Halmerend railway station

Halmerend
General information
Location	Halmer End, Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme England
Coordinates	53°02′21″N2°18′24″W / 53.0393°N 2.3067°W / 53.0393; -2.3067
Grid reference	SJ795491
Platforms	2
Other information
Status	Disused
History
Original company	North Staffordshire Railway
Post-grouping	London, Midland & Scottish Railway
Key dates
28 June 1880	Opened [1]
27 April 1931	Closed to passenger traffic [1]
18 June 1962	Closed to all traffic [2]
Location

Halmerend railway station (sometimes referred to as Halmer End) was a railway station that served the village of Halmer End in Staffordshire, England.

History

The station was situated on the North Staffordshire Railway (NSR) Audley branch line. The Audley line ran from a junction on the Stoke to Crewe line near Alsager to a junction between Keele and Madeley Road on the Stoke to Market Drayton Line Like many of the lines opened by the NSR the Audley line was built primarily to carry mineral traffic. ^[3] The line opened in 1870, but passenger services were not introduced until 1880, partly due to the need to build a junction from the Audley line that would allow trains to run directly towards Stoke, rather than having to reverse at the junction, which was how the line was originally constructed. ^[4]

The decision to introduce passenger trains over the line led to the opening of a station to serve the mining village of Halmer End in June 1880. ^[5] By 1923 the station had a good passenger service, for a small country station, with six services a day in each direction from Stoke on Trent, three terminating at Halmerend and the others continuing to Harecastle. ^[5]

Closure

Good as the passenger service was the rise in bus services led to a decline in the revenue raised from passengers and in 1931 the London, Midland and Scottish Railway withdrew all passenger services on the Audley line from 27 April 1931. ^[5]

Freight traffic too had been diminished by the economic depression towards the end of the 1920s and many of the local collieries closed as they became worked out or uneconomic to maintain and the line was reduced to a single line in 1933 ^[5] although freight services continued until complete closure of the line through Halmerend in June 1962. ^[2]

Present day

The site is now occupied by a housing estate, named "Station Walks".

Former services

Preceding station		Disused railways		Following station
Leycett Line & station closed		North Staffordshire Railway Audley branch line		Audley Line & station closed

References

1. Quick (2009), p. 200.
2. Christiansen & Miller (1971), p. 304.
3. Christiansen & Miller (1971), p. 67.
4. Christiansen & Miller (1971), p. 70.
5. Jeuda (2010), p. 148.

Sources

• Christiansen, Rex & Miller, Robert William (1971). The North Staffordshire Railway. Newton Abbot, Devon: David & Charles. ISBN   0-7153-5121- 4.
• Jeuda, Basil (2010). The North Staffordshire Railway in LMS days. Vol. 1. Lydney, Gloucestershire: Lightmoor Press. ISBN   978-1899889-48-8.
• Quick, Michael (2009) [2001]. Railway passenger stations in Great Britain: a chronology (4th ed.). Oxford: Railway & Canal Historical Society. ISBN   978-0-901461-57-5. OCLC   612226077.

Further reading

• Mitchell, Vic; Smith, Keith (2014). Branch Lines around Market Drayton. West Sussex: Middleton Press. fig. 90. ISBN   9781908174673. OCLC   913791564.