manchester and became part of one of the Midland's most prized assets. Besides the London expresses, some of which called at the station, there was substantial goods traffic; this included limestone southwards from the Peak District and, in particular, coal northwards from the Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Coalfield.
Northwards from Rowsley, the line climbed over 600 feet in fourteen miles to its summit at Peak Forest with punishing gradients. A large motive power depot and marshalling yard was opened in 1877 to provide banking engines and to split trains as necessary. This was not so much due to the lack of powerful engines, but because of the need to limit the strain on wagon couplings. Thus, in theory, a class 8F locomotive could haul 37 wagons, but a banker would still have to be provided.[5] Moreover, account had to be taken of the braking capacity on the downhill stretch towards Chinley, such that larger engines were no more capable than the ubiquitous "4Fs".
The Midland Railway became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway during the Grouping of 1923.
In June 1933, Express Dairies were granted a 99-year lease on approximately of railway land, on which to build a creamery. The company were also granted dedicated use of one of the five newly created sidings. Express built a facility that included a milk cooling depot, spray, pond condenser and filter plant. Milk Tank Wagons were normally attached to the 5.18pm local to Derby for Cricklewood or the 10.15pm express freight to Brent sidings. In the 12 months to the end of May 1934, the LMS noted that the carriage value of milk forwarded from Rowsley was £16,886.[6]
The station closed in 1967; the line was closed the following year and the track was removed subsequently.
The line has since been reopened in stages from by Peak Rail as a heritage railway, reaching its present terminus at a new station at Rowsley South, which opened in 1997.
Peak Rail are close to securing a 99-year lease with the local council on the disused trackbed from Rowsley South to the A6 road, at the site of the former station site. Rowsley station will have to be rebuilt.[11]