Alton Towers railway station

Alton Towers
The remains of Alton Towers railway station
General information
Location	Staffordshire Moorlands, Staffordshire
Owned by	LMS London Midland Region
Managed by	North Staffordshire Railway
Platforms	3
Key dates
13 July 1849	Station opened as Alton
January 1954	Renamed to Alton Towers
4 January 1965	Station closed

Alton Towers railway station is a disused railway station in the village of Alton, Staffordshire, England.

The station was a stop on the North Staffordshire Railway's Churnet Valley Line from Macclesfield to Uttoxeter.

History

Alton station opened on 13 July 1849 and was built in an Italianate villa style. It was used by the Earl of Shrewsbury who had a luggage lift installed to hoist his baggage up to Alton Towers, his gothic revival residence which is situated at the top of nearby Bunbury Hill. The station also comprised a three-storey tower which contained the Earl's suite of waiting rooms and its platform was particularly long to satisfy the Earl's desire to have impressive surroundings in which to receive his guests.

It became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway during the Grouping of 1923. The station then passed on to the London Midland Region of British Railways on nationalisation in 1948, The station was renamed "Alton Towers" in recognition of its previous service to the Alton Towers estate in 1954, only to be closed ten years later by the British Transport Commission.

The site today

The station buildings, which are grade II listed, were acquired by the Landmark Trust, which converted the stationmaster's house into holiday accommodation, opening in 1972 In 2008 the Landmark Trust converted the waiting-room to provide additional accommodation space. The buildings are occasionally open to the public as part of an "Open Day" scheme run by the Trust.

Future

Moorland and City Railways, a new rail company, are set to enter talks with Staffordshire County Council with a view to reopening the railway to Alton Towers. This would allow trains to go directly from Stoke and Leek to Alton Towers.[1]

Preceding station		Disused railways		Following station
Oakamoor		North Staffordshire Railway Churnet Valley Line		Denstone

References

• Butt, R. V. J. (October 1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85260-508-7. OCLC 60251199. OL 11956311M.
• Jowett, Alan (2000). Jowett's Nationalised Railway Atlas (1st ed.). Penryn, Cornwall: Atlantic Transport Publishers. ISBN 978-0-906899-99-1. OCLC 228266687.

External links

• Photos of the station
• Landmark Trust official site
• Alton station on navigable 1946 O. S. map
• Alton staion on navigable 1955 OS map