Manchester and Bolton Railway

The Manchester and Bolton Railway was a railway in the historic county of Lancashire, England, connecting Salford to Bolton. It was built by the proprietors of the Manchester, Bolton and Bury Canal Navigation and Railway Company who had in 1831 converted from a canal company. The long railway was originally to have built upon most of the line of the canal, but it was eventually built alongside the Salford and Bolton arms of the canal. The Act of Parliament also allowed the construction of a connection to Bury, but technical constraints meant that it was never built.
The railway required significant earthworks, including a tunnel. The railway termini were at Salford railway station and Trinity Street station in Bolton. The railway was opened in 1838 to passenger and freight services. In 1841 it was extended to Preston, and in 1844 to Victoria railway station in Manchester. It amalgamated with the Manchester and Leeds Railway in 1846.
The railway is in use today as part of the Manchester to Preston Line, although some of the original stations are no longer in use.
History.
Background.
In the 1820s a number of proposals for a railway between Manchester and Bolton were made, some well advanced enough to be submitted to Parliament. One, in 1825, was for a line from New Bailey in Salford, to Park Field in Bolton, and included a branch line to the Mersey and Irwell Navigation. The plan included the use of an inclined plane at Clifton to allow the railway to access the higher ground from thereon. Another scheme was to connect with the planned Liverpool and Manchester Railway near Eccles, and would reach Bolton via Moorside and Farnworth. Neither of these schemes progressed beyond the early stages of planning. In 1830 two more proposals to connect the towns were made. The Manchester to Preston Railway was unsuccessful, leaving open the way for the second scheme, which would become known as the Manchester and Bolton Railway.
Manchester, Bolton & Bury Canal Company.
In 1830 the Manchester, Bolton & Bury Canal Company, led by chairman John Tobin, began to promote the construction of a railway along the line of their canal, from Salford to Bolton and Bury. Alexander Nimmo was employed to assess the proposal, and reported that it was possible "so far as he expressed himself capable of judging from his present cursory view of the canal". The shareholders then sought a bill for a railway from Bolton to Manchester and on 23 August 1831 obtained an Act of Parliament to become the "Company of Proprietors of the Manchester, Bolton and Bury Canal Navigation and Railway Company". The act authorised the abandonment of the canal between the Irwell basin and Prestolee, and empowered the company to build a line from Manchester to Bolton and Bury, "upon or near the line of ... the Canal". Two branch lines were also authorised, one from Clifton Aqueduct through to Great Lever, and the other from Giants Seat through to Radcliffe and Bury. Due mainly to the objections of local mine owners who would have lost access to the canal and therefore their supply route, and who also would not have had branch railways built for them, the company agreed to an amending bill which would keep the canal and allow the new railway to be constructed alongside it. In 1832 the company obtained an Act that allowed it to build the railway along the new alignment. The Act also allowed for an extension of the railway to New Bailey Street in Salford, and from Church Wharf (the terminus of the canal at Bolton) to Bridge Street. Smaller branches in Bolton and Salford were also allowed.
Construction of the railway started in 1833, from Salford. The company attempted to alter the route of the Bury branch, and also to extend it to Rawtenstall, but they did not receive Parliamentary approval for this. In July 1834 the committee of management applied to Parliament for "an act to amend the line of the railway between Manchester and Bolton". The amendment would take the railway along much the same course as that proposed by the Manchester to Preston Railway and was authorised by Parliament in 1835. Work proceeded so slowly that further clauses were added to the proposed act, including a continuation of the railway from Bolton, to Liverpool. Although this continuation was never built, the Liverpool and Bury Railway built such a connection in 1848. A line from Clifton to Bolton, authorised in 1835, did not materialise. The connection to Bury was never built, due mainly to the objections of the company's engineer, Jesse Hartley. The Bury branch would have required a tunnel on a gradient of 1 in 100, at the time a difficult and expensive proposition.
Initially there were to have been three tracks, one for goods and another two for passengers, but only two were built. Work proceeded at a slow pace, in a piecemeal fashion, with contracts awarded for portions of the work as occasion demanded. Advertisements in the "Bolton Chronicle" appealed to Quarrymen for quantities of stone blocks to support the rails, and for excavators to construct parts of a proposed addition to the embankment from Agecroft towards Clifton Hall. Another advertisement in November that year advertised for tenders for contracts for the construction of bridges, viaducts, culverts and other structures to finish the line from Irwell Street in Salford, to Bolton. A difficult section of the railway was at Farnworth, where a tunnel was required to cut through the hillside. A double-bore tunnel long was built between 1835 and 1838, driven from both sides, with a large vertical shaft in the centre. This was later joined by a narrower single-bore tunnel, through which the down line was routed. Traffic along the upline was routed through the original tunnel.
Four acts of parliament were required to raise the necessary funds, and the line opened on 28 May 1838. From a report of the Directors on 9 January 1839, the railway had carried 228,799 passengers since its inception. In 1841 the company had 10 locomotive engines.
In 1845 William Hurst took over as Railway Superintendent for the company.
A branch line was also "to join and communicate with the ... Bolton and Leigh Railway", at a junction near the Daubhill Stationary Engine, this line was however, not built. The company later shared their railway, including their station at Salford, with the Manchester, Bury and Rossendale Railway Company (MB&RRC) and both worked together to construct a junction at Clifton Junction railway station. In 1846 the company was taken over by the Manchester and Leeds Railway, which itself became the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway the following year. In 1922 it amalgamated into the London and North Western Railway, and in 1923 this company amalgamated into the London, Midland and Scottish Railway. This company was nationalised in 1948 under the Transport Act 1947, and became part of British Railways.
Route.
The original terminus was at Salford railway station on New Bailey Street in Salford. Passing through Pendleton, Clifton Junction, Dixon Fold, Stoneclough and Farnworth the line ended at Bolton railway station. In 1841 the line was extended to Preston by the Bolton and Preston Railway. The route northwards to Blackburn followed four years later, whilst the Liverpool and Bury Railway's arrival in 1848 gave Bolton links eastward to Bury and Rochdale and westwards to Wigan and Liverpool. From Salford, the line was extended via several bridges and across Chapel Street, to Victoria Station in 1844. These lines had all become part of the expanding Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway system by 1858.
Design.
The rails were of broad-based parallel form and weighed per . Gauge was . These rails were later replaced with 68 pound per yard (34 kg/m) rails when the former were discovered to be insufficient to carry the weight of the trains using them. Significant earthworks were required along the route, and the tunnel at Farnworth was constructed in favour of a cutting. The tunnels were built through clay, and lined entirely with brick or masonry. Turntables were placed at each terminus.
Thirty three bridges were constructed, along with stone drainage facilities to keep water from the cuttings. The railway company was forced to change the design of some of these bridges, as insufficient room was given for the locomotives and carriages on the track to pass between the bridge supports, which were only wide. With only of space between some vehicles and the bridge supports, a report by the Inspector of Railways on 11 December 1846 concluded that they were dangerous. On 19 November 1842 a guard named William Parker was killed on the railway, his skull found fractured, and on 26 July 1844 a guard named James Cook was killed as he leant out and was struck by a support. It was also reported that the distance between rails at these bridges was only , whereas the normal distance was .
Locomotive types and coaches.
The company purchased four Bury Type locomotives from Bury, Curtis and Kennedy, two from George Forrester and Company, and two from William Fairbairn & Sons. Two further Bury 2-2-0s were acquired by the railway in 1844–45. Coaches were first and second class; each first class carriage held 18 passengers, and each second class carriage held 32 passengers. Third class carriages were introduced on 11 June 1838 but discontinued on 1 December 1838 after the company found that many passengers were vacating first and second class, for the cheaper third class. The company had 15 first class carriages, and 22 second class carriages.
Fares and services.
Initially, first class passenger fares were two shillings and six pence (2s 6d - "half-a-crown") for the entire ten mile journey, or 3d per mile. This is the equivalent of at least £10 in 2011 values. Second class was 2s, or 2.40d per mile. On 11 June 1838, a new pricing structure was introduced, with first class costing 2s, second class 1s 6d, and third class 1s. Passenger tickets were taken in transit.
Freight was charged at a maximum rate of 4.02d, and a minimum of 3d per ton per mile.
The first train to use the new line was pulled by the "Victoria". It left Manchester at 8:00 am, and arrived in Bolton 26 minutes 30 seconds later. The second train was pulled by the "Fairfield". The trains originally ran on the right hand set of rails, an unusual practice in England, however the railway later changed to left-hand running with the connection of the MB&RRC at Clifton. Ten trains ran in each direction per weekday, and two on Sundays. The journey from Salford to Bolton took about 35 minutes.


