Leek & Manifold Valley Light Railway

Date:1934

Description:A favourite trip out was to the Manifold Valley – and a ride on the Leek and Manifold Valley Light Railway, which was closed down in 1934. Passengers would travel on the North Staffordshire Railway via Leek to Waterhouses, where they would change platforms to board one of the two narrow-gauge trains. The dark red-brown engines had a distinct colonial appearance, being designed by E.R. Calthrop who had worked on light railways in India. The two engines handled all the traffic – mainly milk from the local farms – with standard gauge wagons carried ‘piggy-back’ on special narrow gauge transporter trucks. The coaches were designed with tourists in mind, and also had a colonial look about them. They were finished in primrose yellow, had large windows to view the scenery and open balconies at each end. This film has scenes travelling in both directions between Waterhouses and Hulme End – from where the line was meant to extend to Longnor and Buxton, but this was never built.

This film also features in the documentary; “The Knotty – the story of the North Staffordshire Railway”, produced by Ray Johnson.

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Donor ref:Archive tape reference: M.20 (26/6054)

Source: Staffordshire Film Archive

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