Above: A train steams through Monsal Dale Station on its journey to Buxton and Manchester on this postcard view dated around 1910.
The platform on the left was wooden and had to be supported by timber stilts as the ground fell away steeply on this side of the track.
Monsal Dale Station lay close to the Buxton end of the magnificent Headstone Viaduct that spans the dale. Today it’s easy to pass the remains of the northern platform without realising it was ever there.
It was the last station to be built on the section of line between Bakewell and Buxton which now forms the Monsal Trail – in 1866, some three years after the the track was completed in 1863.
Click the ‘Now’ button – or drag the green slider – to see the view today, looking back towards Headstone Viaduct.
Above: An early view of the bridge at Upperdale, looking back towards the hamlet (click to enlarge). Photo courtesy of Buxton Museum.
The owners of the quarries and mines just to the north of the line (see map at top of page) had successfully petitioned for a siding to load stone and ore onto rail wagons. It would also be used by the nearby cotton mills at Litton and Cressbrook.
This required an access road from the nearby hamlet of Upperdale, which lay on the other side of the River Wye, as well as a bridge under the track. It was then decided to include a station for passenger traffic.
Second hand station house
The station house can be seen in the fade above, at the far end of the northern platform. It was moved here from Evesham Station near Worcester to keep costs to a minimum and had both a waiting room and booking office.
No signs remain of the southern platform as it was made of timber and supported on wooden stilts as the ground sloped away steeply (see photo 3 below).
Figures for 1922 showed that just 4,233 passengers had used the station, and that expenses were £200 greater than income. It finally closed in 1959, although it was reopened very occasionally for special excursions – the last in 1961.
Photo gallery
Click on any photo to enlarge and use the arrow keys to scroll through. (Photos 1, 2, 6, 8 & 9 courtesy of Middleton Press: Ambergate to Buxton. Other photos courtesy of Disused Stations.)
Other Monsal Trail stations : Bakewell : Hassop : Great Longstone : Miller’s Dale : Blackwell Mill Halt