Whittington railway station
| Whittington | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
| Area | Chesterfield |
| Grid reference | SK 401 750 |
| Operations | |
| Original company | Midland Railway |
| Post-grouping | London, Midland and Scottish Railway |
| Platforms | 2 |
| History | |
| 1 October 1861 | Station opened |
| 9 June 1873 | Replaced by new station further north |
| 4 February 1952 | Closed to regular services |
| March 1977 | Closed completely[1] |
| Disused railway stations in the United Kingdom | |
|
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Whittington railway station is a former railway station on the southern edge of New Whittington, Derbyshire, England.
History
The original Whittington station was opened by the Midland Railway in 1861 to serve Old Whittington.
The station was on the North Midland Railway's "Old Road" between Chesterfield and Rotherham Masborough. The line opened in 1840 and became very busy with coal and steel traffic with a number of new branches. In 1870 the Midland opened the "New Road" through Sheffield from Tapton Junction just north of Chesterfield, diverting passenger expresses away from the Old Road.
The line through Whittington remained busy with local passengers, particularly with the rapidly expanding industry. The original station was replaced with a station 1.5 miles (2 km) further north in 1873. This 1873 station was the final Whittington station in the area.
The buildings were constructed of timber, as was the signal box, with loops to each line. For a period around 1938 there was a wagon works nearby, with a small siding.
The last regular passenger trains called on 4 February 1952, though it was used for excursions and special trains until 1967.[2]
Passenger services
In 1922 passenger services calling at Whittington were at their most intensive, with trains serving four destinations via five overlapping routes:
- On Sundays only
- stopping trains plied directly between Rotherham Masborough and Chesterfield (MR) via the Old Road.
- On Mondays to Saturdays three stopping services plied between Sheffield (MR) and Chesterfield
- most ran direct down the "New Road" through Dronfield and went nowhere near Whittington.
- the other two services went the "long way round" via the "Old Road". They set off north eastwards from Sheffield (MR) towards Rotherham then swung east to go south along the Old Road
- one of these continued north past Holmes, a short distance before Masboro' then swung hard right, next stop Treeton, then all stations, including Whittington, to Chesterfield,
- the other continued past Attercliffe Road then swung right onto the Sheffield District Railway passing through or calling at West Tinsley and Catcliffe before Treeton, after which they called at all stations to Chesterfield.
- Also on Mondays to Saturdays two stopping services plied between Mansfield (MR) and Chesterfield via Barrow Hill
- some ran via the circuitous Clowne Branch through Elmton and Creswell, Clown (MR) and Staveley Town
- others ran via the equally circuitous Doe Lea Branch through Glapwell and Staveley Town. Some of these terminated at Barrow Hill, but others continued to Chesterfield, calling at Whittington.[3]
Modern traffic
The line is now part of the current Midland Main Line. It is used predomenantly for freight, with a handful of passenger trains going the "long way round" from Chesterfield to Sheffield via the Old Road and Darnall largely to retain staff route knowledge in case of diversions.[4]
| Preceding station | Disused railways | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barrow Hill Line open, station closed |
Midland Railway North Midland Railway "Old Road" |
Chesterfield Line and station open | ||
References
Notes
- ↑ Butt 1995, p. 247.
- ↑ Pixton 2001, p. 13.
- ↑ Bradshaw 1985, p. 660.
- ↑ Old Road passenger traffic in 2013: via psul4all
Sources
- Bradshaw, George (1985) [1922]. July 1922 Railway Guide. Newton Abbott: David & Charles.
- Butt, R. V. J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-8526-0508-1. OCLC 60251199.
- Pixton, Bob (2001). North Midland: Portrait of a Famous Route: Part 2 Chesterfield-Sheffield-Rotherham. Nottingham: Runpast Publishing, (now Book Law). ISBN 1 870754 51 4.
External links
Coordinates: 53°16′14″N 1°23′58″W / 53.2705°N 1.3994°W