Poacher Line

The Grantham–Skegness line, originally promoted as the "Poacher Line", runs for between Grantham and Skegness in Lincolnshire, England. Trains on this route originate from Nottingham via the Nottingham to Grantham Line as an hourly through service from Nottingham to Skegness, with slower stopping services at peak times. The line is operated by East Midlands Railway British Rail Class 156 "Super-Sprinter", British Rail Class 153 "Super-Sprinter" and British Rail Class 158 "Sprinter Express" diesel multiple units.
Community rail.
The route was selected as one of the seven pilot schemes under the Department for Transport's Community Rail Development Strategy in 2005 and was formally designated as a community rail service in July 2006. Passenger use of the line has grown since becoming a community rail line and the Poacher Line Community Rail Partnership actively promotes the route through marketing promotions, ticketing offers, music trains and guided walks. Redundant space at stations at Sleaford and Boston is being brought back into community use. Members of the Partnership include Lincolnshire County Council, East Midlands Railway, Association of Community Rail Partnerships and Network Rail.
Given the natural flows along it made sense to extend the Partnership to Nottingham. Nottinghamshire County Council was invited to join the partnership and became full members in 2007.
Route.
The route is a community rail line. In November 2005 it was reported that the section between Boston and Skegness was unable to take heavier trains although work to enhance the track took place during winter 2009/10. The line is not electrified and is single track from to and to with a passing loop at . These were singled in the early 1980s to reduce track maintenance costs.
Trains and train crews operating the Poacher Line are based at Boston and Nottingham.
Nottingham to Skegness takes between 1 hour 50 minutes and 2 hours 15 minutes. A couple of express Skegness-Sleaford-Nottingham trains run avoiding Grantham, these also call at Wainfleet, Boston, Heckington & Bingham. The last evening train at 9pm from Skegness is an express to Nottingham avoiding Grantham.
Grantham to Skegness takes about 1 hour 30 minutes on the "Poacher Line". The reference is to the traditional song Lincolnshire Poacher.
As well as providing the only rail service for Boston and Skegness the line also provides the most frequent and reliable service from Sleaford to reach London. Sleaford can be accessed by a second route (the Peterborough to Lincoln Line), however this has services which do not run late at night nor on Sundays. In 2007, Central Trains, the then operator, announced that longer trains would be used on the line as overcrowding at weekends has become a severe problem.
East Midlands Trains took over the operation of all routes in the East Midlands in November 2007 and have in the past expressed an interest in running London – trains on summer Saturdays. This has been delayed by Network Rail putting back the track repairs between Boston and Skegness to 2010.
History.
The East Lincolnshire Railway from Boston to Louth opened in March 1848, and the section from Grantham to Boston was built by the Boston, Sleaford and Midland Counties Railway, opening in two stages in 1857 and 1859. In due course both concerns were leased and later absorbed by the GNR company. The section from Wainfleet to Skegness opened in August 1873 (by the Wainfleet and Firsby Railway Company, later owned by the GNR in the late 1890s). The GNR became part of the LNER in 1923. When other nearby lines were still open it became a less important route, except for its section from Boston to Little Steeping which was shared with the more important Peterborough to Grimsby line (via ) until October 1970 - this resulted in the line's unusually sharp curve in the track near Little Steeping where it joins the Skegness line (which was originally opened as a branch from Firsby). This also had a section from here to Woodhall Spa and on to Lincoln. There has never been a direct line from Skegness to Mablethorpe also on the coast; travellers to Mablethorpe went via either a branch line from Willoughby (from the south which opened in October 1886), or Louth (from the north which opened in September 1888).
The Skegness part of the line inspired the famous poster, designed in 1908 for the GNR.
Allington Chord.
When part of the line was shared with the East Coast Main Line, there was a common bottleneck on the three miles north of Grantham to the Barkston South junction, which held up valuable slots on a more important route. A solution was urgently needed to get the Skegness trains off this route. In October 2005, trains heading for Skegness were diverted back towards Nottingham as far as Allington junction, a new £11 million short section of track, which was built to allow trains to head on to the Grantham Avoiding Line. This has increased reliability at the expense of a slightly increased standard (but non-halted) journey time.


North Midland Railway

The North Midland Railway was a British railway company, which opened its line from Derby to Rotherham (Masbrough) and Leeds in 1840.
At Derby, it connected with the Birmingham and Derby Junction Railway and the Midland Counties Railway at what became known as the Tri-Junct Station. In 1844, the three companies merged to form the Midland Railway.
Origin.
The East Midlands had for some years been at the centre of plans to link the major cities throughout the country.
In Yorkshire, George Hudson was the Chairman of the York and North Midland Railway, a proposed line from York towards the industrial markets of Manchester and Liverpool. The new line would connect it, and the Manchester and Leeds Railway as part of a trunk route from the South and London to Yorkshire and the North East of England. Meanwhile, financiers in Birmingham, were looking to expand their system northwards.
George Carr Glyn was the first Chairman of the new company, with George Stephenson appointed as engineer. George Stephenson surveyed the line in 1835 with his secretary, Charles Binns. It would be long, meeting the York and North Midland, at Normanton, and also the projected Manchester and Leeds Railway. It received Royal Assent on 4 July 1836.
Construction.
Stephenson decided the line would follow the river valleys from Derby to Leeds, with minimal gradients and large radii curves. It therefore bypassed Sheffield, but met the Sheffield and Rotherham Railway at Masbrough.
His method of working was to follow river valleys as far as possible, with branches into major towns along the way. The Sheffield people, in lobbying for the line to enter their city, engaged Joseph Locke, who believed lines should pass through towns, proceeding along hills, if necessary, with bridges, embankments and cuttings. These were the two opposing schools of thought at the time and, in this case, Stephenson had his way.
An additional advantage was that his customers would, in most cases, be transporting their goods downhill from the mines and quarries to the railhead. It should be said, however, that the North Midland was among the first of the new breed of railway conceived as a means of improved passenger travel between the great cities, particularly London, rather than, like the Midland Counties and earlier lines, an adjunct to coal mines and quarries. Indeed, the rise in the coal trade, which was to become so important to the railways, had barely begun and, even a few years later, directors of the Midland Railway were questioning whether the revenue made it a worthwhile market to pursue.
In 1870 the Midland Railway opened a diversion through Dronfield and Sheffield, which became known to railwaymen as the "New Road", as opposed to the "Old Road". It followed a route which, in 1840, would have been uneconomic to build and difficult to work.
Nevertheless, the terrain was more difficult than for the other two railways to Derby, requiring 200 bridges and seven tunnels, and an aqueduct for the railway to pass underneath the Cromford Canal. By that time, Stephenson, who was wishing to concentrate in exploiting the coal around Ashby-de-la-Zouch, delegated the responsibility for almost the entire work of its design and construction to his engineer Frederick Swanwick.
The major bridges were at Oakenshaw, over the Barnsley Canal, and the Calder and Chevet Viaducts. In addition there were massive stone retaining walls for the cutting through Belper and the embankment north of Ambergate. Although the general radius of curves was , gradients were as steep as 1 in 264 and practically the whole length was embanked or in cuttings, when not proceeding through a tunnel. The number of men employed was 8,600, with eighteen pumping engines providing drainage. It was tough work and a number of lives were lost, particularly in the boring of the Clay Cross Tunnel. It must be said, however, that some of them were due to carelessness with blasting powder.
The track was gauge either single or double parallel (see Rail track), the former , the latter . A mixture of stone blocks and timber sleepers were used.
Not all the stations shown above were open at the beginning. The original intermediate stations were , , , , , , , , , , , and . All were designed by Francis Thompson. Although praising their design, Whishaw was somewhat critical: "we cannot but deplore the growing evil of expending large sums of money on railway appendages. Instead of cottage buildings, which, for the traffic of most of the intermediate stopping places on this line, would have been amply sufficient, we find the railway literally ornamented with so many beautiful villas, any one of which would grace the sloping lawn of some domain by nature highly favoured."
Trains in those days, of course, had no toilets, so passengers had to use facilities at the stations while the train paused. On the North Midland at Wingfield and elsewhere, they were built under the engine house, with its water column, by which they could be flushed. Whishaw commented that it was "a much better arrangement than in common use on other main lines." However, he added "The doorways ... are in so exposed a situation as naturally to shock the female portion of travellers, who, while the trains are stopping, cannot fail to observe the constant bustle about these buildings."
Opening.
It was completed to Masbrough on 11 May 1840, and to Leeds on 1 July.
The "Sheffield Iris" for 7 July reported on the opening ceremony:
the directors, accompanied by their friends, to the number of several hundreds, in thirty-four carriages, drawn by two powerful engines, proceeded from Leeds at eight o’clock in the morning, to Derby where they met the directors of that end of the line…. At twenty-four minutes past ten the train arrived at Masbro’ Station, where a number of passengers had arrived from Sheffield… After a few minutes rest, to allow the engines to receive water, the train moved on and arrived at Belper, at 14 minutes before one, stayed four minutes, and at 10 minutes past one, stopped within the truly splendid and extensive station at Derby where was provided a cold collation, nowise unacceptable to the travellers…. The stay at Derby occupied about an hour, or rather more, it being judged necessary to return as soon as possible, on account of the time occupied in the trip. Consequently, at half-past two, the shrill whistle of the engine gave the note of departure. The time occupied in the return however, was not so long as in going. The train left Derby at half-past two, and arrived in Leeds at five minutes before seven o’clock – four hours and twenty five minutes, the distance being , and the train a quarter of a mile [400 m] long.
Operation.
From the start, there was intense competition between the Birmingham and Derby Junction Railway and the Midland Counties Railway for traffic into London.
Though this did not directly affect the North Midland, it had financial problems of its own. With so many earthworks it had been extremely expensive to build, and its station and other buildings were arguably extravagant. Moreover, by the time it opened, the country had entered an economic depression. In the first two years, dividends were as low as 3.5%, compared with 10% for the London and Birmingham Railway. Economies were put in place but in 1842 the dividend was a mere 1% and the Lancashire and Yorkshire shareholders called for a Committee of Enquiry.
This included George Hudson, and after a tour of the complete network, he insisted on drastic measures. Against the wishes of the Derby directors, Hudson and the others insisted on halving expenditure. At a meeting on 16 November 1842 in Leeds, the shareholders had their way. On 30 November 1842 at a meeting in Derby, John Walbanke Childers MP, Mr. Pickersgill, Hatton Stansfield, T.B. Pease, F. Carbutt, and Mr. Hall retired from their positions as directors, and W.L. Newton (chairman), A. Titley (deputy-chairman), Mr. Laycock, Mr. Lee, Mr Cox and J. Holdsworth remained. Six of the Committee of Inquiry, P.W. Brancker, J.T. Alston, George Hudson, George Wilson, John Waddingham and William Murgatroyd. forced their way onto the board.
One of the first acts of the new directors was to close Beighton, Killamarsh and Kilnhurst stations from 1 January 1843. Boys, instead of men, would work points at junctions, services were reduced and fares raised and a number of carriages were sold.
A quarter of the footplate staff were sacked. The remainder (43 enginemen, stokers and turners) protested over the lower wages, and were sacked as well, on Christmas Eve 1842 and without pay in lieu of notice. He employed in their place, enginemen he described as "skilled replacements" who included in their number a platelayer, a fireman, a stonemason, two had been sacked for drunkenness and one who had been sacked for overturning a train of wagons.
The result was chaos, with trains running late or erratically, and the remainder of the workforce demoralised. Finally a luggage train, with an elderly driver of only three weeks experience, collided with the rear of a stationary train at Cudworth in fog on 12 January 1843. The inquest sent the 24 year old driver, Edward Jenkins, to the York Assizes for trial and criticised the cutbacks and there was wide publicity about the trial of the driver for manslaughter. The jury at the York Assizes acquitted Jenkins and censured the directors. Meanwhile, the Board of Trade was also extremely critical and the directors made somewhat grudging improvements to working practices.
Meanwhile, the situation between the Birmingham & Derby and the Midland Counties was becoming steadily worse. Hudson's first approach was to the Midland Counties in 1843. He then negotiated a secret amalgamation with the Birmingham and Derby which would remove all the Midland Counties' trade and, in August, returned to the latter with an ultimatum. Finally, on 22 September 1843, at a meeting in Derby under the chairman of the Directors, William Leaper Newton, the triple merger was agreed.
The Midland Railway Consolidation Bill was placed before Parliament and was passed in 1844 and from May of that year the Midland Railway came into being.
Present day.
Derby–Chesterfield.
This section of the North Midland is part of the Midland Main Line used by East Midlands Railway London St Pancras–Leicester–Derby–Sheffield and CrossCountry South West–Birmingham–North East–Scotland (sometimes known as the Cross Country Route) express services. In addition, the section from Derby to Ambergate, where the Manchester, Buxton, Matlock and Midlands Junction Railway diverged, has local services as part of the Derwent Valley Line, whilst the section north from Clay Cross is served by other East Midlands Railway services on the Nottingham–Sheffield corridor.
Chesterfield–Rotherham.
All passenger services north from Chesterfield now serve Sheffield. The section north from Beighton Junction to Rotherham Masborough (the "Old Road") has been freight-only since July 1954, although it is very occasionally used as a diversionary route and by excursions not calling at Sheffield. It serves as a bypass line which keeps freight trains away from the congested lines through central Sheffield. a handful of passenger trains go the "long way round" between Chesterfield and Sheffield, travelling northbound via the Old Road to Beighton Junction then turning left (west) to pass through and then left again to enter Sheffield station from the north. Southbound trains reverse the process. The main aim of this exercise is to preserve staff route knowledge for times when diversions are necessary.
Rotherham–Swinton.
This section has been subject to several changes as a result of integration with the parallel former Great Central Railway line between Sheffield and Mexborough. From 1966, Sheffield–Doncaster services were switched from Sheffield Victoria to Sheffield (Midland) station, and thus ran over the North Midland line through Rotherham Masborough as far north as Aldwarke Junction (south of Kilnhurst). In 1987, the opening of a new connecting line between Holmes Junction and Rotherham Central on the former Great Central line allowed local trains to serve a reopened Rotherham Central station, with Masborough station closing the following year. In 1990 the former freight connecting curve between Swinton Town and Mexborough was reopened, allowing passenger trains for Doncaster to use the North Midland line between Aldwarke Junction and the reopened Swinton station.
Current passenger services are: CrossCountry long distance express services, and Northern stopping services from Sheffield to Leeds (via Wakefield Westgate), and to Adwick or Scunthorpe (via Doncaster), along with infrequent East Midlands Railway express services from London to Leeds, and Northern Rail stopping trains to York via Pontefract. The stopping trains run via Rotherham Central and only use the North Midland line north of Aldwarke Junction.
Swinton–Normanton.
Stopping passenger trains between Sheffield and Leeds via Cudworth were withdrawn in January 1968, with all of the remaining stations between Rotherham Masborough and Normanton closing at that time. The section between Swinton (Wath Road Junction) and Cudworth had been plagued by mining subsidence for years, and so in October 1968 the decision was taken for safety reasons to divert all remaining passenger traffic onto the Swinton and Knottingley Railway via Moorthorpe, and thence Wakefield Westgate. This entailed the closure to passengers of the complete section from Swinton (Wath Road Junction) to Normanton (Goose Hill Junction), although it was still heavily used by freight. By May 1972 however the Swinton and Knottingley line was experiencing subsidence of its own, resulting in the reopening of the North Midland section to passengers. The early 1980s saw the Swinton and Knottingley line back in favour, and finally in 1988 this section of the North Midland section was closed to all through traffic, including freight.
Today the section from Swinton (Wath Road Junction) to Cudworth North Junction has been lifted; the entire length of well over a mile between Wath Road Junction and the site of Wath North station itself has been eradicated by a large new area of light industry and commerce called Brookfield Park, one of the largest developments of its kind in the country and part of the Dearne Valley Enterprise Zone (much of this area being the former site of Manvers Main Colliery and several others), while about three quarters of a mile of the route north of Darfield is now a road (the A6195). Cudworth North Junction to Oakenshaw survives, mostly as a single line, to serve the Ardagh Glass works on the Monk Bretton spur, but Oakenshaw to Normanton (Goose Hill Junction) is all gone.
Normanton–Leeds.
This section is used by stopping and semi-fast passenger services from Sheffield to Leeds (via Barnsley), and north of Methley Junction also by Knottingley to Leeds services. The line is also an important freight corridor north from Healey Mills yard, on the former Lancashire and Yorkshire line west of Wakefield.


