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The Northampton–Market Harborough line is a closed railway line in England. It opened on 16 February 1859 and finally closed on 16 August 1981. The former trackbed is used by the Brampton Valley Way and part of the route has been re-opened as the Northampton & Lamport Railway. [1]
In 1851, large deposits of ironstone were discovered in Northamptonshire. The London and North Western Railway (LNWR) proposed a new railway line between Northampton and Market Harborough.
The line was designed by George R. Stephenson (nephew of the Railway Pioneer George Stephenson) and George Parker Bidder, and was opened in 1859.
The line includes two tunnels: Kelmarsh Tunnel, 322 yards (294 m); and Oxendon Tunnel 462 yards (422 m) on the Down line and 453 yards (414 m) on the Up line. The line was originally single-track and was later doubled; hence, each tunnel consists of two separate bores, one for each track. One bore of each tunnel is open as part of the Brampton Valley Way.
In the British Rail report British Railways Network for Development of March 1967, the line was shown as part of the passenger and freight network for development. At about the same time, the two road overbridges along the line were rebuilt in order to provide clearances for 25 kV 50 Hz electrification, which was to be carried through to Leicester. At the time, it was envisaged that the Midland Main Line between Market Harborough and Bedford (despite also being included as "for development" in the report) would be closed to passengers, with services between London and Leicester re-routed via Northampton railway station to London Euston, along with the closure and demolition of London St. Pancras Station. The closure of St. Pancras and the electrification between Northampton and Market Harborough did not take place, but the raised overbridges are still visible at Brampton and Brixworth station sites.
When the line opened, there were only three intermediate stations, at Pitsford, Brixworth and Lamport. Further stations were opened, although almost all were closed by 1960.
The original LNWR station at Market Harborough was on its Stamford to Rugby line which opened in 1850. From 1857 it was shared by the Midland Railway on the "London Extension" from Leicester to Bedford. As traffic built up, the Midland built a new line at a higher elevation, crossing the LNWR and then running parallel to a new joint station in the present position, which opened in 1885. [2]
The line had a staggered history in its final years. It was first closed to advertised passenger traffic on 4 January 1960 along with all remaining intermediate stations (Spratton station was closed in 1947; Pitsford & Brampton in 1950) but was re-opened to through traffic on 6 January 1969 in conjunction with the re-routing of sleeping car services away from St. Pancras. The one train each way per night was electrically hauled between Euston and Northampton and by a Class 45 locomotive between Northampton and Glasgow. It did not call at Market Harborough. The line was closed to passenger traffic again on 1 May 1969 and reopened on 10 July 1972. The advertised passenger service was finally withdrawn on 26 August 1973, although the line continued to be used by freight trains, football specials and as a diversionary route.
During the 1960s and 1970s, the staple traffic declined considerably, consisting principally of coal trains from the Nottinghamshire coalfields to London and their northbound empties.
The line had several manual level crossings. Each of these required a mechanical signalbox to be maintained and staffed, leading to high fixed costs, which were only slightly reduced by staffing the boxes for only one or two shifts per day, according to traffic needs. Proposals to automate the level crossings were met with hostility by locals in the wake of the Hixon rail crash. Although the line was considered useful by the operators as a diversionary route, the high costs and diminishing coal traffic led to its closure at a time when British Rail was under great pressure from government to close marginal lines.
On 15 August 1981, the day before closure, a special train was chartered to run from Northampton to Market Harborough and return. This was the last British Rail passenger train to run on the line.
The Welland Valley Rail Revival Group which had campaigned to keep the line open changed its name to Northampton Steam Railway and based itself in the old goods yard at Pitsford and Brampton station. The track was lifted by British Rail and the trackbed was sold to Northamptonshire County Council for use as a "linear park" named the Brampton Valley Way.
The Railway Society arranged to lease part of the trackbed from the County Council and began rebuilding the line as a heritage railway. The name was changed in 1992 to Northampton & Lamport Railway due to the presence of a large number of diesel locomotives. A Light Railway Order was granted and the Grand Opening took place on 31 March 1996.
On the 30 March 2024 the Northampton & Lamport Railway opened a second station at Boughton allowing trains to run between Pitsford and Brampton and Boughton stations. [3]
There are plans for a future extension to Spratton.
In October 2019, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps backed proposals to reopen the Northampton–Market Harborough line. [4] The trackbed between Northampton and just south of Market Harborough is intact, however the former trackbed into Market Harborough station has been lost under housing development known as Britannia Walk [5] and a number of other developments have been built on the alignment meaning any reopening of the line would need to be on a new alignment.
Northamptonshire is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Leicestershire, Rutland and Lincolnshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire to the south and Warwickshire to the west. Northampton is the largest settlement and the county town.
Brixworth is a village and civil parish in West Northamptonshire, England. The 2001 census recorded a parish population of 5,162, increasing to 5,228 at the 2011 census. The village's All Saints' Church is of Anglo-Saxon origin.
