The Stafford and Uttoxeter Railway was a railway line that connected the towns of Stafford and Uttoxeter, in Staffordshire, England, between 1867 and 1975. Built primarily as a single-track railway, it served communities including Stafford Common, Ingestre, Chartley and Grindley.
The railway experienced financial difficulties during its early years and entered receivership in the 1870s. It was acquired by the Great Northern Railway in 1881 and subsequently became part of the London and North Eastern Railway.
Early history
The line was authorised by an act of Parliament on 29 July 1862, to build a line between the towns.
It was opened for traffic on 23 December 1867. Construction cost had much exceeded estimates and income was poor, so that the company was always in financial difficulty. It was placed into receivership in 1875. The Great Northern Railway (GNR) had running powers to Uttoxeter and was persuaded to acquire the company, which it did in 1881. The GNR spent a considerable sum on improving the line, but it never made money and it was closed to passengers on 4 December 1939. Goods traffic ceased in 1951, except for a short stub to RAF Stafford; this too closed in 1975.
Prior to the establishment of railways, Stafford was an important manufacturing town; especially dominant was the footwear industry, supported by ancillary manufactures; in addition salt was extracted and, to a lesser extent, gypsum. Later, a number of heavy engineering works were established in the town The intervening land between Stafford and Uttoxeter was high quality grazing land, devoted to cattle farming. Uttoxeter itself had numerous smaller-scale manufacturing activities, but later became the home of J.C. Bamford; JCB was initially a large-scale maker of agricultural machinery, and later of construction and excavating machines.Baker, Allan C. and Fell, Mike G.; The Stafford and Uttoxeter Railway, Lightmoor Press, Lydney, 2014, ISBN 9781 899889 90 7, pages 9,10
On 4 July 1837, the Grand Junction Railway (GJR) opened, forming a north–south trunk link through Stafford. The London and North Western Railway (LNWR) was formed on 16 July 1846, consolidating the GJR with other trunk lines, connecting London, Manchester and Liverpool.Steele, Wilfred L.; The History of the London and North-Western Railway, Railway and Travel Monthly, London, 1914, pages 91,132
The North Staffordshire Railway (NSR) was incorporated in 1845, its scope being amplified in 1846. It was a compact and dense system centred on Stoke-on-Trent.Christiansen, Rex and Miller, R.W.; The North Staffordshire Railway, David & Charles, Newton Abbot, 1971, ISBN 0 7153 5121 4, pages 26,30 In 1848, the line between , and was opened; in the following year, the line from was opened. The two lines converged at Uttoxeter Junction.Christiansen and Miller, pages 45-6
Stafford and Uttoxeter were therefore well served by railway connections. Proposals began to be put forward for an east–west line across the intervening agricultural terrain; after a number of unfulfilled projects, ideas for a Stafford and Uttoxeter Railway began to take shape. In support of the line were the interests of the growing shoe-making industry in Stafford and the Leighton Ironworks in Uttoxeter, of the Bamford family.
Authorisation and construction
A public meeting took place in Stafford on 31 March 1862 to confirm interest in a railway connecting Stafford and Uttoxeter; general approval was expressed, and it was resolved to progress the proposal.Baker and Fell, pages 26-7
A parliamentary bill went forward to the 1862 session. Support had come initially from the Shropshire Union Railway, for transport of cattle from Wales; however, when the SUR was taken over by the LNWR, this was withdrawn. The line was fiercely opposed by the LNWR and the NSR, and the parliamentary process was difficult, although royal assent was given to the (25 & 26 Vict. c. clxxv) for the formation of the company on 29 July 1862.Awdry, Christopher; Encyclopaedia of British Railway Companies, Patrick Stephens Limited, Wellingborough, 1990, ISBN 1-85260-049-7, page 162
The line was to be single tracked, long, from Bromshall on the NSR near Uttoxeter, to Stafford. At Bromshall Junction, there were to be running powers over the NSR into Uttoxeter. The engineer was Thomas Charles Townsend.Baker and Fell, page 36 The authorisation included a spur connection to the NSR near Weston-on-Trent, but this was never built.
