Braunston London Road was one of two

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

s that served the village of

Braunston Braunston is a village and civil parish in West Northamptonshire, England, next to the border with Warwickshire. At the 2011 Census, the parish had a population of 1,759. Braunston is situated just off the A45 main road and lies between the to ...

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...

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 ...

. The station was built on the Weedon to Leamington Spa branch line on an embankment next to the village's wharf on the

Grand Union Canal The Grand Union Canal in England is part of the British canal system. It is the principal navigable waterway between London and the Midlands. Starting in London, one arm runs to Leicester and another ends in Birmingham, with the latter st ...

after the demolishing of a number of houses and a pub that were in the way.'Discover Braunston', Braunston History Society (pdf format)
The station opened along with the Leamington extension of the Weedon line on 1 August

1895 Events January–March * January 5 – Dreyfus affair: French officer Alfred Dreyfus is stripped of his army rank, and sentenced to life imprisonment on Devil's Island. * January 12 – The National Trust for Places of Histor ...

. It was on a

passing loop A passing loop (UK usage) or passing siding (North America) (also called a crossing loop, crossing place, refuge loop or, colloquially, a hole) is a place on a single line railway or tramway, often located at or near a station, where trains or ...

and originally had two platforms with an underpass linking them, however the second platform was later taken out of use and removed, so trains in both directions called at the same platform, although the loop was retained for goods traffic until the line closed. The station was originally known as just ''Braunston'', however it was renamed as ''Braunston London Road'' in 1950, to differentiate it from the other station serving the village. Despite its small size, Braunston was also served by Braunston and Willoughby station on the former

Great Central Main Line The Great Central Main Line (GCML), also known as the London Extension of the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway (MS&LR), is a former railway line in the United Kingdom. The line was opened in 1899 and built by the Great Central Railw ...

, which served Braunston and the village of Willoughby, which it was closer to. The line closed to passengers in 1958, and freight in 1963. Little now remains of the station, although the embankment where it stood can still be seen.

References

External links

Braunston station on navigable 1954 O. S. map

LNWR Map
{{Closed_stations_Northamptonshire Disused railway stations in Northamptonshire Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1895 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1958 Former London and North Western Railway stations West Northamptonshire District