European Railroad Discussion > Before and After

My partner and I have been walking in the English Peak District this week; on Wednesday we did a walk partly along the Monsal Trail, which is an eight and a half mile walking and riding (horse and bike) trail along the former Midland Railway mainline between Wyedale (3 miles east of Buxton) to Bakewell. It is a very scenic piece of railway, the trail passing through six tunnels and over three viaducts as it follows the course of the River Wye (a tributary of the Trent).

I took these two shots at Millers Dale, one of the principal access points - the before is from an information board which shows what the station looked like 60 years ago, and the other, taken on my camera phone, is what it looks like today. I took the second photo roughly opposite the fifth car of the express in photo 1, with the viaducts behind me.

The third shot is me in the mouth of one of the tunnels :-)

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Nicely done Nik. Iv'e cycled this trail a few times. Most enjoyable now the tunnels are open, and those interpretation boards are superb. Also, I can get to the whisky shop in Bakewell!! Chris UK.

Sounds like a decent destination

Great documentation Nick! Sound like an interesting reuse of old railway line.

We have one like tihis in Helsinki now too, as the old harbor track lineage was converted for a superhighway for biking and walking, plus various activities. Lots of people use it since it spans from the city cnter to new housing area for about 50'000-100'000 people.    

Isn't Peak Rail still intending to connect Buxton with Matlock along this section? 
Andy

westernking Wrote:
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> Isn't Peak Rail still intending to connect Buxton
> with Matlock along this section? 
> Andy

Bakewell first but Buxton eventually, once sharing the RoW with the Monsal Trail can be accomodated.

Happy memories for me, as we used Millers Dale station to make a chartered bus connection to the Unitarian Holiday Homes in nearby Great Hucklow after a train ride from Leicester London Road.
The station was very derelict in the 1970's, I'm glad to see it semi-restored.
In service, the platform canopy had unique decorations, huge replica insects reputed to have been made by someone in the station staff.

So, this section of right-of-way went from a busy four-track mainline to nothing?  What precipitated such a huge drop in rail traffic over this route?

lynnpowell Wrote:
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> So, this section of right-of-way went from a busy
> four-track mainline to nothing?  What
> precipitated such a huge drop in rail traffic over
> this route?

I believe the route was only four tracked through the station and nearby, but there used to be quite a bit of freight traffic, and of course this ccould easily clog up passenger routes.

This line was given an extended life during the early 1960s as a main route form London to Manchester while the other main line was being electrified. This was completed in 1966, and the through services re-routed soon afterwards. Express trains through Miller's Dale ran at most every two hours, in contrast to the present electric service between London and Manchester of every twenty minutes! The line served rather less purpose as a more local route, and much freight has been lost to other modes and routes.

However, whether this closure would now take place, had the line survived  is another question, given the general revival in rail use (especially by passengers) in the UK over the last two decades.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/12/15 14:45 by spflow.

It should be pointed out that of the approx 190 miles from Manchester (Central) to St Pancras only about 15 miles is actually missing. Much of the route remains busier than ever with passenger and freight. North of the Monsal Trail the line remains serving the giant quarries at Tunstead and Dove Holes. 

Of the three competing routes from London to Manchester that existed in 1960 it is the former 205 mile Great Central which has (almost) Gone Completely. All that remains are commuter stub ends at the London and Manchester ends, some trackage around Sheffield and the GC preserved operation around Loughborough in Leicestershire.

 Did the good doctor Beeching have anything to do with the closure                                                                                                  
http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2013/mar/02/beeching-wrong-about-britains-railways        
 

 Regards,DK 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/14/15 19:21 by DKay.

Beeching was no longer Chair of the BRB at the time the Matlock to Chinley section was closed to passengers but his 'philosophy' still ruled, route duplication was considered wasteful.

During the West Coast Mainline upgrade in the early 2000s Midland Mainline ran what was known as Operation Rio, a St Pancras to Manchester service providing an alternative to the West Coast building site. But without Matlock to Chinley it was routed through Chesterfield and the Hope Valley Line, somewhat of a dog leg route.