Essendine railway station was a station in

Essendine Essendine is a village and civil parish at the eastern end of the county of Rutland in the East Midlands of England, located 5 miles (7 km) north of Stamford and 6 miles (10 km) south of Bourne. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 cen ...

Rutland Rutland () is a ceremonial county and unitary authority in the East Midlands, England. The county is bounded to the west and north by Leicestershire, to the northeast by Lincolnshire and the southeast by Northamptonshire. Its greatest len ...

. It was situated on the

East Coast Main Line The East Coast Main Line (ECML) is a electrified railway between London and Edinburgh via Peterborough, Doncaster, York, Darlington, Durham and Newcastle. The line is a key transport artery on the eastern side of Great Britain running broa ...

of the Great Northern Railway.

Overview

The main line and the station opened in 1853. The

Stamford and Essendine Railway The Stamford and Essendine Railway was built to connect Stamford, Lincolnshire, in England, to the nearby Great Northern Railway. It was a short line, and it opened in 1856. It was not commercially successful, and the directors sought a means of co ...

branch line to Stamford and the line to

Bourne Bourne may refer to: Places UK * Bourne, Lincolnshire, a town ** Bourne Abbey ** Bourne railway station * Bourne (electoral division), West Sussex * Bourne SSSI, Avon, a Site of Special Scientific Interest near Burrington, North Somerset * Bourne ...

were opened in 1856 and 1860. Due to its status as a junction, it was served by some express trains as well as by stopping trains. For many years a commuter train left King's Cross at around 5pm and terminated at Essendine, before returning the next morning. The Bourne branch closed in 1951. The Stamford branch closed in 1959 along with Essendine station itself and the

Peterborough Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire until ...

Grantham Grantham () is a market and industrial town in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England, situated on the banks of the River Witham and bounded to the west by the A1 road. It lies some 23 miles (37 km) south of the Lincoln and ...

local services. Peterborough to Grantham is the longest distance between adjacent stations in England. The 'South' Signal-box at Essendine was enlarged, not long after it was built, and by the time the station closed, had well over a hundred levers. Many of these, however had become 'spare' by that time. About the first 21 or 22 were for working the Bourne Branch and some related sidings.

Record

The world speed record for

steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the locomot ...

s at was achieved on 3 July 1938 by

LNER Class A4 4468 Mallard LNER Class A4 4468 ''Mallard'' is a 4-6-2 ("Pacific") steam locomotive built in 1938 for operation on the London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) at Doncaster Works to a design of Nigel Gresley. Its streamlined, wind tunnel tested design all ...

. Taking place on the slight downwards grade of Stoke Bank south of

on the

, the highest speed was recorded at milepost 90¼, between

Little Bytham Little Bytham is a village and civil parish in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 384. It lies on the B1176 road, south from Corby Glen and north from Stamford . ...

and

. It broke the German (

DRG Class 05 The Deutsche Reichsbahn's Class 05 was a German class of three express passenger steam locomotives of 4-6-4 wheel arrangement in the Whyte notation, or 2′C2′ h3 in the UIC notation used in continental Europe. They were part of the DRG's ...

) 002's 1936 record of 124 mph (200.4 km/h).

Summary of former services

London services

In 1863 there were 5 services to London with a best time of 2 hours 30 min via the York - London train at 13.30. In April 1910 this had improved to 10 services, although some required a change at Peterborough, and the best time was 1 hour 46 mins via the Nottingham - London express at 08.54. By July 1922, this had reduced to 7 services, with the best time now being 2 hours 10 mins via the Leeds - London express at 10.10. In 2009, it is possible to travel to London by public transport in under 2 hours. The fastest route is by bus to Stamford and then train to London, changing at Peterborough.

Train timetable for July 1922

The table below shows the train departures from Essendine on weekdays in July 1922.Bradshaw Railway Guide, July 1922

References

External links

Photo of 'Bourne Bay' at Essendine'

Brief history of Stamford railways
{{coord, 52.6996, -0.4529, type:railwaystation_region:GB, display=title Disused railway stations in Rutland Former Great Northern Railway stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1853 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1959 1852 establishments in England