Barton and Immingham Light Railway

The Barton and Immingham Light Railway was a light railway in North and North East Lincolnshire. It was later absorbed by the Great Central Railway and later, on grouping, it passed to the London and North Eastern Railway. The railway is now mostly closed.
The line was opened in stages: for goods from Immingham West junction to Killingholme on 1 December 1910 and onwards to Goxhill on 1 May 1911, then to passengers the next day, though a contemporary timetable advertises a weekdays only service of six trains each way starting on Monday 1 May 1911.
Route.
The route was authorised in 1907 as a direct link between Barton-upon-Humber and Immingham Dock. Only the section between Goxhill and Immingham was built and a junction with the Barton Line created. For the line's first years the temporary southern terminus was Immingham Western jetty. This station was adjacent to the ramp carrying a line onto the jetty. At some point in or after 1922 it was replaced by the permanent Immingham Dock station a short distance nearer the dock entrance.
Passenger services operated for the entire life of the line. When the majority of the line was shut in 1963, a service to Immingham Dock was maintained via for a further 6 years until 1969.
The line is still partially open at its southern end to freight traffic for Immingham Dock and nearby industries.


Saltley TMD

Saltley TMD was a Traction Maintenance Depot located in Saltley, Birmingham, England. The depot was situated on the east side of the line between Birmingham New Street and Water Orton, and was near Saltley station until the station closed in 1968.
The depot code was SY.
History.
The steam loco shed closed to steam 6 March 1967, but a locomotive inspection point was built along with a few offices. From 1948 to 2008, Class 08 shunters, Class 11, 25, 27, 30, 37, 44, 45, 47, 20, 31, 40, 50 and 56 could be seen at the depot. The loco inspection point was open until 2005 and the locomotives moved to other depots, with the last one leaving in 2008.
Present.
The offices are still open and are a signing on point for DB Schenker drivers but the depot is derelict and there are no trains present.


