Waterhouses branch line

In 2009 a new company, Moorlands & City Railways (MCR), was formed with the intention of re-opening the line for commercial freight traffic, and contracted with the local Churnet Valley Railway (CVR) to hold a series of re-opening events in November 2010.

Since 2011 an agreement has been reached between the two companies that sees the CVR operate a heritage service along the branch, with MCR continuing negotiations over the return of freight traffic.

[1] By October 2020 CVR had purchased the line from MCR and now runs regular services to Ipstones[2] The history of the branch is closely linked with the history of the Leek and Manifold Valley Light Railway (LMVLR) as they were part of same proposal to bring the railways to this rural part of Staffordshire, although the promoters of the scheme and the NSR had different motives.

[13] The line was severely graded and also included the highest point on the NSR with a summit between Ipstones and Winkhill Halt at 1,063 feet (324 m).

[18] The transport of milk and other produce from the farms of the Staffordshire Moorlands district was one of the prime reasons the line had been proposed by the Light Railway Committee.

[21] The closure of the creamery at Ecton in 1932 resulted in a reorganisation by the dairy companies of the collection of milk in the district which led to the milk traffic being diverted away from the LMVLR and the Waterhouses branch which was a major factor in the decision to close the LMVLR in 1934.

[20] The carriage of other freight and general merchandise never met the levels the promoters of the line anticipated and one or two trains per day were sufficient to meet the demand.

[22] After the withdrawal of the passenger services in 1935, freight traffic continued until 1964 when the goods facilities at Bradnop, Ipstones and Winkhill were withdrawn.

[25] After the end of the Second World War there was an increase in traffic and limestone continued to be moved by train from Caldon Low until 1988.

[29] In 2014 CVR started raising funds to purchase the trackwork between Leek Brook and Ipstones, in order to ensure their operations were not affected by the ongoing uncertainty over the quarry project.