From what is now called High Peak Junction, the Cromford & High Peak Railway (CHPR) was opened through to the Peak Forest Canal at Whaley Bridge in 1831. This remarkable route was originally planned as a canal but it was soon realised that the limestone over which it passed would never hold water. A railway was built instead, on the planned canal line, with long level stretches linked by inclines.
On 30 June 1963, a line of wagons and water tenders stands alongside the canal by Railway End or Brown’s Swing Bridge no. 2; and the very different scene today.