Hastings line

The Hastings line is a secondary railway line in Kent and East Sussex, England, linking with the main town of , and London via and . Although primarily carrying passengers, the railway also serves a gypsum mine which is a source of freight traffic. Southeastern operates passenger trains on the line, and it is one of their busiest lines.
The railway was constructed by the South Eastern Railway in the early 1850s across the difficult terrain of the High Weald. Supervision of the building of the line was lax, enabling contractors to skimp on the lining of the tunnels. These deficiencies showed up after the railway had opened. Rectifications led to a restricted loading gauge along the line, requiring the use of dedicated rolling stock.
Served by steam locomotives from opening until the late 1950s, passenger services were then taken over by a fleet of diesel-electric multiple units built to the line's loading gauge. Diesel locomotives handled freight, also built to fit the loading gauge. The diesel-electric multiple units served on the line until 1986, when the line was electrified and the most severely affected tunnels were reduced from double track to single.
Background.
The South Eastern Railway (SER) completed its main line from London to Dover, Kent in 1844, branching off the rival London, Brighton and South Coast Railway's (LBSC) line at . Construction of a single line branch from (modern spelling "Tonbridge") to Tunbridge Wells, a fashionable town where a chalybeate spring had been discovered in 1606, began in July 1844. At the time, Parliament had not given assent for the railway. The Act of Parliament enabling the construction of the line had its first reading in the House of Commons on 28April 1845. The bill completed its passage through the House of Commons and the House of Lords on 28July, following which Royal Assent was granted on 31July by Queen Victoria.
The engineer in charge of the construction was Peter W. Barlow and the contractors were Messrs. Hoof & Son. In April 1845 the SER decided that the branch would be double track. A tunnel was required after leaving Tunbridge. This was named "Somerhill Tunnel" after the nearby mansion. A mile and 54 chains (2.70 km) after leaving Somerhill Tunnel, a viaduct was required. Southborough Viaduct stands high and has 26 arches. A temporary station was built at Tunbridge Wells as the Wells Tunnel was still under construction. It was from Tunbridge. The temporary station subsequently became a goods station. The first train, comprising four locomotives and 26 carriages, arrived at Tunbridge Wells on 19September. Trains from Tunbridge had to reverse before starting the climb to Somerhill Tunnel, as there was no facing junction at Tunbridge. This situation was to remain until 1857, when a direct link was built at a cost of £5,700. The old link remained in use until 1913.
The SER was granted permission to build a line from Ashford in Kent to St Leonards, East Sussex in 1845. The LBSC reached St Leonards from the following year. This gave the LBSC a shorter route to than the SERs route, then still under construction. The SER sought permission to extend their branch from Tunbridge Wells across the High Weald to reach Hastings. Authorisation for the construction of a line to Hastings was obtained on 18June 1846, Parliament deemed the line between Ashford and St Leonards to be of military strategic importance. Therefore, they stipulated that this line was to be completed before any extension was built from Tunbridge Wells. The extension into Tunbridge Wells opened on 25November 1846 without any public ceremony. In 1847, the SER unsuccessfully challenged the condition that the line between Ashford and St Leonards be completed first. That line was opened in 1851, passing through Hastings and making an end-on junction with the LBSC line from Lewes.
Construction.
The Hastings line is built over the difficult, forested, and hilly terrain across the High Weald and sandstone Hastings Beds, necessitating the construction of eight tunnels between Tonbridge and the south coast seaside resort of Hastings. The SER was anxious to construct the line as economically as possible, since it was in competition with the LBSC to obtain entry into Hastings and was not in a strong financial position in the mid 1840s.
The construction of the line between Tunbridge Wells and Robertsbridge was contracted to Messrs. Hoof & Wyths, subcontracted to Messrs. H. Warden. By March 1851, the trackbed had been constructed as far as Whatlington, East Sussex, a distance of . All tunnels had been completed and a single line of railway had been laid for a distance of from Tunbridge Wells. When the section from Tunbridge Wells to Robertsbridge opened on 1September, a single line of track extended a further to Whatlington. On the section between Whatlington and St Leonards, out of had been excavated. Construction of the line between Tunbridge Wells and Bopeep Junction cost in excess of £500,000.
Deficiencies in the construction of the tunnels.
Supervision of the construction was lax, which enabled the contractors to skimp on the lining of the tunnels. This manifested itself in March 1855 when part of the brickwork of Mountfield Tunnel collapsed. An inspection of Grove Hill, Strawberry Hill and Wells tunnels revealed that they too had been constructed with too few layers of bricks. Grove Hill Tunnel had been built with just a single ring of bricks and no filling above the crown of the brickwork. The SER took the contractors to court and were awarded £3,500 in damages. However, rectifying the situation cost the company £4,700. Although the contractors had charged for six rings of bricks, they had only used four. Due to the cost of reboring the tunnels, this had to be rectified by the addition of a further two rings of brickwork, reducing the width of the tunnels by . The result of this was that the loading gauge on the line was restricted, and special rolling stock had to be built, later becoming known as Restriction 0 rolling stock. This problem would affect the line until 1986.
Wadhurst Tunnel collapsed in 1862 and it was discovered by the SER that the same situation existed there too. Rectification cost £10,231. By 1877, only one train was permitted in Bopeep Tunnel at a time. The tunnel was partly widened in 1934–35. In November 1949, serious defects were discovered in the tunnel. Single-line working was put in place on 19November, but the tunnel had to be closed completely a week later. The tunnel was partially relined with cast iron segments. It reopened to traffic on 5June 1950. Mountfield Tunnel was underpinned in 1938–39, remaining open with single-line working in operation. It partially collapsed on 17November 1974, resulting in single-line working until 31January 1975. The line was then closed until 17March whilst the track was singled through the tunnel.
Openings.
The line was opened by the SER in three main stages: Tunbridge–Tunbridge Wells, Tunbridge Wells–Robertsbridge and Robertsbridge–Bopeep Junction. A temporary station was opened at Tunbridge Wells on 19September 1845 while Wells Tunnel was completed. The temporary station later became the goods depot. Tunbridge Wells (later Tunbridge Wells Central) station opened on 25November 1846. The Tunbridge Wells–Robertsbridge section opened on 1 September 1851, with the Robertsbridge–Battle section opening on 1 January 1852. The Battle–Bopeep Junction section opened on 1 February 1852.
Description of the route.
The line climbs steeply out of the Medway Valley at gradients of between 1 in 47 and 1 in 300 to a summit south of Tunbridge Wells, the line undulates as far as at gradients between 1 in 80 and 1 in 155 before descending into the Rother Valley, which it follows as far as at gradients between 1 in 48 and 1 in 485. The line then climbs at gradients between 1 in 86 and 1 in 170 before a dip where it crosses the River Brede. This is followed by a climb to Battle with gradients between 1 in 100 and 1 in 227 before the line falls to Hastings at gradients of between 1 in 100 and 1 in 945.
Bopeep Junction is the junction of the Hastings line with the East Coastway line. It lies east of Bopeep Tunnel. There is a pub in Bulverhythe called "The Bo Peep". The name was a nickname for Customs and Excise men.
Tunnels.
There are eight tunnels between Tonbridge and Hastings. In order from north to south they are:
Stations.
The original stations on the Tunbridge Wells to Hastings section of the line are mostly in the Gothic or Italianate styles. These were designed by William Tress. Frant, Wadhurst, Witherenden, Etchingham and Robertsbridge stations opened on 1September 1851. Other station openings are detailed below. Stations are listed under their original names.
 station had opened in May 1842. Following the opening of the branch to Tunbridge Wells in 1845, it was renamed Tunbridge Junction in January 1852. The original station stood to the east of the road bridge, whereas the current station, opened in 1864, stands to the west. Trains leaving Tunbridge had to reverse to reach Tunbridge Wells. This arrangement lasted until 1857, when a new section of line was constructed enabling trains to reach the Hastings line without reversal. The station is from via .
Southborough station opened on 1March 1893. It was renamed High Brooms on 21September 1925 to avoid confusion with Southborough station on the Chatham main line, which had already been renamed Bickley. The station is from Charing Cross.
The first station at was temporary and was situated north of Wells Tunnel. It opened on 19 September 1845 and was replaced by the present Tunbridge Wells Station on 25 November 1846. It subsequently became Tunbridge Wells Goods station, later renamed Tunbridge Wells Central Goods station. The goods station closed in 1980, with a siding retained for engineers use. The original station was from via Redhill.
The building on the up side of the station was built in the Italianate style. A new building by A. H. Blomfield was constructed on the down side in 1911. The station was renamed Tunbridge Wells Central on 9 July 1923 with the ex-LBSC station being renamed . Following the closure of the Tunbridge Wells– railway on 6 July 1985, the name reverted to Tunbridge Wells. The station is from Charing Cross.
 station is from Charing Cross. The station building is on the down side.
 station is from Charing Cross. The station building is in the Italianate style, with a later one-bay extension. The 1893-built signal box, decommissioned on 20 April 1986, was purchased by the Kent and East Sussex Railway.
 station is from Charing Cross. It was renamed Ticehurst Road in December 1851, and Stonegate on 16June 1947.
 station is from Charing Cross. The building is on the up side.
 station is from Charing Cross. On 26March 1900, it became a junction with the opening of the Rother Valley Railway to freight. The line opened to passengers on 2April 1900, and was renamed the Kent and East Sussex Railway in 1904. The Kent and East Sussex Railway closed to passengers on 2January 1954 and to freight on 12June 1962, except for a short section serving a mill at Robertsbridge which closed on 1January 1970.
 opened in 1923. It closed on 6October 1969. The platforms were built of sleepers and were demolished in the early 1970s. The station was from Charing Cross.
 station opened on 1September 1851. The buildings are in the Gothic style and stand on the up side. The station is from Charing Cross.
A siding had existed at from 1877. The station opened on 1June 1902 and was located at the junction for the Bexhill West branch line, which also opened the same day. Despite the line's closure on 14June 1964, Crowhurst station remains open. The station is from Charing Cross.
 station opened on 1October 1887. The buildings are wood framed and covered with weatherboards. The station is from Charing Cross.
 station opened on 13 February 1851 along with a new section of line between Hastings and the LBSCs Hastings & St Leonards station. This gave the LBSC better access to Hastings. It lies between Bopeep Tunnel and Hastings Tunnel. The station is from Charing Cross.
 station opened on 13 February 1851 along with the SER branch from Ashford. The station was rebuilt and enlarged by the SER in 1880 as it was then inadequate for the increasing seasonal traffic. In 1930 the station was rebuilt by the Southern Railway. This entailed closure of the engine sheds at Hastings, with locomotives being transferred to St Leonards. The original station building, by Tress, was demolished and a new Neo-Georgian station building by J. R. Scott was erected. The rebuilt station was completed on 5 July 1931. The station was rebuilt in 2003 by Railtrack. The 1931-built building was demolished and a new structure erected in its place. The station is from Charing Cross via Orpington.
Links to other lines.
Built.
In the late 1860s, a single track link was built between the SERs station and the LBSCs Tunbridge Wells station, which had opened in 1866. It was 1875 before powers were granted to run a passenger service over this section of line. The junction with the main line was Grove Junction. It was removed on 7July 1985, following closure of the Tunbridge Wells Central–Eridge line the previous day.
In 1900, the Rother Valley Railway opened from Robertsbridge to Tenterden. It was extended in stages to and , which was reached in 1905. The line closed to passengers on 2 January 1954 and freight on 12 June 1961, except for access to Hodson's Mill closed in 1970. The Rother Valley Railway heritage railway are rebuilding the line between Robertsbridge and , with completion scheduled by 2018. In 1902, a branch line was built to , with a new station at the junction with the main line at . This line closed on 14 June 1964.
Authorised.
In 1903, a railway was authorised to be built from Robertsbridge to Pevensey, East Sussex. The line was authorised under the Light Railways Act 1896, but was not constructed.
Proposed.
In 1856, it was proposed to build a long branch from to Mayfield, East Sussex.
