27-762: The Buxton line is a railway line in Northern England , connecting Manchester with Buxton in Derbyshire . Passenger services on the line are currently operated by Northern Trains . The line has its origins with the Stockport, Disley and Whaley Bridge Railway , which the LNWR built to connect with the Cromford and High Peak Railway at Whaley Bridge . In 1863, it built an extension from Whaley Bridge, via Chapel en le Frith to Buxton . This forestalled
54-628: A committee of both companies, was opened at Hibel Road a month later, replacing the temporary LNWR station at Beech Bridge. During the 1860s, the North Staffordshire Railway collaborated with the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire railway (MS&LR) to construct a joint railway between Macclesfield and Marple near Manchester. For the North Stafford this would provide a route to Manchester independently of
81-645: Is a main line station serving the Cheshire market town of Macclesfield . It lies on the Stafford to Manchester branch of the West Coast Main Line in the United Kingdom . Facilities at the station include ticket sales, a kiosk, a waiting room and public toilets. Before the bus station was relocated and rebuilt in 2004, the railway and bus stations were sited very close to each other. It
108-490: Is controlled from signal-boxes at Furness Vale , Chapel-en-le-Frith and Buxton. In June 2016, a landslip at Middlewood station following heavy rain meant that all services were suspended between Hazel Grove and Buxton until 25 June. A rail replacement bus service was in operation during the closure. On 31 July 2019, the line was closed between Hazel Grove and Buxton amid fears that the earthwork dam at Toddbrook Reservoir would collapse following heavy rain, which would flood
135-727: Is one of the three stations that provide access to the Middlewood Way , which follows the route of the former Macclesfield, Bollington and Marple Railway . The London and North Western Railway (LNWR) opened the line between Manchester and Macclesfield on 19 June 1849. On this date the North Staffordshire Railway (NSR) completed the Congleton to Macclesfield section of its main Macclesfield - Stoke - Norton Bridge line. A new joint station, managed by
162-466: Is to Stoke-on-Trent , operated by Northern Trains ; one to London Euston , operated by Avanti West Coast ; one to Bournemouth via Birmingham New Street and Reading ; and one to Bristol Temple Meads , operated by CrossCountry . Sunday services are similar, but the local stopping service operated by Northern Trains is limited, with only 6 services operating between Manchester Piccadilly and Stoke-on-Trent . The first Manchester-bound train on
189-656: The Hope Valley Line , Peak Forest Canal and A6 . At Whaley Bridge the line joined the Cromford and High Peak Railway , the link to Shallcross Yard remaining until January 1965. Here the line leaves the Goyt valley to climb 6 miles (9.7 km) at 1 in 60 or 1 in 58 to Dove Holes. The line runs near Combs Reservoir , through the 110-yard (100 m) Barmoor Clough Tunnel, beside the former Peak Forest Tramway , descends 2 miles (3.2 km) (mostly at 1 in 66), passes
216-537: The International Union of Railways in its official publications and thesaurus. Also Centering spring cylinder . Also Railway air brake . Also Main Reservoir and Reservoir . Also see Reverser handle . A metal casting incorporating a slot that allows the casting to fit over the rail near the wheel of a derailed car. The locomotive then pushes or pulls the car so that
243-661: The Macclesfield, Bollington and Marple Railway . East of that junction the line passes in a short tunnel under the Macclesfield Canal . 1 mile (1.6 km) east it runs in a cutting across the edge of Lyme Park , home of Thomas Legh , first Chairman of the Stockport, Disley and Whaley Bridge Railway . Just east of Disley station the line runs through another short tunnel into the Goyt valley, which it gently drops down to Furness Vale, running close to and parallel to
270-707: The Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway 's plans for the area, and also the Midland Railway 's attempts to reach Manchester . The latter two railways were forced to combine forces in a line following the LNWR, but north of it, through New Mills (part of what is now known as the Hope Valley line ), branching at Millers Dale . As a result, Buxton, one of the largest towns in the Peak District , never achieved mainline status. The LNWR had offered
297-484: The 08:20 train to Manchester switched to diesel on 17 June 1957). The Beeching cuts threatened closure but the line was reprieved at a hearing in 1964. In its 1964 accounts, British Rail counted the cost of the reprieve at £133,000 (£2.4m at 2014 prices) in a full year, plus £44,000 which could have been saved if freight was also withdrawn. The line was electrified, at 25 kV AC overhead, between Manchester and Hazel Grove in 1981. A chord just south of Hazel Grove
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#1732783254646324-425: The 1960s. Just beyond Hazel Grove, 2 + 1 ⁄ 2 miles (4.0 km) from Edgeley Junction, a 1986 (originally planned in 1933) junction links the line with the Hope Valley Line through Disley Tunnel . The line then climbs at 1 in 60 for 3 + 1 ⁄ 4 miles (5.2 km) to Disley. At Middlewood there was a junction (from 26 May 1885 to 1954) to allow trains to run between Buxton and Macclesfield via
351-470: The LNWR. For the MS&;LR it would provide a link to Stoke-on-Trent and the south. The joint railway was constituted as the Macclesfield, Bollington and Marple Railway (MB&M). It was opened throughout to a second, temporary Macclesfield station for passengers on 2 August 1869 and to goods on 1 March 1870. The MB&M then constructed its own permanent Macclesfield station called Macclesfield Central. It
378-781: The beauty of the building was perceived to be its very functionality, and its design follows the Modernist approach. The station won the "Best Kept Station in Cheshire Award" for 2007, but was reported in summer 2011 to be "distinctly shabby", with peeling paintwork. Macclesfield is served by Avanti West Coast , CrossCountry and Northern Trains services. Avanti West Coast and Northern Trains operate an hourly service northbound, with some peak time extras, to Manchester Piccadilly ; and CrossCountry has two services an hour, giving Macclesfield four northbound trains per hour. Southbound, there are also four trains per hour. One
