Nottingham London Road railway station

Last updated

Nottingham London Road
NottinghamGreatNorthernstation1.JPG
The station in 2008
General information
Location Nottingham, Nottingham
England
Grid reference SK580394
Platforms6
Other information
StatusDisused
History
Original company Ambergate, Nottingham, Boston and Eastern Junction Railway
Pre-grouping Great Northern Railway
Post-grouping London and North Eastern Railway
London Midland Region of British Railways
Key dates
3 October 1857Opened as Nottingham London Road [1]
15 March 1899Original station renamed Nottingham London Road Low Level.
24 May 1900High level station opened.
22 May 1944Low level closed to passengers.
3 July 1967High level closed to passengers. [1]
4 December 1972Goods services withdrawn [2]

Nottingham London Road railway station was opened by the Great Northern Railway on London Road Nottingham in 1857. [3]

Contents

History

NottinghamGreatNorthernstation2.JPG

The station was opened in 1857 by the Great Northern Railway (GNR) at the terminus of its line from Grantham, originally built by the Ambergate, Nottingham, Boston and Eastern Junction Railway. [4] The station was designed by the local architect Thomas Chambers Hine. GNR trains originally used the Midland station in Nottingham, but there were frequent disputes, especially when the GNR began running through trains from London King's Cross via Grantham in a shorter time than the Midland Railway could manage. To solve the problem, the GNR opened its own station served by a new line from near Netherfield, adjacent to the Midland line whose tracks it had previously used.

When Nottingham Victoria railway station was opened in 1900, the Great Northern had to construct a new chord line, carried mainly on brick arches and steel girders, by means of a junction at Trent Lane, east of London Road, to Weekday Cross where it joined the Great Central main line. The new chord line included a station on an island platform, reached by means of a staircase from the booking office on the same approach road to the earlier London Road terminus. To avoid confusion the new station was designated 'High Level' and the old station renamed 'Low Level'. The transfer to Victoria Station gave the Great Northern a prestigious location and avoided their need to reverse trains to and from Grantham, Derbyshire, and north of Nottingham. Passenger services at the low level station were substantially reduced with the opening of the Victoria station and the last passenger service ran on 22 May 1944. The station however remained open as a mail depot for troops during the Second World War before becoming a parcels depot until the 1970s. [5]

From 7 January 1963 passenger steam trains between Grantham, Bottesford, Elton and Orston, Aslockton, Bingham, Radcliffe-on-Trent, Netherfield and Colwick, Nottingham London-road (High Level) and Nottingham (Victoria) were replaced with diesel-multiple unit trains. [6]

Passengers services to the High Level station were withdrawn on 3 July 1967 when the service to Grantham was diverted to Nottingham Midland station. This left the only service using Victoria Station as that to Leicester Central and Rugby Central on the former Great Central route.

High Level platform in 1992 Nottingham London Road High Level platform 1992.jpg
High Level platform in 1992
Preceding station Disused railways Following station
Terminus  London Midland Region of British Railways
(Derby) Friargate Line
  Gedling & Carlton
Terminus  London Midland Region of British Railways
Nottingham to Grantham Line
  Nottingham Racecourse
Nottingham Victoria   Great Northern Railway
Nottingham to Grantham
Nottingham to Newark
Nottingham to Shirebrook
Nottingham to Basford & Bulwell
  Netherfield
Nottingham Victoria   Great Northern Railway
Nottingham Suburban
  Thorneywood

Present day

Although severely damaged by fire in 1996, the station building has been restored and was converted to a Holmes Place health and fitness club. [7] It is now used as a Virgin Active Health Club. The High Level station was demolished in 2006. [8]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great Northern Railway (Great Britain)</span> British railway company, 1846 to 1922

The Great Northern Railway (GNR) was a British railway company incorporated in 1846 with the object of building a line from London to York. It quickly saw that seizing control of territory was key to development, and it acquired, or took leases of, many local railways, whether actually built or not. In so doing, it overextended itself financially.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peterborough railway station</span> Principal railway station in Cambridgeshire, England

Peterborough railway station serves the cathedral city of Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England. It is sited 76 miles 29 chains (122.9 km) north of London King's Cross. The station is a major interchange serving both the north–south East Coast Main Line, as well as long-distance and local east–west services. The station is managed by London North Eastern Railway. Ticket gates came into use at the station in 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grantham railway station</span> Railway station in Lincolnshire, England

Grantham railway station is on the East Coast Main Line, serving the market town of Grantham, Lincolnshire, England .It is 105 miles 38 chains (169.7 km) down the line from London King's Cross and is situated on the main line between Peterborough to the south and Newark North Gate to the north.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nottingham–Grantham line</span> Branch line in the East Midlands of England

The Nottingham–Grantham line is a branch line between the city of Nottingham and the town of Grantham in the East Midlands of England. For most of its length it runs parallel to the A52.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Radcliffe railway station</span> Train station in Radcliffe-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire

Radcliffe railway station (also known as Radcliffe-on-Trent and Radcliffe (Notts)) serves the village of Radcliffe-on-Trent in Nottinghamshire, England. It lies on the Nottingham to Grantham Line, 5 miles (8 km) east of Nottingham. Services run to Nottingham, Grantham, Boston and Skegness.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Netherfield railway station</span> Railway station in Nottinghamshire, England