In 1882, an long railway was proposed from to Langney, East Sussex, giving access to . Stations were proposed at Burwash, Dallington, Bodle Street Green, Boreham Street, Pevensey and Langney.
Planned electrification.
Electrification of the Hastings line was first considered by the SER as early as 1903. Lack of finance meant that no decision had been made by the time World War I broke out in 1914. It was stated in 1921 that electrification was a long-term aim. In the mid-1930s, the Southern Railway, which had been formed from the SER, LBSC, London and South Western Railway (LSWR) and London, Chatham and Dover Railway (LCDR) in 1923 under the Railways Act 1921, electrified a number of lines. The East Coastway line was electrified in 1935, with a depot being built at Ore, East Sussex. In 1937, it was proposed to electrify the line between and St Leonards Warrior Square at a cost of £1,500,000. The scheme was deferred, with another proposal in 1937 costing £1,300,000 also failing to gain favour before World War II broke out. One of the main reasons that electrification was not given the go-ahead was the fact that non-standard rolling stock would be required. The Southern Railway had provided the line with 104 new carriages and six Pullman Cars between 1929 and 1934. Two electric locomotives were ordered in 1937. They were built to the Hastings line loading gauge.
In October 1946, the Southern Railway announced a programme to electrify all lines in Kent and East Sussex in three stages. The Hastings line between Tonbridge and Bopeep Junction was to be part of the third stage. Track would have been slewed within the affected tunnels with only one train normally allowed in the tunnel. In an emergency, two trains would be allowed in the tunnel at the same time, but restricted to . Standard wide stock would be used. Following the nationalisation of railways in the United Kingdom under the Transport Act 1947, the Southern Region of British Railways shelved new electrification schemes, concentrating on the construction of new steam locomotives. In 1952, the possibility of operating standard rolling stock on the line had been examined. The Operating Department objected to the use of single line sections through the various tunnels. The 1930s stock was refurbished with the aim of extending its service by a further ten years. The first two phases of the Southern Railway's electrification scheme were revived in 1955. This did not include the Hastings line and it was announced in 1956 that a fleet of diesel-electric trains would be constructed to operate the service until the line was electrified. At that time, the rolling stock built in the 1930s was overdue for replacement. The modernisation to the Hastings line and the introduction of the diesel-electric trains cost £797,000, of which £595,000 was the cost of the first seven trains. A further thirteen trains cost £1,178,840.
Electrification was finally carried out in the 1980s, as detailed below.
Operators.
From 1845, the line was operated by the SER. In 1899, the SER and LCDR entered into a joint working partnership, the South Eastern and Chatham Railway (SECR). On 1 January 1923, the Railways Act 1921 came into force, resulting in the Grouping. The SECR became part of the Southern Railway (SR). On 1 January 1948, the Transport Act 1947 came into force, and the SR became part of British Railways, with the former SR lines becoming the Southern Region. British Railways was rebranded British Rail on 1 January 1965. On 10 June 1986, Network SouthEast branded trains began operating. On 1 January 1994, the Railways Act 1993 came into force, privatising British Rail. Passenger services were taken over by Connex South Eastern on 13 October 1996. On 27 June 2003, Connex lost the franchise due to poor financial management. The Strategic Rail Authority took over the running of passenger trains from 9 November 2003, using their South Eastern Trains train operating company. On 1 April 2006, Southeastern took over the operation of passenger trains on the route.
Operation.
Steam era (1845–1957).
From the opening of the line, passenger stock consisted of 4-wheel carriages. In 1845, there were eight passenger trains a day from Tunbridge Wells to London, with half that number on Sundays. On 23June 1849, the Royal Train took Queen Victoria and Prince Albert to Tunbridge Wells to visit Queen Adelaide, the Queen Dowager. The train, consisting of the Royal Saloon, two first class carriages and a brake van made the journey from Bricklayers Arms to Tunbridge Wells in 75 minutes. It was driven by James Cudworth, the Locomotive Superintendent of the SER. The return journey took 70 minutes. The Royal Train visited the line again on 18December 1849 conveying Queen Victoria and Princess Alice from Windsor, Berkshire to Tunbridge Wells on a visit to Princess Louise. The journey via Waterloo took 100 minutes. The train was driven by William Jacomb, Resident Engineer of the LSWR, and Edgar Verringer, Superintendent of the LSWR. At Waterloo, driving of the train was taken over by John Shaw, General Manager of the SER and Mr. Cockburn, Superintendent of the SER. The return journey took 105 minutes.
With the opening of the extension to Robertsbridge, there were three trains a day, with two on Sundays. These were augmented by an additional train daily when the extension to Bopeep Junction opened. In 1860, there were seven up trains and six down trains daily; Hastings to London via taking two hours. From 1861, Cudworth 2-2-2 "Little Mail" class locomotives were introduced. In 1876, the Sub-Wealden Gypsum Co built a long line from a junction south of Mountfield Tunnel to a gypsum mine located in Great Wood, Mountfield. This line was still in operation as of 2007. Bogie carriages entered service on the line in 1880. In 1890, the winter service was eleven trains each way, of which five were fast. An additional two trains daily operated between Tunbridge Wells and Wadhurst. By 1910, this had increased to twenty trains each way, of which twelve were fast, plus the extra two Wadhurst services. Four trains ran on Sundays. The service was reduced during World War I, but Sunday services had increased to seven by 1922.
By the 1930s the line was worked by L and L1 class 4-4-0 locomotives. The "Schools" class 4-4-0s were introduced in 1930; the width of these was measured across the cab, and measured across the cylinders. The service was again reduced during World War II, with fourteen trains daily in 1942, of which four were fast; there were seven trains on Sundays. As built, it was envisaged that the "West Country" and "Battle of Britain" class locomotives would be able to work the line. Forty-eight locomotives of the "West Country" and 22 of the "Battle of Britain" class were built with cabs that were wide and paired with tenders of the same width. It was subsequently decided not to work these locomotives over the line. Locomotives from these two classes that were rebuilt gained a cab. Unrebuilt locomotives retained their narrow cab.
By 1948, the service was sixteen trains, of which seven were fast. An additional three trains ran as far as Wadhurst. In 1957, the service was eighteen trains daily, of which nine were fast. There were nine trains on Sundays. The "Schools" Class locomotives worked the line until 1957 when steam was withdrawn on the Hastings line. Diesel-electric multiple units of what became British Rail Class 201, 202 and 203 (the "Hastings Diesels") took over working the route.
Under British Railways, classes D1, E1, H, N1, M7, Q, Q1, Std 3 2-6-2T, Std 4 2-6-0 Std 4 2-6-4T and U1 were permitted to work between Tonbridge and Grove junction. Freight trains from Tonbridge West Yard were not permitted to depart until the line was clear as far as Southborough Viaduct. Other classes of locomotive known to have worked over this section of line include C, and E4.
Diesel-electric era (1957–86).
Special narrow bodied diesel electric multiple units were introduced in 1957–58 to replace steam traction. British Rail Class 201 (6S), 202 (6L) and 203 (6B) (the "Hastings Diesels") took over working the route. These units were constructed of narrow rolling stock. They were delivered in six-car formations (the 6Bs including a buffet car) and two units were often operated in multiple to form twelve-car trains. In latter years some of the units were reduced to five, and later still, to four cars.
The 6S units were intended to be introduced into service in June 1957. On 5April a fire at Cannon Street signal box disabled all signalling equipment there. As a result, locomotive-hauled trains were banned from the station. A temporary signal box was commissioned on 5May and the 6S units were introduced on peak services the next day. Two units coupled together formed the 06:58 and 07:26 Hastings–Cannon Street services in the morning, and the 17:18 and 18:03 Cannon Street–Hastings services in the evening. From 17June the 6S and 6L units were working services throughout the day. The 6B units entered service between May and August 1958.
The Hastings Diesels had almost completely replaced steam by June 1958. With the introduction of the Hastings Diesels, an hourly service was provided. This split at Tunbridge Wells, with the front portion running fast to Crowhurst and the rear portion stopping at all stations. The service ran every two hours on Sundays. The Hastings Diesels also worked services on the Bexhill West branch line until closure on 14June 1964. On 22December 1958, 6L unit "1017" collided with 6B unit "1035" at Tunbridge Wells Central.
In 1962, twelve Class 33/2 diesel locomotives, were also built with narrow bodies for the Hastings line. These enabled the last steam workings, overnight newspaper trains, to be withdrawn from the Hastings line. Nineteen British Rail Class 207 (3D) diesel electric multiple units were built in 1962. They operated over the Tonbridge–Grove Junction section of the line as part of a Tonbridge–Eastbourne (later Tonbridge–Eridge) service. In 1963, Frant, Stonegate, Wadhurst and Mountfield Halt were proposed to be closed under the Beeching Axe. One special working took place on 3April 1966 when one of the ex-Great Western Railway diesel railcars, "W20W", was worked between Tonbridge and Robertsbridge as an out of gauge load. The railcar had been purchased by the Kent and East Sussex Railway for £415 including delivery to Robertsbridge. After trying to "wriggle out" of the deal, British Rail eventually found a solution. The vehicle was ballasted so that it leant away from the tunnel walls by some and was worked to Robertsbridge at a maximum of . From 1977, there were two trains an hour, one fast and one slow. In May 1980, the buffet cars were withdrawn from the 6B units, which were recoded as 5L, but retaining the Class 203 designation. The fast trains were withdrawn in January 1981, with trains now stopping at all stations.
Electric era (since 1986).
On 28October 1983, it was announced that the Hastings line was to be electrified. Reasons that decided the issue included a commitment by British Rail to eliminate asbestos from all stock in service by 1988 and the increasing cost of maintaining the then ageing Hastings Diesels. The scheme was to cost £23,925,000. Electrification was finally completed in 1986, the line was electrified using 750 V DC third rail using standard rolling stock, and the expedient of singling the track through the narrow tunnels. The tunnels either side of Tunbridge Wells Central station were not singled because the fact that the south portal of Wells Tunnel and north portal of Grove Hill Tunnel were at the ends of the platforms meant it was impossible to install pointwork without reducing the length of platform available. A speed restriction was imposed through Wells Tunnel. Parliamentary powers were sought in 1979 to bore a second Grove Hill Tunnel, but there was much opposition from local residents. This, and the high cost, caused the proposal to be abandoned. The track in Grove Hill Tunnel was relaid on a concrete base, allowing alignment to be precisely controlled.
The line was declared to conform to the standard C1 loading gauge on 14 March. The first passenger carrying train comprising C1 stock to use the line was a railtour on 15 March hauled by 50 025 "Invincible". It was organised by the Southern Electric Group and ran from Paddington to . A preview service of electric trains ran on 27 April 1986 and the full timetabled service commenced on 12 May 1986. The next day, a wrong-side failure occurred involving three signals between Tonbridge and Hastings. Contractors had made errors in the wiring of the signal heads. With the inauguration of electric services, a half-hourly service was operated, with trains departing from Charing Cross at 15 and 45 minutes past the hour. Those departing at xx:15 called at , Sevenoaks, Tonbridge, High Brooms, Tunbridge Wells, Wadhurst, Battle, St Leonards Warrior Square and Hastings, taking 84 minutes. Those departing at xx:45 called at Waterloo East, London Bridge, Orpington, Sevenoaks, , Tonbridge and then all stations to Hastings, taking 99 minutes. The Royal Train visited the line on 6 May, conveying Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother. It was stabled at Wadhurst whilst she ate lunch. The train was hauled by a Class 73 diesel-electric locomotive. Upon electrification, services were operated by 4CEP, 4CIG and 4VEP electric multiple units.
Class 508 electric multiple units also operated services on the line from the Redhill direction as far as Tunbridge Wells. When these units were withdrawn in the mid-2000s, they were replaced by Class 375 Electrostar, Class 465 Networker and Class 466 Networker units.
Train services on the line are provided by Southeastern, and are mostly operated by Class 375 Electrostar, or occasionally Class 465/466 Networker units. The line still sees a freight service to and from British Gypsum's sidings at Mountfield.
Accidents and incidents.
A number of accidents have occurred on the Hastings line, none of which have involved the death of a passenger.


