FEW railfreight traffics endure in the modern era, but one notable exception is the transportation of crushed limestone from Tunstead quarry, outside Buxton, to Northwich, Cheshire, which has been in daily operation for nearly 90 years.
Tunstead quarry was developed by Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) during the late 1920s. Block trains of bogie hoppers began running in 1937, conveying the limestone to Lostock and Winnington works, where it was added to salt brine during the manufacture of soda ash.