There are several early engravings of the entrance to the six hundred yard long High Tor Tunnel, a major piece of railway engineering. The line to Matlock was opened in 1849 and the coming of the railway was to have a major impact on both Matlock Bath and Matlock. Matlock developed as a hydropathy centre whilst the type of visitor to the village of Matlock Bath changed considerably. Day trippers from larger towns and cities eventually replaced those who had come for the water cure of Matlock Bath and stayed in the village's hotels.

Here we see a train approaching Matlock Bath station on the down line. The railway station buildings are slightly different from those shown in either the Rock & Co. engraving of 1862 or the vignette engraving of High Tor Tunnel from "Bemroses' Guide" of 1869 (scroll down to the bottom of the page). The structure in this image, first published in John Smedley's Practical Hydropathy of 1857, does not have the distinctive overhanging eaves shown on later illustrations or photographs.

This image shows us a very still River Derwent, with Dale Road on the opposite riverbank from the station. The artist has placed what was then the vicarage house on the same level as the road whereas the building is actually slightly above the road.

View even more about the station by clicking on the images below:

1860s	19C stereoview1	19C stereoview2	1862
About 1906	1906-08	1912	Station House	Today, image3