Old Dalby Railway Station
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Old Dalby railway station served
Old Dalby Old Dalby is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Broughton and Old Dalby, in the Borough of Melton, Melton district, in the county of Leicestershire, England. It is located to the north-west of Melton Mowbray. It was originall ...
in the
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...
county of
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 ...
. It was opened on the
Nottingham direct line of the Midland Railway The Nottingham direct line of the Midland Railway was a new route created in 1879 to relieve congestion on the established routes of the Midland Railway, in England. It consisted of two connecting lines that, together with part of an existing route, ...
between London and Nottingham, avoiding Leicester. The line still exists today as the
Old Dalby Test Track The Old Dalby Test Track is a railway in the United Kingdom which is used for testing new designs of trains and railway infrastructure. It runs between Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire and Edwalton, on the course of the Midland Railway's route betw ...
.


History

The station was opened for goods on 1 November 1879 and to passengers on 2 February 1880 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 am ...
. The station was designed 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 am ...
company architect
John Holloway Sanders John Holloway Sanders FRIBA (1825 – 16 October 1884) was an architect based in England and chief architect of the Midland Railway until 1884. His date of appointment as Chief Architect to the Midland Railway is not known, but he is recorded as ...
. It was on its cut-off line from to , which had opened the previous year to allow the railway company's expresses between
London London is the capital and 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 down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
and the North to avoid reversal at Nottingham. It also improved access to and from the iron-ore fields in
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 ...
and
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 ...
. Local traffic was minimal but the presence of two army bases built during the last war and the exchange sidings traffic prolonged the life of the station but it eventually succumbed and closed to passengers in 1966. According to the
Official Handbook of Stations The ''Official Handbook of Stations'' was a large book (, 494 pages) listing all the passenger and goods stations, as well as private sidings, on the railways of Great Britain and Ireland. It was published in 1956 by the British Transport Commiss ...
the following classes of traffic were handled by this station in 1956: G, P, F, L, H, C and there was a 1-ton 10 cwt crane.


Stationmasters

*John J. Shrieves 1879 - 1887 *William Drake 1887 - 1903 (afterwards station master at Harlington, Bedfordshire until 1909 when he was killed by a goods train) *Sidney William Varnam 1903 - 1906 (formerly station master at Burton Joyce) *Alfred Ballard 1906 - 1921 (afterwards station master at Shefford) *William Albert Thorneycroft 1921 - 1928 *Percy Harry Hyde 1930 - 1939 (afterwards station master at Tewkesbury) *Reginald W. Whitehead B.E.M. 1940 - 1947 (afterwards station master at Moira) *Arthur W. Flewitt 1959 - 1963 (formerly station master at Chatburn) *Jack Glover 1963 - 1969


Present day

Following the closure of the line as a through-route in 1968, the track between Melton Mowbray and was converted for use as the
Old Dalby Test Track The Old Dalby Test Track is a railway in the United Kingdom which is used for testing new designs of trains and railway infrastructure. It runs between Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire and Edwalton, on the course of the Midland Railway's route betw ...
, used initially for the
Advanced Passenger Train The Advanced Passenger Train (APT) was a tilting high speed train developed by British Rail during the 1970s and early 1980s, for use on the West Coast Main Line (WCML). The WCML contained many curves, and the APT pioneered the concept of activ ...
project and, more recently, for Class 390 Pendolino units.Shannon, P., p. 23. The station building was timber and did not survive but the timber goods shed still exists. Old Dalby was the site of the original control centre for the line in BR days equipped with utility buildings and a small workshop. Later the operations centre was moved to Asfordby when Alstom took over. Today there are still sidings at Old Dalby and an enlarged workshop and new track layout to accommodate the London Underground trains on test. The transformer and 750DC power supply for the 3rd/4th rail system is also located here. The station master's house survives by the roadside as a private residence and the weighbridge as a domestic garage.


References


External links


Old Dalby station on navigable 1946 O.S. map


* ttp://www.old-dalby.com/Old_Dalby.htm Pictures of trains in the Old Dalby station area through the years {{Closed stations Leicestershire and Rutland Disused railway stations in Leicestershire Former Midland Railway stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1880 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1966 Beeching closures in England John Holloway Sanders railway stations