Pitsford and Brampton railway station
Encyclopedia
Pitsford and Brampton railway station is a railway station serving the villages of Pitsford
and Chapel Brampton
in Northamptonshire
, England
.
The station was once an intermediate stop on the Northampton
-Market Harborough
railway line, which closed in 1981. The station has now been revived as the headquarters of a heritage railway
called the Northampton & Lamport Railway
.
originally favoured a site close to where the line crossed the road to Welford
, which later became Boughton level crossing
. The people of Boughton
made representations to the company to try to ensure that it was built there. However, the Earl Spencer
wanted the station to be built at the point where the road between Chapel Brampton and Pitsford crossed the line. The railway company were reluctant to do this as the line was in a cutting at this point and the road was very poor. The Earl finally got his way, on condition that he paid for the road improvements.
The station opened on 16 February 1859 as "Pitsford" when the line opened to passenger traffic. In June 1859 it was renamed "Brampton and Pitsford", and then on 1 April 1860 it became "Brampton", then finally returning to "Pitsford and Brampton" on 24 November 1881.
The station had a very quiet career, never having many passenger
s. A special dock was built for loading sugar beet
wagons, a very important local crop at one time. The strange irony of this is that the beet dock was the only part of the station to survive demolition
when the station finally closed on 5 June 1950.
and the station signal box which was moved from Little Bowden Crossing, near Market Harborough. The station has three platforms; a single bi-directional platform on the main running line and two north-facing bay platforms.
Pitsford
Pitsford is a village and civil parish in the Daventry district of the non-metropolitan county of Northamptonshire in the United Kingdom. At the time of the 2001 census, the parish's population was 636 people...
and Chapel Brampton
Chapel Brampton
Chapel Brampton is a civil parish and village in the Daventry district of the county of Northamptonshire in England. Together with nearby Church Brampton, it is known as The Bramptons...
in Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire is a landlocked county in the English East Midlands, with a population of 629,676 as at the 2001 census. It has boundaries with the ceremonial counties of Warwickshire to the west, Leicestershire and Rutland to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshire to the south-east,...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
The station was once an intermediate stop on the Northampton
Northampton
Northampton is a large market town and local government district in the East Midlands region of England. Situated about north-west of London and around south-east of Birmingham, Northampton lies on the River Nene and is the county town of Northamptonshire. The demonym of Northampton is...
-Market Harborough
Market Harborough
Market Harborough is a market town within the Harborough district of Leicestershire, England.It has a population of 20,785 and is the administrative headquarters of Harborough District Council. It sits on the Northamptonshire-Leicestershire border...
railway line, which closed in 1981. The station has now been revived as the headquarters of a heritage railway
Heritage railway
thumb|right|the Historical [[Khyber train safari|Khyber Railway]] goes through the [[Khyber Pass]], [[Pakistan]]A heritage railway , preserved railway , tourist railway , or tourist railroad is a railway that is run as a tourist attraction, in some cases by volunteers, and...
called the Northampton & Lamport Railway
Northampton & Lamport Railway
The Northampton & Lamport Railway is a standard gauge heritage railway in Northamptonshire, England. It is based at Pitsford and Brampton station, near the villages of Pitsford and Chapel Brampton, roughly north of Northampton.-Overview:...
.
History
The London and North Western RailwayLondon and North Western Railway
The London and North Western Railway was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. It was created by the merger of three companies – the Grand Junction Railway, the London and Birmingham Railway and the Manchester and Birmingham Railway...
originally favoured a site close to where the line crossed the road to Welford
Welford, Northamptonshire
Welford is a village and civil parish in England. It is located on the River Avon border between the counties of Northamptonshire and Leicestershire. At the time of the 2001 census, the parish's population was 1,016 people....
, which later became Boughton level crossing
Level crossing
A level crossing occurs where a railway line is intersected by a road or path onone level, without recourse to a bridge or tunnel. It is a type of at-grade intersection. The term also applies when a light rail line with separate right-of-way or reserved track crosses a road in the same fashion...
. The people of Boughton
Boughton, Northamptonshire
Boughton is a village and civil parish in the Daventry district of Northamptonshire, England, about from Northampton town centre along the A508 road between Northampton and Market Harborough. The parish area straddles both side of the road but the main part of the village is east...
made representations to the company to try to ensure that it was built there. However, the Earl Spencer
Earl Spencer
Earl Spencer is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain that was created on 1 November 1765, along with the title Viscount Althorp, of Althorp in the County of Northamptonshire, for John Spencer, 1st Viscount Spencer, a great-grandson of the 1st Duke of Marlborough...
wanted the station to be built at the point where the road between Chapel Brampton and Pitsford crossed the line. The railway company were reluctant to do this as the line was in a cutting at this point and the road was very poor. The Earl finally got his way, on condition that he paid for the road improvements.
The station opened on 16 February 1859 as "Pitsford" when the line opened to passenger traffic. In June 1859 it was renamed "Brampton and Pitsford", and then on 1 April 1860 it became "Brampton", then finally returning to "Pitsford and Brampton" on 24 November 1881.
The station had a very quiet career, never having many passenger
Passenger
A passenger is a term broadly used to describe any person who travels in a vehicle, but bears little or no responsibility for the tasks required for that vehicle to arrive at its destination....
s. A special dock was built for loading sugar beet
Sugar beet
Sugar beet, a cultivated plant of Beta vulgaris, is a plant whose tuber contains a high concentration of sucrose. It is grown commercially for sugar production. Sugar beets and other B...
wagons, a very important local crop at one time. The strange irony of this is that the beet dock was the only part of the station to survive demolition
Demolition
Demolition is the tearing-down of buildings and other structures, the opposite of construction. Demolition contrasts with deconstruction, which involves taking a building apart while carefully preserving valuable elements for re-use....
when the station finally closed on 5 June 1950.
Current station
Portable buildings make up the present station, with the exception of the booking office which is the top half of the Lamport signal boxSignal box
On a rail transport system, signalling control is the process by which control is exercised over train movements by way of railway signals and block systems to ensure that trains operate safely, over the correct route and to the proper timetable...
and the station signal box which was moved from Little Bowden Crossing, near Market Harborough. The station has three platforms; a single bi-directional platform on the main running line and two north-facing bay platforms.
See also
- Church Brampton railway stationChurch Brampton railway stationChurch Brampton was a railway station on the Northampton Loop Line serving the village of Church Brampton in Northamptonshire.The station was opened along with the line in 1881 by the London and North Western Railway which later became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway in 1923. It...
- A nearby former rail station on the Northampton loop line.