Widmerpool railway station
Encyclopedia
Widmerpool was a railway station serving Widmerpool
in the English
county of Nottinghamshire
. It was situated on the Midland Railway
route between London and Nottingham via Corby
.
on its cut-off line from to , which had opened the previous year to allow the railway company's expresses between London
and the North to avoid reversal at Nottingham. It also improved access to and from the iron-ore fields in Leicestershire
and Rutland
.
Local traffic was always minimal, a situation not helped by the station being situated one and a half miles from the village of its name, and it closed to passengers as early as 1949.
According to the Official Handbook of Stations
the following classes of traffic
were being handled at this station in 1956: G, P†, F, L, H, C and there was a 1 ton 10 cwt crane.
project and, more recently, Class 390 Pendolino
units. It is currently used for testing London Underground trains and Class 172
units.
The station's Up platform remains in existence, as does the Down platform waiting room although the platform itself was removed during electrification work in 2000. The main station building was converted into a pub and restaurant c1966 before the line closed. It was originally called the Schooner Inn and later the Pullman Inn, which has just been refurbished.
The timber goods shed survived until electrification in 2000. Just to the north of the station site lies Stanton Tunnel, 1330 yards (1,216.2 m) long.
Widmerpool
Widmerpool is a village and civil parish in Nottinghamshire, about 10 miles south, south east of Nottingham and some 7.5 miles north east of Loughborough. It sits just over a mile west of the A46 and, as one of Nottinghamshire's oldest settlements, enjoyed that proximity to that road when it was...
in the English
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...
county of Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire is a county in the East Midlands of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west...
. It was situated on the 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....
route between London and Nottingham via Corby
Corby
Corby Town is a town and borough located in the county of Northamptonshire. Corby Town is 23 miles north-east of the county town, Northampton. The borough had a population of 53,174 at the 2001 Census; the town on its own accounted for 49,222 of this figure...
.
History
The station was opened in 1880 by the Midland RailwayMidland 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....
on its cut-off line from to , which had opened the previous year to allow the railway company's expresses between 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...
and the North to avoid reversal at Nottingham. It also improved access to and from the iron-ore fields in Leicestershire
Leicestershire
Leicestershire is a landlocked county in the English Midlands. It takes its name from the heavily populated City of Leicester, traditionally its administrative centre, although the City of Leicester unitary authority is today administered separately from the rest of Leicestershire...
and Rutland
Rutland
Rutland is a landlocked county in central England, bounded on the west and north by Leicestershire, northeast by Lincolnshire and southeast by Peterborough and Northamptonshire....
.
Local traffic was always minimal, a situation not helped by the station being situated one and a half miles from the village of its name, and it closed to passengers as early as 1949.
According to the Official Handbook of Stations
Official Handbook of Stations
The Official Handbook of Stations was a large listing all the passenger and goods stations and private sidings on the railways of Great Britain and Ireland...
the following classes of traffic
Official Handbook of Stations
The Official Handbook of Stations was a large listing all the passenger and goods stations and private sidings on the railways of Great Britain and Ireland...
were being handled at this station in 1956: G, P†, F, L, H, C and there was a 1 ton 10 cwt crane.
Present day
Following the closure of the line as a through-route in 1968, the track between Melton Mowbray and was reused as part of the Old Dalby Test Track. This was used initially for the Advanced Passenger TrainAdvanced Passenger Train
The Advanced Passenger Train was an experimental tilting High Speed Train developed by British Rail during the 1970s and early 1980s....
project and, more recently, Class 390 Pendolino
British Rail Class 390
The Class 390 Pendolino is a type of train used in Great Britain. They are electric multiple units using Fiat's tilting train pendolino technology and built by Alstom. Fifty-three 9-car units were originally built for Virgin Trains from 2001 to 2004 for operation on the West Coast Main Line , with...
units. It is currently used for testing London Underground trains and Class 172
British Rail Class 172
The Class 172 is a type of diesel multiple unit of the Turbostar family, similar to the Class 168, Class 170 and Class 171.-Technical details and variants :There will be four sub-types:*Class 172/0 - two-car units in operation with London Overground...
units.
The station's Up platform remains in existence, as does the Down platform waiting room although the platform itself was removed during electrification work in 2000. The main station building was converted into a pub and restaurant c1966 before the line closed. It was originally called the Schooner Inn and later the Pullman Inn, which has just been refurbished.
The timber goods shed survived until electrification in 2000. Just to the north of the station site lies Stanton Tunnel, 1330 yards (1,216.2 m) long.