Stafford

Stafford () is a market town and the county town of Staffordshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It lies about north of Wolverhampton, south of Stoke-on-Trent and north-west of Birmingham. The town population in 2011 was 68,472 and that of the wider borough of Stafford was 122,000, making it the third largest in the county after Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle-under-Lyme.
History.
Stafford means "ford" by a staithe (landing place). The original settlement was on a dry sand and gravel peninsula that offered a strategic crossing point in the marshy valley of the River Sow, a tributary of the River Trent. There is still a large area of marshland north-west of the town, which is subject to flooding and did so in 1947, 2000, 2007 and 2019.
Stafford is thought to have been founded about AD 700 by a Mercian prince called Bertelin, who, legend has it, founded a hermitage on a peninsula named Betheney. Until recently it was thought that the remains of a wooden preaching cross from the time had been found under the remains of St Bertelin's Chapel, next to the later collegiate Church of St Mary in the town centre. Recent reappraisal of the evidence shows this to be a misinterpretation – it was a tree-trunk coffin placed centrally in the first, timber chapel around the time that Æthelflæd founded the burh in 913. It may have been placed there as a commemoration or veneration of St Bertelin.
Already a centre for delivering grain tribute in the Early Middle Ages, Stafford was commandeered in July 913 by Æthelflæd, Lady of Mercia, to construct a burh there. This fortification provided an industrial area for centralised production of Roman-style pottery (Stafford Ware), which was supplied to a chain of West Midlands burhs.
Æthelflæd and her younger brother, King Edward the Elder of Wessex, were trying to complete their father King Alfred the Great's programme of moulding England into a single kingdom. Æthelflæd, a formidable military leader and tactician, sought to protect and extend the northern and western frontiers of her overlordship of Mercia against the Danish Vikings by fortifying burhs, including Tamworth and Stafford in 913, and Runcorn on the River Mersey in 915, while King Edward the Elder concentrated on the east, wresting East Anglia and Essex from the Danes. Anglo-Saxon women could play powerful roles in society; Æthelflæd's death in 918 effectively ended Mercia's relative independence. Edward the Elder of Wessex took over her fortress at Tamworth and accepted submission from all who were living in Mercia, Danish or English. In late 918 Aelfwynn, Æthelflæd's daughter, was deprived of her authority over Mercia and taken to Wessex. The project of unifying England took another step forward.
Stafford was one of Æthelflæd's military campaign bases. Extensive archaeological investigations and recent re-examination and interpretation show her new burh producing, alongside Stafford Ware, food for her army (butchery, grain processing, baking), coinage and weaponry, but apparently no other crafts and making few imports.
The county of Staffordshire was formed at about this time. Stafford lay within the Pirehill hundred.
In 1069, a rebellion by Eadric the Wild against the Norman conquest culminated in the Battle of Stafford. Two years later another rebellion, led by Edwin, Earl of Mercia, ended in Edwin's assassination and distribution of his lands among the followers of William the Conqueror. Robert de Tonei was granted the manor of Bradley and one third of the king's rents in Stafford. The Norman Conquest there was especially brutal, and resulted not only in the imposition of a castle, but in destruction and suppression for about a century of every other activity except intermittent minting of coins.
Stafford Castle, built by the Normans on a nearby hilltop to the west about 1090, was first made of wood and later rebuilt in stone. It has been rebuilt twice since; the ruins of the 19th-century Gothic revival castle on the earthworks incorporate much of the original stonework.
Redevelopment began in the late 12th century. While the church, the main north–south street (Greengate) and routes through the late Saxon industrial quarter to the east remained, the town plan changed in other ways. A motte was built on the western side of the peninsula, overlooking a ford and facing the site of the main castle of Stafford on the hill at Castle Church, west of the town. Tenements were laid out over the peninsula and trade and crafts flourished until the early 14th century, when a period of upset may have been associated with the Black Death. This was followed in the mid-16th century by another revival.
In 1206 King John granted a Royal Charter creating the borough of Stafford. It became a medieval market town mainly dealing in cloth and wool. Though a shire town, Stafford required waves of external investment from Æthelflæd's time to that of Queen Elizabeth I.
King Richard II was paraded through the town's streets as a prisoner in 1399, by troops loyal to Henry Bolingbroke (the future Henry IV).
When James I visited Stafford, he was said to be so impressed by the Shire Hall and other buildings that he called it "Little London".
Charles I visited Stafford shortly after the outbreak of the English Civil War, staying for three days at the Ancient High House. The town was later captured by the Parliamentarians after a small-scale battle at nearby Hopton. Stafford still later fell to the Parliamentarians, as did Stafford Castle after a six-week siege. However, its famous son Izaak Walton, author of The Compleat Angler, was a staunch Royalist.
In 1658 Stafford elected John Bradshaw, who had been judge at the trial of King Charles I, to represent the town in Parliament. During the reign of Charles II, William Howard, 1st Viscount Stafford became implicated in the Popish Plot, in which Titus Oates whipped up anti-Catholic feeling with claims of a plot to have the king killed. Lord Stafford was among those accused; he was unfortunate to be the first to be tried and was beheaded in 1680. The charge was false and on 4 June 1685, the bill of attainder against him was reversed.
The town was represented in Parliament from 1780 by the playwright Richard Brinsley Sheridan. During that period, the town's mechanised shoe industry was founded, the best-known factory owner being William Horton. The industry gradually died, the last factory being redeveloped in 2008.
In 1837 the Grand Junction Railway built a line from Birmingham to Warrington to pass through the town and link at Warrington, via another line, with the Liverpool–Manchester railway. Birmingham provided the first connection to London. Other lines followed. Stafford became a major junction, which helped to attract other industries. The Friars' Walk drill hall was completed in 1913, just in time for the First World War.
On 31 March 2006 the Queen visited the town for the 800th anniversary civic celebrations.
In 2013 Stafford celebrated its 1,100th anniversary year with a number of history-based exhibitions, while local historian Nick Thomas and writer Roger Butters were set to produce the two-volume "A Compleat ["sic"] History of Stafford".
Governance.
The top-tier Staffordshire County Council and Stafford Borough Council are both based in the town. The office of Mayor of Stafford Borough has existed since the passing of the Municipal Corporations Act 1835. The Mayor in 2019–2020 is Gareth Jones. The borough council was based at the Borough Hall before moving to the new civic offices in Riverside in 1978.
Stafford has its own parliamentary constituency, represented since 2019 by Theo Clarke, a Conservative.
Landmarks.
The Elizabethan Ancient High House in the town centre is the largest timber-framed town house in England. It is now a museum with temporary exhibitions.
Stafford Castle was built by the Normans on the nearby hilltop to the west in about 1090, replacing the post-Conquest fort in the town. It was first made of wood, and later rebuilt of stone. It has been rebuilt twice since, and the ruins of the 19th-century Gothic revival castle crowning the earthworks incorporate much of the original stonework. The castle has a visitor centre with audio-visual displays and hands-on items. There is also a recreated medieval herb garden. Shakespeare productions take place in the castle grounds each summer. The castle forms a landmark for drivers, as it is visible from the M6 motorway.
The oldest building now in Stafford is St Chad's Church, dating back to the 12th century. The main part of the church is richly decorated. Carvings in its archways and on its pillars may have been made by a group of stonemasons from the Middle East who came to England during the Crusades. Much of the stonework was covered up in the 17th and 18th centuries and the church took on a neo-classical style. In the early 19th-century restoration, work was carried out on the church and the Norman decoration rediscovered. The church hosts "Timewalk", a computer-generated display that relates the journey of history and mystery within the walls of the church.
St Mary's, the collegiate church formerly linked to St Bertelin's chapel, was rebuilt in the early 13th century on a cruciform plan, with an aisled nave and chancel typical of the period. It has an impressive octagonal tower, once topped by a tall steeple, which can be picked out in Gough's plan shown above. The church was effectively two churches in one, divided by a screen, with the parish using the nave and the collegiate canons the chancel. St Mary's was restored in 1842 by Giles Gilbert Scott.
The Shire Hall Gallery was built in 1798 as a court house and office of the Mayor and Clerk of Stafford. It houses the Art Gallery, which shows changing exhibitions. It also contains a café, and previously the town's library until its recent move to Staffordshire Place. The Shire Hall used to be the town's court house, and is a Grade II listed building. It still retains two courtrooms. One is open to the public and has a permanent exhibition of the history of the building and details of some high-profile cases heard there. An old "holding cell" is also open to the public. In recent times, the building was used as a library, before a new facility was built within the new council buildings.
Green Hall on Lichfield Road is a Grade II listed manor house (now apartments), originally built about 1810 as Forebridge Hall, known after 1880 as Green Hall. It was previously used as a girls' school and as council offices.
The Shugborough Hall country estate is out of town. It once belonged to the Earls of Lichfield and is now owned by the National Trust, but maintained by its leaseholder, Staffordshire County Council. The 19th-century Sandon Hall is north-east of Stafford. It is set in of parkland, as the seat of the Earl of Harrowby. Weston Hall stands east of Stafford, in the Trent valley with a large park and was once part of the Chartley estate. It is thought that the main part of the hall was built about 1550 as a small dower house, but the architectural evidence suggests it is Jacobean. Weston Hall was extended in 1660 into a three-gabled structure with high-pitched roofs.
Culture.
Stafford Gatehouse Theatre is the town's main entertainment and cultural venue. Its Met Studio is a dedicated to stand-up comedy and alternative live music. There is an art gallery in the Shire Hall. Staffordshire County Showground, just outside the town, holds many national and local events. The annual Shakespeare Festival at Stafford Castle has attracted many notable people, including Frank Sidebottom and Ann Widdecombe.
Victoria Park, opened in 1908, is a 13-acre (53 ha) Edwardian riverside park with a play park, bowling green, bird cages and greenhouses. It has a children's play area, a sand-and-water-jet area replacing an open-air paddling pool, and a bmx/skateboard area. Stafford also has a 9-hole golf course near the town centre.
Recent developments on Riverside allowed for an expansion of the town, notably with a new Odeon cinema to replace the ageing one at the end of the high street. Stafford Film Theatre is based at the Gatehouse Theatre and shows independent and alternative films. There is a tenpin bowling alley at Greyfriars Place. The new Stafford Leisure Centre opened in 2008 on Lammascote Road.
Night life consists of smaller bar and club venues such as Casa, the Grapes, the Picture House, neighbouring night clubs Couture and Poptastic, and rock gigs at the live music venue Redrum. Most of these are in walking distance of each other. There is a big student patronage, with coaches bringing them from Stoke-on-Trent, Cannock, and Wolverhampton.
A new shopping centre was completed in 2017, housing major stores and a number of restaurants.
Media.
Newspapers.
Stafford is covered by the "Express and Star" and "Staffordshire Newsletter", neither of which have offices in the town.
Television.
Stafford is covered by BBC West Midlands and ITV Central, both broadcasting from Birmingham to the wider West Midlands region. Stafford is mainly served by the Sutton Coldfield transmitting station, just north of Birmingham, but some residents get a better picture from The Wrekin transmitting station, near Telford.
Radio.
In terms of BBC Local Radio, Stafford is covered by BBC Radio Stoke on 104.1 FM, with a transmitter based on top of the County Education building. In commercial radio, Stafford is covered by Signal 1, broadcasting on 96.9 FM from a transmitter at Pye Green BT Tower, near Hednesford. Both these stations are based in Stoke-on-Trent and cover Staffordshire and Cheshire.
Stafford can get marginal signals from the West Midlands regionals, like Heart and Smooth Radio, and is at the very north of Free Radio's Black Country and Shropshire coverage area.
There are two community radio stations serving Stafford, Stafford FM and Windmill Broadcasting. Stafford FM broadcasts on FM and online from studios in the town centre. Windmill Broadcasting is an online community radio station broadcast from the Broad Eye Windmill. It is the only radio station in the UK based in a windmill.
