Kingsley and Froghall railway station

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Kingsley and Froghall station just after closure

Kingsley and Froghall station

Kingsley and Froghall station is a passenger station on the Churnet Valley Railway in Staffordshire, Great Britain.

[edit] History

Kingsley and Froghall station, situated on the Churnet Valley line (opened 13 July 1849) 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.

[edit] Re-opening, and the Churnet Valley Railway

During the 1970s a railway preservation base was setup 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. 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 then, more work has been done on the station to make the site "complete" like at near by Consall. Initially this has 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. Further enhancements are planned in the near future and with a foot crossing from the passenger side recently being laid, the platform may see use in 2008. Kingsley and Froghall is currently the southern limit of passenger operations on the CVR.