Ripley railway station was a

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a prep ...

which served the town of Ripley in

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 England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. It was opened in 1856 by 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 ama ...

on its Ripley branch from Little Eaton Junction, approximately 3 miles north of

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby g ...

. In 1890 it became the terminus of a line from Heanor Junction on the Erewash Valley Line near

Langley Mill Langley Mill is a large village in the Amber Valley district of Derbyshire, England. History Originally named ''Long Lea'', the village of Langley Mill was a major employer throughout the mid 1900s with many companies including The Flour Mi ...

Approximately two and a half miles from

Denby Denby is a village in the English county of Derbyshire that is notable as the birthplace of John Flamsteed, England's first Astronomer Royal, and the location of the Denby Pottery Company. The population at the 2001 Census was 1,827, increasin ...

the line crossed the main Ripley Road at Marehay and reached the original station immediately to the south of Peasehill Road, around 1 km south of the town centre. In 1889 a new line was built from

through

Heanor Heanor (/ˈhiːnə/) is a town in the Amber Valley district of Derbyshire in the East Midlands of England. It lies north-east of Derby and forms, with the adjacent village of Loscoe, the civil parish and town council-administered area of He ...

and Crosshill. A new station was built nearer to the town centre since it was planned to extend the line to meet the

Ambergate to Pye Bridge Line Ambergate is a village in Derbyshire, England, situated where the River Amber joins the River Derwent, and where the A610 road from Ripley and Nottingham joins the A6 that runs along the Derwent valley between Derby to the south and Matl ...

at Butterley. The original station became known as the Old Yard and provided goods facilities. The new station, to the south of Nottingham Road and in a deep cutting, was double tracked with two platforms provided with matching single storey buildings. In the

Grouping Grouping may refer to: * Muenchian grouping * Principles of grouping * Railways Act 1921, also known as Grouping Act, a reorganisation of the British railway system * Grouping (firearms), the pattern of multiple shots from a sidearm See also ...

of all lines (into four main companies) in 1923 the station became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway . The station closed to passengers in 1930, though it continued with a very lively goods trade for the town's shops and businesses. There were also regular excursions, for instance to the FA Cup Final organised by the Miners Welfare, and the annual week at the holiday camp at Skegness, taken by over a thousand miners and their families. On 12 October 1961 the station featured on the ITV programme ''Lunchbox.'' Midland Railway Number 1000 brought 500 spectators from Derby. The line north of Ripley to Butterley had closed on 23 January 1938. That going north from Marehay Junction closed in 1954 along with the Old Yard. The station finally closed to goods on 1 April 1963. The station buildings were finally demolished around 1985 and part of the site was occupied by a builders merchant's warehouse.

Stationmasters

*William Rich until 1861 *W. Bevers 1861 - 1863 *J. Ashton from 1863 *Joseph Hudson ca. 1869 - 1874 *G. Tamblin 1874 - 1879 *William Grundy 1879 - 1884 *E.R. Brown 1884 - 1893 *H. King 1893 - 1894 *William F. Foster 1894 - 1924 *Harry FInch 1924 - 1931 (afterwards station master at Wigston) *Richard Pratt 1931 - ca. 1945 (formerly station master at Whitwell *Mr. Knight ca. 1956

References

{{Closed stations Derbyshire Buildings and structures demolished in 1985 Disused railway stations in Derbyshire Former Midland Railway stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1856 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1930