Potton 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 town of the same name in

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council wa ...

. Opened in 1857 as part of Sir William Peel's Sandy and Potton Railway, the station was initially situated further south near the Biggleswade Road. Upon being taken over by the

Bedford and Cambridge Railway 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 ...

in 1862 a new station was opened which remained in service for over one hundred years before closing in 1968. The station building has survived and is now a private house.

History

Sandy and Potton Railway

Following the opening of

Sandy railway station Sandy railway station serves the town of Sandy in Bedfordshire, England. It is on the East Coast Main Line, about 44 miles (71 km) from . Sandy is managed by Great Northern but all train services are operated by Thameslink. Sandy sta ...

by the Great Northern Railway in 1850, local landowner

Captain William Peel Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

, third son of former

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Sir Robert Peel Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet, (5 February 1788 – 2 July 1850) was a British Conservative statesman who served twice as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1834–1835 and 1841–1846) simultaneously serving as Chancellor of the Exchequer ...

, saw the benefits of a connecting link to Potton and added his voice to those of local traders who were calling for the construction of a line. Peel, the owner of an estate of around between Potton and Sandy, offered to give permission for the line to cross his land and, furthermore, to construct it at his own expense. Construction began in May 1856 and by 25 June 1857 was ready for opening to goods traffic. The line, and 2

furlong A furlong is a measure of distance in imperial units and United States customary units equal to one eighth of a mile, equivalent to 660 feet, 220 yards, 40 rods, 10 chains or approximately 201 metres. It is now mostly confined to use in hors ...

s long and built at a cost of £15,000, did not require an

Act of Parliament Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the Legislature, legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of ...

as it ran through private land owned by Captain Peel. The Sandy and Potton Railway was worked by a small 0-4-0 well-tank engine built at a cost of £800 by

George England and Co. George England and Co. was an early English manufacturer of steam locomotives founded by the engineer George England of Newcastle upon Tyne (1811–1878). The company operated from the Hatcham Iron Works in New Cross, Surrey, and began buil ...

Hatcham Hatcham was a manor and later a chapelry in what is now London, England. It largely corresponds to the area around New Cross in the London Borough of Lewisham. The ancient parish of Deptford straddled the counties of Surrey and Kent and there c ...

. Captain Peel named the engine ''Shannon'' after , a

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...

which he had commanded in the

Far East The ''Far East'' was a European term to refer to the geographical regions that includes East and Southeast Asia as well as the Russian Far East to a lesser extent. South Asia is sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons. The ter ...

in the year it was built. The outlay in constructing the railway was soon recovered through the fruit and vegetable traffic carried from Peel's estate and the manure and fertiliser transported in, turning a £70 per annum profit for his estate in 1853 to one of £500 per annum in 1858. Passenger traffic commenced in November 1857 after an inspection from the

Board of Trade The Board of Trade is a British government body concerned with commerce and industry, currently within the Department for International Trade. Its full title is The Lords of the Committee of the Privy Council appointed for the consideration of ...

. The initial station at Potton was equipped with very basic facilities; there was no booking office or passenger waiting room. 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 ...

, small staff office and

locomotive shed The motive power depot (MPD) or locomotive depot, or traction maintenance depot (TMD), is the place where locomotives are usually housed, repaired and maintained when not being used. They were originally known as "running sheds", "engine shed ...

were however provided. The station was sited in a field to the west of the Biggleswade Road.

Station buildings

The Sandy and Potton Railway was acquired by the Bedford and Cambridge Railway in 1860, which intended to make the route part of a longer line to Cambridge. Track was relaid and Potton station was resited north to its current position. A more substantial two-platformed station was provided with a cast-iron glass canopy supported by stanchions on the Up platform bearing the Bedford and Cambridge's initials in script letters. The majority of the station's buildings were situated on the Up side, including the goods shed,

cattle pen A pen is an enclosure for holding livestock. It may also perhaps be used as a term for an enclosure for other animals such as pets that are unwanted inside the house. The term describes types of enclosures that may confine one or many animal ...

s and

water tank A water tank is a container for storing water. Water tanks are used to provide storage of water for use in many applications, drinking water, irrigation agriculture, fire suppression, agricultural farming, both for plants and livestock, chemi ...

with steam pump (the only one between Sandy and

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

). A small waiting shelter was provided on the Down side, linked by a footbridge, for passengers. The station saw much outward traffic in agricultural goods, such as potatoes and onions, and inward traffic of manure and fertiliser, much coming from stables in

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

London Zoo London Zoo, also known as ZSL London Zoo or London Zoological Gardens is the world's oldest scientific zoo. It was opened in London on 27 April 1828, and was originally intended to be used as a collection for science, scientific study. In 1831 o ...

. A

siding Siding may refer to: * Siding (construction), the outer covering or cladding of a house * Siding (rail) A siding, in rail terminology, is a low-speed track section distinct from a running line or through route such as a main line, branch l ...

led to the south of the station where it served a

sandpit A sandpit (most Commonwealth countries) or sandbox (US and Canada) is a low, wide container or shallow depression filled with soft (beach) sand in which children can play. Sharp sand (as used in the building industry) is not suitable for su ...

used by Beart's Brick Company from October 1870.

Closure

Although the arrival of the railway had helped boost the town's population to around 2,000 by 1937, the line found itself proposed for closure first in 1959 and then again in 1963, before eventually closing in 1968. The idea of preserving the line between Sandy and Potton was discussed at a public meeting at Sandy which resulted in the formation of the ''Sandy & Potton Steam Railway Society''. The organisation was, however, unable to raise outright the purchase price asked for by

British Railways British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most of the overground rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the Big Four British rai ...

and the scheme failed despite the support of Sandy Urban District Council. Track removal began in July 1969 and the society was eventually wound-up.

Post-closure

The station was purchased by George Howe, a former railwayman, who restored the yellow

gault The Gault Formation is a geological formation of stiff blue clay deposited in a calm, fairly deep-water marine environment during the Lower Cretaceous Period (Upper and Middle Albian). It is well exposed in the coastal cliffs at Copt Point in ...

brick main passenger building as a private residence. The goods shed from the first Potton station survives as a vegetable store. The locomotive known as "Shannon", which was later used on the

Wantage Tramway The Wantage Tramway Company was a two-mile tramway that carried passengers and freight between the Oxfordshire town of Wantage and Wantage Road Station on the Great Western Main Line in England. Formed in 1873 to link Wantage Road station with ...

, is now a stationary exhibit at the

Didcot Railway Centre Didcot Railway Centre is a railway museum and preservation engineering site in Didcot, Oxfordshire, England. The site was formerly a Great Western Railway engine shed and locomotive stabling point. Background The founders and commercial backers ...

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * *

External links

*
Potton station on navigable 1946 O. S. map

Cambridge to Bedford Train via Sandy, Dec 1967
{{Closed stations Bedfordshire Disused railway stations in Bedfordshire Former London and North Western Railway stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1857 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1862 Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1862 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1968 1862 establishments in England 1857 establishments in England Potton