Netherfield railway station serves the town of Netherfield in the Borough of Gedling in Nottinghamshire, England. It comprises a single island platform with two tracks, with only a single waiting shelter. Access is via a flight of steps down from Chaworth Road, which bridges the line at this point.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bingham railway station</span> Railway station in Nottinghamshire, England

Bingham railway station serves the market town of Bingham, Nottinghamshire, England. The station is 8½ miles (14 km) east of Nottingham on the Nottingham-Skegness Line. The station is operated and served by East Midlands Railway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aslockton railway station</span> Railway station in Nottinghamshire, England

Aslockton railway station serves the English villages of Aslockton and Whatton-in-the-Vale in Nottinghamshire. It also draws passengers from other nearby villages. It is 10 miles east of Nottingham on the Nottingham–Skegness Line.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elton and Orston railway station</span> Railway station in Nottinghamshire, England

Elton and Orstonrailway station serves the villages of Elton on the Hill and Orston in Nottinghamshire, England. It is owned by Network Rail and managed by East Midlands Railway, but now provides minimal rail services.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bottesford railway station</span> Railway station in Leicestershire, England

Bottesford railway station serves the village of Bottesford in Leicestershire, England. The station is 15 miles east of Nottingham, on the lines to Grantham and Skegness. It is the least used station in Leicestershire.

The Derbyshire and Staffordshire extension of the Great Northern Railway was an English railway network built by the GNR to get access to coal resources in the area to the north and west of Nottingham. The Midland Railway had obstructed the GNR in its attempts to secure a share of the lucrative business of transporting coal from the area, and in frustration the GNR built the line. The line was forked: it reached Pinxton in 1875 and a junction with the North Staffordshire Railway at Egginton, approaching Burton on Trent in 1878. The line cut through Derby, resulting in considerable demolition of housing there.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great Central Main Line</span> Former railway line in the United Kingdom

The Great Central Main Line (GCML), also known as the London Extension of the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway (MS&LR), is a former railway line in the United Kingdom. The line was opened in 1899 and built by the Great Central Railway running from Sheffield in the North of England, southwards through Nottingham and Leicester to Marylebone in London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Widened Lines</span>

The Widened Lines is a double-track railway line forming part of the Thameslink route between St Pancras and Farringdon within Central London.

The Ambergate, Nottingham and Boston and Eastern Junction Railway was a British railway company, which hoped to connect Lancashire with the port of Boston, in Lincolnshire, England. It was authorised in 1846 but was unable to raise much money. It opened a standard gauge line from a junction near Nottingham to Grantham in 1853. At Nottingham it was to rely on the Midland Railway, but that company was hostile and obstructive.

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.

Heanor railway station was a railway station which served the town of Heanor in Derbyshire, England. It was opened in 1890 by the Midland Railway on its branch between Langley Mill (Branch) railway station on the Erewash Valley Line and Ripley

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nottingham Suburban Railway</span> British railway company


The Nottingham Suburban Railway was a British railway company that constructed a line 3.65 miles (5.87 km) in length serving the north-eastern suburbs of Nottingham. It was built to shorten the distance by train to Ilkeston and towns on the Leen Valley railway line, and to connect important brickworks near Nottingham. The short line was expensive to build due to difficult topography; it opened in December 1889, and was worked by the Great Northern Railway; the trains used that company's Nottingham terminus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colwick marshalling yard</span> Railway yard in Nottinghamshire, England

Colwick marshalling yard, also known as Colwick sidings, was a large railway marshalling yard in Netherfield, Nottingham designed for the concentration of coal traffic from the Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Coalfield for transfer to other marshalling yards in London. It was built by the Great Northern Railway in the triangle formed by the Nottingham-Grantham line, and the Nottingham-Derby line, close to what would become Netherfield and Colwick station. It was built in stages from 1872 and was closed by British Railways in April 1970. The site has now been developed as the Victoria Retail Park.

The Boston, Sleaford and Midland Counties Railway opened a railway line between Grantham and Boston, through Sleaford, England. It opened in two stages, in 1857 and 1859.

The Leen Valley lines of the Great Northern Railway were railway branch lines built to access the collieries in the Nottinghamshire coalfield in England. The Midland Railway had long been dominant in the area, but there was resentment against its monopolistic policies from coalowners, who encouraged the Great Northern Railway to build a line. The Leen Valley Line was opened in 1881; it ran as far as Annesley colliery. A passenger service was run the following year, and very considerable volumes of coal were hauled.

References

  1. 1 2 Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations, Patrick Stephens Ltd, Sparkford, ISBN   1-85260-508-1, p. 175.
  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. 103. ISBN   0-905466-19-5.
  3. British Railways Pre-Grouping Atlas and Gazetteer.
  4. Kingscott, G., (2004) Lost Railways of Nottinghamshire, Newbury: Countryside Books
  5. LNWR GNR Joint Railway, "London Road".
  6. "Train Service Alterations from Monday" . Grantham Journal. England. 4 January 1963. Retrieved 18 December 2021 via British Newspaper Archive.
  7. Shannon, Paul (2007). Nottinghamshire (British Railways Past and Present). Kettering, Northants: Past & Present Publishing. p. 14. ISBN   978-1-85895-253-6.
  8. Reed, Hayden (March 2007). The Rise & Fall of Nottingham's Railway Network, Volume 1 – Lines in the City. Nottingham: Book Law Publications. p. 99. ISBN   978-1-901945-70-6.

52°56′53″N1°08′21″W / 52.9481°N 1.1391°W / 52.9481; -1.1391