Sharnbrook railway station explained
Sharnbrook railway station was opened in 1857 by the Midland Railway to serve the village of Sharnbrook in Bedfordshire, England. It was on the Midland's extension from Leicester to Bedford and Hitchin.
It was situated near to Sharnbrook Summit. Here, originally there was a 1 in 119 gradient from the south taking the line to 340 feet above sea level. Around 1880, the line was quadrupled, with the new goods tracks taken through 1800yd[1] long Sharnbrook Tunnel. Following this, in 1884, a long curve, the Wymington Deviation allowed the ruling gradient on the slow/goods lines to be reduced to 1 in 200.[2]
It closed in 1960 and the station buildings were subsequently demolished.
The slow/goods lines were singled and put up to passenger standard in 1987. As of 2007 they see one train a day plus occasional engineering diversions, such as on the weekend 6/7 May 2007.
Quadruple track was restored between Sharnbrook Junction and Kettering South Junction in 2020; electrification was in progress as at September, 2020. The existing Down Slow remains signalled for bi-directional use; the Up Slow is signalled for use in that direction only.
Stationmasters
- H. Robinson until 1861[3] (afterwards station master at Thorpe)
- Joseph Wright 1861[3] - ca .1864 (formerly station master at Finedon)
- William G. Hawkins ca. 1869 - 1873[4]
- William Grant 1873[4] - 1885[5] (formerly stationmaster at Barrow upon Soar, afterwards station master at Codnor Park and Ironville)
- Edwin Hoe 1885 - 1898[5] (formerly station master at Finedon)
- John V. Hawkins 1898[5] - ca. 1916
- W.E. Turner 1924 - 1931[6] (afterwards station master at Kegworth)
- J.A. Dowdeswell 1931 - 1938 (formerly station master at Swannington)
- A.J. Chamberlain 1938 - 1939[7]
- Harold Joseph Miller 1939 - 1948[8] (formerly station master at East Horndon)
- W.H. Shepperson 1948 - 1959[9] (afterwards station master at Selly Oak)
References
52.2254°N -0.5318°W
Notes and References
- Railway Magazine November 1958 p.809
- Radford, B., (1983) Midland Line Memories: a Pictorial History of the Midland Railway Main Line Between London (St Pancras) & Derby London: Bloomsbury Books
- . 1914 . 1859-1866 . Midland Railway Miscellaneous Depts . 178 . 26 December 2021.
- . 1871 . 1871-1879 Coaching . Midland Railway Operating, Traffic and Coaching Depts . 549 . 26 December 2021.
- . 1881 . 1881-1898 Coaching . Midland Railway Operating, Traffic and Coaching Depts . 727 . 26 December 2021.
- News: . Sharnbrook . Bedfordshire Times and Independent . England . 20 November 1931 . 26 December 2021 . British Newspaper Archive . subscription .
- News: . Sharnbrook . Bedfordshire Times and Independent . England . 20 October 1939 . 26 December 2021 . British Newspaper Archive . subscription .
- News: . Personal and General . Bedfordshire Times and Independent . England . 9 January 1948 . 26 December 2021 . British Newspaper Archive . subscription .
- News: . New Stationmaster for Selly Oak. Birmingham Daily Post . England . 2 September 1959 . 26 December 2021 . British Newspaper Archive . subscription .