The Kelmarsh Tunnels are disused railway tunnels in Northamptonshire, England. The Northampton to Market Harborough line opened in 1859 and had tunnels at Kelmarsh and nearby Oxendon.
The Oxendon Tunnels are disused railway tunnels in Northamptonshire, England. The Northampton to Market Harborough line opened in 1859 and had tunnels at Oxendon and nearby at Kelmarsh.
The Brampton Valley Way is a 14-mile (23 km) rail trail built on the way of the former Northampton to Market Harborough Railway in Northamptonshire, England. It forms what trail managers, Northamptonshire County Council, describe as a linear park.
The Northampton and Lamport Railway is a standard gauge heritage railway in Northamptonshire, England. It is based at Pitsford and Brampton station, near the villages of Pitsford and Chapel Brampton, roughly 5 miles (8.0 km) north of Northampton.
Market Harborough railway station is a Grade II listed station which serves the town of Market Harborough in Leicestershire, England. It is situated to the east of the town centre and lies on the Midland Main Line, 16 miles (26 km) south-east of Leicester.
The A508 is a 50.961 kilometres (31.666 mi), A-class road for north–south journeys in central and south central England, forming the route from Market Harborough in Leicestershire, via Northampton, to Old Stratford in Northamptonshire, just outside Milton Keynes.
Pitsford and Brampton railway station is a railway station serving the villages of Pitsford and Chapel Brampton in Northamptonshire, England.
The Great Northern and London and North Western Joint Railway was a British railway line, almost entirely within Leicestershire. Authorised by the same Act of Parliament, the Great Northern Railway Leicester Branch was built, branching from the Joint Line; on the same basis the Newark to Bottesford Line was built. The lines opened progressively between 1879 and 1883. The dominant traffic was iron ore, and the agricultural produce of the area served also generated considerable business. The passenger usage was never heavy, although some unusual through services were attempted at first.
Spratton railway station is a former railway station which served the village of Spratton in Northamptonshire, England.
The Northampton and Peterborough Railway was an early railway promoted by the London and Birmingham Railway (L&BR) to run from a junction at Blisworth on the L&BR main line to Northampton and Peterborough, in England. The construction of the line was authorised by Parliament in 1843 and the 47 mile line opened in 1845. The line largely followed the river Nene, and for the economy of construction, it had many level crossings with intersecting roads, rather than bridges. In 1846 the L&BR joined with other companies, together forming the London and North Western Railway (LNWR).
The Rugby and Stamford Railway was an early railway in England built in 1850. The London and Birmingham Railway had already built a branch from Blisworth to serve Northampton and extend to Peterborough. The success of this, the Northampton and Peterborough Railway encouraged the directors to look for other ventures. They decided upon a branch from Rugby to Stamford which would link up with other new railways in the east of the country.
The Bedford–Hitchin line was a branch of the Midland Railway which served stations at Cardington, Southill, Shefford and Henlow Camp in Bedfordshire, England. It opened in 1857, but was largely made redundant as a through-route to London by the extension of the Midland Main Line to St Pancras. The last passenger train ran in December 1961, yet goods services lingered on until 1964.
Church Brampton was a railway station on the Northampton Loop Line serving the village of Church Brampton in Northamptonshire.
Brixworth railway station on the Northampton and Market Harborough railway opened on 16 February 1859 serving the village of Brixworth, Northamptonshire, England. It ran half a mile west of the village towards the village of Creaton along what remains as Station Road. It was part of the London and North Western Railway. Apart from the passenger service the line also enabled a large ironstone field near the village to be developed which had been an important consideration in developing the line.
Lamport railway station on the Northampton and Market Harborough railway opened on 16 February 1859 serving the villages of Lamport, Maidwell, Hanging Houghton as well as Lamport Hall, Northamptonshire, England. It ran half a mile west of the village towards Maidwell just north of the road which was crossed by a level crossing. It was part of the London and North Western Railway. The next station north, Kelmarsh is located just north of Kelmarsh Tunnel.
Kelmarsh railway station on the Northampton and Market Harborough railway opened on 16 February 1859 serving the villages of Kelmarsh and Arthingworth, Northamptonshire, England. It ran almost equidistant between the two villages which are just under 2 miles (3.2 km) apart north-east of Kelmarsh and south-west of Arthingworth. It was part of the London and North Western Railway. The next station north, Clipston and Oxendon serving the villages of Great Oxendon and Clipston was situated south of Oxendon tunnel. To the south, Lamport was accessed via Kelmarsh tunnel.
Clipston and Oxendon railway station on the Northampton and Market Harborough railway opened in 1863 as a result of villagers' requests serving the villages of Clipston and Great Oxendon, Northamptonshire, England. It was about 1 mile south-east of the Oxendon and about 3 miles walking distance north-east of Clipston. It was south of Oxendon tunnel. It was part of the London and North Western Railway.
