Attenborough railway station geograph-2154093

Attenborough railway station serves Attenborough in

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The trad ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

History

Built as a halt known as Attenborough Gate in 1856 on the

Midland Counties Railway The Midland Counties' Railway (MCR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom which existed between 1839 and 1844, connecting Nottingham, Leicester and Derby with Rugby, Warwickshire, Rugby and thence, via the London and Birmingham Railway, t ...

line from

Nottingham Nottingham ( , locally ) is a city and unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east of Sheffield and north-east of Birmingham. Nottingham has links to the legend of Robi ...

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby g ...

which had opened in 1839, the station opened next to a

level crossing A level crossing is an intersection where a railway line crosses a road, path, or (in rare situations) airport runway, at the same level, as opposed to the railway line crossing over or under using an overpass or tunnel. The term a ...

and tickets were bought from the crossing keeper. The station on the present site was built by the

Midland Railway The Midland Railway (MR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844. The Midland was one of the largest railway companies in Britain in the early 20th century, and the largest employer in Derby, where it had its headquarters. It ama ...

and opened on 1 September 1864; the ''Gate'' suffix was dropped and the name became Attenborough. Becoming part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway during the Grouping of 1923, the station then passed on to the

London Midland Region of British Railways The London Midland Region (LMR) was one of the six regions created on the formation of the nationalised British Railways (BR), and initially consisted of ex-London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) lines in England, Wales and Northern Irelan ...

on nationalisation in 1948. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

the station had its platforms extended as it was used as an interchange for soldiers and workers heading for National Shell Filling Factory No. 6 at Chilwell. In April 1937 the station was renamed

Chilwell Chilwell is a village and residential suburb of Nottingham, in the borough of Broxtowe of Nottinghamshire, west of Nottingham city. Until 1974 it was part of Beeston and Stapleford Urban District, having been in Stapleford Rural District un ...

. However, this did not go down well with Attenborough locals who raised a petition which 235 local people signed. This resulted in a decision by the LMS to revert the name to Attenborough. The signal box survived until at least 1982 but is now demolished. When Sectorisation was introduced in the 1980s, the station was served by

Regional Railways Regional Railways was one of the three passenger sectors of British Rail created in 1982 that existed until 1997, two years after privatisation. The sector was originally called ''Provincial''. Regional Railways was the most subsidised (per pas ...

until the

Privatisation of British Rail The privatisation of British Rail was the process by which ownership and operation of the railways of Great Britain passed from government control into private hands. Begun in 1994, it had been completed by 1997. The deregulation of the indust ...

ways. It is an unstaffed station, having lost its station buildings and staff in the early 1990s. Following a rebuild of the platforms in 2005 the station has no architectural remains from any earlier station except parts of the footbridge. The footbridge was replaced in 2007, receiving a new steel deck and stairways. The blue brick towers, which support the bridge, were retained.

Stationmasters

*John Silvester until 1876 *George Jukes 1876 - 1878 *John Bradshaw Bott 1878 - 1904 (formerly station master at Carlton) *Arthur Griffin 1904 - 1908 (afterwards station master at Holwell Junction) *Joseph Henry Wildgoose 1908 - 1925 (formerly station master at Scotby) *Thomas R. Cliff 1931 - 1936 *T. Powell from 1936 (formerly station master at Willington, Bedfordshire) - ca. 1948 *Thomas W. Tate 1956 - 1966 (formerly station master at Nantwich)

Services

An hourly service is provided throughout the day by East Midlands Railway' Matlock to

service. Most of these now run through to & from since the December 2014 timetable change. Additional services run at peak times, including some operated by CrossCountry.GB eNRT May 2016 Edition, Tables 56 & 57 On Sundays the service is also hourly, although only between Nottingham and Derby (two-hourly extensions to Matlock). East Midlands Railway Mainline services from

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popula ...

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire a ...

and

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

run through at high speed, but do not stop. Interchange with Mainline services can be made at

and

References

*Higginson, M, (1989) ''The Midland Counties Railway: A Pictorial Survey,'' Derby: Midland Railway Trust. * * *
Station on navigable O.S. map

External links

Class 44 locomotive passing Attenborough Station 1976.Train passing through Attenborough Station in 2005.See Attenborough railway station on Google Street View
{{Railway stations served by East Midlands Railway Railway stations in Nottinghamshire DfT Category F2 stations Former Midland Railway stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1856 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1858 Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1864 Railway stations served by East Midlands Railway Railway stations served by CrossCountry Transport in the Borough of Broxtowe