Hartington railway station opened in 1899 about two miles away from the village it served - Hartington () 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 ...

, south east 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.Ashbourne Line The Ashbourne line was a railway from Buxton via Ashbourne to Uttoxeter. It was built by the London and North Western Railway using a section of the Cromford and High Peak Railway (C&HPR) and it joined the North Staffordshire Railway at Ashb ...

built by the

LNWR 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 L ...

as a branch from the Cromford and High Peak Railway (which ran 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 ...

Cromford Cromford is a village and civil parish in Derbyshire, England, in the valley of the River Derwent between Wirksworth and Matlock. It is north of Derby, south of Matlock and south of Matlock Bath. It is first mentioned in the 11th-century Do ...

) at Parsley Hay. To the north of the station is Hand Dale viaduct. It was reported that when digging the foundations for the piers, remains of a

lead Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...

mine, in which the miners had perished, were discovered. Platforms and buildings at this station, like the others on this line, were made of timber. From Parsley Hay to Ashbourne, the line was single with passing loops at the stations, but provision was made for doubling, which never occurred.Bentley, J.M., Fox, G.K., (1997) ''Railways of the High Peak: Buxton to Ashbourne (Scenes From The Past series 32),'' Romiley: Foxline Publishing Like all the stations on the line, it was popular with ramblers, and had both a ladies' and a general waiting room, with a booking office. However, its distance from the village meant that when bus services began, it lost much of its local trade. Like the other intermediate station it had no footbridge so passengers arriving at the entrance and requiring the down platform had to walk to the end and use the

barrow crossing There are around 6,000 level crossings in the United Kingdom, of which about 1,500 are public highway crossings. This number is gradually being reduced as the risk of accidents at level crossings is considered high. The director of the UK Rail ...

. Water for both the station and the nearby Hartington Quarry was brought by rail using a tender. Regular passenger services ended in 1954, but excursions continued until 1963. Freight continued until October of that year, the track to Ashbourne finally being lifted in 1964. The track bed from Ashbourne to Parsley Hay was acquired by Derbyshire County Council in 1968 and the Peak National Park for a cycle and walking route. This, the

Tissington Trail The Tissington Trail is a bridleway, footpath and cycleway in Derbyshire, England, along part of the trackbed of the former railway line connecting Ashbourne to Buxton. It takes its name from the village of Tissington, which it skirts. Open ...

, was one of the first of such ventures in the country. Later, Ashbourne Tunnel was acquired by

Sustrans Sustrans is a United Kingdom-based walking, wheeling and cycling charity, and the custodian of the National Cycle Network. Its flagship project is the National Cycle Network, which has created of signed cycle routes throughout the United K ...

. The station buildings were demolished after closure but the typical LNWR signal box has been preserved as a visitor centre. Today, this is also an alternative southern starting point of the

Pennine Bridleway The Pennine Bridleway is a National Trail in Northern England. It runs roughly parallel with the Pennine Way but provides access for horse riders and cyclists as well as walkers. The trail is around long, extending from Derbyshire to Cumbria ...

, joining the main trail at nearby Parsley Hay.

Route

References

External links

Tissington & High Peak Trails - access and facilities

{{coord, 53.1467, -1.7781, type:railwaystation_region:GB, display=title Disused railway stations in Derbyshire Peak District Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1899 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1963 Former London and North Western Railway stations

Route

See also

References

External links