The Midland Railway – Butterley is a
heritage railway
A heritage railway or heritage railroad (U.S. usage) is a railway operated as living history to re-create or preserve railway scenes of the past. Heritage railways are often old railway lines preserved in a state depicting a period (or periods) ...
and museum complex at
Butterley, near
Ripley in
Derbyshire
Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and South Yorkshire to the north, Nottinghamshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south-east, Staffordshire to the south a ...
.
History
Overview
The ''Midland Railway – Butterley'' lies on the
Ambergate to Pye Bridge line of the old
Midland Railway
The Midland Railway (MR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844 in rail transport, 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 ...
, a line once connecting the
Derwent Valley branch of
Midland Main Line
The Midland Main Line (MML), sometimes also spelt Midland Mainline, is a major Rail transport in Great Britain, railway line from London to Sheffield in Yorkshire via the East Midlands. It comprises the lines from London's St Pancras railway ...
to the
Erewash Valley
The River Erewash is a river in England, a tributary of the River Trent that flows roughly southwards through Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, forming the boundary between the two counties for much of its length. It rises near Kirkby-in-Ashf ...
. A branch leading to the south to
Ripley station was in use from 1889 until 1923. The sole historical station on the line is
Butterley, which opened in 1875. The current line extends westwards from Codnor Park Junction on the Erewash Valley Line, although the present-day heritage line terminates at
Hammersmith
Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.
It ...
. The line currently runs for from
Hammersmith
Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.
It ...
via
Butterley,
Swanwick Junction and
Riddings to
Ironville. It is operated and maintained by the Midland Railway Trust.
Use
The Ambergate to Pye Bridge line, during its operation, was used to serve the collieries of Marehay, Hartshay, Pentrich, Swanwick and Britain Pit. The current Swanwick Junction station lies on the former site of Brand's Colliery. The line also provided rail access for the site of the
Butterley Company
The Butterley Company was an English manufacturing firm founded as Benjamin Outram and Company in 1790. Its subsidiaries existed until 2009.
Origins
This area of Derbyshire had been known for its outcrops of iron ore which had been exploited at ...
.
The railway is also home to the
narrow gauge
A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge (distance between the rails) narrower than . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and .
Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with Minimum railw ...
Golden Valley Light Railway, which opened in 1991. It partially lies on the trackbed of a former
plateway
A plateway is an early kind of railway, tramway or wagonway, where the rails are made from cast iron. They were mainly used for about 50 years up to 1830, though some continued later.
Plateways consisted of L-shaped rails, where the flange ...
built by the
Butterley Company
The Butterley Company was an English manufacturing firm founded as Benjamin Outram and Company in 1790. Its subsidiaries existed until 2009.
Origins
This area of Derbyshire had been known for its outcrops of iron ore which had been exploited at ...
in 1813 to connect its iron works facilities in Butterley to nearby
Codnor Park.
Closure and restoration
The line was closed in 1968 and the process of restoring the line started in 1973. Much of the former track bed was razed in 1976, when the nearby section of the
A38 was constructed between
Ripley and
Alfreton
Alfreton ( or locally ) is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Amber Valley district of Derbyshire, England. The town was formerly a Norman Manor and later an Urban District. The population of the Alfreton parish was 8,79 ...
; the route of the
A610 between the Ripley roundabout and Buckland Hollow lies mostly on the route of the former line. The first preservation services started operating in 1981.
Stations and attractions of the Midland Railway - Butterley
Hammersmith
Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.
It ...
Hammersmith is the western terminus of the line; the station consists of two platforms and the secondary line is used as a run-around loop. A signal box is present at the eastern end of the station and the A38 is visible from the platform to the west.
Butterley
Butterley is the headquarters of the ''Midland Railway – Butterley''. The station consists of a double platform and the station building; the original buildings were demolished after the line closed. The current station building is a near identical match to the one originally at Butterley and was transferred from
Whitwell Railway Station and built in place of the original. The station building contains the gift shop and the booking office. A café and the Alfreton Model Railway Society are also present in adjacent buildings. The signal box at Butterley was formerly situated at Ais Gill on the Settle to Carlisle line. A carriage shed also stands at the eastern end of the yard, neither the signal box or carriage shed are open to the public.

