The line originally opened on July 13th 1849 as part of the North Staffordhsire Railway, and consisted of double track from North Rode, near Macclesfield, to Uttoxeter in the south, a distance of 27 ¾ miles. There were several handsome station buildings such as those at Cheddleton, Rushton, Froghall and Oakamoor, with the one at Alton Towers being quite exceptional. This was designed especially for the use of the Earl of Shrewsbury who lived on the nearby estate. There were few major engineering feats on the line, save for several river bridges and tunnels at Leek, Leekbrook, Cheddleton and Oakamoor. Parts of the railway line between Froghall and Uttoxeter were laid on the drained bed of the Cauldon Canal.

In 1923, the N.S.R. became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS), which in turn became part of British Railways in 1948. Competition from road transport meant railway services nationally were reduced and the 1963 "Beeching Report" recommended the closure of over 5000 miles of track including the Churnet Valley. The North Rode to Leek line closed in June 1964, followed by the withdrawal of all passenger services between Leek and Uttoxeter in January 1965. The remaining route was singled in 1968, followed by the closure of Leek station, the last one still open at the time for freight traffic, in July 1970.

The line to Oakamoor remained open to serve the Sand Quarry, delivering sand to Pilkington's at St Helens, but this too ceased to run in 1988. Over the years after closure to passengers, many of the stations were demolished, including Consall, Froghall and Oakamoor. Cheddleton station survived and was taken over in 1976 by the NSRS and later became the headquarters of the CVR. In 1996 the one mile route between Leekbrook junction and Cheddleton station saw the first passenger trains of the CVR outside the confines of Cheddleton yard and since then the railway has made steady progress in reopening the line between Leekbrook Junction and Froghall, with plenty of scope for future extensions too!

Throughout 2010, progress has been made by Moorlands & City railways, who are closely linked with the Churnet Valley Railway, on the branch from Leekbrook Jucntion to Cauldon Lowe. Infrastructure was found to be a reasonable condition and during late 2010 the line was reopened with a series of specials from the Churnet Valley.

Note - Locos that show as resident may be based here but loaned to other sites, click on 'Loco' to view the most recent location

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