Above: The simple staggered platforms are still in place, but not on public access land. The Buxton line is on the left, and Bakewell on the right.
A frieght train from Peak Forest on the right is awaiting clearance from the signal box in the far distance. This section of the line is still in use, which is why access is prohibited.
Just beyond the Buxton end of the Monsal Trail – buried in thick undergrowth on the far side of the viaduct – lie the twin platforms of Blackwell Mill Halt. It has been called Britain’s smallest station, but there were many of these simple ‘stops’ on the rail network.
It was created for the sole use of railway workers and their families who lived in the fairly remote nearby cottages on the other side of the River Wye. There was no ticket office to take fares – just a basic hut to shelter from the elements.
Above: Click the ‘Now’ button – or drag the green slider – to compare a map from the early 1900s with today’s satellite view.
Above: The railway cottages today are all privately owned.
Today the cottages enoy a quiet and picturesque spot beside the river. But it would have been a very different scene during the 105-year life of the line, between its opening in 1863 and closure in 1968.
The cottages were built in the centre of a triangle of tracks – west to Buxton, east to Derby and north to Manchester. The initial plan was for just a single line to run from Derby to Buxton, and from there on to Manchester.
But a rival rail company had already created the route between Buxton and Manchester (today’s line), and refused to allow Midland Railway to share the track, forcing them to create a diversion from Miller’s Dale Station through Peak Forest to Manchester. (Click for a brief history of the line).
Light railway plans
Above: A prototype of the lightweight electric train which may one day carry passengers from the end of the Monsal Trail into Buxton.
There are exciting plans for a light railway to take passengers (and bikes) from the end of the Monsal Trail into Buxton. The exact start and end points haven’t yet been announced, but it should mean that Blackwell Mill’s platforms emerge into the light once again.
But it depends on raising enough money for a detailed feasibility study. And this seems to taking some time. Which doesn’t fill me with great confidence that the project will ever come to fruition. (More information on the light railway proposal to follow.)
Photo gallery
Click on any photo to enlarge and use the arrow keys to scroll through. (Photo 1 courtesy of Middleton Press: Ambergate to Buxton. Other photos courtesy of Disused Stations.)
