Belper (BLP)

An updated version of this station profile can now be found on our dedicated railway station website

Belper is a stop on the Midland Main Line in Derbyshire near Derby and in between Duffield and Ambergate.

Information
Type:	National Rail (Midland Main Line)
Station code:	BLP
Opened:	1840
Platforms:	2

The original Belper station was opened in 1840, in a different location to the current station [1]. The original station was just over a kilometre to the South of the town centre but this proved unpopular with townsfolk.

In 1878 the Midland Railway built the current station in it's current location in a cutting in the town centre. The old station site remained in use for goods traffic until 1979.

Belper station became unmanned and the original station buildings demolished in 1973 replaced by the usual modern shelters. The station was refurbished in 2005 with new shelters and passenger information screens [2].

Most trains to Belper are on the Matlock-Nottingham or Newark Castle Derwent Valley route operated by East Midlands Trains. There are also a couple of peak time trains to Sheffield and London St Pancras.

EMT 156 413 departs for Matlock

An EMT Meridian passes through

General platform view

Station sign

View from the footbridge

EMT 153 326 arrives heading for Derby

[1] Vic Mitchell & Keith Smith, Derby to Chesterfield (Middleton Press, 2017) Fig. 36
[2] Ibid. Fig. 43

Derby (DBY)

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Derby is one of the great railway centres on the network. It is still a junction of the Midland Main Line and the lines to Birmingham New Street, Nottingham and Matlock, and also adjacent to the Railway Technical Centre. One of the largest remaining British railway manufacturing centres at Bombardier Derby is also nearby.

ROG 57 312 at Derby with a special excursion

Information
Type:	National Rail (Midland Main Line)
Station code:	DBY
Opened:	1839
Platforms:	7

Derby first got a station when the Midland Counties Railway station opened in 1839, though this was only a temporary structure with the first permanent station opening the following year, which was known as Derby Station Street.

Derby, which between 1950 and 1968 was known as Derby Midland [1] (this name is still displayed on the front of the main station building), has been extended and rebuilt a number of times. The latest change being in 2018 when the station layout was remodelled to remove bottlenecks and improve line speeds, the station was also resignalled with a new gantry to the South of the station. A bay platform was removed and replaced by a new through platform which is one side of a new island. There is a seventh platform (the other side of the new island) though it is not usually in public use.

It is hoped that one day the lines will also be under the wires thanks to Midland Main Line electrification (though this project is subject to delays and may not take place for a long time).


Derby is served by East Midland Railway and Cross Country services between the North East and South West as well as links to destinations such as Crewe. There are two entrances to the station with a second entrance added at the Pride Park development in the 2001 along with a new overbridge [2].

XC 43 303 at Derby

An EMT 153 enters the station under the new signal gantry

View down the platform

An EMT 222 leaves the station

Derby is still host to interesting traction

[1] Vic Mitchell & Keith Smith, Derby to Stoke-on-Trent (Middleton Press, 2016) Fig. 5
[2] Vic Mitchell & Keith Smith, Derby to Chesterfield (Middleton Press, 2017) Fig. 9

Matlock (MAT)

Matlock is the terminus of the Derwent Valley Line. The station used to be an intermediate stop on the Midland Railway's line to Manchester but National Rail only goes as far as Matlock now. The Peak Rail preserved railway continues up the line as far as Rowsley South. The station is located between Matlock Bath and Matlock Riverside.

EMR 170 420 stands at Matlock

Information
Type:	National Rail (Derwent Valley Line) & Preserved Railway (Peak Rail)
Station code:	MAT
Opened:	1849
Platforms:	2

The station was opened, originally called Matlock Bridge, by the Manchester, Buxton, Matlock & Midlands Junction Railway in 1849. The current station buildings date from 1850 remain though most are no longer used by Network Rail (the main station building is now a railway bookshop run on behalf of Peak Rail). The station was renamed to just Matlock in 1905 [1].

The former Station Master's house is a Grade II listed building. The line North of Matlock was closed in 1968. Peak Rail began reopening part of the closed line in 1991 and in 2011 returned to Matlock itself.


National Rail use Platform 1 (where the main buildings are) and Peak Rail use Platform 2. Interchange between the 2 platforms requires going via a bridge and an access route to an adjacent supermarket. East Midland Railway run services from Matlock to Nottingham and Newark Castle via Derby.