In the yard is also the Garden Railway; an outdoor 16 mm scale model railway which runs on most Sundays and some Saturdays. In the yard is also the ''Star Tugs Trust'' carriage; a
BR Mk1 (BG 80590) this is owned by the Star Tugs trust and holds a permanent exhibition of some original models from ''
TUGS
A tugboat or tug is a marine vessel that manoeuvres other vessels by pushing or pulling them, with direct contact or a tow line. These boats typically tug ships in circumstances where they cannot or should not move under their own power, such ...
'' - the sister show of ''
Thomas & Friends
''Thomas & Friends'' is a British children's television series which aired from 9 October 1984 to 20 January 2021. Based on ''The Railway Series'' books by Wilbert Awdry and his son Christopher Awdry, Christopher, the series was developed for ...
''. It is open on certain running days.
Swanwick Junction
Swanwick Junction site holds the main complex for the Midland Railway Centre.
* Station - the station itself has 4 platforms; the station building was originally located at
Syston railway station and rebuilt on Swanwick platform 2. The building contains toilets, café, waiting room and booking office. Between platforms 3 & 4 is a waiting room; this is a replica of the original station building at Broom Junction. There is currently only public access on certain events. The original building was intended to be used, but it was destroyed by vandals before recovery.
* Signal box – the operational signal box at Swanwick Junction was moved from Kettering station in 1988. There is no public access.
* Matthew Kirtley Museum – the main museum on the Swanwick site houses various locomotives, coaches and wagons.
* Historical Model Railway Society – this was opened in 2005. It contains a large display area, study centre and small shop. Normally only open by appointment, it is sometimes open at special events.
* The West Shed – the home of the Princess Royal Class Locomotive Trust, owners of
6233 ''Duchess of Sutherland'' and
46203 ''Princess Margaret Rose''. BR Standard Class 4 Tanks 80080 & 80098 and a small collection of classic LMS saloons, including the famous Dynamometer car, are also stationed here.
* St. Saviour's Church – moved from
Westhouses, this Railwayman's church also holds occasional services.

* Derby St Mary's Gatehouse – situated at the entrance to the site, this small building was moved to Swanwick from the goods yard at Derby St Mary's. This contains Swanwick Junction Model Railway Club.
* Static Power Museum – normally open at busy periods and at special events, the building houses a good number of working machines.
* Demonstration Signal Box – recovered from
Linby railway station. Now in use at Brands Crossing as a demonstration signal box, with public access.
* Linby Colliery Sidings Signal Box – currently in use as a bookshop.
* Historic Carriage and Wagon Shed – a large number of coaches and wagons await restoration here, either in the sidings or the large shed in which the Society is based. On certain days, it is possible to see work being done inside the shed.
* National Fork Truck Heritage Centre and Road Transport Gallery – this recently completed building houses a collection of heritage buses, lorries and other forms of road transport and fork lift trucks. On certain special events, some of the vehicles are put on display out in the open
* Diesel Depot – currently housing some of the centre's diesel fleet.
Butterley Park Miniature Railway
Operating on Sundays and Bank Holiday Mondays, miniature replicas of classic steam and diesel engines of both and gauge operate on a raised circuit of track. The public are permitted to ride for a small charge. The line consists of about of track, a traverser, tunnel, decorative speed signs and signal box. Details of the stock that the miniature railway uses is shown below:
Riddings
There is no station platform located at Riddings, but there is a run-around loop on the northern branch of Codnor Park Junction from which the line would have run northbound towards
Pye Bridge Station. Just before the run around loop is the split in the track, which connects to the main line. The
River Erewash
The River Erewash is a river in England, a tributary of the River Trent that flows roughly southwards through Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, forming the boundary between the two counties for much of its length. It rises near Kirkby-in-Ashf ...
runs underneath the junction.
