North Staffordshire Railway Part Two

The May meeting was the second of a series of presentations by Brian Sullivan. The major part  consisted of a journey from Uttoxeter to Crewe via Stoke along the North Staffordshire Railway. Many of the stations were illustrated from their origins through their working life and in many cases closure. The journey covered rural areas together with the heavily industrialized centre of Stoke. Most stations had a substantial station house in the Jacobean Stile. It was evident that agriculture provided the main source of traffic for the rural stations rather than passengers.  Many of these were closed by 1960 before the Beeching era. Some did however see the introduction of first generation DMU’s before closure.

The passenger centre of the NSR was Stoke and the history of this station from its opening in 1848 to the present day. This was in effect the headquarters of the NSR and built in grand Jacobean Style. It also incorporated The North Staffordshire Hotel. It is still a significant station served by a number of operators. North of the station there was initially a loop line serving a number of short branches serving what was once a heavily industrial coal mining area.

One Branch which survived until 1988 was the line to Caldon Low Quarry. Following the end of rail transport to the quarry, part of this line has now become the Churnet Valley Railway. There is a long term intention to return trains to Leek which has grown in size during recent years. We look forward to Part Three of the history of the NSR.