Preserved 31 270 stands on the Peak Rail platform

View down the platform

Station building with canopy

Station frontage

EMR 153 319 arrives at Matlock

[1] Vic Mitchell & Keith Smith, Ambergate to Buxton (Middleton Press, 2019) Fig. 22

Chesterfield (CHD)

Chesterfield is a stop on the Midland Main Line in Derbyshire between Derby and Sheffield as well as a stop on the Leeds-Nottingham Line.

EMR 222 005 arrives with a London St Pancras bound service

Information
Type:	National Rail (Midland Main Line)
Station code:	CHD
Opened:	1840
Platforms:	3

The first Chesterfield station was opened by the North Midland Railway in 1840 on their line from Derby to Leeds. This station was replaced a new station to the South in 1870 by the Midland Railway. Two other stations were built in Chesterfield in the late 1800s including one by the Great Central Railway but these were closed in the 1950s and 1960s. The station was known as Chesterfield Midland until 1950, it was then changed until Chesterfield St Mary's until the following year [1], the station is nowadays just known as Chesterfield.

The station was demolished and rebuilt in 1963 though the current station mostly dates from a further rebuilt in 1996 [2]. The station has extensive goods facilites including a number of private owner sidings but all have now gone.

Chesterfield has three platforms, platform 3 on one of the two slow goods lines is bidirectional and is mainly used in peak hours. The other platforms have fine canopies. Chesterfield is served by East Midlands Railway, Cross Country and Northern. Access between the platforms is via a subway.

A Cross Country service departs

View down the platform

Platform buildings and canopies

Northern 195 021 arrives

EMR 158 813 departs North

[1] Vic Mitchell & Keith Smith, Ilkeston to Chesterfield (Middleton Press, 2019) Fig. 114

[2] Ibid. 120

Spondon (SPO)

Spondon is a stop on the Derwent Valley Line in Derbyshire Between Derby and Long Eaton.

XC 170 398 heads through Spondon

Information
Type:	National Rail (Derwent Valley Line)
Station code:	SPO
Opened:	1839
Platforms:	2

The station was opened by the Midlands Counties Railway in 1839 on it's line from Derby to Nottingham. Originally trains from Derby to Nottingham (and through Spondon) departed from the North but in 1867 the Midland Railway opened a new route to Nottingham from the South. Both routes remained in use until 1969, the junction being just to the West of Spondon. The Northern route was closed.

The station was adjacent to a British Celanese plant, worker traffic drove the need to enlarge the station in the 1920s. The station had a goods yard and the British Celanese plant it's own railway network [1]. Nowadays the station is unstaffed station with an hourly service in both directions. Access between the platforms is via a footbridge or the road level crossing at the Western end of the platforms. The station is managed by East Midlands Railway.

Level crossing

View down the platform

37 608 roars through the level crossing

Former station building

Footbridge and level crossing beyond

[1] Vic Mitchell & Keith Smith, Nottingham - Long Eaton - Derby (Middleton Press, 2020) Map. XIV

Whatstandwell (WTS)

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Whatstandwell is a stop on the Derwent Valley Line in Derbyshire between Ambergate and Cromford. 

EMR 153 355 (in EMT days) departs for Matlock

Information
Type:	National Rail (Derwent Valley Line)
Station code:	WTS
Opened:	1894
Platforms:	1

The original station, called Watstandwell Bridge, was opened by the Manchester, Buxton, Matlock and Midlands Junction Railway in 1849 on the other side of Whatstandwell tunnel to the current station which was opened from 1894. The station name changed to Whatstandwell in 1896 [1].

Whatstandwell now has only a single active platform after the singling of the Derwent Valley Line. The other platform is still in extant though is by now pretty overgrown, however it does have a heritage station nameboard sign in the London Midland Scottish Railway "hawkseye" style. The former station buildings have been replaced by basic bus shelters and displays. The footbridge gives access to the towpath of the Cromford Canal and over a further bridge into the village. A steep walk from the village is Crick Tramway Museum.

Whatstandwell is managed and served by East Midlands Railway services from Matlock to Newark Castle and Nottingham via Derby.

