Desford railway station was a

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 ...

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire t ...

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 ...

on the

Leicester and Swannington Railway The Leicester and Swannington Railway (L&SR) was one of England's first railways, built to bring coal from West Leicestershire collieries to Leicester, where there was great industrial demand for coal. The line opened in 1832, and included a tun ...

, which later became part of 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 am ...

Leicester to Burton upon Trent Line Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the Nati ...

History

The original station opened on 18 July 1832; originally named ''Desford Lane'', it was renamed ''Desford'' by 26 April 1833. This station was closed on 27 March 1848, being replaced by a new station, also named ''Desford'', sited to the west of the original. The station was about northeast of

Desford Desford is a village and civil parish in the Hinckley and Bosworth district, west of the centre of Leicester and around 7 miles north east of Hinckley. Situated on a hill approximately 400 feet above sea level, the parish includes the hamlets ...

village, close to the

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

Newtown Unthank Newtown Unthank is a hamlet in the Hinckley and Bosworth district of Leicestershire about west of Leicester. It is in the civil parish of Desford and about a mile northeast of the village. Newtown Unthank was the site of Desford railway stat ...

British Railways British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most of the overground rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the Big Four British rai ...

closed the station on 7 September 1964 but the line remains open for freight traffic.

References

Former Midland Railway stations Disused railway stations in Leicestershire Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1832 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1848 Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1848 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1964 Beeching closures in England {{EastMidlands-railstation-stub