Blakesley railway station

Last updated

Blakesley
Blakesley Station 1831195 943e6a72.jpg
Remains of the station in 1967
General information
Location Blakesley, West Northamptonshire
England
Grid reference SP624499
Platforms2
Other information
StatusDisused
History
Original company East and West Junction Railway
Pre-grouping Stratford-upon-Avon and Midland Junction Railway
Post-grouping London, Midland and Scottish Railway
London Midland Region of British Railways
Key dates
1 July 1873 [1] Opened
1 August 1877Closed
22 February 1885Reopened
7 April 1952Closed to passengers
3 February 1962 [2] Goods facilities withdrawn

Blakesley was a railway station on the Stratford-upon-Avon and Midland Junction Railway (SMJ) which served the Northamptonshire village of Blakesley between 1873 and 1962. It was linked to nearby Blakesley Hall by a miniature railway which ran from a terminal adjacent to the station.

Contents

History

A line from Greens Norton junction near Towcester to Stratford-upon-Avon and the junction with the Great Western Railway's Honeybourne branch line was first authorised in June 1864, but due to a lack of funds it took a further nine years for the line, built by the East and West Junction Railway, to be fully open to traffic. [3] A station was opened at Blakesley, a Northamptonshire village 8.5 miles (13.7 km) from Blisworth, with two platforms enclosing the running line as well as a loop line which also served as a goods siding. A signal box was located between the east end of the down platform and the loading dock, and to the west a road overbridge carried Blakesley High Street over the line. The station buildings, a one-storey brick building, were demolished by 1952 leaving the station as little more than a halt. [4] Passenger services were withdrawn later that year, with goods continuing for a further ten years.

Blakesley station was linked to nearby Blakesley Hall by the 15 inches (380 mm) gauge Blakesley Miniature Railway which ran from a terminal located to the west of the station at the rear of the down platform. [5] The railway conveyed coal, farm supplies and guests to the Hall over a distance of 0.5 miles (0.80 km). It was opened in 1903 by the owner of Blakesley Hall, Charles Bartholomew, a Yorkshire colliery owner and shareholder in the East and West Junction Railway. Two Cagney 4-4-0 locomotives and rolling stock were obtained from the United States. The miniature railway, which was fully signalled using Sykes electric banner signals, was particularly popular on Blakesley Fete days. [6] Following Bartholomew's death in 1919, his widow allowed the line to remain and be used by tourists on special occasions. The track was lifted in 1940 after being sold to an estate in Yorkshire. [7]

Routes

A 1911 Railway Clearing House map of railways in the vicinity of Blakesley (centre, in blue) Banbury, Blisworth, Cockley Brake, Fenny Compton, Northampton, Ravenstone Wood,Roade, Stratford on Avon, Towcester, & Woodford & Hinton RJD 2.jpg
A 1911 Railway Clearing House map of railways in the vicinity of Blakesley (centre, in blue)
Preceding station Disused railways Following station
Morton Pinkney   SMJR
East and West Junction Railway 		  Towcester

Present day

Nothing remains of the station. A modern bungalow has been across the trackbed and blocks the eastern side of the High Street overbridge. [8] A derelict Blakesley Hall was demolished in 1957, but one of the locomotives, a 4-4-4 tank engine known as "Blacolvesley" and designed by Henry Greenly, was used at a miniature railway in Haswell Lodge in County Durham, [9] and is now with the Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Winchcombe railway station</span>

Winchcombe railway station serves Winchcombe in Gloucestershire, England, although it is actually located in the village of Greet. It is located on the Honeybourne Line which linked Cheltenham and Stratford-upon-Avon and which was opened by the Great Western Railway in 1906. The station closed to passengers in 1960, although the line itself remained open for freight and diversionary use until 1976, when a freight train derailed near Winchcombe and damaged the track.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toddington railway station</span>

Toddington railway station serves the village of Toddington in Gloucestershire, England. Since 1984 it has been the main base of operations for the heritage Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Farthinghoe railway station</span> Former railway station in Northamptonshire, England

Farthinghoe was a railway station which served the Northamptonshire village of Farthinghoe in England. It opened in 1851 as part of the Buckinghamshire Railway's branch line to Verney Junction which provided connections to Bletchley and Oxford and closed in 1963.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brackley railway station</span> Former railway station in Northamptonshire, England