William Field was appointed as contractor for the construction, which was put in hand almost immediately. However, construction of the considerable earthworks and a tunnel pushed the cost of the works above the engineering estimate, in addition to high land acquisition costs. In 1865, the company had to return to Parliament for authorisation of additional share capital to the extent of a further £50,000, granted by the (28 & 29 Vict. c. xlv).Baker and Fell, page 95
Colonel Yolland of the Board of Trade inspected the line on 23 May 1867, but found a number of deficiencies. Chief among these were the quality of the rail chairs, which he considered were too light; in addition holding-down bolts for longitudinal timbers on underbridges were to be improved. The method of working the line was not yet settled, and Yolland seems to have been irritated by this, making the unusual stipulation that tank locomotives must not be run bunker first on the line. A second platform was to be provided at Salt.Baker and Fell, pages 39-40
A reinspection took place on 25 September 1867 under Lt Col Hutchinson and, although not every detail had been rectified, he approved the opening of the line. The earthworks and bridges were constructed for double track, but single track was laid and the tunnel was single. There were some steep climbs, including one of over at .Wrottesley, John; The Great Northern Railway: volume II: Expansion and Competition, B.T. Batsford, 1979, ISBN 0 7134 1592 4, pages 103-6 Evidently arrangements to work the line had not been concluded; both the LNWR and the NSR had declined to work the line, and the S&YR had no locomotives of its own. Accordingly, there was a delay while working arrangements were negotiated.Baker and Fell, page 81
Operations
The line opened for general traffic on 23 December 1867.Christiansen and Miller, pages 269-70 The company owned seven coaches, 16 wagons and one goods van but no locomotive initially. Motive power was probably provided by the contractor for the construction, who had become major shareholders in the company. Instead of employing booking office staff, the company issued tickets on the train and there was little in the way of telegraphic or signalling equipment.
The first locomotive owned by the company was a 2-4-0 tank engine supplied in 1868 by Beyer, Peacock and Company and was named Shrewsbury and Talbot. A second locomotive, named Ingestre, was acquired second-hand in May 1873; It was a Beyer Peacock 0-4-2T. The purchase was probably prompted by the accident at Hopton Tunnel, in which Shrewsbury and Talbot was damaged.
By 1874, Stafford had expanded northwards and a new station was built at , where there were horseracing, fairs and agricultural shows.Baker and Fell, page 91 The line was never productive of much traffic and was not kept in very good order. In the summer of 1875, the Board of Trade sent Colonel Rich to report on its condition, and he required certain improvements to ensure safety. Losses and debts mounted, and a receiver was appointed in 1875.
Operationally, there was continuing opposition from the LNWR and the NSR. There were disputes over the maintenance of train connections at the junction stations, and over the handling of goods traffic. By 1878, it was clear that operating costs were exceeding traffic receipts and a receiver was appointed. The suggestion was made that, since it seemed likely that the LNWR and the NSR would continue to be uncooperative, approaches should be made to the Great Northern Railway or the Midland. The aim of connecting to Derby had still not been achieved. While the LNWR and NSR were on good terms with the Midland Railway and exercised running powers over its lines into Derby and Burton, the GNR had built a new line in competition with all three – its Derbyshire extension – and was anxious to penetrate further westward, to Wales if possible.
Hopton Bank derailment In 1873, there was a derailment at Hopton Bank. On 1 February 1873, the 12:10 train from Uttoxeter to Stafford derailed "at high speed" about before reaching Stafford. The driver and fireman were killed, and eight others were injured. The derailment took place on a right hand curve of radius, and on a falling gradient of . There were some defects in the leaf springs of the locomotive, but these were not considered to be contributory. The main cause was stated to be excessive speed, associated with reaching Stafford to make a connection with a main line train there. The driver had previously been warned several times about excessive speed. Frost heave may have affected the stability of the track.
Great Northern Railway
For three years, the S&UR company had been in receivership; its income was only £12 per mile (£7.46 per km) per week. In 1878, a representative of the major creditor approached the GNR, proposing that they should take over the working of the line. In that year, the GNR opened its Derbyshire and Staffordshire Extension Line from and to Egginton Junction, on the NSR's Churnet Valley Extension line. The GNR had expressed an interest in reaching Holyhead and the S&UR might be a stepping stone in that direction.
The GNR declined the approach but, in fact, negotiations continued regarding an outright purchase. The GNR were given running powers over the Stafford and Uttoxeter Railway by the (42 & 43 Vict. c. cciii) of 11 August 1879, and into Stafford station. Further negotiations took place, and notwithstanding the poor state of the S&UR infrastructure, a price of £100,000 was agreed: the purchase was authorised by the (44 & 45 Vict. c. clvi) of 18 July 1881, effective from 1 August. Plant was transferred at a valuation of £1,450, which included two locomotives.Grinling, Charles H.; The Great Northern Railway, 1845–1895, Methuen & Co, London, 1898, pages 344-5 If the GNR's interest in reaching Holyhead was definite, it was never realised and Stafford remained the westernmost outpost of the GNR.
Wrottesley is frank about the dubious value the GNR got for its outlays:
"Not very willingly, the GN came into possession of the Stafford & Uttoxeter. Other than as a possible western outlet for Derbyshire coal, the line offered little prospect of much revenue."
The advantage to the GNR was mitigated by a clause interested the act authorising the purchase, which prevented the GNR using the running powers over the NSR to divert traffic by any circuitous routes from the lines of the LNWR or North Staffordshire Companies.
At the time of the transfer to the GNR takeover, the line was completely run down, and the GNR invested £40,000 in improving the facilities at Stafford Common, providing passing loops at Ingestre and Chartley, and later at Grindley. Block signalling was installed. The GNR operated a through passenger service from Grantham to Stafford, via Nottingham and Derby; at around the end of the 19th century, Boston enginemen worked a lodging turn to Stoke.