Construction of the Sheffield & Chesterfield line was authorised by the Midland RailwayAct of 1864 but it was not until Monday 2 February 1870 that the line and Dronfield station were opened to traffic. It was designed by the Midland Railway company architect John Holloway Sanders.[1]
The line was known as the "New Road" to differentiate from the "Old Road" built by the North Midland Railway, which took an easier route along the Rother Valley and bypassed Sheffield. The station is on the long climb up the Drone valley to Bradway Tunnel at the point where the gradient steepens from 1 in 201 to 1 in 102.
The station had single storey wooden buildings on both platforms. The main buildings, including booking office and staff offices, were on the "up" platform. The smaller building on the other platform contained a waiting room and a ladies' waiting room.
To the south of the passenger station, on the land now used as a car park, was the goods station with a brick-built warehouse and several sidings.
The original Midland Railway station buildings were still standing at the centenary. 1 February 1970
The station was closed to passengers with effect from Monday 2 January 1967,[2] the last passenger train to call being the 21:41 Sheffield - Derby service on Saturday 31 December 1966. The station remained staffed for two years after closure until the goods station closed. The buildings were demolished in June 1973 but the platforms remained.
Between 15 and 19 February 1979, British Rail temporarily reopened the station (along with Wadsley Bridge and the Midland Main Line platforms at Dore) because road transport throughout Sheffield had been brought to a standstill by heavy snowfall. Many trains on the Midland Main Line served the station during that period, and special single fares of 20p were charged to both Chesterfield and Sheffield. Demand for the special services was so high on Friday 16 February that "passengers [travelling to] Sheffield were queueing on the station approach — the platforms being completely full".[2] The station then reopened permanently to passengers on 5 January 1981 with a limited service at peak periods only.
The station is managed by Northern. However, until 14 December 2008 no Northern services stopped there. A residents' pressure group, Friends of Dronfield Station, successfully campaigned for rail services to the town to be improved and continue to beautify the station and press for better facilities.
A small number of peak time East Midlands Railway Liverpool - Norwich services stop. However mainline services from Leeds, Sheffield and London run through at high speed, and do not stop. Interchange with mainline services can be made at Sheffield and Chesterfield.
^ ab"British Rail News: Temporary Re-opening of Stations". Journal of the Transport Ticket Society (183). Luton: Transport Ticket Society: 121–122. March 1979. ISSN0144-347X.
^ abStations in Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland, and Stockton-on-Tees are considered part of North East England, while stations in the unitary areas of York and North Yorkshire are considered part of Yorkshire and the Humber.
^Stations in North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire are considered part of Yorkshire and the Humber, while all other stations are considered part of the East Midlands.
