Old North Road 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 ...

on the

Varsity Line The Varsity Line (or the Oxford to Cambridge railway line) was the main railway route that once linked the English university cities of Oxford and Cambridge, operated by the London and North Western Railway. During World War II the line was ...

which served the small village of

Longstowe Longstowe is a civil parish and small rural village of nearly 200 residents in South Cambridgeshire, England, west of Cambridge. The population was measured at 205 at the 2011 Census. It is situated on the western side of the A1198 road (Ermine ...

near

Bourn Bourn is a small village and civil parish in South Cambridgeshire, England. Surrounding villages include Caxton, Eltisley and Cambourne. It is 8 miles (12 km) from the county town of Cambridge. The population of the parish was 1,015 people ...

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and North ...

. As its name suggests, the station was located on the eastern side of the

Old North Road Ermine Street is a major Roman road in England that ran from London (''Londinium'') to Lincoln (''Lindum Colonia'') and York (''Eboracum''). The Old English name was ''Earninga Strǣt'' (1012), named after a tribe called the ''Earningas'', ...

, the

A1198 road The A1198 is a road in Cambridgeshire, England, which runs between the A505 at Royston, and the A1307 on the outskirts of Huntingdon. Settlements along route * Royston * Kneesworth * Waddon Gap * Arrington * Caxton * Cambourne * Papworth ...

- a major

Roman road Roman roads ( la, viae Romanae ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, and were built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Re ...

which linked

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 ...

with

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincoln ...

. Opened in 1862, the station was located in a rural area and saw little passenger traffic; it closed together with the line in 1968.

History

Old North Road station was opened by the Bedford & Cambridge Railway as part of its line from

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst ...

, the construction of which began in April 1861. The line was worked by the

London and North Western Railway The London and North Western Railway (LNWR, L&NWR) was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. In the late 19th century, the L&NWR was the largest joint stock company in the United Kingdom. In 1923, it became a constituent of the Lo ...

(LNWR) from its opening in 1862, which acquired the Bedford & Cambridge in 1865. Simply laid out on the eastern side of the Old North Road which was crossed on the level, the station had two concrete facing platforms. The majority of the station buildings were situated on the northern Up side, including a

goods shed A goods shed is a railway building designed for storing goods before or after carriage in a train. A typical goods shed will have a track running through it to allow goods wagons to be unloaded under cover, although sometimes they were built ...

and a type 5 LNWR

signal box In signal processing, a signal is a function that conveys information about a phenomenon. Any quantity that can vary over space or time can be used as a signal to share messages between observers. The ''IEEE Transactions on Signal Processing'' ...

. A coal siding and cattle pens were located on the Down side.

Present day

The station buildings, signal box and goods shed have survived in private ownership, but 3/4 of the platforms have been filled in.The Friends of the National Railway Museum, Briefing 26, June 2002.
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References

External links

*

{{Coord, 52.1738, N, 0.0774, W, display=title, type:railwaystation_region:GB Disused railway stations in Cambridgeshire Former London and North Western Railway stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1862 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1968 1862 establishments in England