Stewartby railway station
Encyclopedia
Stewartby railway station serves the Bedfordshire
village of Stewartby
in England
. It is also the nearest station to the Marston Vale Millennium Country Park
.
, is covered by the Marston Vale Community Rail
Partnership, which aims to increase use of the line by involving local people.
, the station was a halt serving the small village of Wootton Pillinge
, a largely rural community that, in 1897, had become the site of B.J.H. Forder's brickworks
. The plant was served by sidings
close to and alongside the halt which were controlled by a signal box
; the halt was simply constructed with a platform at ground level constructed out of sleepers
. By 1910, the Wootton Pillinge Brick Company was selling 48 million bricks per year and in 1923, it merged with the London Brick Company (LBC). The brickworks developed virtually across the railway line and as the wagon capacity of the old sidings was exceeded, they became an extension for a larger group of sidings developing at Wootton Broadmead
. The Wootton Pillinge signal box was closed and a new box was opened called "Forder's Sidings" which controlled heavy movements from the works.
In 1926 the LBC began to build a "garden village" for its employees at Wootton Pillinge; the village was to be named "Stewartby" after Sir Halley Stewart
, the former Liberal
Parliamentary candidate for Peterborough
and first chairman of the Wootton Pillinge Brick Company. Following the building of the village, the London, Midland and Scottish Railway
renamed the station (which ceased to be a halt in 1928) to Stewartby. The Stewartby brickworks was connected to the Marston Vale Line via a narrow gauge railway operating on overhead electrification. This is believed to have been installed in the 1930s and lasted until 1960. After reaching a peak production level of 738 million bricks in 1973, demand for bricks declined and the LBC (trading as Easidispose) signed an agreement the following year to re-use its empty clay pits as landfill
transported from London
. One or two daily container trains began transporting 1,000 tons of waste from Hendon
to handling facilities at Stewartby.
Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire is a ceremonial county of historic origin in England that forms part of the East of England region.It borders Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Northamptonshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the west and Hertfordshire to the south-east....
village of Stewartby
Stewartby
Stewartby is a model village and civil parish in Bedfordshire, originally built for the workers of The London Brick Company. The village housing and town community centre was designed by the noted neo-Georgian architect Sir Albert Richardson a later and more modern development than such...
in 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...
. It is also the nearest station to the Marston Vale Millennium Country Park
Forest of Marston Vale
The Forest of Marston Vale is an evolving community forest in Marston Vale, which runs south west from the towns of Bedford and Kempston in Bedfordshire, England towards the M1 motorway. It is operated by a registered charity called the Marston Vale Trust....
.
Services
Stewartby station, in common with others on the Marston Vale LineMarston Vale Line
The Marston Vale Line is the railway line from Bletchley to Bedford in England. It is one of two surviving passenger-carrying sections of the "Varsity Line" between Oxford and Cambridge....
, is covered by the Marston Vale Community Rail
Community rail
In the United Kingdom, a community rail line is a local railway which is specially supported by local organisations. This support is usually through a Community Rail Partnerships – comprising both the railway operator, local councils and other community organisations – or sometimes by...
Partnership, which aims to increase use of the line by involving local people.
History
When first opened in 1905 by 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...
, the station was a halt serving the small village of Wootton Pillinge
Stewartby
Stewartby is a model village and civil parish in Bedfordshire, originally built for the workers of The London Brick Company. The village housing and town community centre was designed by the noted neo-Georgian architect Sir Albert Richardson a later and more modern development than such...
, a largely rural community that, in 1897, had become the site of B.J.H. Forder's brickworks
Brickworks
A brickworks also known as a brick factory, is a factory for the manufacturing of bricks, from clay or shale. Usually a brickworks is located on a clay bedrock often with a quarry for clay on site....
. The plant was served by sidings
Rail siding
A siding, in rail terminology, is a low-speed track section distinct from a running line or through route such as a main line or branch line or spur. It may connect to through track or to other sidings at either end...
close to and alongside the halt which were controlled by 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...
; the halt was simply constructed with a platform at ground level constructed out of sleepers
Railroad tie
A railroad tie/railway tie , or railway sleeper is a rectangular item used to support the rails in railroad tracks...
. By 1910, the Wootton Pillinge Brick Company was selling 48 million bricks per year and in 1923, it merged with the London Brick Company (LBC). The brickworks developed virtually across the railway line and as the wagon capacity of the old sidings was exceeded, they became an extension for a larger group of sidings developing at Wootton Broadmead
Wootton Broadmead Halt railway station
Wootton Broadmead Halt was a railway station on the Varsity Line which served the settlement of Wootton Broadmead near Stewartby in Bedfordshire, England...
. The Wootton Pillinge signal box was closed and a new box was opened called "Forder's Sidings" which controlled heavy movements from the works.
In 1926 the LBC began to build a "garden village" for its employees at Wootton Pillinge; the village was to be named "Stewartby" after Sir Halley Stewart
Halley Stewart
Sir Halley Stewart was an English businessman, journalist, philanthropist and Liberal Party politician who sat as an Member of Parliament from 1887 to 1895 and again from 1906 to 1910.-Family and education:...
, the former Liberal
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
Parliamentary candidate for Peterborough
Peterborough (UK Parliament constituency)
Peterborough is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, formally styled The Honourable the Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in Parliament assembled. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past...
and first chairman of the Wootton Pillinge Brick Company. Following the building of the village, the London, Midland and Scottish Railway
London, Midland and Scottish Railway
The London Midland and Scottish Railway was a British railway company. It was formed on 1 January 1923 under the Railways Act of 1921, which required the grouping of over 120 separate railway companies into just four...
renamed the station (which ceased to be a halt in 1928) to Stewartby. The Stewartby brickworks was connected to the Marston Vale Line via a narrow gauge railway operating on overhead electrification. This is believed to have been installed in the 1930s and lasted until 1960. After reaching a peak production level of 738 million bricks in 1973, demand for bricks declined and the LBC (trading as Easidispose) signed an agreement the following year to re-use its empty clay pits as landfill
Landfill
A landfill site , is a site for the disposal of waste materials by burial and is the oldest form of waste treatment...
transported from London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. One or two daily container trains began transporting 1,000 tons of waste from Hendon
Hendon
Hendon is a London suburb situated northwest of Charing Cross.-History:Hendon was historically a civil parish in the county of Middlesex. The manor is described in Domesday , but the name, 'Hendun' meaning 'at the highest hill', is earlier...
to handling facilities at Stewartby.