Footbridge

EMR 156 411 departs

Station view from the footbridge

Heritage nameboard

The original station was the other side of this tunnel

[1] Vic Mitchell & Keith Smith, Ambergate to Buxton (Middleton Press, 2019) Map. III

Ambergate (AMB)

An updated version of this station profile can now be found on our dedicated railway station website

Ambergate station is just North of the Ambergate junction, a junction of the Midland Main Line and the Derwent Valley Line in Derbyshire between Belper and Whatstandwell.

In EMT days, 153 326 arrives at Ambergate

Information
Type:	National Rail (Derwent Valley Line)
Station code:	AMB
Opened:	1840
Platforms:	1

Originally opened in 1840 by the North Midland Railway, the station has been moved a couple of times, in 1863 and 1876 [1]. This last move included a major rebuilding and Ambergate became one of only a small number of triangular stations in the country with platforms serving the Midland Main and Derwent Valley Lines and a short link between them.



Once a busy and important junction, the station declined in importance in the 1960s and 1970s with the cessation of stopping services along the Midland Main Line and the closure of these platforms. Now only a platform on the Derwent Valley Line remains. The station was listed for total closure by Beeching but has survived in this reduced state. It became unstaffed in 1968 and the station buildings, and all but one platform, were demolished in 1970 [2].

Nowadays, Ambergate is a basic unmanned station with a bus shelter and a ticket machine. Ambergate is currently served and managed by East Midland Railway services between Matlock and Nottingham or Newark Castle via Derby. The line from Ambergate to Matlock is single, a token must be obtained from a cabinet on the platform before heading South and rejoining the main line [3].

Basic station facilities

Station entrance, the platform is on an embankment

Station sign

Train approaching

EMT 153 326 heads away from Ambergate

[1] Vic Mitchell & Keith Smith, Ambergate to Mansfield (Middleton Press, 2020) Map. IV

[2] Ibid. Fig. 5

[3] Vic Mitchell & Keith Smith, Ambergate to Buxton (Middleton Press, 2019) Fig. 5

Matlock Riverside

Matlock Riverside is the former Southern terminus of Peak Rail in Derbyshire, the station is now only used occasionally after the terminus moved to Matlock where Peak Rail connects to the mainline [1]. 

Matlock Riverside as seen from a passing train

Information
Type:	Preserved Railway (Peak Rail)
Opened:	1991
Platforms:	1

In the early 1990s Peak Rail was extending South towards Matlock but was having trouble negotiating access to Matlock station. Matlock Riverside was built, a single platform with a run-round loop. In 2008 Peak Rail was finally able to extend to Matlock but Matlock Riverside has been retained as a station for occasional and emergency use.

The station is very basic with a single platform which used to be at Chee Dee Halt. The platform has a shelter but no ticket office.

Duffield Bank Railway

The Duffield Bank Railway was a minimum gauge railway built by Sir Arthur Heywood in his garden near Duffield in Derbyshire [1]. Although it can be considered an elaborate garden railway, it was also a demonstrator for the kind of minimum gauge railways Sir Heywood thought could be used elsewhere.

Tennis Ground station, all images [3]

Information
Type:	Private Railway (Duffield Bank Railway)
Opened:	1874
Closed:	1916
Stations:	6

Sir Heywood thought that minimum gauge railways, in the case of the Duffield Bank Railway 15 inch (381mm) gauge, could be used by mines, quarries and agriculture [2]. He thought the railways would be easier and cheaper to build, operate and move than more conventional railways. He began building a demonstrator line in his garden in 1874, which eventually stretched for about a mile (1.6km) in length. The Duffield Bank Railway had workshops, tunnels, a viaduct and six stations.

A small fleet of steam locomotives operated on Sir Heywood's railway with a variety of freight and passenger rolling stock, even a dining car! Despite many demonstrations to the military, associations and businessmen he was only able to interest the Duke of Westminster enough to build another railway. The Eaton Hall Railway operated in Cheshire from 1896 to 1946.

Sir Heywood died in 1916, his railway was closed soon afterwards and little trace now remains of it. Most of the rolling stock moved to the Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway in Cumbria, some of which is still in use.

Viaduct

The railway had a number of very tight curves as can be seen here

A goods train

A passenger train

Ella, one of the locomotives

[1] Vic Mitchell & Keith Smith, Branch Line to Wirksworth (Middleton Press, 2017) Fig. 110

[2] Royston Morris, Miniature Railway Locomotives & Rolling Stock (Amberley Publishing, 2018) p. 3

[3] Sir Arthur Heywood, Minimum Gauge Railways (1894)