When did Topley Pike quarry cease to be rail connected ?

[Justin Smith]

I was just doing a bit of research on the rail connected quarries around Buxton and when they opened.
I can see on various sources that Topley Pike had sidings (up to 2009 ?), but no longer seems to have, is that right ? And if so when did it cease to send its output by rail, and its rail connection removed ?
I assume Dove Holes, Tunstead, Hindlow and Dowlow are all still rail connected / served ?

Whilst I'm on.....
Can anyone explain why the rail layout just north of Buxton station (is it Buxton junction ? ) does not allow trains going East from Topley Pike & Tunstead (and vice verse) to directly access the line to Hazel Grove without reversal via the Up Relief Sidings ? From Google Earth it does not look like it would require that much civil engineering to accomplish it !

 

[pharrc20]

I was just doing a bit of research on the rail connected quarries around Buxton and when they opened.
I can see on various sources that Topley Pike had sidings (up to 2009 ?), but no longer seems to have, is that right ? And if so when did it cease to send its output by rail, and its rail connection removed ?
I assume Dove Holes, Tunstead, Hindlow and Dowlow are all still rail connected / served ?

Whilst I'm on.....
Can anyone explain why the rail layout just north of Buxton station (is it Buxton junction ? ) does not allow trains going East from Topley Pike & Tunstead (and vice verse) to directly access the line to Hazel Grove without reversal via the Up Relief Sidings ? From Google Earth it does not look like it would require that much civil engineering to accomplish it !

At a guess regular stone traffic from Topley Pike ceased in the early 1990s, when the service to Carterhouse Lane, Widnes stopped running. The Tarmac owned PGA wagons used to operate with the Peakstone rake of PGAs from Dove Holes quarry and I believe the two portions combined at Peak Forest. This combined rake also ran to Salford Hope Street as well too.

After the service from Topley Pike ended the wagons were parked in the main quarry sidings, but later moved into the east headshunt. This would be around early 2000s. There is or was a trial conducted around this time believed tl be using MEA box wagons. After this the PGA wagons were moved back to the west Buxton end of the headhunt, where they remained for several years until taken away for scrap by road transport. The sidings and headshunts remained in-situ disused. I'm not sure if at some point the mainline connection turnout was plain lined or not? The ground frame was reused recently for the new connection to the reactivated Hillhead quarry not far away on the Hindlow line.

As to why there is no direct connection from the Great Rocks line to the main Stockport there used to be a double-line junction back in the steam days, but I guess on rationalising in the 1970s this was removed and the track layout altered to what it is now. It certainly made diversions of traffic from Tunstead and Dove Holes quarries a protracted affair if Dove Holes tunnel was closed for repairs and engineering works. During the last major works about 10-15 years ago, a temporary extra trailing crossover was installed on the Stockport lines, but removed on completion.

Cheers Paul

 

[Spartacus]

I've a feeling Topley Pike was cut as the quarry was expanded and there just wasn't really room for both road and rail facilities any more.

Buxton doesn't have a connection as very little if anything would actually use it due to the gradients either side of Dove Holes, and indeed at Buxton itself. There's a fair old vertical separation between the lines at the north end of the sidings as it is.

 

[pharrc20]

I've a feeling Topley Pike was cut as the quarry was expanded and there just wasn't really room for both road and rail facilities any more.

Buxton doesn't have a connection as very little if anything would actually use it due to the gradients either side of Dove Holes, and indeed at Buxton itself. There's a fair old vertical separation between the lines at the north end of the sidings as it is.

Plus the Peak National Park boundary was/is very close the existing quarrying area at Topley Pike, so that will have limited how much extraction can still take place.

The only services that used to be regularly diverted via Buxton were the Tunstead to Northwich hoppers, especially at weekends, but even these haven't been diverted that way or run on Sundays for a long time. Several reversals en-route including Great Rocks Jnc, Buxton XYZ sidings, Buxton station and depending on route taken after Stockport a few more. Top 'n tailed working with a reduced trainload of hoppers too.

 

[Justin Smith]

Thanks for your replies.
Additionally I have found :

Railway Magazine article (Sept 2006, p14 on) :
"[the Topley Pike connection] has seen occasional rail use in the past"

The connection (sidings and Ground Frame) is on my 2009 "TRACKatlas"

The connection is not on the 2020 Baker's atlas

An unfortunate shadow on the image means I cannot seem to see on Google Earth if the Topley Pike connection has now been plain lined, but it certainly does not look in use !
https://www.google.com/maps/@53.2486712,-1.850058,218m/data=!3m1!1e3 entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI0MTAxMy4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw==

Just out of interest the dates for the quarry openings I have found are :
Dove Holes - "grown out of the 1814 Holderness quarry which was connected to the peak Forest tramway.
Tunstead - 1929
Topley Pike - 1907
Hindlow - 1882
Dowlow - 1899

 

[P smith]

The line was briefly reused circa 1998/1999 using EWS box wagons to transport type 1 material from the quarry to Manchester for a period of approximately 9 months.
In 2000 this had ceased due to economics and stone reserve volumes and the sidings line although still connected was not used and with plant relocations was not readily accessible. The original wagons which were parked up were scrapped in 2000 and removed. The siding connection remains, although the quarry is near completion in terms of reserves - see current Deepdale restoration work.