hour eastbound to New Mills Central, with one of these continuing along the Hope Valley to Sheffield; this reduces to hourly in the evenings. One peak hour service also originates here. On Sundays there is a two-hourly service in the morning and evening in each direction, increasing to hourly in the afternoons. Tickets to and from Rose Hill Marple station are valid on board all Manchester Piccadilly bound trains from Marple station. History Marple railway station was built by the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway (MS&LR) on the extension of its Hyde branch to New Mills, opening to the public on 1 July 1865. The line was built in conjunction with the Midland Railway's extension of its line to Millers Dale, thus it was also used by the latter's trains from London to Manchester Store Street (later called London Road, now Piccadilly). Until the Midland moved to Manchester Central, in 1880, as a member of the Cheshire Lines Committee, Marple was where carriages for Liverpool would be attached or detached. At the time it had extensive station buildings, the Midland waiting room having upholstered seats and a coal fire in an attractive fireplace for cold winter days. It was rebuilt in 1970 and the MS&L facilities were demolished, with new brick buildings replacing the Midland's offices. From Marple to Romiley, the line passes through Marple Tunnel to the junction with the short branch to Rose Hill Marple, then over the long stone viaduct that crosses the River Goyt and the Peak Forest Canal. Alongside the viaduct is the Marple Aqueduct, which carries the Peak Forest Canal over the River Goyt. Agatha Christie's Miss Marple In 1902, when Agatha Christie was twelve, her sister Margaret married James Watts and they lived at Abney Hall, Cheadle. Christie, encouraged by Watts to write, was a frequent visitor to Abney Hall from a young age into adulthood. The area around the hall and Cheadle inspired many settings within her books. From her home in Devon, Christie often used the railway to travel there, connecting from the Midland Main Line from London St Pancras onto the Hope Valley Line, and passing through Marple. It is theorised that a train was delayed there for long enough for the station sign to stick in her mind, to resurface in 1932 at the publication of the first novel featuring Jane Marple. However, at a 2015 event to celebrate