Shottle railway station

Shottle Railway Station is the second intermediate station on the former Midland Railway branch line to the small town of Wirksworth in Derbyshire. The line is off the Midland Main Line at Duffield railway station, the first being Hazelwood. The line is being reopened in stages as the Ecclesbourne Valley Railway.

Location

The Station is located just off the A517 road, which is the main route from Belper to Ashbourne. The station approach road is on the north side of this road, very close to the traffic signal controlled junction of the A517 with the Wirksworth Road, which runs alongside the railway for much of the way from Wirksworth to Duffield. The station is at coordinates coord|53|1|6.3|N|1|32|50.7|W|type:landmark|display=inline,title.

The nearest settlement to the Station is the group of dwellings and Public House at the road junction, known as Cowers Lane. However the station is more or less equidistant from the two slightly larger settlements of Turnditch to the West, and Shottlegate to the East.

History

Opened with other stations on the branch line to Wirksworth on 1st October 1867, Shottle remained open until 16th June 1947 when the Wirksworth branch passenger service was withdrawn on a temporary basis in response to postwar fuel shortages. This was made permanent with effect from May 1949 when the line was removed from the summer timetable. Freight facilities remained rail-served at Shottle until 2nd March 1964, while the branch continued to be used for mineral traffic until December 1989.

The station buildings, platform and former railway cottages remain, the former and part of the station yard being owned by a local oil distribution company. Public access to the site is limited.

The Branch is owned by WyvernRail plc and forms part of the Ecclesbourne Valley Railway. The section of the line through Shottle is presently not open to passenger traffic but is classified as operational for non-passenger services. Principal traffic on this section comprises road/rail plant that uses the line as part of a formal acceptance procedure for the Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB). To support these operations, siding space has been reinstated at the site.

References

* [http://www.andrewspages.dial.pipex.com/dby/kelly/hulland.htm Kelly's Directory of the Counties of Derby, Notts, Leicester and Rutland, pub. London (May, 1891) – Hulland – pp.234-235] Hulland is described as "3½ miles west from Shottle station"
* [http://www.wirksworth.org.uk/X155.htm Wirksworth – Parish Records 1608-1899 – Old Photos – Shottle Railway Station] photos of the station from 1910 and 2004.

Print references

*cite book|last=Sprenger|first=Howard|title=The Wirksworth Branch|year=2004|location=London|publisher=Oakwood Press|isbn=0-85361-625-6

External links

* [http://www.rgsonline.co.uk/docushare/dsweb/Get/Rail-41236/TN36.pdf Technical note describing the test procedure for "Possession-only rail vehicles prevention of derailment assessment" which references the use of the Wirksworth Branch]
* [http://www.e-v-r.com Ecclesbourne Valley Railway official website]
* [http://www.evra.org.uk Ecclesbourne Valley Railway Association volunteers site.]
* [http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si1996/Uksi_19962660_en_1.htm Statutory Instrument 1996 No. 2660: The Duffield and Wirksworth Light Railway Order 1996]
* [http://www.thesectionalappendix.co.uk/MIDTMCEN05.html British Railways in 1960 - the Wirksworth branch]