Plumtree railway station served

Plumtree A plum is a fruit of some species in ''Prunus'' subg. ''Prunus'.'' Dried plums are called prunes. History Plums may have been one of the first fruits domesticated by humans. Three of the most abundantly cultivated species are not found i ...

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

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The traditi ...

, 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

station Station may refer to: Agriculture * Station (Australian agriculture), a large Australian landholding used for livestock production * Station (New Zealand agriculture), a large New Zealand farm used for grazing by sheep and cattle ** Cattle statio ...

is now closed, although 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 (1 November 1879) & passengers (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

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 and Plumtree closed to passengers as early as 1949. 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. In 1910, nine trains each way stopped at Plumtree Station. The earliest train to Nottingham was 7.02, and to Melton Mowbray 6.55. A passenger catching this latter service could expect to be in London St Pancras by 10.55 a.m. Sunday services were virtually non-existent, with only the morning milk train (7.49) to Nottingham (and no way of getting back that day!)

Stationmasters

*George Thomas Bursnell 1879 - 1883 *James C. Chidgey 1883 - 1886 (afterwards station master at Spondon) *William George Nutall 1886 - 1888 (afterwards station master at Kirkby Stephen) *John Walters 1888 - 1890 (formerly station master at Hykeham) *Edwin Charles Harvey 1890 - 1919 *Walter Frank Gardner 1921 - 1932 *Albert Henry Hemmings 1937 - 1939 (formerly station master at Dudbridge) *Herbert F. Wilson 1943 - 1951 (formerly station master at East Langton) *Arthur Nicholson 1952 - 1954 *John Ingamells 1954 - 1959 *Fred Saunders 1960 - 1965

Present day

Following the closure of the line as a through-route in 1968, the track between Melton Mowbray and was reused as far as Edwalton and became the

. This was 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, Class 390 Pendolino units. It is currently used for testing London Underground trains 'S Stock' units. The main station buildings have survived and have been converted into 'Perkins Restaurant'. A conservatory extension has been built on the platform and the former goods shed has been tastefully restored as a function room.

References

External links

Plumtree station on navigable 1946 O.S. map

{{DEFAULTSORT:Plumtree Railway Station Disused railway stations in Nottinghamshire Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1880 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1949 Former Midland Railway stations John Holloway Sanders railway stations