The Friends of Whaley Bridge Station aim to increase the use of the station by making it more attractive, promoting events and working on new uses for the station buildings.
One of the ways we have made the station more attractive are the garden and new planters.
15th June 2009 – Network Rail has announced that a major refurbishment of Whaley Bridge station has gone out to tender. Our station is probably the last building on the line dating from the opening in 1857 and many original features will be reinstated or repaired. There will be a unisex accessible toilet and a variable height ticket office counter that can be lowered to suit wheelchair users. Once the work is complete we hope that the waiting room will be open whenever the station is staffed.
27th June 2009 – The Friends of Whaley Bridge Station's entry for the Whaley Bridge Carnival – Second prize in its class.
3rd April 2009 – Councillor Barrie Taylor presented FoWBS with a cheque from his Community Leadership Fund to enable the group to purchase more planters and plants to enhance the station platforms.
The group was launched in May 2006. At the 2007 Community Rail Awards we won the Best Station Adoption Group category, with the judges saying:
The Friends of Whaley Bridge are making a real difference to their station, by enhancing its environment, by involving its local community and by organising fund raising events for their projects, which have included clearing and planting the large garden on the platform, starting work on a sensory garden on a derelict site and celebrating the 150th Anniversary of their station with a super event in the station car park in June.
In the judge’s view, this is a very strong group, they were impressed with the planning and presentation of the projects and the professional way that they had been implemented.
The picture above shows Whaley Bridge Station, looking South. The 1857 station building is on the left, behind the C.1883 footbridge.
The railway line to Whaley Bridge began as the Stockport, Disley and Whaley Bridge Railway. It was opened on June 9th 1857 (we celebrated the 150th anniversary of the opening). The line was extended to Buxton in 1863.
The white framing on the left is one of the balusters from the station footbridge. You can get around the site either by clicking on the petals at the top or using the links below.