BFBS Gurkha Radio broadcasts locally on 1278 kHz medium wave from Beacon Barracks.
Climate.
Like most of the British Isles, Stafford has a maritime climate with cool summers and mild winters. The nearest Met Office weather station is at Penkridge, about 5 miles to the south.
Economy.
Stafford has a history of shoemaking as far back as 1476, when it was a cottage industry, but a manufacturing process was introduced in the 1700s. William Horton founded a business in 1767 that became the largest shoe company in Stafford, selling worldwide. He had several government contracts through the town's Member of Parliament, the playwright Richard Brinsley Sheridan. The shoe industry gradually died out in the late 20th century, with Lotus Shoes the last manufacturer. Its factory in Sandon Road was demolished in 2001 and replaced by housing.
A locomotive firm, W. G. Bagnall, was set up in 1875 to manufacture steam engines for the London, Midland and Scottish Railway and the Great Western Railway. Between 1875 and 1962, the Castle Engine Works in Castle Town produced 1,660 locomotives, including steam, diesel and electric. It was taken over in 1962 by English Electric, which also bought the Stafford-based engine manufacturer W. H. Dorman & Co. This had merged with Bagnall's by then.
Since 1903, a major industrial activity has been heavy electrical engineering, particularly power station transformers. The works have been successively owned by Siemens, English Electric, GEC and GEC Alsthom. Alstom T&D was sold in 2004 to Areva. At the end of 2009, Areva T&D was split between former owners Alstom and Schneider Electric. Each transformer weighs several hundred tons and a road train is used for transport. In the 1968 Hixon rail crash, one such road train was struck by an express train on a level crossing.
Perkins Engines has a factory for diesel engines in Littleworth. Adhesives manufacturer Bostik has a large factory in the town. Stafford is also a dormitory town for commuting to Stoke-on-Trent and Birmingham.
Private service industries based in Stafford include TopCashback. The public sector provides much local employment, with Staffordshire County Council, Stafford Borough Council and Staffordshire Police all headquartered in the town. Stafford Prison, County Hospital and Beacon Barracks are other sources of public-sector employment.
The town was home to the computer science and IT campus of Staffordshire University, along with Beaconside campus, which housed the Faculty of Computing Engineering and Technology and part of the Business School. These have all been transferred to Stoke-on-Trent. The only block of Stafford University left in use is the School of Health in Blackheath Lane, which teaches medical nursing. The main Stoke campus lies about to the north.
The Guildhall Shopping Centre in the centre of town offers over 40 retail outlets, several empty at present. The three superstores around the main town centre were joined by two others in 2018.
Transport.
Railways.
Stafford railway station was once a major railway hub, but the suspension of passenger services on the Stafford to Uttoxeter line in 1939 and Beeching's closure of the Stafford to Shrewsbury Line in 1964 eliminated the station's east-west traffic. The years up to 2008 saw cross-country trains (operated by Virgin CrossCountry) stopping at Stafford less frequently. Since Arriva CrossCountry took over the franchise and adopted a new timetable in 2008, this has reversed and services between Manchester Piccadilly and Birmingham New Street almost always stop at Stafford, giving a service typically every 30 mins on weekdays. Beyond Birmingham, the services continue alternately to Bristol Temple Meads and Bournemouth.
Avanti West Coast services to London Euston and Liverpool Lime Street operate hourly in each direction seven days a week. In December 2008, London Midland introduced a service stopping at Stafford on the Crewe to London Euston route and a Birmingham New Street–Liverpool Lime Street service that departs from Stafford normally every 30 mins on weekdays. These are now operated by West Midlands Trains. At least one train a day in each direction between Birmingham New Street and Crewe is operated by Transport for Wales, usually the first and last of the day.
Roads.
Junctions 13 (Stafford South & Central) and 14 (Stafford North) of the M6 motorway provide access to the town, so that Birmingham and Manchester are easily reached. The A34 runs through the town centre and links with Stone and Stoke-on-Trent to the north and to the West Midlands conurbation to the south including Birmingham, Walsall and Wolverhampton. The A518 road connects Stafford with Telford to the south-west and Uttoxeter to the north-east. This is the main route to the theme park at Alton Towers. The A449 runs south from the town centre to the nearby town of Penkridge and to Wolverhampton. Finally, the A513 runs east from Stafford to the local towns of Rugeley and Lichfield.
Buses.
Most bus services in Stafford are provided by D&G Bus, which runs services to Lichfield, Cannock and Rugeley, while Arriva Midlands runs service 5 to Telford. National Express West Midlands ran a service between Wolverhampton and Stafford until April 2020, when it was cut back to run between the i54 and Wolverhampton only due to funding cuts. It has since been withdrawn. An infrequent link between Wolverhampton and Stafford is provided by Select Bus. Services to Stone and Stoke-on-Trent are handled by First Potteries (service 101) and D&G Bus (service 14).
Taxis.
Stafford has five taxi companies and several independent operators from ranks at the station, Bridge St, Broad St and Salter St.
Canal.
The Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal runs close to the Baswich and Wildwood areas and was once linked to the River Sow by the River Sow Navigation.
Public services.
Local government.
Staffordshire County Council headquarters are in central Stafford. Most staff in the town work in the Staffordshire Place development, which opened in 2011. The shift of administrative staff to Staffordshire Place meant conversion of most offices into private homes, but the County Council still meets at County Buildings in Martin St.
For much of the 20th century the local municipal council was based at the Borough Hall in Eastgate Street. Following local government reorganisation in 1974, a modern Civic Centre was built for the enlarged Stafford Borough Council in Riverside and completed in 1978.
The town's main library, once in the Shire Hall, it has moved to the ground floor of 1 Staffordshire Place, with smaller libraries in Rising Brook, Baswich and Holmcroft. The William Salt Library in the town centre has a large collection of printed books, pamphlets, manuscripts, drawings, watercolours and transcripts built up by William Salt.
Hospitals.
The town's main County Hospital provides a range of non-specialist medical and surgical services. Its Accident and Emergency unit is the only such facility in the town. The hospital made the national news in March 2009 with the release of a Healthcare Commission report detailing major shortcomings.
St George's Hospital, part of the South Staffordshire and Shropshire Health Care Trust, is a combination of two historical hospitals — the Kingsmead (previously an elderly care facility) and St George's psychiatric hospital. It provides mental health services, including a psychiatric intensive care unit, secure units, an eating disorder unit, an EMI unit for the elderly and mentally frail, drug and alcohol addiction services and open wards. There is an outpatient facility, where the town's AA also meets. Rowley Hall Hospital in Rowley Park is a private one run by Ramsay Healthcare, but offers some NHS treatment.
The town receives primary health care from the South Staffordshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG).
Emergency services.
Policing is provided by Staffordshire Police, headquartered in Weston Road. Its former headquarters in Cannock Road are being developed as a housing estate. There is a town-centre police station in Eastgate St.
Statutory emergency fire and rescue service is provided by the Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service, which has stations in Beaconside and Rising Brook.
Justice.
Stafford Crown Court and Stafford County Court share a building in the town centre. There was a magistrates' court in nearby South Walls, but it closed in 2016. The Shire Hall, Stafford, completed in 1798, used to be a court house, but is now an art gallery.
Stafford Prison is a Category C men's prison, operated by HM Prison Service. It holds a number of vulnerable prisoners, mainly sex offenders. It was built on its current site in 1794 and has been in almost continuous use, except between 1916 and 1940.
MoD Stafford.
MoD Stafford is located on Beaconside. Originally RAF Stafford, the base was a non-flying Royal Air Force station. It was redesignated MoD Stafford in March 2006, an event marked by a fly-past and a flag-lowering ceremony. For many years the site employed civilians and military personnel, but it was handed over by the Royal Air Force under the current policy of defence strategy and streamlining. A small Tactical Supply Wing (TSW) still operates from the base, which now houses a Gurkha signals regiment and an RAF Regiment contingent alongside Tactical Supply Wing.
Education.
Tertiary education.
The Chetwynd Centre provides higher education in the town. It normally teaches specialised A-levels, some vocational qualifications and subjects taught by teachers with no school base. The centre has joined with all the town's secondary schools except the grammar school, to provide better resources for students.
Stafford College is a large college of further education. It also provides some higher education courses on behalf of Staffordshire University, focusing on computing and engineering.
South Staffordshire College has a base in the village of Rodbaston on the edge of Stafford. It is largely an agricultural college.
Staffordshire University has a large campus in the east of the town and focuses heavily on computing, engineering and media technologies (film, music and computer games). It also runs teacher-training courses. The university has two halls of residence opposite the campus, the smaller Yarlet with 51 rooms and the larger Stafford Court with 554 Rooms. Stafford Court is divided into 13 "houses" named after local villages.
Sport.
Stafford is home to three association football clubs; Stafford Rangers F.C., Brocton F.C. and Stafford Town F.C., none of which play at a fully professional level.
The town has two rugby union clubs, though again they do not play at a high level.
There is a local hockey club with eight adult teams.
Stafford Post Office Rifle and Pistol Club is a Home Office approved rifle club founded in 1956. It has a 25-yard indoor range attached to the Stafford Post Office Social Club. In addition to short-range indoor shooting facilities, the club has a number of outdoor ranges, including Kingsbury, Sennybridge and Thorpe, for larger-calibre long-range shooting.
Stafford Cricket and Hockey Club, an ECB Clubmark Accredited Club founded in 1864, is almost certainly the town's oldest sports club. It appears to have played originally at the Lammascotes, before being offered a field at the Hough (Lichfield Road/GEC site) in 1899, which belonged to the grammar school. In 1984 the club made a move to Riverway in 1984, as the Hough came under the ownership of GEC. It currently owns at Riverway and hosts numerous sports: two cricket pitches in summer and football, mini-football, rugby and hockey facilities in winter. In 1999 it won a £200,000 lottery grant towards a new pavilion completed in 2000, with six changing rooms and a function room. The cricket section welcomes players of all abilities. Four senior sides play on Saturdays. The first and second elevens play in the North Staffordshire and South Cheshire League. The third and fourth elevens play in the Stone and District Cricket League. There is also a senior team that plays in the Lichfield Sunday League. The five junior sides are for under 9s, under 11s, under 13s, under 15s and under 17s.
In December 2018, a parkrun (free weekly timed 5k run/walk) was launched in Stafford on the Isabel Trail, a public foot/cycle path that follows part of the former course of the Stafford–Uttoxeter railway. The run/walk takes place on Saturday mornings at nine, starting at the southern end of the Isabel Trail by Sainsbury's supermarket.
The Stafford knot.
The Stafford knot, sometimes Staffordshire knot, is a distinctive three-looped tie that is the traditional symbol of the county and county town, used on buildings, logos and coats of arms. It also gives its name to a pub.
Notable people.
Notable people from Stafford include the 17th-century author of "The Compleat Angler", Izaak Walton, whose cottage at nearby Shallowford is now an angling museum, and the 18th-century playwright Richard Brinsley Sheridan, who was once the local MP. The 1853 Lord Mayor of London Thomas Sidney was also born in the town.
In the early 1900s, the village of Great Haywood near Stafford became home to the wife of the famous "The Lord of the Rings" author J. R. R. Tolkien. He stayed with his wife, Edith, in her cottage in the village during the winter of 1916, and the surrounding areas were said to be an inspiration for some of his early works. The science fantasy author Storm Constantine is a long-time resident.
The Scottish poet, playwright and freelancer Carol Ann Duffy, though born in Glasgow, Scotland, grew up in Stafford and attended Stafford Girls' High School. She was awarded an OBE in 1995, and a CBE in 2002. Many of her poems describe experiences and places in Stafford. She was the Poet laureate from 2009 to 2019, and now lives in Manchester.
Baron Stafford is a title created several times in the Peerage of England. A full schedule of over 30 of the eponymous title holders is listed at Baron Stafford. Here just three are included.
Nature reserves.
These nature reserves are in Stafford:
Twin towns.
Stafford is twinned with:


