The Great Rocks Line is a freight

railway line Rail terminology is a form of technical terminology. The difference between the American term ''railroad'' and the international term ''railway'' (used by the International Union of Railways and English-speaking countries outside the United Sta ...

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...

, England, that runs between the Hope Valley Line at

Chapel Milton Chapel Milton is a hamlet on the outskirts of Chapel-en-le-Frith on the road leading from there to Chinley and to Glossop. Within the parish of Chinley, Buxworth and Brownside, it takes its name from the site of a medieval corn mill, Maynstonfield ...

and the stone quarries and sidings at

Peak Dale Peak Dale is a small village in Derbyshire, England, northeast of Buxton and southeast of Dove Holes. The population falls within the civil parish of Wormhill. The village is between Dove Holes Quarry (to the north) and Tunstead Quarry (to the ...

and

Peak Forest Peak Forest is a small village and civil parish on the main road the ( A623) from Chapel-en-le-Frith to Chesterfield in Derbyshire. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 335. The village grew from the earlier settlement of Da ...

, before looping around to the town of

Buxton Buxton is a spa town in the Borough of High Peak, Derbyshire, England. It is England's highest market town, sited at some above sea level.

. It takes its name from the

Great Rocks Dale Great Rocks Dale is a dry valley in the Derbyshire Peak District, known for its extensive quarrying. Geography and geology The valley runs from Peak Dale down to Blackwell Mill at Chee Dale on the River Wye. The scenery is of limestone, whic ...

through which it runs. It was opened in 1867 as an extension to the

Manchester, Buxton, Matlock and Midland Junction Railway The Manchester, Buxton, Matlock and Midland Junction Railway ran from a junction with the Midland Railway at Ambergate to Rowsley north of Matlock and thence to Buxton. In time it would become part of the Midland Railway's main line betwee ...

, allowing the passenger trains of the

Midland Railway The Midland Railway (MR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844. The Midland was one of the largest railway companies in Britain in the early 20th century, and the largest employer in Derby, where it had its headquarters. It am ...

a connection the whole way from London to Manchester for the first time. However, the rest of the former MBM&MJR was closed in June 1968 by the Labour Minister for Transport,

Barbara Castle Barbara Anne Castle, Baroness Castle of Blackburn, (''née'' Betts; 6 October 1910 – 3 May 2002), was a British Labour Party politician who was a Member of Parliament from 1945 to 1979, making her one of the longest-serving female MPs in Bri ...

, leaving the northern section now known as the Great Rocks Line open only for stone freight trains and as an emergency diversionary route for the passenger

Buxton line The Buxton line is a railway line in Northern England, connecting Manchester with Buxton in Derbyshire. Passenger services on the line are currently operated by Northern Trains. History The line has its origins with the Stockport, Disley and W ...

. The most notable structure on the line is the bifurcated

Chapel Milton Viaduct Chapel Milton Viaduct is a Grade II listed bifurcated railway viaduct on the Great Rocks Line at its junction with the Hope Valley Line, straddling the Black Brook valley in Chapel Milton, Derbyshire, England. The first section of the viaduct, b ...

, just below the junction with the main line between Sheffield and Manchester. It also passes through the -long

Dove Holes Tunnel Dove Holes Tunnel is a tunnel built by the Midland Railway between Peak Forest Signal Box and Chapel-en-le-Frith in Derbyshire in 1860–64, now carrying the Great Rocks Line. In the mid-nineteenth century, the Manchester, Buxton, Matlock and ...

and the former Chapel-en-le-Frith Central and

stations. Both the viaduct and tunnel were designed by the Midland's Engineer-in-Chief,

William Henry Barlow William Henry Barlow FRS FRSE FICE MIMechE (10 May 1812 – 12 November 1902) was an English civil engineer of the 19th century, particularly associated with railway engineering projects. Barlow was involved in many engineering ent ...

, known for designing the train shed at St Pancras at around the same time. File:Manchester, Buxton, Matlock and Midland Railway and connections (diagram).jpg, Diagram showing the relationship of the line, at the top, with the rest of the MBM&MJR File:Midland Railway Viaduct, Chapel Milton (geograph 3168084).jpg, The line crossing the viaduct at Chapel Milton File:Peak Forest railway station (site) (geograph 3389586).jpg, Passing through the former Peak Forest station, actually adjacent to the present-day settlement of Peak Dale File:Peak Forest (2996644558).jpg, A freight train on the line at the limestone sidings, Peak Dale

References

{{reflist Midland Railway Rail transport in Derbyshire Railway lines in the East Midlands

See also

References