[2] The station was the terminus of two separate railway lines; the 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge NSR branch from Leekbrook Junction and the 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) narrow gauge L&MVLR from Hulme End.

Both lines were authorised on 1 March 1899 by the Leek, Caldon Low, and Hartington Light Railways Order, 1898.

The branch rose until it reached a summit of 1,000 feet (304.8 m) near Ipstones making that the highest point on the NSR.

[7] The two lines approached the station from opposite directions; the NSR from the west and the L&MVLR from the east.

[11] On the L&MVLR platform the platform sign simply read "Waterhouses" but only the NSR side they read "Waterhouses, alight for the Manifold Valley and Froghall Quarries"[8] In NSR days the station staff comprised a station master, two porters, a porter/signalman and a booking office clerk.

[16] The L&MVLR was never a financial success and with the closure of the Ecton creamery in 1932[15] the line became even more uneconomic and closed on 12 March 1934,[17] although the last train ran two days earlier.

[19] In July 2013, the preserved Churnet Valley Railway announced the possible extension of its Cauldon Lowe branch line service to Waterhouses where the station could be reinstated as the future terminus of the newly resurrected part of the preserved line.