Blunham | |
---|---|
![]() Blunham Station in 1961 | |
General information | |
Location | Blunham, Central Bedfordshire England |
Grid reference | TL149505 |
Platforms | 2 |
Other information | |
Status | Disused |
History | |
Original company | Bedford & Cambridge Railway |
Pre-grouping | London and North Western Railway |
Post-grouping | London, Midland and Scottish Railway London Midland Region of British Railways (1948-1958) Eastern Region of British Railways (1958-1968) |
Key dates | |
7 April 1862 | Opened |
13 July 1964 [1] | Closed to goods |
1 January 1968 [2] | Closed to passengers |
Blunham was a railway station on the Varsity Line which served the small village of the same name in Bedfordshire. Opened in 1862, the station was located in a rural area and saw little passenger traffic; it closed together with the line in 1968.
Travelling from Oxford in the direction of Cambridge, Blunham was the first station on the Varsity Line which was built in the architectural style of the Bedford & Cambridge Railway, a style which included strong gables in yellow gault brick together with red brick dressings and string courses. [3] As with the other Bedford & Cambridge-built stations with the exception of Potton, the main station buildings were situated on the down side and a wooden shelter served for passengers on the up platform. The two platforms were low and steps were often needed to reach coaches, illuminated at night by the station's oil lamps. [4]
The station had a substantial goods shed which contained a 25cwt crane and sidings controlled by a 20-lever frame signal box. [5] A longer private siding led southwards to Beeson's Mill which produced linseed oil on the banks of the River Ivel. [6] The station like many others on the Bedford & Cambridge's line saw much traffic in vegetables - notably potatoes, leading to special trains being laid on to arrange for the collection of goods for carriage to Bletchley and onward transport to London. [7]
The station served a relatively rural community - there were 598 residents in 1901 [8] - and this, coupled with its remote location to the south of Blunham village, left it susceptible to competition from the motor car. [9] The station eventually closed together with the Bedford & Cambridge-built section of the Varsity Line in 1968.
Preceding station | Disused railways | Following station | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Willington | British Railways Varsity Line | Girtford Halt |
The main station building has been restored and converted into two semi-detached private residences respectively named "Stationmaster's Cottage" and "Station House". [10] The approach road to the station has been redeveloped as a new housing development called "Old Station Court" which continues westwards across the former railway alignment. To the east, the trackbed is intact including bridge no. 15 over the River Ivel which now forms part of National Cycle Route 51.
Verney Junction railway station was an isolated railway station at a four-way railway junction in Buckinghamshire, open from 1868 to 1968; a junction existed at the site without a station from 1851.
Fenny Stratford is a railway station that serves the Fenny Stratford area of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire. It is on the Marston Vale Line that links Bletchley and Bedford, about one mile east of Bletchley railway station.
The Varsity Line was the main railway line that linked the English university cities of Oxford and Cambridge, operated by the London and North Western Railway.
Dunstable Town, also known as Dunstable Church Street, was a railway station on the Great Northern Railway's branch line from Welwyn which served Dunstable in Bedfordshire from 1858 to 1965. Against a background of falling passenger numbers and declining freight returns, the station closed to passengers in 1965 and to goods in 1964, a casualty of the Beeching Axe. The station site is now in use as part of the Luton to Dunstable Busway.
Granborough Road railway station was a station serving the village of Granborough, to the north of Quainton in Buckinghamshire, England.
Winslow Road railway station served the village of East Claydon near Winslow to the north of Quainton in Buckinghamshire, England. It was the second station to serve the town after Winslow on the Varsity Line.
Claydon railway station is a former railway station on the 'Varsity Line', that served the village of Steeple Claydon in Buckinghamshire.
Lord's Bridge was a railway station on the Varsity Line which ran between Oxford and Cambridge. Situated in the north of the parish of Harlton on the western outskirts of Cambridge, it was the penultimate station before the line's eastern terminus at Cambridge. The station opened in 1862 and closed more than a century later in 1968. The site is now part of the Mullard Radio Astronomy Observatory, which includes several rail-mounted radio-telescopes.
Gamlingay railway station was a railway station on the Varsity Line which served the small village of Gamlingay in Cambridgeshire, England. The station opened in 1862 and was located in a rural area that saw little passenger traffic; it closed together with the line in 1968.
Old North Road was a railway station on the Varsity Line which served the small village of Longstowe near Bourn in Cambridgeshire. As its name suggests, the station was located on the eastern side of the Old North Road, the A1198 road - a major Roman road which linked London with Lincoln. Opened in 1862, the station was located in a rural area and saw little passenger traffic; it closed together with the line in 1968.
Potton was a railway station on the Varsity Line which served the small town of the same name in Bedfordshire. Opened in 1857 as part of Sir William Peel's Sandy and Potton Railway, the station was initially situated further south near the Biggleswade Road. Upon being taken over by the Bedford and Cambridge Railway in 1862 a new station was opened which remained in service for over one hundred years before closing in 1968. The station building has survived and is now a private house.
Winslow railway station refers to either one of two railway stations which historically served or is planned to serve, the town of Winslow in north Buckinghamshire, England. The original station (1850–1968) was on the former Varsity Line between Cambridge and Oxford. As of September 2022, construction of a new station nears completion and is scheduled to be served by East West Rail, as part of the plan to reinstate the Oxford–Cambridge service.
Swanbourne was a railway station that served the villages of Swanbourne, Little Horwood and Mursley in north Buckinghamshire, England. It was on the mothballed Bicester to Bletchley line, roughly at the centre of a triangle drawn between the three villages. In summer 2020, the station was demolished to clear the route for East West Rail.
Girtford Halt was a short-lived railway halt on the Varsity Line which served the hamlet of Girtford near Sandy in Bedfordshire, England. It was opened by the London, Midland and Scottish Railway in 1938, but closed to passenger traffic two years later in 1940. The line itself closed in 1968, and the site of the railway station has been obliterated by a roundabout.
Willington was a railway station on the Varsity Line which served the small village of the same name in Bedfordshire. Opened in 1903, the station was located in a rural area and saw little passenger traffic; it closed together with the line in 1968.
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.
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.
Padbury railway station served the village of Padbury in the English county of Buckinghamshire. It opened in 1878 as part of the Buckinghamshire Railway's branch line to Verney Junction which provided connections to Banbury, Bletchley and Oxford and closed in 1964.
Wootton Broadmead Halt was a railway station on the Varsity Line which served the settlement of Wootton Broadmead near Stewartby in Bedfordshire, England. Opened in 1905, it was closed temporarily during both world wars and did not reopen after 1941, officially closing in 1952.
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.