Effingham Junction railway station

Effingham Junction railway station is just north of the far northern border of the village of Effingham, closer to the centre of East Horsley, homes of which it borders, in Surrey, England. Although the station takes its name from the former settlement, and the immediate vicinity has itself become known as Effingham Junction, it is actually in the latter. Effingham Junction is at the junction of the New Guildford Line, from London Waterloo to Guildford, and the line from Leatherhead, which carries trains from Waterloo via Epsom. It is down the line from Waterloo.
History.
The London and South Western Railway opened the station on 2 July 1888, three years after completing the two routes that serve it. Both routes were subsequently electrified by the Southern Railway in 1925 and for many years it served as the terminus for trains from the Epsom direction, with a seven-road carriage shed south of the station provided by the SR to allow empty EMU sets to be reversed and stabled clear of the main running lines. This still stands, though it ceased to be used for carriage storage in 1993 – it is now used by Colas Rail as a maintenance base for Network Rail MPVs and track machines.
The station is managed and primarily serviced by South Western Railway, though Southern also provides some peak period services. The latter are a holdover from the British Rail-era timetables of the 1970s and 1980s, when the Epsom line had regular services to London Victoria as well as to Waterloo. It was also served in the late 1980s/early 1990s by Thameslink services between and Guildford via and , but these ended in 1994 shortly before the privatisation of the UK railway network.
Facilities.
The station has a ticket office which is open during weekday and Saturday mornings only. At other times, there are self-service ticket machines available for ticket purchases. There are also toilets at the station which are open when the station is staffed. Both platforms have covered seating areas, information screens and help points.
There is a chargeable car park and large bicycle storage facility located at the station. Step-free access is available to the Guildford bound platform only.
Services.
South Western Railway operate all off-peak services at the station using Class 455 and 456 EMUs.
The typical off-peak service in trains per hour is:
During the peak hours, the station is also served by a number of Southern services between Guildford and via and . These services run towards London in the morning peak and towards Guildford in the evening peak and are operated using Class 377 EMUs.
References.
References
Sources


Bourn and Essendine Railway

The Bourn and Essendine Railway (the town was later spelt "Bourne") was promoted locally to give the small town of Bourn a railway connection to London over the nearby Great Northern Railway. The line was opened in 1860; it was a single line of seven miles length, and its route was in Lincolnshire and Rutland, England. There was talk of forming a through line with the Stamford and Essendine Railway, which was also at Essendine station, but on the other side of the main line, and this direct connection never took place. The Bourn and Essendine Railway was the first railway to reach Bourn, which later became a local focal point for single-track railways. The company never made money and sold itself to the GNR in 1864.
The connection at Essendine faced north, making through running towards Peterborough awkward, and the line never developed. It was closed completely in 1951.
Promotion.
The Great Northern Railway opened its main line between Peterborough and Grantham in 1852. Bourne (then spelt Bourn, until 1872) was a significant market town, and influential people in the town saw that a railway connection was important to its continued prosperity. Stamford already had a branch line: the Stamford and Essendine Railway had opened in October 1856. An army general, a clergyman and some tradespeople in the town put together a proposal which went to Parliament as a Bill.
The Bourn and Essendine Railway was incorporated on 12 August 1857 with powers to construct a railway from Bourne to the main line station at Essendine. Authorised share capital was £48,000.
There were thoughts that this line and the Stamford and Essendine Railway might together form part of a long distance railway between the Midlands and the East Coast, but this never developed. Moreover it had been considered to run through trains between Stamford and Spalding, so that the Bourne line was to cross all of GNR tracks at Essendine, so as to use the Stamford and Essendine Railway platform, on the down side of the main line. The GNR forbade that idea; an alternative put forward by the Bourne directors was to enter Essendine from the south to the S&ER platform, but that would still need to cross all the GNR lines, and it was also ruled out.
Opening.
It had been intended to open the line on 1 May 1860, but the Board of Trade inspecting officer's requirements delayed opening until Wednesday 16 May 1860. It was the first railway to reach Bourne: it was worked from the outset by the Great Northern Railway for 50% of receipts. In the first week these amounted to £101, considered to be a good result.
It was a single line; land and bridges were laid out for providing double track later, but this was never done. The Stamford and Essendine Railway already made a junction at Essendine, on the west side of the station, while the Bourne line joined at the east side. Both branches unhelpfully faced north. The line was 6 miles 51 chains in length, and there were two viaducts on the line. The company purchased Old Red Hall, stated to be a fine Elizabethan mansion, at Bourne for use as offices.
Stations were at Braceborough Spa (a platform only, serving a nearby place where healing waters could be taken), Thurlby (which had a small goods yard) and Bourn. There was a siding at Wilsthorpe, east of Braceborough, serving Peterborough Corporation Waterworks. In the mid-1930s a halt was provided at this point on the main road, named Wilsthorpe Crossing Halt. As a turntable had not been installed at Bourn, the line had to be worked by a tank engine.
Money problems.
The little company was always in financial difficulty, and the GNR was losing money on the working arrangement. It gave notice in 1863 that it would discontinue working, but it was persuaded to carry on for another year at 60% of the receipts instead of the previous 50%. It became obvious to the directors of the little company that there was no future in independence, and the agreed to sell to the GNR. This took effect on 16 May 1864, authorised by Act of 25 July 1864.
Limited development.
The north-facing connection at Essendine was a constant sticking point, and the GNR obtained powers in July 1865 for a southward spur at Essendine to allow direct running to and from the Peterborough direction, but this was never built.
Bourne station developed as the focal point for trains from King's Lynn via Spalding, and from Sleaford, as well as Essendine. At this time there were eight trains each way between Essendine and Bourne. In 1894 the Saxby (Leicestershire) extension from Bourne was opened by the Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway. For most of its life there were eight trains each way with two extra on Thursdays and Saturdays. In 1938 one Down train had no intermediate stops, one Up stopped only at Thurlby. Four stopped only if required at Braceborough Spa, otherwise all stopped at all stations.
From 1927 until closure the branch train was composed of an articulated twin set built out of two coaches from Ivatt steam-motor cars.
Closure.
Bourne never became an important enough commercial centre to justify a decent train service making a connection at Essendine, and complete closure of the branch came on 18 June 1951.
Stations.
Bourne; opened 16 May 1860; usually spelt Bourn until 1872; closed 2 March 1959;
Thurlby; opened 16 May 1860; closed 18 June 1951;
Wilsthorpe Crossing; opened 1 December 1933; closed 18 June 1951;
Braceborough Spa; opened 16 May 1860; closed 18 June 1951;
Essendine; main line station; opened 15 July 1852; closed 15 June 1959.


Lancashire, Derbyshire and East Coast Railway Beighton Branch

The Beighton Branch was a railway branch line built by the Lancashire, Derbyshire and East Coast Railway (LD&ECR) in north eastern Derbyshire, England.
History.
The line was a little over 12 miles long and ran from Langwith Junction in Derbyshire to Beighton Junction which is now in South Yorkshire.
Building started in 1892. The line opened in stages up to 1900.
The branch was occasionally referred to as the "Sheffield Branch", but the name "Beighton Branch" stuck and was widely used.
A sparse and circuitous stopping passenger service used the route to connect with , this was withdrawn on the outbreak of World War II.
The line closed in stages: