Stretton 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 pre ...
at
Stretton, Derbyshire
Stretton is a small village and civil parish in Derbyshire, England. The population of the civil parish as at the 2011 Census was 525. It is located near the towns of Clay Cross and three and a half miles from Alfreton on the A61. The nearest w ...
, England built by the
North Midland Railway
The North Midland Railway was a British railway company, which opened its line from Derby to Rotherham (Masbrough) and Leeds in 1840.
At Derby, it connected with the Birmingham and Derby Junction Railway and the Midland Counties Railway at what ...
.
History
Stretton station was first opened in 1841 as Smithy Moor, a year after the line opened, but renamed later in 1841. It is also called "Shelton" in the Railway Guide.
It was situated at the
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 ...
summit and the highest point of the line, after the stations at
Ambergate
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 Matlock ...
and Wingfield, and just before the
Clay Cross Tunnel
Clay Cross Tunnel is a tunnel on the former North Midland Railway line near Clay Cross in Derbyshire, England, now part of the Midland Main Line.
Construction
It was designed by George Stephenson with an estimate of £96,000 for construction ...
.
The first station buildings were of wooden construction, but these were later replaced by brick built station and station master's house. Shortly after this was completed, the station master's house was incorporated into the station building, and a new station master's house was provided. Although this proved adequate at the time by the 1880s, there were petitions to 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 ...
for better facilities. In May 1888 the Midland Railway requested tenders for the reconstruction of the station buildings at Stretton. The contract was won by Mr. Slater of Derby and work was approaching completion by early 1889.
A station on the
Ashover Light Railway
The Ashover Light Railway was a narrow gauge railway in Derbyshire, England that connected Clay Cross and Ashover. It was built by the Clay Cross Company to transport minerals such as limestone, fluorite, barytes and gritstone to its works ...
(
narrow gauge
A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and .
Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structu ...
) from
Ashover
Ashover is a village and civil parish in the English county of Derbyshire. It is in the North East Derbyshire district of the county. The population of the civil parish taken at the 2011 Census was 1,905. It sits in a valley, not far from the tow ...
to
Clay Cross
Clay Cross is a town and a civil parish in the North East Derbyshire district of Derbyshire, England. It is a former industrial and mining town, about south of Chesterfield.
It is directly on the A61. Surrounding settlements include North W ...
was built adjoining it, and its passenger services were timed to connect with those on the North Midland.
This was mainly used to carry
limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
and
fluorspar
Fluorite (also called fluorspar) is the mineral form of calcium fluoride, CaF2. It belongs to the halide minerals. It crystallizes in isometric cubic habit, although octahedral and more complex isometric forms are not uncommon.
The Mohs scal ...
to the
Clay Cross Company works, but also supplied around 400
ton
Ton is the name of any one of several units of measure. It has a long history and has acquired several meanings and uses.
Mainly it describes units of weight. Confusion can arise because ''ton'' can mean
* the long ton, which is 2,240 pounds
...
s of
ballast
Ballast is material that is used to provide stability to a vehicle or structure. Ballast, other than cargo, may be placed in a vehicle, often a ship or the gondola of a balloon or airship, to provide stability. A compartment within a boat, ship, ...
per week to the railway until the quarry closed in 1950.
The station closed on 11 September 1961. There are no visible remains of the station and platform but the cottage which stands next to the bridge over the railway lines that carries the B6014 was the station master's house and may have contained the ticket and parcel office.
Stationmasters
*Charles Broad ca. 1857 - 1858
*Henry Simms 1858 - 1862
*Thomas Jackson 1862 - 1864
[
*J. Taylor from 1864][ (formerly station master at Desford)
*Joseph Harrison until 1875][ (formerly station master at Grafham)
*Edward Bradley 1877][ - 1905][
*H.J. Bunker 1906][ - 1910
*Augustine Angus 1910 - 1924 (afterwards station master at Bentham)
*E.B. Bridge 1925 - 1928 (afterwards station master at Horninglow)
*Herbert Hardisty from 1928
*E.J. Bloor ca. 1948
*William P. Barlow until 1953 (afterwards station master at South Wingfield)
*P. McAnulty until 1958]
References
History of Derbyshire
Disused railway stations in Derbyshire
Former Midland Railway stations
Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1841
Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1961
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