Consall railway station
Encyclopedia
Consall railway station is a passenger railway station on the Churnet Valley Railway
in Staffordshire
, England
.
Consall station, situated on the Churnet Valley Line
(opened 13 July 1849) of the North Staffordshire Railway
, was opened to both passengers and goods on 3 March 1902. The station was a quiet country station serving the needs of workers involved in the forge and nearby lime kilns. It was however, opened mainly for the small, nearby village. As with many stations in the 1960s, passenger numbers decreased to such an extent that the station was closed in 1965.
. This was later to become the base of the Churnet Valley Railway. The CVR had been slowly progressing in preserving the line when in the late 1990s they had reached the station site. The down platform was still in existence but without any platform edging stones. These were replaced and this platform opened for passengers 11 July 1998. Construction later began on the replica station buildings which opened on 3 March 2002. The second track running through the station, which had served as a run-round loop, was made redundant when the line was extended to Froghall
, so work began on resignalling this loop to allow two train operation on the line. This involved the addition of signals and a signal box
to the station (the original line was double track throughout, so no box was ever located at Consall). To finish, the wooden up platform was reconstructed so that the original 1902 shelter could be put back into use and so passing trains had a platform to call at in the up direction. This platform was opened on 22 April 2005 and now the station is relatively complete and is the nerve centre of train operations on peak days.
Churnet Valley Railway
The Churnet Valley Railway is a standard gauge heritage railway to the east of Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire. The CVR has two main operational headquarters - Cheddleton station, where the motive power department is based and where the first trains ran, and Kingsley and Froghall station, where...
in Staffordshire
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
History
Churnet Valley Line
The Churnet Valley line was one of the three original routes planned and built by the North Staffordshire Railway. Authorised in 1846, the line opened in 1849 and ran from in Cheshire to in East Staffordshire...
(opened 13 July 1849) of the North Staffordshire Railway
North Staffordshire Railway
The North Staffordshire Railway was a British railway company formed in 1845 to promote a number of lines in the Staffordshire Potteries and surrounding areas in Staffordshire, Cheshire, Derbyshire and Shropshire....
, was opened to both passengers and goods on 3 March 1902. The station was a quiet country station serving the needs of workers involved in the forge and nearby lime kilns. It was however, opened mainly for the small, nearby village. As with many stations in the 1960s, passenger numbers decreased to such an extent that the station was closed in 1965.
Re-opening, and the Churnet Valley Railway
During the 1970s a railway preservation base was setup at nearby Cheddleton stationCheddleton railway station
Cheddleton railway station is a passenger railway station on the Churnet Valley Railway in Staffordshire, England.-History:Cheddleton station, situated on the Churnet Valley Line of the North Staffordshire Railway, was opened to both passengers and goods on September 1, 1849.The station was a...
. This was later to become the base of the Churnet Valley Railway. The CVR had been slowly progressing in preserving the line when in the late 1990s they had reached the station site. The down platform was still in existence but without any platform edging stones. These were replaced and this platform opened for passengers 11 July 1998. Construction later began on the replica station buildings which opened on 3 March 2002. The second track running through the station, which had served as a run-round loop, was made redundant when the line was extended to Froghall
Kingsley and Froghall railway station
Kingsley and Froghall railway station is a passenger railway station on the Churnet Valley Railway in Staffordshire, England.-History:Kingsley and Froghall station, situated on the Churnet Valley Line of the North Staffordshire Railway, was opened to both passengers and goods on 1 September...
, so work began on resignalling this loop to allow two train operation on the line. This involved the addition of signals and a signal box
Signal box
On a rail transport system, signalling control is the process by which control is exercised over train movements by way of railway signals and block systems to ensure that trains operate safely, over the correct route and to the proper timetable...
to the station (the original line was double track throughout, so no box was ever located at Consall). To finish, the wooden up platform was reconstructed so that the original 1902 shelter could be put back into use and so passing trains had a platform to call at in the up direction. This platform was opened on 22 April 2005 and now the station is relatively complete and is the nerve centre of train operations on peak days.