Buxton line
Buxton line | |||
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standard gauge | |||
Electrification | 25 kV 50 Hz AC (north of Hazel Grove only) | ||
Operating speed | up to 60 mph (97 km/h) | ||
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The Buxton line is a
History
The line has its origins with the
The latter two railways were forced to combine forces in a line following the LNWR, but north of it, through New Mills (part of what is now known as the Hope Valley line), branching at Millers Dale. As a result, Buxton, one of the largest towns in the Peak District, never achieved mainline status.
The LNWR had offered the use of the line but, with its climb through Dove Holes, the Midland did not consider it useful for express trains, saying that it went up a steep hill merely for the sake of going down. The LNWR may have saved costs in construction but it proved difficult to operate, even with the powerful locomotives they had been forced to introduce for their lines north of Manchester. In later days, a 17-mile (27 km) stretch was operated using banking engines, the longest such section on the British railway system. In 1957 there was a serious accident at Chapel-en-le-Frith in which driver John Axon, who died at his post attempting to control a runaway goods train, received the George Cross medal. From 8 October 1956,[1] services on the Buxton branch were in the hands of Class 104 diesel units based at Buxton depot, though some remained steam worked for longer (for example, the 08:20 train to Manchester switched to diesel on 17 June 1957).[2]
The Beeching cuts threatened closure but the line was reprieved at a hearing in 1964.[3] In its 1964 accounts, British Rail counted the cost of the reprieve at £133,000 (£2.4m at 2014 prices)[4] in a full year, plus £44,000 which could have been saved if freight was also withdrawn.[5]
The line was electrified, at
In June 2016, a landslip at Middlewood station following heavy rain meant that all services were suspended between Hazel Grove and Buxton until 25 June. A rail replacement bus service was in operation during the closure.[6]
On 31 July 2019, the line was closed between Hazel Grove and Buxton amid fears that the earthwork dam at
Present-day services
Over the section of track between Manchester and Hazel Grove there are three trains per hour in each direction at peak times. The Manchester to Buxton service runs half-hourly during peak hours, and once hourly at off peak. Up until the timetable changes on 11th December 2022, this combined with an hourly (daytime-only)
South of Hazel Grove, the off-peak pattern is half-hourly. The hourly Liverpool to Norwich East Midlands Railway and Manchester Airport to Cleethorpes TransPennine Express services run over the Edgeley to Hazel Grove section but only one East Midlands Railway service calls at Hazel Grove on weekday mornings and Sundays, all others being non-stop between Stockport and Sheffield.
Services to Buxton are worked by Class 150 and Class 156 DMUs. Class 158 DMUs were once blocked from operating on the line to Buxton due to the possibility of the large roof-mounted air vents striking low bridges on the route.[citation needed] Manchester Piccadilly to Hazel Grove services used Class 323 electric multiple units up until 2008. Class 319 and Class 331 units are now used for the Blackpool to Hazel Grove service.
Passenger information systems have been installed at most stations on the line since 2011, including the terminus at Buxton, Hazel Grove, New Mills Newtown and Whaley Bridge.
Route
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At Edgeley Junction the 19-mile (31 km) branch leaves the
Just beyond Hazel Grove, 2+1⁄2 miles (4.0 km) from Edgeley Junction, a 1986 (originally planned in 1933)
Just east of Disley station the line runs through another short tunnel into the
Here the line leaves the Goyt valley to climb 6 miles (9.7 km) at 1 in 60 or 1 in 58 to Dove Holes.
References
- ^ David Heys diesel multiple units - with photos
- ^ Railway Magazine September 1957 p. 627 – photo of 08:20 steam train on 13 June and 08:22 diesel on 17 June
- ^ "Rail Engineer article - Derailed: The complicity dividend". Archived from the original on 16 November 2018. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
- ^ "Bank of England inflation calculator". Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
- ^ Modern Railways July 1965 p. 373 The BRB's annual report and accounts - BR deficit cut by £13m in 1964
- ^ Prince, Ashleigh. "No trains between Buxton and Hazel Grove after flooding". Buxton Advertiser. Retrieved 12 June 2016.
- ^ "National Rail Enquiries - Service Alteration Details". www.nationalrail.co.uk. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
- ^ "British Timetable Review December 22 | Electric Railway Society". 4 January 2023.
- ^ Table 86 National Rail timetable, May 2018
- ^ "British Timetable Review May 2019 | Electric Railway Society". 11 July 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f Railway Magazine June 1963 pp. 375-384 Buxton Centenary
- ^ Whaley Bridge railway history with map
- Pixton, B., (2000) North Midland: Portrait of a Famous Route, Cheltenham: Runpast Publishing
- Bentley, C., (1997) British Railways Operating History: Volume one, The Peak District, Carnarvon: XPress Publishing.