Private railway station explained

Private railway stations were a logical development of the rapid growth in railway transportation during the 19th century. Whereas financiers looked to place their stations so as to balance the cost of the construction with expected revenue from the nearby populace, wealthy people utilised this new mode of transport by creating a halt solely for the use of their family, guests and staff.

Examples

The earliest recorded such halt is Crathes Station[1] in Aberdeenshire, built for Sir Robert Burnett of Leys in 1853. Such was his family's authority that even messenger trains run when Queen Victoria was in residence at Balmoral had to stop there, just in case he wanted to get on.[2] There were many such lairds,[3] although some were rather less willing to pay for their station once it was safely constructed. Some wealthy land-owners wanted the convenience of a bespoke station but did not want an unsightly intrusion onto their land,[4] while others wanted their station to be seen from far and wide.[5] The practice spread to Ireland[6] and abroad: both Bermuda[7] and Austria[8] creating exclusive stations for upmarket hotels. Some such stations exist in rural Wales[9] but others designed to ferry the more budget-conscious to holiday camps have disappeared[10] as increasingly such customers ventured abroad. The uses for private halts was as diverse as their appearance: to transport farm produce,[11] access a golf club,[12] a remote firing range,[13] hospital[14] or an aircraft factory.[15] Many took great pride in their private fiefdoms[16] and most are remembered with great affection.

"One of the stops on the Black Isle Railway line was a private halt opened in 1894 at Rosehaugh, near Avoch for the estate owner, Mr James Douglas Fletcher. In its early days it was a great success. The only alternatives, even for a laird, were horse, bicycles or Shanks Pony but once the motor car came into its own however, the station’s use dwindled and it eventually closed in 1951".

Elizabeth Marshall, The Black Isle-Portrait of the Past[17]

Today the term is often used jokingly for an underused station such as Emerson Park[18] or mistakenly about remote highland stations, where it would be uneconomic to stop for the minuscule number of per annum passengers, unless requested. Many are now only remembered because of the diligent recording of railway enthusiasts[19]

See also

Notes and References

  1. http://jove.prohosting.com/ark84/railways/deeside/crathes/crathes.htm Earliest Private Halt
  2. News: New York Times, 11th February 1984 . The New York Times. 31 December 2011 . 11 February 1894.
  3. http://jove.prohosting.com/ark84/railways/buchan/philorth/philorth.htm Arrangements for crossing Philorth
  4. Web site: Tunnel built to hide line. https://web.archive.org/web/20110529151855/http://198.170.119.92/PDFs/MVVC%20Wetton%20Mill.pdf . dead . 29 May 2011 . 31 December 2011 .
  5. http://www.users.waitrose.com/~rod99/pages/rail/ringwood-christchurch.htm Flamboyant Egremont family
  6. http://www.hoganstand.com/general/Identity/extras/heritage/stories/railways.htm Grim cost of Private Halt in Monaghan
  7. Web site: ANtknEe New Poster Registered: 21 May 2006 Posts: 2 . Halt for The Bermudiana . Bbs.keyhole.com . 31 December 2011 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110522105146/http://bbs.keyhole.com/ubb/showthreaded.php?Number=798655 . 22 May 2011.
  8. Web site: ANtknEe New Poster Registered: 21 May 2006 Posts: 2 . The Mariazellerbahn . Bbs.keyhole.com . 31 December 2011 .
  9. Web site: Welsh Halt . Festipedia . 29 December 2010 . 31 December 2011.
  10. https://archive.today/20130628091642/http://www.123exp-places.com/t/01121494503/ Irish holiday camp private halt
  11. http://www.hfstephens-museum.org.uk/pages/topics/selsey/selsey_tramway.htm Selsey tram farm stop
  12. Web site: Luffness Golf Club . Eastlothianmuseums.org . 31 December 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120206142916/http://www.eastlothianmuseums.org/exhibitions/nbr/branch.html . 6 February 2012 . dead.
  13. Web site: Long disappeared Military Halt . Newsgroups.derkeiler.com . 16 October 2005 . 31 December 2011 . 8 February 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120208140349/http://newsgroups.derkeiler.com/Archive/Uk/uk.railway/2005-10/msg02418.html . dead .
  14. Web site: Basingstoke Railway History in Maps . https://web.archive.org/web/20081206131552/http://web.ukonline.co.uk/cj.tolley/cjt-brhm.htm . 6 December 2008. For Lord Treloar, Alton. Christopher Tolley . 2001. 20 February 2015.
  15. http://www.beaumontschool.com/pdf/ob_newsletter%20issue%2050.pdf Halt for De Havilands employees
  16. Web site: Racehorse named after station . Archive.thenorthernecho.co.uk . 31 December 2011.
  17. Published by J.C.Protheroe,1974
  18. Web site: Transport thread . Billz1064.proboards1.com . 31 December 2011.
  19. http://jules-merlin27.fotopic.net/p25882309.html Photograph of former site

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