MAJOR plans have been unveiled to restore a station on a heritage railway to its former glory and improve facilities for thousands of visitors.

The proposals or Cheddleton Station, on the Churnet Valley Railway (CVR), include creating a working museum, where railway memorabilia and period furniture will go on display.

Further authentic touches will include installing mechanically-operated level crossing gates and a new signal box.

Community leaders have welcomed the plans for the railway, which attracts up to 100,000 visitors a year.

The first stage in the project will be a new £120,000 building housing a cafe, shop and toilets on platform two, which is to be extended.

The plans have been given a boost after more than £330,000 of shares were snapped up by steam train enthusiasts during a £450,000 share issue.

Half of the money raised will be used to secure a stake in Moorland & City Railways (MCR), which is to reopen the 20-mile track from Stoke Station to Cauldon.

The rest will fund new catering and community facilities, as well as a sheltered waiting area at Cheddleton Station.

CVR chairman Anthony Hancock said: “The new building will act as the catering hub of the railway and so will support our extensive programme of dining trains, as well as providing seated refreshment facilities for visitors.

“It will also be a resource for use in the CVR’s education programme and will be available to the local community at times when the railway is not

operating.”

The CVR had hoped to provide the new facilities in a 150-year-old cottage, which was set to be moved brick-by-brick from its home at the side of tracks on the Whitebridge Estate in Stone.

The house, which was first used in 1848 by a crossing keeper and his family, slid into disrepair after the last employee left in 1997.

Railway bosses still hope to move the Grade II-listed cottage brick-by-brick, but the plans have been held up during negotiations with the British Railways Board, which owns it.

Work is expected to start on the new building within months.

The space will be 45ft by 20ft and has been designed to accommodate an extension if demand increases.

It is hoped grant applications could help fund further stages of the revamp.

Councillor Andrew Hart, portfolio holder for regeneration at Staffordshire Moorlands District Council, said the CVR was becoming the top heritage railway in the country.

He said: “We are trying to encourage more visitors to stay overnight in the Moorlands and this is another reason for them to stay.”