Place Froghall Operated by Churnet Valley Railway Operator Churnet Valley Railway | Grid reference SK024471 Platforms 1 (2 when opened) | |
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Area Staffordshire Moorlands Original company North Staffordshire Railway Similar Churnet Valley Railway, Cheddleton railway station, Consall railway station, Leek Brook railway station, Oakamoor railway station | ||
Kingsley and Froghall railway station is a former railway station of the North Staffordshire Railway (NSR) that is now a preserved station on the Churnet Valley Railway in Staffordshire, England.
Contents
History
Kingsley and Froghall station, situated on the Churnet Valley Line of the North Staffordshire Railway, was opened to both passengers and goods on 1 September 1849.
The station was a busy country station serving the needs of workers at nearby Thomas Bolton's copper refinery.
As with many UK railways, passenger numbers in the 1960s decreased to such an extent that the station was closed to both passengers and goods in 1965.
Re-opening, and the Churnet Valley Railway
During the 1970s a railway preservation base was set up at nearby Cheddleton station. This was later to become the base of the Churnet Valley Railway (CVR). The CVR had slowly been progressing in preserving the line when in the late 1990s they had reached the station site. After closure by British Rail, the station buildings had been demolished. Initial rebuilding of the station resulted in the down platform reopening for passengers on 11 August 2001. Construction later began on the new station building which opened on 19 July 2003.
Since 2003, more work has been done on the station to make the site "complete" as at nearby Consall. Initially this involved resurfacing the Down platform and adding fences, a few small buildings and station furniture. With this side now relatively complete, attention has been turned to the second (up) platform where the overhang on the canal and associated fences have been rebuilt, along with walls and the large waiting shelter but as of 2012 this platform is not in use.
Kingsley and Froghall is currently the southern limit of passenger operations on the CVR, but plans exist to extend towards Oakamoor and Alton Towers.