The Churnet Valley Railway is a preserved standard gauge heritage railway running through the Staffordshire Moorlands and the valley of the River Churnet in Staffordshire, England. It operates along part of the former Churnet Valley Line, which was opened by the North Staffordshire Railway in 1849, and the Waterhouses branch line which opened in 1905. The section from Kingsley and Froghall to Leek closed to passengers in January 1965 and to freight from Oakamoor to Stoke-on-Trent in 1988; and the Waterhouses branch closed to passenger traffic in 1935, with the final freight running in 1988. The preservation society began in 1971 with a small demonstration line in the goods yard at Cheddleton, before beginning operations over the former Churnet Valley Line in 1996 following withdrawal of the final freight services in 1988.
The line is roughly 10+1⁄2 miles (16.9 km) long from Kingsley & Froghall to Ipstones. The line from Leek Brook Junction to Ipstones was opened by Moorland & City Railways (MCR) in 2010 after they took a lease out from Network Rail. This has subsequently been purchased by the Churnet Valley Railway. The main stations along the line are Kingsley and Froghall, Consall, Cheddleton, Leek Brook and Ipstones (which is only used as a run around loop).