Special events
The railway runs events, ranging from Teddy Bear's Picnic specials to Gala events; they feature standard gauge collection and the GVLR's stock:
*Victorian train weekends - using railways pre-grouping and early LMS coaching stock
*Easter Events
*Steam and diesel locomotive events
*Trains to the seaside at Swanwick Junction Station (late July-early September)
*Halloween Events
*Firework Night
*Santa Specials (late November until Christmas Eve)
The railway is licensed to host weddings and parties.
In September 1999, the
Kosovo Train for Life was loaded at Butterley station, before travelling to
Kosovo
Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...
, via
Kensington Olympia railway station
Kensington (Olympia) is an interchange station between the Mildmay line of the London Overground and National Rail services operated by Southern (Govia Thameslink Railway), Southern, located in Kensington, West London. Limited services on the ...
and the
Channel Tunnel
The Channel Tunnel (), sometimes referred to by the Portmanteau, portmanteau Chunnel, is a undersea railway tunnel, opened in 1994, that connects Folkestone (Kent, England) with Coquelles (Pas-de-Calais, France) beneath the English Channel at ...
; this was run in conjunction with the
Kosovo Force
The Kosovo Force (KFOR) is a North Atlantic Treaty Organization, NATO-led international NATO peacekeeping, peacekeeping force and military of Kosovo. KFOR is the third security responder, after the Kosovo Police and the EU Rule of Law (European ...
peace-keeping efforts.
From 2007 to 2019, the MR:B hosted Indietracks, a music festival that was held at the Swanwick Junction site. The
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
halted events in 2020 and 2021; in November 2021, it was announced that Indietracks festival would no longer be held.
Locomotives of the Midland Railway - Butterley
The steam engines of the Midland Railway Trust that run passenger services are mostly ex-LMS and BR locomotives of similar designs. Rarer industrial and mainline classes (such as one from as early as 1866), are stored in the Swanwick museum shed.
Steam locomotives operational or Needing Repair
Static or Dismantled
Diesel and electric locomotives
DMUs and EMU sets
Coach stock
Midland Railway vintage set
These coaches are only in use on vintage days.
LMS coaches
Restored coaches are run alongside MR coaches on certain running days.
Mk1 and Mk2 coaches
As with most railways, BR Mk1s are the staple passenger stock of the MRB
Other coaches
As with most other railways, Butterley owns several unique carriages, which are only used on very special occasions.
Matthew Kirtley Museum

The Matthew Kirtley shed is the largest building on the Swanwick Junction site and holds all the exhibits of the museum. Below is a list of stock that can be found inside. As of March 2022 it is currently closed to the public awaiting repair of the shed roof.
Golden Valley Light Railway
The Golden Valley Light Railway is a narrow gauge line. Laid on the trackbed of a former ironworks railway, this line runs for just under from the Swanwick Junction site to the far end of the country park adjacent to the former site of Newlands Inn. The terminus is just above the eastern portal of the
Butterley Tunnel
Butterley Tunnel is a disused canal tunnel on the Cromford Canal below Ripley, in Derbyshire, England, opened to traffic in 1794. Along with Butterley Works blast furnaces, part of the canal tunnel and its underground wharf were declared a sc ...
, which forms part of the
Cromford Canal
The Cromford Canal ran from Cromford to the Erewash Canal in Derbyshire, England with a branch to Pinxton. Built by William Jessop with the assistance of Benjamin Outram, its alignment included four tunnels and 14 canal lock, locks.
From Crom ...
. The Swanwick Terminus gained a new engine shed in 2007, which specifically houses GVLR stock.
Golden Valley Light railway stock
In addition to the standard gauge stock on the Midland Railway, The Golden Valley Light Railway, a separate organisation altogether, owns a collection of locomotives, ex colliery manriders, Ashover coach No.4 and ex industrial wagons, many of which are being restored to work on the line
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Midland Railway - Butterley
Heritage railways in Derbyshire
Museums in Derbyshire
Railway museums in England