Brackley Town was a railway station which served the Northamptonshire town of Brackley in England. It opened in 1850 as part of the Buckinghamshire Railway's branch line to Verney Junction which provided connections to Banbury, Bletchley and Oxford and closed in 1963.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Byfield railway station</span> Former railway station in Northamptonshire, England

Byfield railway station was a railway station serving Byfield in the English county of Northamptonshire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Olney railway station (England)</span> Former railway station in England

Olney was a railway station on the former Bedford to Northampton Line and Stratford-upon-Avon and Midland Junction Railway which served the town of Olney in Buckinghamshire, England. It was situated on a busy section of line between Towcester and Ravenstone Wood junction which saw heavy use by freight services running between Wales and north-east England. The station closed for passengers in 1962 and completely in 1964, the various connecting routes to the line having closed one by one from the 1950s onwards.

Roade was a railway station serving the Northamptonshire village of the same name on the West Coast Main Line. Roade Station opened in 1838 as the principal station for Northampton, but its importance diminished upon the opening of the Northampton and Peterborough Railway in 1845. The construction of the Northampton Loop Line in 1875 made Roade a junction station, and it survived until 1964.

Salcey Forest railway station was a short-lived railway station in England, on the Stratford-upon-Avon, Towcester and Midland Junction Railway which opened on 1 December 1892 near the Northamptonshire forest of the same name. The station was not situated near any settlement and only saw passenger services for four months, it being most likely an error of judgement by the railway company which had provided substantial station facilities in expectation of traffic which never came. Salcey Forest station eventually closed on 31 March 1893 and has an arguable claim, along with Stoke Bruerne, of having had the shortest passenger service ever provided at any British railway station. Goods facilities were withdrawn in 1952.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stoke Bruern railway station</span> Former railway station in Northamptonshire, England

Stoke Bruern railway station was on the Stratford-upon-Avon, Towcester and Midland Junction Railway which opened on 1 December 1892 near the Northamptonshire village of Stoke Bruerne after which it was misnamed. Passenger services were withdrawn on 31 March 1893. It is arguable that Stoke Bruern along with Salcey Forest have a claim to have had the shortest passenger service of any British railway station. On the first service, it was reported that one person alighted at Salcey Forest, but no-one joined, whilst at Stoke Bruern, seven joined and one alighted. The service attracted no more than twenty passengers a week and the SMJ incurred a loss of £40. The station was situated in a sparsely populated area and only saw passenger services for four months, despite the railway company's optimism which saw substantial station facilities provided in the expectation of traffic which never came. The station remained open for goods until 1952.

Tiffield was a short-lived experimental railway station situated at the highest point of the Stratford-upon-Avon and Midland Junction Railway which opened in 1869 to serve the Northamptonshire village of Tiffield, only to close two years later.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Towcester railway station</span> Former railway station in Northamptonshire, England

Towcester was a railway station on the Stratford-upon-Avon and Midland Junction Railway which served the Northamptonshire, England, town of Towcester between 1866 and 1964. It was one of the most important stations on the line, and once served as an interchange for services to Stratford, Banbury and Olney. It also saw substantial traffic on racedays at Towcester Racecourse. Its closure came as the various interconnecting lines to the station closed one by one in the 1950s and 1960s. Passenger services ended in 1952, predating the Beeching closures.

Wappenham was a railway station on the Stratford-upon-Avon and Midland Junction Railway (SMJ) which served the Northamptonshire village of Wappenham between 1872 and 1951. Serving a relatively rural area, the station saw considerable goods traffic generated by local farming communities, but passenger traffic was low which ultimately led to its closure.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Helmdon Village railway station</span> Former railway station in Northamptonshire, England

Helmdon Village railway station on the Stratford-upon-Avon and Midland Junction Railway (SMJ) served the Northamptonshire village of Helmdon between 1872 and 1951. It was one of two stations serving the lightly populated rural area, the other being Helmdon railway station on the Great Central Main Line, and its closure marked the beginning of the years of decline for the SMJ line.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Morton Pinkney railway station</span> Former railway station in Northamptonshire, England

