'Jubilee' Class 4-6-0, named Leander, passing through Duffield in 1957
The first station at Duffield was built in 1841, a year after the line opened, by the North Midland Railway a few yards further north from its present position.
The Midland Railway (MR) was looking for a path into Manchester as an alternative to the former Manchester, Buxton, Matlock and Midland Junction Railway from Ambergate to Rowsley which it leased jointly with the LNWR. It built a junction at Duffield and began to construct the line, which opened as far as Wirksworth in 1867.[1] When the MR gained sole control of the Ambergate line in 1871, the extension proved unnecessary; however, the Wirksworth branch remained a busy line, with a regular passenger service and freight in the form of limestone from Wirksworth and milk from the farms along the line.
In 1867, a large new station was built in the vee of the junction, with platforms on each side of the double track. A signal box was provided to the east of the main line, replaced by the Duffield Junction box around 1890 at the south end of platform 1. By this time, the village's population had increased with railway workers and management, as had traffic on the main line. In 1897, a goods line was laid in the up (southbound) direction and a fourth, down goods, laid in 1904.
At this stage, there were two platforms with a footbridge, the second being an island between the two passenger lines and another for the branch. The two subsidiary platforms each had a waiting room, while the main platform building contained the waiting room, ticket and luggage offices. Next to the footbridge was a separate W.H. Smith bookstall. The station master's house was separate, being beside the track to the north, and there was small luggage store just outside the gate. The Wirksworth branch had severed the main road, which had been diverted; a footbridge gave access across the line. To the north of the station, there was a wide level crossing which, besides allowing luggage trolleys to cross, gave access for the farmer who owned the adjacent land. Next to this was a footbridge from the front of the station to the field behind, and between them two signal posts with, until 1910, a station signal box supplementing Duffield Junction. After that, the station changed little over the years until 1969; in 1947, at the time passenger services were withdrawn on the Wirksworth branch, the signal posts were replaced with a fabricated steel gantry and upper-quadrant signals. Some time later, the passenger footbridge was rebuilt in brick using the existing walkway.
In the 1960s, the station became unstaffed and the buildings were removed in 1969, except for the station master's house which became a private residence and the small luggage store which was just outside the gate. These have also been demolished subsequently.
In July 2005, the station was adopted by WyvernRail plc under a scheme promoted by the Friends of the Derwent Valley Line. WyvernRail undertook to provide care and maintenance of Duffield station on behalf of Central Trains (who operated the station at that time) and continue to do so for East Midlands Railway.[2]
Ecclesbourne Valley Railway passenger services extended to Duffield in April 2011, allowing heritage trains from Wirksworth to connect here with the Midland Main Line. Through ticketing is available from all main line stations.[3]
William Cope 1909 - 1922 (formerly station master at Spondon, afterwards station master at Ashby de la Zouch)
W. Clements 1922 - 1924 (afterwards station master at Apperley Bridge)
J.G. Goss 1924 - 1931[6] (formerly station master at Bamford)
J. Townson 1931[7] - 1933 (formerly station master at Great Longstone)
J.W. Walker 1933 - ca. 1944
George Henry Hill ca. 1955
Historic gallery
Station Approach
The booking office with the crossing gate
Platform 1 waiting room, with a W.H.Smith bookstall behind
A view south from the footbridge
The luggage shed beside the entrance gate
The waiting room on platform 2
A rear view of the island platform
The waiting room on the Wirksworth platform
The footbridge
A closer view of the footbridge
Services
The branch platform used by the Ecclesbourne Valley Railway, April 2011. On the left is a steam train recently arrived from Wirksworth, whilst on the right is an East Midlands Trains service to Matlock. At this time, there was no physical connection between the EVR and the National Rail network here.
The typical off-peak service is one train per hour in each direction between Matlock and Nottingham, via Derby. On Sundays, the station is served by one train every two hours in each direction in the morning, increasing to hourly in the afternoon.[8]
Heritage
The Ecclesbourne Valley Railway runs services to Wirksworth, via Shottle and Idridgehay. Timetables vary during the year, with more services at weekends and school holidays; patterns include yellow, purple and green days.[9] Trains only run to Ravenstor on special event days.[10]
