Chapel-en-le-Frith railway station (formerly ''Chapel-en-le-Frith South'') serves the

Peak District The Peak District is an upland area in England at the southern end of the Pennines. Mostly in Derbyshire, it extends into Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Staffordshire, West Yorkshire and South Yorkshire. It includes the Dark Peak, where moorla ...

town of

Chapel-en-le-Frith Chapel-en-le-Frith () is a town and civil parish in the Borough of High Peak in Derbyshire, England. It has been dubbed the "Capital of the Peak", in reference to the Peak District, historically the upperland areas between the Saxon lands (belo ...

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 is south east of Manchester Piccadilly on the

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 Wh ...

from Manchester. It was built in 1863 for the

London & North Western Railway The London and North Western Railway (LNWR, L&NWR) was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. In the late 19th century, the L&NWR was the largest joint stock company in the United Kingdom. In 1923, it became a constituent of the Lon ...

, on its line from

Whaley Bridge Whaley Bridge () is a town and civil parish in the High Peak district of Derbyshire, England. It is situated on the River Goyt, south-east of Manchester, north of Buxton, north-east of Macclesfield and west of Sheffield. It had a population ...

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.Stockport, Disley and Whaley Bridge Railway. In 1867, 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 ...

built a station (known as ''Chapel-en-le-Frith Central'') on the

Sheffield and Midland Railway Companies' Committee The Sheffield and Midland Railway Companies' Committee was incorporated by Act of Parliament in 1869 as a joint venture between the Midland Railway and the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway. Origins For many years the Midland had b ...

line from

Millers Dale Millers Dale (Ordnance Survey: Miller's Dale) is a valley on the River Wye in Derbyshire, England, where there is also a hamlet of the same name. It is a popular beauty spot in the Peak District of England, much of the area being preserved a ...

Chinley Chinley is a rural village in the High Peak Borough of Derbyshire, England, with a population of 2,796 at the 2011 Census. Most of the civil parish (called Chinley, Buxworth and Brownside) is within the Peak District National Park. Historical ...

. The town therefore had a main line connection from

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

featuring expresses such as the 'Palatine' and the 'Peaks'. However, with the closure of the ex Midland route from Chinley to

Rowsley Rowsley () is a village on the A6 road in the English county of Derbyshire. The population as at the 2011 census was 507. It is at the point where the River Wye flows into the River Derwent and prospered from mills on both. The border of the ...

to passenger traffic in 1967, Central station was closed. The Midland line is still in-situ and used for freight to and from

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 ...

. The station is one of very few to retain its walkway to cross between platforms; most stations having had footbridges installed. The prime reason for this is the requirement to provide a vehicular crossing for those houses further up the hill which have no reliable alternative, as the very rough alternative is blocked for days during snow, and even when open requires a considerable extra distance to be covered to reach the town centre. A footbridge would therefore not be used. The former station master's house was used as a restaurant called "Brief Encounter" but has been refurbished and is being used as a band room for Chapel-en-le-Frith Town Band.

Facilities

The station is unstaffed but has a ticket machine which also allows the collection of pre-booked tickets. There are waiting shelters on both platforms and train running information is provided by automated announcements, CIS displays, timetable poster boards and a customer help point on platform 1. Step-free access is available to both sides via the foot crossing at the Whaley Bridge end of the station.

Service

There is generally a half hourly service each day to Manchester Piccadilly northbound all week. A few early morning and evening peak hour trains on weekdays previously continued beyond Manchester Piccadilly to , , Barrow-in-Furness, Blackpool North and . All southbound services terminate at Buxton. On Sundays, the service is hourly.

1957 collision

Plaque commemorating John Axon & John Creamer

The station was the site of a fatal collision in 1957 which is commemorated with a plaque at the station.

References

* Radford, B., (1988) ''Midland Though The Peak'' Unicorn Books

External links

{{Derbyshire stations Railway stations in Derbyshire DfT Category F2 stations Former London and North Western Railway stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1863 Northern franchise railway stations Chapel-en-le-Frith

Facilities

Service

1957 collision

See also

References

External links