New Mills Central railway station serves the town of

New Mills New Mills is a town in the Borough of High Peak, Derbyshire, England, south-east of Stockport and from Manchester at the confluence of the River Goyt and Sett. It is close to the border with Cheshire and above the Torrs, a deep gorge cut t ...

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. It is on the Hope Valley Line between

Manchester Piccadilly Manchester Piccadilly is the principal railway station in Manchester, England. Opened as Store Street in 1842, it was renamed Manchester London Road in 1847 and became Manchester Piccadilly in 1960. Located to the south-east of Manchester city ...

and

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire ...

, east of the former. The town is also served by New Mills Newtown station, which is on the Buxton to Stockport and Manchester line.

History

In the mid-19th century, the

Manchester, Buxton, Matlock and Midlands 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 between ...

ran as far as Rowsley and was extended 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 ...

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.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 ...

. The

Manchester, Sheffield & Lincolnshire Railway The Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway (MS&LR) was formed in 1847 when the Sheffield, Ashton-under-Lyne and Manchester Railway joined with authorised but unbuilt railway companies, forming a proposed network from Manchester to Grimsby ...

also wished to extend southwards from its main line through

Woodhead Tunnel The Woodhead Tunnels are three parallel trans- Pennine long railway tunnels on the Woodhead Line, a former major rail link from Manchester to Sheffield in Northern England. The western portals of the tunnels are at Woodhead in Derbyshire and ...

and had built a branch to Hyde. Meanwhile, the

London and 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 Lo ...

had constructed their own line to Buxton 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 ...

, with a station at Newtown, which effectively blocked the other two. An agreement was reached whereby the MS&LR would build their proposed "Marple, New Mills and Hayfield Junction Railway", while the Midland Railway would extend its line to New Mills 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 as ...

via

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 ...

. Passenger services began to Hayfield in 1868 and the line came under joint control as 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 be ...

in 1870, while the Midland's line opened in 1867. Although the

Hayfield branch The Hayfield Branch was a single-track branch line that ran along the Sett Valley from the Hope Valley Line near to , via one intermediate stop, . It passed under the town of New Mills through the rock-cut Hayfield tunnel. History Open ...

is now closed, as is the tunnel (though a stub of the old branch line through the tunnel was used for some years afterwards as a turnback siding for trains terminating here), users can still travel most of its route on foot, bicycle or horse, along what is now known as the

Sett Valley Trail The Sett Valley Trail is a cycle- and bridleway in Derbyshire, England, linking the village of Hayfield and the town of New Mills (via Birch Vale, Thornsett and Ollersett). It runs along the lower valley of the River Sett and follows the tr ...

Station

The station lies at the junction of what was the Hayfield branch and the Midland line; the two appearing through tunnels on a ledge blasted out of the cliff face, some forty feet above the

River Goyt The River Goyt is a tributary of the River Mersey in North West England. Etymology The name ''Goyt'' may be derived from the Middle English ''gote'', meaning "a watercourse, a stream". Derivation from the Welsh ''gwyth'' meaning "vein" has bee ...

. The buildings on the down side still exist, as does the stationmaster's house built in 1864. The London line from

closed in 1967 and the Hayfield branch closed in January 1970, but the station still supports the Hope Valley Line local service from Sheffield to Manchester. Stopping trains from Sheffield formerly terminated here and those passengers wishing to travel onwards to Manchester had to change trains (most express services from Sheffield to Manchester ran through without stopping). This practice ceased, however, when through trains were diverted via Hazel Grove and

Stockport Stockport is a town and borough in Greater Manchester, England, south-east of Manchester, south-west of Ashton-under-Lyne and north of Macclesfield. The River Goyt and Tame merge to create the River Mersey here. Most of the town is withi ...

in 1986. The station does, however, remain a terminus for hourly services from Manchester — these can now return directly from the eastbound platform following signalling alterations in 2007, which also saw the remaining semaphore signals at the station replaced by colour lights. A siding remains at the Marple end of the station to enable empty stock to be stabled clear of the main line. The booking office is on platform 1. Train information is offered via automated announcements, digital display screens and timetable posters. No level access is available: access to the booking office and platform 1 is via a steep lane from the main road, while platform 2 is accessed by means of a path and flight of steps.

Services

There is now a half-hourly service to Manchester Piccadilly northbound on weekdays and an hourly stopping service to Sheffield. An hourly service operates in both directions on a Sunday.

Notes

References

External links

RAILSCOT - New Mills Central
{{coord, 53.365, N, 2.006, W, type:railwaystation_region:GB, display=title Railway stations in Derbyshire DfT Category E stations Former Great Central and Midland Joint Railway stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1865 Northern franchise railway stations New Mills