Ambergate station has a complicated history. The original station was built for the North Midland Railway in 1840, between Derby and Leeds. It was an ornate building, designed by Francis Thompson,[1] which would have graced a Lord of the Manor.
From Belper, the line ran along the Derwent Valley, along a stretch called Broadholme with four bridges across the river; it continued through Longlands Tunnel, across the River Derwent and Derby Road with a magnificent five-arch viaduct. It then entered Hag Wood Tunnel as turned towards the Amber Valley.
From Ambergate, towards Chesterfield, the next difficulty for the North Midland Railway was the intersection with the Cromford Canal, where the line intersected with the Bullbridge Aqueduct, before it carried on through a station at Wingfield to Stretton.
However, in 1849, the branch from Ambergate to Rowsley was built by the proposed Manchester, Buxton, Matlock and Midland Junction Railway, with a west to north connection between the lines at the original Ambergate Junction. When a south to west connection was made, for trains from Derby to Rowsley, the station building was rebuilt in 1863 adjacent to the new Ambergate South junction. The original bridge was also widened at its northern end to accommodate the new junction.
The complex network of road and rail around Ambergate Junction. Note how Newbridge Road passes under the branch where it leaves the A6 then climbs steeply to pass over the adjacent main line
In 1876, a loop was built passing the west side of Hag Wood Tunnel, as a diversion from the original line to a third platform, which allowed for Derby to Sheffield stopping trains. The station was completely rebuilt, with the old building remaining in use a plans store. This third and final station was the famous triangular one, making it one of the four triangular stations in the UK. The other triangular railways stations are Earlestown station in Merseyside, Shipley station in West Yorkshire and Queensbury station also in West Yorkshire, which closed to passengers in 1955.
On Monday 20 March 1899, a fire broke out on the down platform which destroyed 30 yards of platform, together with the booking hall, stationmaster’s office and waiting rooms.[2] The fire brigade from Belper were summoned, as well as the Midland Railway company brigade from Derby.
Throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Ambergate was an important railway interchange with 28,207 tickets sold in 1872, rising to 90,157 by 1922.
In 1931, the line across Broadholme approaching from the south was upgraded to four tracks. Longlands Tunnel was opened up to form a wide cutting and the junction with the Manchester line was moved south of the river. A new modern steel bridge for the Manchester line was built alongside the original viaduct over the River Derwent and the A6 main road.
The line through Matlock, then the 'main line', carried express trains between London St. Pancras and Manchester London Road, such as the Palatine and the Peaks. It also carried coal trains from Nottinghamshire, for a while with Garratt locomotives, which would be split at Rowsley for the long climb to Peak Forest.
On 5 April 1950, there was another fire at the station which destroyed a waiting room on platform 1 which carried the up line to Manchester.[3] Two painters were working on the waiting room at the time.
The stopping service on the former North Midland route to Chesterfield and Sheffield (using the eastern platforms on the slow lines) was withdrawn in January 1967, when the other local stations on this section were closed. Most of the trackwork on the Derwent Valley line was lifted in 1968, soon after the closure of line from Rowsley to Buxton and Manchester, whilst the line eastwards from Crich Junction to Butterley and Pye Bridge closed completely in December that year; the station buildings were removed in 1970. Although the triangular station site remained for a number of years, the eastern road bridge over the A610 was finally removed in the late 1980s.
All that is left now is one platform on a single track to Matlock; the original main Derby to Sheffield line passes to the east through Hag Wood (Toadmoor) Tunnel and onwards to Clay Cross and Chesterfield. The original listing of Ambergate station for closure under the Beeching Axe led to its mention in the song "Slow Train" by Flanders and Swann.
Robert Manners 1898[6] - 1925[7] (formerly station master at Chinley)
Albert Ernest Weatherly 1925[8] - 1928 (formerly station master at Runcorn)
H.J. Bates 1928 - 1932[9] (formerly station master at Daventry)
W. Turner 1933 - 1952[10] (formerly station master at Goostrey)
Bernard Gower ca. 1955
Facilities
The station is unstaffed, although there is a self-service ticket machine for ticket purchases, a shelter and help point on the platform.
There is a car park at the entrance to the station, as well as a small bicycle storage facility. Step-free access is available to the platform at Ambergate.[11]
The typical off-peak service is one train per hour in each direction between Matlock and Nottingham via Derby. On Sundays, there is one train every two hours in each direction in the morning, increasing to hourly in the afternoon.[12]
^"Midland Railway Stationmasters Changes". Derbyshire Times and Chesterfield Herald. England. 20 April 1898. Retrieved 14 February 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
^"Ambergate". Ripley and Heanor News and Ilkeston Division Free Press. England. 6 November 1925. Retrieved 28 December 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
^"Runcorn's New Stationmaster". Runcorn Weekly News. England. 8 January 1926. Retrieved 14 February 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
^"Ambergate". Ripley and Heanor News and Ilkeston Division Free Press. England. 30 September 1932. Retrieved 14 February 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
^"Presentation to Ambergate Stationmaster". Ripley and Heanor News and Ilkeston Division Free Press. England. 22 February 1952. Retrieved 14 February 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