Morton Pinkney was a railway station on the Stratford-upon-Avon and Midland Junction Railway (SMJ) which served the Northamptonshire village of Moreton Pinkney between 1873 and 1952. It was situated not far from Sulgrave Manor, the ancestral home of George Washington's family.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Broom Junction railway station</span> Former railway station in England

Broom Junction was a railway station and interchange between the Stratford-upon-Avon and Midland Junction Railway and the Barnt Green to Ashchurch line. Although initially only an exchange station, it was opened to the public from 1880 and remained in service until 1963. Other than passengers changing trains, passenger traffic was low as the station was situated in a sparsely populated area near Broom in Warwickshire. The line to Stratford was the first to close in 1960, followed by the Barnt Green line in 1962.

Stratford-upon-Avon Racecourse Platform was a railway station on the Stratford upon Avon to Cheltenham section of the Honeybourne Line. Located one mile south of the town centre, its purpose was to serve Stratford Racecourse. It closed in 1968 as a result of falling passenger numbers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chambers Crossing Halt railway station</span> Former railway station in England

Chambers Crossing Halt railway station was a timber-framed railway halt on the Stratford-upon-Avon to Cheltenham section of the Honeybourne Line. The station was located two miles south-west of Stratford upon Avon. The site of the station is now part of the Stratford greenway and may in future form part of the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway's northern extension from Toddington.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hayles Abbey Halt railway station</span> Former railway station in England

Hayles Abbey Halt railway station is a halt opened by the Great Western Railway on the Honeybourne Line from Honeybourne to Cheltenham which served the hamlet of Hailes in Gloucestershire, as well as the nearby Hailes Abbey, between 1928 and 1960. The line through the site of the station was reinstated in 1985 and opened in 1987 by the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway, although for many years no new halt was provided. The halt was eventually reopened on 5 June 2017 after being rebuilt by volunteers. Unlike the original, however, it only has a single platform. It lies between Toddington and Winchcombe stations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gretton Halt railway station</span> Former railway station in Scotland

Gretton Halt railway station was a halt opened by the Great Western Railway on the Honeybourne Line from Honeybourne to Cheltenham which served the small village of Gretton in Gloucestershire between 1906 and 1960. The line through the site of the station was reinstated in 1997 by the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway, although no new halt was provided.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Weston-sub-Edge railway station</span> Former railway station in Gloucestershire, England

Weston-sub-Edge railway station is a disused station on the Honeybourne Line from Stratford-upon-Avon to Cheltenham which served the village of Weston-sub-Edge in Gloucestershire between 1904 and 1960.

References

  1. ↑ Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations, Patrick Stephens Ltd, Sparkford, ISBN   1-85260-508-1, p. 37.
  2. ↑ Clinker, C.R. (October 1978). Clinker's Register of Closed Passenger Stations and Goods Depots in England, Scotland and Wales 1830-1977. Bristol: Avon-AngliA Publications & Services. p. 14. ISBN   0-905466-19-5.
  3. ↑ Dunn, J.M. (1977). The Stratford & Midland Junction Railway. Blandford, Dorset: The Oakwood Press. p. 6. ISBN   0-85361-036-3.
  4. ↑ Riley, R.C.; Simpson, B. (1999). A History of the Stratford-upon-Avon & Midland Junction Railway. Witney, Oxon: Lamplight Publications. p. 78. ISBN   978-1-899246-20-5.
  5. ↑ Davies, R.; Grant, M.D. (1984). Forgotten Railways: Chilterns and Cotswolds. Newton Abbot, Devon: David St John Thomas. p. 136. ISBN   0-946537-07-0.
  6. ↑ Jordan, Arthur (1982). The Stratford-upon-Avon and Midland Junction Railway: the Shakespeare route. Headington, Oxford: Oxford Railway Pub. Co. p. 36. ISBN   978-0-86093-131-7.
  7. ↑ Kingscott, Geoffrey (2008). Lost Railways of Northamptonshire (Lost Railways Series). Newbury, Berkshire: Countryside Books. p. 114. ISBN   978-1-84674-108-1.
  8. ↑ Kingscott, G., p. 115.
  9. ↑ Riley, R.C. and Simpson, B., p. 78.

Coordinates: 52°08′39″N1°05′20″W / 52.144033°N 1.088939°W / 52.144033; -1.088939

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.