Piddington 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 former

Bedford to Northampton Line 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 t ...

. Despite its name, the station was located close to the village of

Horton Horton may refer to: Places Antarctica * Horton Glacier, Adelaide Island, Antarctica * Horton Ledge, Queen Elizabeth Land, Antarctica Australia * Horton, Queensland, a town and locality in the Bundaberg Region * Horton River (Australia), ...

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...

, approximately from the village of Piddington.

History

The line and station were opened in 1872 and operated 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 ...

which became part of the

London Midland and Scottish Railway The London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMSIt has been argued that the initials LMSR should be used to be consistent with LNER, GWR and SR. The London, Midland and Scottish Railway's corporate image used LMS, and this is what is generally ...

in 1923. The line closed to passengers in 1962. Until 1939 the western end of the line was at Northampton St Johns Street Station.That station closed in 1939 and the trains were diverted into Northampton Bridge Street Station and from there they ran into Northampton Castle Station. For a short while from December 1892, Piddington and Horton were also served by the

Stratford-upon-Avon and Midland Junction Railway Stratford-upon-Avon (), commonly known as just Stratford, is a market town and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon district, in the county of Warwickshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It is situated on the River Avon, north-wes ...

, known as the "SMJR", with a station called

Salcey Forest Salcey Forest is a fragment of a former medieval hunting forest east of the village of Hartwell, between Northampton and Newport Pagnell in Northamptonshire. It is managed by Forestry England and to promote biodiversity, and is also commercially ...

to the south west of Horton and south east of Piddington. This line ran from

Towcester Towcester ( ) is an affluent market town in Northamptonshire, England. It currently lies in West Northamptonshire but was the former administrative headquarters of the South Northamptonshire district council. Towcester is one of the oldest ...

to Ravenstone Wood Junction on the Northampton to Bedford line between Piddington and Olney stations via

Blisworth Blisworth is a village and civil parish in the West Northamptonshire, England. The West Coast Main Line, from London Euston to Manchester and Scotland, runs alongside the village partly hidden and partly on an embankment. The Grand Union Canal ...

and

Stoke Bruerne Stoke Bruerne is a small village and civil parish in West Northamptonshire, England about north of Milton Keynes and south of Northampton. The civil parish population at the 2011 Census was 373. History Stoke Bruerne is mentioned in the Dom ...

. There were connections from Towcester to Banbury and Stratford upon Avon.

Routes

Present day

The station can be found off the B526 in Horton village. The route of the line is just to the northeast of the village. There is a proposal to reopen this line.BBC News, "New bid to reopen old rail link", 21 June 2004.
/ref> Confusion sometimes occurs as there is a disused railway line close to Piddington itself, however that is the former Stratford and Midland Junction Railway, which had no station at Piddington or Horton except Salcey Forest referred to above.

References

{{Closed_stations_Northamptonshire Disused railway stations in Northamptonshire Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1872 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1962 Former Midland Railway stations Hackleton