North Staffordshire Railway

Iv'e had a little search on here but i am hoping to find a good map/detail of the line from Alton to Oakamoor to Froghall Would like to create a model railway of the line when it was all still in use. Any information will be grateful.
Thank you.

try www.oldmapsonline.org

pappleby said:

try www.oldmapsonline.org

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Thank you

You could also have a look at the Churnet Valley Railway's website, that is if you already haven't of course, as there is a fair collection of historical photographs and diagrams to be found there.

Thank you.
Got my Prototype layout plan started just need do the North Portal side of the tunnel and follow the rest of line to Alton

The track from Froghall to Oakamoor has now been lifted and sold for scrap.

3piece-wheel said:

The track from Froghall to Oakamoor has now been lifted and sold for scrap.

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That's interesting. I did travel on that bit of line a few years ago on a UK Railtour that also went onto to Cauldon Lowe?

I think they are trying to make that extended service more permanent, along with links to Alton Towers, Leek and Stoke on Trent in conjunction with another firm?

The line to Cauldon Low reopened in 2010, but closed again in 2013 and the track was lifted - so that's two bits of line on the CVR/MCR that have been used in recent years that suddenly got lifted.

theblackwatch said:

The line to Cauldon Low reopened in 2010, but closed again in 2013 and the track was lifted - so that's two bits of line on the CVR/MCR that have been used in recent years that suddenly got lifted.

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I can find no mention of this do you have a link to the scource
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3piece-wheel said:

The track from Froghall to Oakamoor has now been lifted and sold for scrap.

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So what happened to the large amount of stock at Oakmoor

The surplus stock of steam cranes carriages trucks etc must have gone to the CVR sidings/sheds at Cheddleton station or disposed off. Think at the shareholders meeting the scrap value of the track was £35k? The track lifted between Caulon Lowe and Ipstones belonged or was leased to MCR. It is doubtfull that any of the missing track will ever be relaid in the future. A lot of CVR shareholders are not at all happy over the lifting of the track to Oakamoor and all the abandoned facilities there, it all seems such a waste of resources.

3piece-wheel said:

The surplus stock of steam cranes carriages trucks etc must have gone to the CVR sidings/sheds at Cheddleton station or disposed off. Think at the shareholders meeting the scrap value of the track was £35k? The track lifted between Caulon Lowe and Ipstones belonged or was leased to MCR. It is doubtfull that any of the missing track will ever be relaid in the future. A lot of CVR shareholders are not at all happy over the lifting of the track to Oakamoor and all the abandoned facilities there, it all seems such a waste of resources.

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Just to clarify things are trains still able to run to Ipstones? Was it ever the intention of the CVR to run to Oakamoor?

RichmondCommu said:

Just to clarify things are trains still able to run to Ipstones? Was it ever the intention of the CVR to run to Oakamoor?

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Trains can and do still run to Ipstones (first full length trips of the year this weekend in fact).

The track from Froghall to Oakamoor was lifted and sold to pay an initial payment to MCR towards purchasing the physical line from Leekbrook to Ipstones.

MCR are no longer as interested in that section of line due to the ongoing uncertainty regarding the future of Cauldron Lowe Quarry (MCR originally intended to run quarry trains as the primary use,and allow CVR to run heritage trains as a side line).

MCR and CVR are very much intertwined, they share directors, and CVR have provided loans to MCR ( One was then converted to pay a second installment on the Leekbrook to Ipstones section).

It must have been the original intention of CVR to operate to Oakamoor as they purchased the track right upto the sand sidings there, and plans were mooted for a "moneystone" station there.

Their own plans were then expanded by MCR who want to extend the line beyond Oakamoor to Alton Towers and use track rights over the CVR to run trains from Stoke to Alton Towers.

Are there still plans by CVR & MCR to operate to Stoke on Trent and Leek.? Shame about the other curtailments to Cauldron and Oakmoor/Alton Towers. (The latter especially.)

STEVIEBOY1 said:

Are there still plans by CVR & MCR to operate to Stoke on Trent and Leek.? Shame about the other curtailments to Cauldron and Oakmoor/Alton Towers. (The latter especially.)

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There are still plans to run to both. An application has gone in to the council to develop a new canal marina and train station further from Leek town centre.

http://www.churnet-valley-railway.co.uk/news/leek-station-news

CVR have taken a lease on the old Endon station building to open a "station cafe" to try to reinforce the commitment to reopening the line to Stoke.

MCR themselves seem to have taken a back seat recently and all developments seem to have been announced by CVR.