Rushden, Higham and Wellingborough Railway
Encyclopedia
The Rushden, Higham & Wellingborough Railway is 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...

 operated by the Rushden Historical Transport Society in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

. The aim is to re-open the ex-Midland Railway
Midland Railway
The Midland Railway was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844 to 1922, when it became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway....

 branch line from Wellingborough
Wellingborough
Wellingborough is a market town and borough in Northamptonshire, England, situated some from the county town of Northampton. The town is situated on the north side of the River Nene, most of the older town is sited on the flanks of the hills above the river's current flood plain...

 to Higham Ferrers
Higham Ferrers
Higham Ferrers is a market town in the Nene Valley in East Northamptonshire, England, close to the Cambridgeshire and Bedfordshire borders. It forms a single urban area with Rushden to the south and has an estimated population of 6,086...

, which had been closed completely in November 1969. At present (2011) a 1/2 mi stretch of the line is operated between Rushden station
Rushden railway station
Rushden railway station is a railway station that once served the town of Rushden in Northamptonshire, England. It is now a heritage station at the end of a short running line....

 and Prospect Avenue. In the future (as the line was a branch line), The RH&WR could become one of only a few 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...

s in the UK that operates a whole branch line in its original form.

Rushden station

Rushden station has been preserved by the group, Rushden Historical Transport Society. The station building is fully intact and open with no admission fee although donations are requested. The footbridge
Footbridge
A footbridge or pedestrian bridge is a bridge designed for pedestrians and in some cases cyclists, animal traffic and horse riders, rather than vehicular traffic. Footbridges complement the landscape and can be used decoratively to visually link two distinct areas or to signal a transaction...

 is presently missing at Rushden, and a 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...

 divides the platform into two sections. A replacement footbridge similar to the original is awaiting installation, at which point the missing section of platform will be replaced.

On operating days trains use a separate platform slightly to the east. There is a signal box
Signal 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...

 on site also. To the west immediately after the station there is a bridge missing. To the east, the line ends adjacent to Prospect Ave, and is used throughout the year. It is planned to soon extend this towards Higham Ferrers where a small halt like station will be built.

Future Expansion

The line also plans to extend towards Wellingborough
Wellingborough railway station
Wellingborough railway station is located the market town of Wellingborough in Northamptonshire, England. It lies on the Midland Main Line, it is from London St. Pancras...

 (to where the RH&WR could interchange with rail services on the national network), and might make the heritage line one of only a few heritage railways in the UK to operate a whole branch line in its original form, respectively.

There may also be a proposed (Wellingborough Riverside) located at which the line crossed over a bridge above a river before crossing of at the junction along the old branch. Initially, this would start off as a terminus before eventually extending towards the mainline station (Wellingborough) itself.

Rolling stock

On site can be found a main-line diesel, Class 31, 31206, a number of Mark 1
British Railways Mark 1
British Railways Mark 1 was the family designation for the first standardised designs of railway carriages built by British Railways. Following nationalisation in 1948, BR had continued to build carriages to the designs of the "Big Four" companies , and the Mark 1 was intended to be the...

 carriages and a Gresley buffet car. In addition the line has a few industrial steam locomotives and some small diesel shunters. Frequently a number of preserved buses and coaches can also be found on the site.
  • Diesel locomotives
    • BR
      British Rail
      British Railways , which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was the operator of most of the rail transport in Great Britain between 1948 and 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the "Big Four" British railway companies and lasted until the gradual privatisation of British Rail, in stages...

       A1A-A1A Class 31
      British Rail Class 31
      The British Rail Class 31 diesel locomotives, also known as the Brush Type 2 and originally as Class 30, were built by Brush Traction from 1957-62.- Description :...

       no. 31206
  • Coaching stock
    • BR Post Office Sorting Van
      Post Office Sorting Van
      A Post Office Sorting Van is a type of rail vehicle built for use in a Travelling Post Office.British Rail built ninety-six of these vehicles between 1959 and 1977, to several similar designs, all based on the Mark 1 coach design. They were numbered in the range 80300–80395...

       NSA 80334 (not yet on site)
    • BR Post Office Stowage Van
      Post Office Stowage Van
      A Post Office Stowage Van is a type of rail vehicle built for use in a Travelling Post Office . Several of these have passed into preservation as they are very useful for storage on the railways.-Preservation:...

       NTA 80413 (not yet on site)
    • BR Brake Post Office Stowage Van
      Brake Post Office Stowage Van
      A Brake Post Office Stowage Van is a type of rail vehicle built for use in a Travelling Post Office.British Rail built nine of these vehicles between 1959 and 1968, to two similar designs, both based on the Mark 1 coach design. They were numbered in the range 80450-80458...

       NUA 80457
    • BR High-security General Utility Van
      General Utility Van
      A General Utility Van is a type of rail vehicle built by British Rail and its predecessors, which was primarily used for transporting mail and parcels. They were used by both Express Parcels Systems, the British Post Office and Railtrack. National Rail and some Train Operating Companies still use...

       NKA 94102
    • BR Brake Gangwayed
      Brake Gangwayed
      The Brake Gangwayed or BG coach is a type of British Railways Mark 1 passenger brake van. It has a guard's compartment in the centre and two large areas either side for storing luggage...

       NEX 92363

  • Steam Locomotives
    • Andrew Barclay 0-4-0ST No 2168 "Edmundsons". Operational.
    • Andrew Barclay 0-4-0ST. Awaiting major restoration, planned to start once Cherwell is completed.
    • Bagnall
      Bagnall
      Bagnall could be:*Bagnall, Staffordshire*Anthony Bagnall, a senior Royal Air Force commander*Drew Bagnall, Canadian ice hockey player*Geoff Bagnall, Australian rugby league footballer*Gibbons Bagnall...

       0-6-0ST No 2654 Cherwell. Awaiting funds for major restoration.

  • Electric tramcars
    • Blackpool Brush car 634. Under restoration.

External links

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