405-608: The derailed wheel runs up the rerailer and back on to the track. Also see Extended Wagon Top Boiler . Also see Waist sheet . Also see Expansion knee . Also see Valve gear. Also see Grate Also see Train air signal apparatus. Also see Control system. Also Adhesion railway . Also Adhesion railway . Also see Hub. Also Adhesion railway . Also see Whistle stem. Also Coupler Yoke , Bell Yoke , Guide Yoke , Valve Yoke . Macclesfield railway station Macclesfield railway station
432-614: The electrification of the line through Bolton . South of Hazel Grove, the off-peak pattern is half-hourly. The hourly Liverpool to Norwich East Midlands Railway and Manchester Airport to Cleethorpes TransPennine Express services run over the Edgeley to Hazel Grove section but only one East Midlands Railway service calls at Hazel Grove on weekday mornings and Sundays, all others being non-stop between Stockport and Sheffield. Services to Buxton are worked by Class 150 and Class 156 DMUs. Class 158 DMUs were once blocked from operating on
459-628: The late 1920s there was one freight train a day from Macclesfield Central to Normacot railway station, this train used the Potteries Loop line. On 7 November 1960, British Railways closed Macclesfield Hibel Road. Macclesfield Central was vastly remodelled and is now called simply Macclesfield station. As with other stations on the West Coast Main Line, Macclesfield station was rebuilt in the Brutalist style of architecture -
486-478: The line to Buxton due to the possibility of the large roof-mounted air vents striking low bridges on the route. Manchester Piccadilly to Hazel Grove services used Class 323 electric multiple units up until 2008, and Class 319 until 2024 and Class 331 units are now used for the Blackpool to Hazel Grove service. Passenger information systems have been installed at most stations on the line since 2011, including
513-682: The site of Fairfield Halt (a platform on the up side only, 1 ⁄ 2 mile [0.8 km] from Buxton, closed in September 1939) and the junctions to the Ashbourne and Midland lines, reaching its destination at Buxton railway station. Railway line Rail transport terms are a form of technical terminology applied to railways. Although many terms are uniform across different nations and companies, they are by no means universal, with differences often originating from parallel development of rail transport systems in different parts of
540-445: The terminus at Buxton, Hazel Grove, New Mills Newtown and Whaley Bridge. At Edgeley Junction the 19-mile (31 km) branch leaves the West Coast Main Line 1 ⁄ 2 mile (0.8 km) south of Stockport and curves sharply east. At the end of the curve a spur (opened to goods on 12 December 1883 and to passengers on 1 July 1884) linked it to Cheadle station and the Stockport, Timperley and Altrincham Junction Railway until
567-574: The timetable changes on 11th December 2022, this combined with an hourly (daytime-only) Blackpool North to Hazel Grove service to give Davenport , Woodsmoor and Hazel Grove stations thrice-hourly off peak services to and from Manchester. Since then, the Blackpool North train has run to and from Manchester Airport instead, reducing the number of trains between Piccadilly to Hazel Grove down to two trains per hour at off peak. No services ran beyond Piccadilly between May 2018 and May 2019 due to
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#1732783254646594-480: The use of the line but, with its climb through Dove Holes , the Midland did not consider it useful for express trains, saying that it went up a steep hill merely for the sake of going down. The LNWR may have saved costs in construction but it proved difficult to operate, even with the powerful locomotives they had been forced to introduce for their lines north of Manchester. In later days, a 17-mile (27 km) stretch
621-480: The village of Whaley Bridge . The Hope Valley line between Marple and Sheffield was also closed because of this. The line was re-opened on 8 August. Bus replacements were on operation between Buxton and Macclesfield during the closure. Over the section of track between Manchester and Hazel Grove there are three trains per hour in each direction at peak times. The Manchester to Buxton service runs half-hourly during peak hours, and once hourly at off peak. Up until
648-757: The world, and in the national origins of the engineers and managers who built the inaugural rail infrastructure . An example is the term railroad , used (but not exclusively) in North America , and railway , generally used in English-speaking countries outside North America and by the International Union of Railways . In English-speaking countries outside the United Kingdom, a mixture of US and UK terms may exist. Various terms, both global and specific to individual countries, are listed here. The abbreviation "UIC" refers to terminology adopted by
675-532: Was built in 1986, allowing trains to change from the Hope Valley Line and thus faster running into Manchester Piccadilly. Colour light signalling , controlled from LNWR-built boxes at Edgeley Junction and Hazel Grove , cover the line as far as Norbury crossing, which itself has a small hut controlling two semaphore signals in the Middlewood area. Further south, signalling is mostly semaphore and
702-536: Was just south of the LNWR station, which was renamed Macclesfield Hibel Road for clarity. The new MB&M station was connected to the rest of the joint line for goods on 3 April 1871 and opened for passengers on 1 July 1873. It closed to all traffic south of Rose Hill in January 1970. Some North Staffordshire Railway through trains from Macclesfield railway station used the Potteries Loop Line . By
729-631: Was operated using banking engines , the longest such section on the British railway system. In 1957 there was a serious accident at Chapel-en-le-Frith in which driver John Axon , who died at his post attempting to control a runaway goods train, received the George Cross medal. From 8 October 1956, services on the Buxton branch were in the hands of Class 104 diesel units based at Buxton depot, though some remained steam worked for longer (for example,
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