Hayfield branch

Hayfield Branch
 Hayfield
 Birch Vale
Hope Valley line
 New Mills Central
Hope Valley line
Hayfield station in September 1966
The former Birch Vale railway station in 1965
Torr Side, New Mills, where the railway crossed the River Sett.
3 x 2-car British Rail Derby Lightweight units at Low Leighton on Hayfield branch in 1967.

The Hayfield Branch was a 2 1⁄2-mile (4 km) single-track branch line that ran along the Sett Valley from the Hope Valley Line near New Mills Central to Hayfield, via one intermediate stop, Birch Vale.

History

Opening
Summer 1961 timetable – the 8.00am train was steam worked until 1964. Its truncated modern diesel equivalent from New Mills is slower.

The branch opened, in 1868, to serve the villages along the valley of the River Sett and the local mills. Passenger numbers were high especially in the summer months, as the line provided easy access to the countryside.

Kinder Reservoir

A short-lived continuation of the line was built in the early 20th century to convey materials and workmen during the construction of Kinder Reservoir.

Closure

After World War II, passenger traffic on the line reduced. The whole Manchester Piccadilly-Romiley-Hayfield line had been included in the 1963 Beeching cuts proposals; however, the government chose instead to retain the Hope Valley line in favour of closing the Woodhead line to passenger services. The Hayfield line was closed in January 1970.[1]

The site today

The line was purchased from British Rail by Derbyshire County Council in 1973 and now forms the Sett Valley Trail.[2]

References
  1. "The Reshaping of British Railways" (PDF). railwaysarchive.co.uk. 1963.
  2. http://www.peakdistrictinformation.com/visits/settvalleytrail.php

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