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North Staffordshire Railway: A brief biography

The North Staffordshire Railway operated in a territory of its own. Whist most of this area was in North Staffordshire it extended its activity to Derbyshire in the east, into Cheshire in the north and north west and Shropshire in the south. There is a tendency to think of the North Staffordshire as being an industrial line but this was not really so. Only a few miles away from the densely populated areas of the industrial Potteries there was sparsely populated countryside dependent on the railway transport network. Indeed it is because of the Leek and Manifold Valley 2'6" narrow gauge line that many remember the NSR. Had this line survived into the present day it would have been a tourist attraction par excellence. Even today it is possible to walk much of this former railway some of which travels through inaccessible countryside.

The North Staffordshire was unusual in many respects in comparison to many lines in the country, being the largest canal owning railway after its amalgamation with the Trent and Mersey Canal in 1946, an operator of three gauges and it was truly a local concern. Unlikely many companies it was known by the affectionate nickname the 'Knotty'. It had considerable running rights over neighbouring lines which were extensively exercised giving NSR access to Manchester, the North Wales Coast and Derby. The NSR was a strong local line probably little known in the London area yet a substantial part of the LMS on its formation in 1923. The NSR ranked seventh in mileage and sixth by the number of locomotives it owned. In comparison to many railway companies it was also a profitable concern during its entire existence.

There have been a lot of publications on the Knotty in recent years, we suggest the following:

The Knotty, An Illustrated Survey of the North Staffordshire

Locomotive and Train Working in the Latter Part of the Nineteenth Century, Volume 2, E L Ahrons

Portrait of the North Staffordshire Railway, R Christiansen

North Staffordshire Railway Locomotives and Rolling Stock, R W Rush

The North Staffordshire Railway, Manifold

Memories of the North Staffordshire Railway, B Jeuda

The North Staffordshire Album, G Dow

The North Staffordshire Railway, R Christiansen, R W Miller

The North Staffordshire Wagon, G Chadwick

There have been a number of articles on the North Staffordshire Railway in Journals these include:

Railway Archive Volume 1, P71, Stoke Works part 1, Lightmoor Press, ISBN 1477-5336-01

Railway Archive Volume 2, P47, Stoke Works part 2, Lightmoor Press, ISBN1477-5336-02

Railway Archive Volume 3, P41, Stoke Works part 3, Lightmoor Press, ISBN1477-5336-03

Railway Archive Volume 10, P43, Stoke Works part 4, Lightmoor Press, ISBN1477-5336-10

The Passenger carrying stock of the North Staffordshire Railway, D Jolley, G F Chadwick, HMRS Journal Vol 17, No3, P147-154

The Passenger carrying stock of the North Staffordshire Railway, D Jolley, G F Chadwick, HMRS Journal Vol 17, No4, P192-202

Many of the these books may be obtained from specialised book sellers for some suggestions click here.

For research groups contact the following:

The North Staffordshire Study Group

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