Viaduct problem at Bugsworth 1866

The Autumn of 1866 had been remarkable for very heavy rainfall and flooding. 

At Bugsworth in Derbyshire the recently opened railway was carried by a five arched stone viaduct. The exceptionally wet conditions caused a land slip which affected the railway. At first it was a bridge north of the viaduct which began to crack and move. Shortly after, sixteen acres of land, slipped down the valley, cracking the viaduct, and causing it to be declared unsafe. The railway company took measures to drain the land to avoid any further slippage.

From The Midland Railway Its rise and progress by Frederick Williams 1888

Next, a temporary wooden viaduct was constructed. Four hundred men laboured for ten weeks to complete the task.

The line re-opened in early 1867.

Some years later the embankment, which still carries the railway today, was built on land between the wooden viaduct and the original stone arched one.

The old viaduct was demolished with the help of gunpowder.

Because of the realignment, the track went to the wrong side of the station building, so what should have been the platform side became the entrance, and the intended entrance ended up on the platform side.  Bugsworth station was closed to passengers in 1958.

The village of Bugsworth as it was known at the time of this incident is now, officially, known as Buxworth.