Leicester Belgrave Road was the Great Northern Railway terminus in

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, 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 l ...

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 ...

. It was the terminus of the GNR's branch line from the

Great Northern and London and North Western Joint Railway The Great Northern and London and North Western Joint Railway was a British railway line, almost entirely within Leicestershire. Authorised by the same Act of Parliament, the Great Northern Railway Leicester Branch was built, branching from the ...

at Marefield Junction.

Overview

The station opened on 1 January 1883. Marefield Junction was triangular and allowed through running north or south.

Services

The main services from Leicester were to

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 ...

and

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 ...

. The station was also well provided in summer with specials, especially to

Skegness Skegness ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the East Lindsey District of Lincolnshire, England. On the Lincolnshire coast of the North Sea, the town is east of Lincoln and north-east of Boston. With a population of 19,579 as of 2011, i ...

and

Mablethorpe Mablethorpe is a seaside town in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England, part of the civil parish of Mablethorpe and Sutton.OS Explorer map 283:Louth and Mablethorpe: (1:25 000): The population including nearby Sutton-on-Sea was 12, ...

. The Peterborough trains were stopped as a war economy in 1916. Local traffic was never heavy, and by 1950 there were only two Grantham trains remaining, one of which was a semi-fast with limited stops which connected with the Flying Scotsman at Grantham. This train was withdrawn in 1951, the remaining stopping train survived until the end of regular services over the joint line in 1953. Summer specials continued to run until 1962, in the later years with severe speed restrictions on the Leicester branch.

Closure

The line closed in 1962 but various depots continued in use for a few years using a reinstated connection with 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 ...

which had last been used for materials delivery during construction. The last of these, Catherine Street oil depot, closed on 1 January 1969. The Leicester station site has been since been developed as a supermarket and adjoining car park.

Summary of Former Services

Sample Train Timetable for April 1910

The table below shows the train departures from Leicester Belgrave Road in April 1910.Bradshaw's Railway Guide, April 1910

References

External links

GNR spur to Leicester Belgrave Road
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leicester Belgrave Road Railway Station Disused railway stations in Leicestershire Former Great Northern Railway stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1883 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1953