Leamington Spa (Avenue) railway station explained

Leamington Spa (Avenue)
Status:Disused
Borough:Leamington Spa, Warwick
Country:England
Coordinates:52.2852°N -1.5378°W
Platforms:2
Original:LNWR
Pregroup:LNWR
Postgroup:London, Midland and Scottish Railway
London Midland Region of British Railways
Years:February 1854
Events:Station opens
Years1:18 January 1965
Events1:Station closed
Mapframe:yes
Mapframe-Zoom:14

Leamington Spa Avenue railway station was a station serving Leamington Spa, Warwickshire. It opened in 1854, and was located immediately to the north of the current surviving Leamington Spa railway station, it offered services to, and . It closed in 1965.

History

It was opened in February 1854 by the London and North Western Railway (LNWR),[1] three years after the line from Coventry to Leamington was extended from its original terminus at Milverton into the centre of Leamington, and joined end-on to the branch line to Rugby.[2] It was built alongside the Great Western Railway's Leamington station (which is still in operation) and provided a more convenient station in Leamington than the LNWR's original Milverton terminus. The original station was temporary, and made from wood, it was rebuilt as a permanent brick station in 1860.[3]

Leamington Spa Avenue provided passenger services towards Coventry, Rugby and, from 1895 Weedon via Daventry. The local passenger services to Weedon were withdrawn in 1958, and those to Rugby in 1959, but the lines remained open a few years longer for freight. The Coventry service remained until it too was withdrawn, and the station closed in 1965 as a part of the Beeching cuts.[4] The Coventry line continued for freight, and was diverted into the former Great Western station and the branches towards Rugby and Weedon were closed. The site of the station was levelled in 1977 to make way for redevelopment.[2] The site was originally covered by a garage, bus depot and public car park. In the late 2010s the site was cleared to make way for low rise residential housing and offices.

Notes and References

  1. Book: Clinker, C.R.. Railways of the West Midlands a Chronology 1808-1954. Stephenson Locomotive Society. 1954. London. 23.
  2. Book: Hurst, Geoffrey. LNWR Branch Lines of West Leicestershire & East Warwickshire. Milepost Publications. 1993. 44–59. First . 0-947796-16-9.
  3. Web site: Leamington Avenue Station (LNWR). Warwickshire Railways. 29 January 2018.
  4. Web site: Railways to Royal Leamington Spa . Leamington History Group . 25 March 2023.