Above: I’ve highlighted the earthworks in yellow on this map from the 1950s. And the C&HPR line in green Watford Farm lies on a popular walk into the Goyt Valley from Buxton (walk 21). On the right, as you approach the farmhouse from Cavendish Golf Course,...
Above: The proposal to improve and extend the C&HPR was submitted in 1854, just 23 years after the line had been opened. Above: Bottom right is the exit of Burbage Tunnel and top left is the canal basin in Whaley Bridge. The yellow line is the original C&HPR...
Above: The proposed 1846 route of the MBMMJ railway would have cut right through the centre of Goyt’s Bridge. Above: Two of Alan’s books on local history; The Turnpike Roads Around Buxton and The Coal Mines of Buxton (co-authored with John Leach). My thanks to...
Above: The illustration was originally commissioned for the cover of a book on the Cromford & High Peak Railway. Above: Click to view the complete ‘colourised’ image. The internet can be blamed for a host of social ills, but it does have its uses. I...
Above: A 1941 newspaper article explains how Samuel Grimshawe blocked plans to build a passenger rail link through the Goyt Valley. Many thanks to Raph for forwarding a newspaper clipping he discovered from 1941 titled ‘The line that never was’. It seems...
Above: A look at old maps reveal that these sturdy gateposts once formed an entrance onto the track of the C&HPR. Continuing the quest to identify old stone gateposts in the valley, I came across two fine examples yesterday evening, just as the sun was setting....
Above: Ladmanlow goods yard pictured in 1932, looking north from the A53 Leek Road. This is likely to have been the ‘Park Gates’ the writer describes. Passengers were not allowed following a fatal accident in 1877. The yard finally closed in 1954....
Above: Whatever remains of Ladmanlow Station now lies behind these gates. I’ll maybe knock on their door once the virus has passed to ask if they’ll let me take a closer look. I’ve long been fascinated by the history of the 33-mile Cromford...
Above: Buxton’s twin stations pictured in the mid ’60s, shortly before the one on the right was demolished.The Palace Hotel would have been behind and to the left of the photographer (see map). Today, this view looks down Station Road towards Bridge...
Above: Photos of the northern section of the C&HPR which ran through the Goyt Valley are very rare. It was closed in 1892 when an easier route was opened. I’ve inset a close-up of the feature at top right. We initially thought it might be the entrance to...
