Warsop railway station is a former
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 ...
in
Market Warsop
Warsop is a town and civil parish in the Mansfield district, Nottinghamshire, England, on the outskirts of the remnants of Sherwood Forest.OS Explorer Map 270: Sherwood Forest: (1:25 000): At the 2001 census it had a population of 12,365, reducin ...
,
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 ...
, England.
History
The station was opened by the
Lancashire, Derbyshire & East Coast Railway in March 1897 and closed by
British Rail
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 ...
ways in 1955. The station building made use of the LD&ECR's standard modular architecture.
After leaving
Shirebrook North station, the line crossed the
Midland Nottingham to Worksop line (now the
Robin Hood Line
The Robin Hood Line is a railway line running from Nottingham to Worksop, Nottinghamshire, in the United Kingdom. The stations between Shirebrook and Whitwell (inclusive) are in Derbyshire.
Passenger services are operated by East Midlands Rai ...
and passed the LD&ECR Warsop yard near Warsop Junction. These yards are still in use, currently by
DB Cargo UK
DB Cargo UK (formerly DB Schenker Rail UK and English, Welsh & Scottish Railway (EWS)), is a British rail freight company headquartered in Doncaster, England.
The company was established in early 1995 as ''North & South Railways'', successful ...
. To the north was a branch to Warsop Main Colliery with extensive marshalling yards, now closed.
Shortly after this, in the days when the line was built, the line ran into countryside, crossing
Warsop Vale
Warsop Vale is a small village in the Mansfield district of western Nottinghamshire, England. It is north west of London, north of the county town and city of Nottingham, and north of the town of Mansfield. It is in the civil parish of War ...
, and arrived at Warsop station. These were in the days before the deep mines appeared penetrating the limestone cap.
Between Warsop and
Edwinstowe
Edwinstowe is a large village and civil parish in the Newark and Sherwood district of Nottinghamshire, England, on the edge of Sherwood Forest. It is associated with the legends of Robin Hood and Maid Marian and known for the proximity of th ...
the line climbed from the valley of the
River Meden
The River Meden is a river in Nottinghamshire, England. Its source lies just north of Huthwaite, near the Derbyshire border, and from there it flows north east through Pleasley and Warsop before merging temporarily with the River Maun near B ...
, heading for that of the
River Maun
The River Maun is a river in Nottinghamshire, England. Its source lies in Kirkby-in-Ashfield, and from there it flows north east through Mansfield (which takes its name from the river), Edwinstowe and Ollerton, these being the heart of the Sher ...
. This was the beginning of the area known as
The Dukeries
The Dukeries is an area of the county of Nottinghamshire so called because it contained four ducal seats. It is south of Worksop, which has been called its "gateway". The area was included within the ancient Sherwood Forest. The ducal seats wer ...
, heavily promoted in the railway's literature in the hope of attracting tourist trade.
It passed by Warsop Windmill, where the GCR were later to provide a branch to Welbeck Colliery before reaching Clipstone, where it had been planned to build a branch to
Mansfield
Mansfield is a market town and the administrative centre of Mansfield District in Nottinghamshire, England. It is the largest town in the wider Mansfield Urban Area (followed by Sutton-in-Ashfield). It gained the Royal Charter of a market tow ...
. Instead it had built a curve into 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 ...
line mentioned above. Sidings, however, were provided for the
Duke of Portland
Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are rank ...
. Further on into the Maun valley the GCR did build a junction for
Mansfield Central, initially facing
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.
* Lincol ...
, but then converted to a triangular one. Latterly this extended only to a group of collieries, all now closed.
Passenger Services
There never was a Sunday service calling at Warsop.
In 1922 the advertised services were:
''Eastbound''
*1 train to Nottingham Victoria via Mansfield Central
*4 trains to Mansfield Central, with two extra on Saturdays
*2 trains to Lincoln High Street (later renamed Lincoln Central, now plain Lincoln), with an extra on Friday, Lincoln's Market Day
''Westbound''
*4 trains to Chesterfield Market Place, with two extra on Saturdays
*1 to Langwith Junction (later renamed Shirebrook North) on Fridays
*1 to Langwith Junction (later renamed Shirebrook North) on Saturdays
Passengers aiming for Mansfield on Saturday evenings could catch the 22:44, non-stop Eastbound to Mansfield Central or wait for the 23:38 westbound to Langwith Junction which doubled back down what is now the
Robin Hood Line
The Robin Hood Line is a railway line running from Nottingham to Worksop, Nottinghamshire, in the United Kingdom. The stations between Shirebrook and Whitwell (inclusive) are in Derbyshire.
Passenger services are operated by East Midlands Rai ...
to the Midland station at
Mansfield
Mansfield is a market town and the administrative centre of Mansfield District in Nottinghamshire, England. It is the largest town in the wider Mansfield Urban Area (followed by Sutton-in-Ashfield). It gained the Royal Charter of a market tow ...
, arriving at Midnight.
The position in August 1939 was not greatly changed, though the late train to Mansfield Central had disappeared.
By the Summer of 1964 all regular timetabled local services had been gone for nine years, but it was still possible to catch a train to Mablethorpe or Skegness, or even to
Radford via the Warsop to Shirebrook Junction curve, but it would be the following Saturday before a direct train back.
1964 Working Timetable (Down
''flickr''
Modern Times
The line through the station site gives access from Shirebrook to UK Coal's Thoresby Colliery and to the High Marnham Test Track
The High Marnham Test Track is a linear railway test track created in 2009 and centred on Lodge Lane, Tuxford, in Nottinghamshire in the United Kingdom. It houses Network Rail's Rail Innovation & Development Centre (RIDC), originally known a ...
.
Since the closure of Thoresby Colliery, the traffic on the line has rapidly decreased and the line only has the High Marnham Test Track trains running every few months.
There is some hope of reopening the line as a branch off the Robin Hood Line
The Robin Hood Line is a railway line running from Nottingham to Worksop, Nottinghamshire, in the United Kingdom. The stations between Shirebrook and Whitwell (inclusive) are in Derbyshire.
Passenger services are operated by East Midlands Rai ...
and reopening Warsop, and stations, providing an hourly service to Mansfield and Nottingham.[
]
References
Sources
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
External links
The station on navigable multi-layered maps
''National Library of Scotland''
''npe Maps''
The station, line and mileages
''Railway Codes''
''Warsop Vale''
Warsop Main Colliery 2
''Warsop Vale''
{{Proposed rail infrastructure projects in the United Kingdom
Disused railway stations in Nottinghamshire
Former Lancashire, Derbyshire and East Coast Railway stations
Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1897
Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1955