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Private company

Cannock Mineral Railway

UK railway company founded in 18551

The Cannock Mineral Railway was a railway company that built a line from Cannock (Staffordshire,) to join the London and North Western Railway (LNWR) at Rugeley, in England. It was conceived and authorised as the Derbyshire, Staffordshire and Worcestershire Junction Railway, with the intention of connecting Dudley and Uttoxeter, but it was hopelessly undercapitalised and badly managed. As finally built it was seven miles in length, and joined the South Staffordshire Railway (SSR) at Cannock.2 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

1855Founded1

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The Cannock Mineral Railway was a railway company that built a line from Cannock (Staffordshire,) to join the London and North Western Railway (LNWR) at Rugeley, in England. It was conceived and authorised as the Derbyshire, Staffordshire and Worcestershire Junction Railway, with the intention of connecting Dudley and Uttoxeter, but it was hopelessly undercapitalised and badly managed.2

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Opening and operation

The first passenger train service consisted of three daily trains between Birmingham and Stafford.

The 1895 edition of Bradshaw shows eight passenger trains each way daily at Cannock, with one additional on certain days of the week, and two on Sundays. In 1922 the service had risen to ten each way with three on Sundays, and by 1938 this had further risen to 23 weekdays and eight on Sundays.

The LNWR lease of the CMR was to run for a period of 999 years from its opening date, but Brassey suggested that the LNWR might prefer to acquire the CMR outright. The Directors announced on 28 February 1862 that this was to take place, but once again matters dragged on, and it was only on 12 July 1869 that Parliament authorised it. The share swap was £55 of Ordinary LNWR Stock or £70 of LNWR 5 per cent Perpetual Preference Stock to replace every £100 of CMR shares, with an alternative of £7 in cash for every £10 CMR share. The last Board Meeting of the CMR was held on 21 August 1869 at Euston.

Locations

Rugeley; LNWR station on main line; opened 15 September 1847; renamed Rugeley Trent Valley 1 June 1870; renamed Rugeley 6 May 1968; renamed Rugeley Trent Valley 11 May 1992;

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Rugeley Town; opened 1 June 1870; closed 18 January 1965; reopened 2 June 1997; still open;

Brindley Heath; opened 3 and 17 August 1939 for Bank Holiday specials from an RAF station; opened to public 26 August 1939; closed 6 April 1959;

Hednesford no 2 Junction; convergence of Cannock Chase Railways 1862 – 1973;

Hednesford; opened 7 November 1859; closed 18 January 1965; reopened 10 April 1989; still open;

East Cannock Junction; divergence of LNWR line to Norton Crossing, 1879 – 1964;

Cannock; LNWR station; opened 1 February 1858; closed 18 January 1965; reopened 10 April 1989; still open.

From Wikipedia’s article on Cannock Mineral Railway, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3

Timeline

  1. 1855Founded Founded1

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

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