The Midland Railway, Butterley

The Country Park

The Country Park was assembled from a number of plots of land in different ownership. The story began when, in the mid 1980s a farmer who was about to retire offered the Trust a small parcel of land at the top of what is now the Country Park. The Trust then took the decision to try and acquire more land to form the Park so as to provide enjoyment for its visitors and the local population. The search for owners took the Trust the length and breadth of Britain.

The middle section of what is now the Park had been under water and used as a reservoir for nearly two hundred years. Other areas have, at some time, been used by an archery club and a clay pigeon shooting group. Track workers on the G.V.L.R. often find pieces of clays - and occasionally intact ones - so obviously they were not all crack shots!

At the eastern end of the Country Park, below Newlands Inn Station, you will find a section of the Cromford Canal. If you wish you can walk back to the main Museum site through the Country Park instead of using the train from Newlands Inn Station.

Wildlife and Conservation

As you travel through the Country Park you will hopefully see some of its wildlife. The train crew regularly see a Heron fly over on its way to feed and, as the train passes over the bridge approaching Newlands Inn Station, look to your left and you may see it standing motionless waiting to pounce on its next meal. Out Drivers have also reported foxes walking across the track in front of them. One of the foxes is so confident that it occasionally snoozes by the side of the track, seemingly oblivious to the passing of the train.

As one point the railway sits on an embankment. Underneath there is a large rabbit warren with some of the burrows stretching the full width of the embankment. In future years this could lead to subsidence, and the permanent way gang are ready to take remedial action the moment it becomes a problem. Whilst on the embankment, take a look at the hedge separating you from the field below. You will notice that the Golden Valley Light Railway's volunteers have started a rolling programme of hedge laying. This not only opens up the views for the passengers but hedgerows are also of great importance for birds, mammals, insects and wild flowers. Hedge laying will help the hedge to grow thicker and will provide birds with food, somewhere to nest and provide song posts for the breeding season. Hedgerows also provide shelter for lots of mammals and butterflies such as the Holly Blue; they require good hedgerows as they have two generations in one year. The summer caterpillars feed on holly and the autumn caterpillars feed on ivy, both of which are often found in good hedgerows. It is our policy to only remove nettles, which are directly adjacent to the railway line, because nettles are of great importance to butterflies, such as the Red Admiral, who lay their eggs on the plant. One wild flower that is present in great number is Dog's Mercury and this is an indicator species of ancient woodland.

In the 1930's under a job creation scheme native trees were planted on the hill above the area that was mined for coal. Planting still takes place today. The importance of trees to wildlife and humans cannot be under estimated. Trees take carbon dioxide out of the air and in return give life sustaining oxygen. Some sycamores have, however, been taken down to provide open areas and to allow light to the country park floor, This encourages the growth of wild flowers.

The diverse nature of the County Park is its biggest asset and its management is ongoing in order to protect it. With help from outside organisations the Midland Railway Centre has planted trees, dammed the stream to create two lakes and cleared some trees. It has left some dead trees that do not endanger visitors, but does provide valuable wildlife habitat for some species of insects and birds like woodpeckers.

The Cromford Canal

The Cromford Canal opened in February 1794 from the outskirts of the village of Cromford, near Matlock, to Langley Mill in the Erewash Valley, a distance of 14 ½ miles. There was a side arm to the village of Pinxton that gave that 2 ½ miles long branch its name. At Langley Mill basin there was a choice of routes for the canal boats. The now extinct Nottingham Canal via Wollaton reached the River Trent at Meadow Lane Lock (on the opposite bank to the present Nottingham Forest Football Club ground) situated to the south east of the City centre. Alternatively, boats could head for the Midlands by sailing down the Erewash Canal. The route was by way of Sandiacre to Trent Lock, one mile south of Long Eaton, where access could once again be made to the mighty River Trent.

The Cromford Canal also provided a connection from the East Midlands to the North-west by transshipment of goods at Cromford Wharf (between Whatstandwell and Cromford) to the Cromford and High Peak Railway. This was an early 33 miles long railway over the hilly countryside of the Peak District to Whaley Bridge and it was built on the canal principle. It had level stretches of track, (worked first by horses and them steam locomotives) that were interspersed by nine inclines (c.f. lock) worked by stationary steam engines.

From a wharf at the far end of the Pinxton extension, there was also an early railway to Mansfield, provided by the Mansfield and Pinxton Railway Company (opened 1819 and built to 4ft 4ins gauge). This was taken over, re-gauged and partly re-routed by the Midland Railway Company. Robin Hood Line trains run on the eastern part of that route today.

A large number of small mines (including Grumblethorpe - which is on the opposite side of the Country Park to the G.V.L.R.) were sunk close to some sections of the Cromford Canal. Two hundred years ago the Black Gold, after being hewn from the bell pits, would have been loaded into primitive wheeled wooden coal tubs and transported along a plateway the short distance to the canal boats. "Plateway" is the name used for an early railway where the track consisted of small lengths of flanged cast iron rails laid onto stone blocks.

The G.L.V.R. Connection

The Golden Valley Light Railway Newlands Inn Station sits on a newly created ledge above the Cromford Canal. The Narrow Gauge line cuts through the old dam wall, which held back the water in the Butterley Park Reservoir. The old dam floor is traversed on part of your journey. The Reservoir was one of several that helped to maintain the required water level in the Canal.

So, as you sit in the main riders (ex the coal industry) at Newlands Inn Station, look down at the canal and imagine the bustling scene two centuries ago. A procession of boats, ready to carry to coal to the neighbouring cities, would be manoeuvring in and out of loading berths. Below our train, down at the towpath level, the transshipment of coal from tubs to can boat would have been taking place, all of course, done by human hand.