West Hallam railway station 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 ...

located between the

villages A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

Stanley Stanley may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Stanley'' (1972 film), an American horror film * ''Stanley'' (1984 film), an Australian comedy * ''Stanley'' (1999 film), an animated short * ''Stanley'' (1956 TV series) ...

and

West Hallam West Hallam is a large village and civil parish close to Ilkeston in the county of Derbyshire in the East Midlands region of England. West Hallam has had its own parish council since 1894 and, since 1974, has been part of the Erewash borough. Th ...

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...

, England. It was opened by the

Great Northern Railway (Great Britain) The Great Northern Railway (GNR) was a British railway company incorporated in 1846 with the object of building a line from London to York. It quickly saw that seizing control of territory was key to development, and it acquired, or took le ...

on its Derbyshire Extension in 1878.

History

The station was originally called Stanley, but its name was quickly changed to West Hallam for Dale Abbey to avoid confusion with another station in Yorkshire. It was provided with substantial brick buildings; a two-storey station master's house and the usual single storey offices on the main platform with a small timber waiting room on the other. On a Sunday evening in October 1884 Godfrey Bostock (68) and his wife Mary (67), who lived in Kimberley and had been visiting relatives in Smalley Common, were killed while crossing the track at West Hallam Station. Apparently they mistook a light engine working from Derby as their train and while hurrying to cross the line to the platform were both hit and died immediately from head injuries. Following a recommendation of the coroner at their inquest, West Hallam became one of the few intermediate stations on the line to be given a footbridge. Beside the presence of productive collieries, it was particularly busy during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

due to a nearby ordnance depot, a satellite of that at

Chilwell Chilwell is a village and residential suburb of Nottingham, in the borough of Broxtowe of Nottinghamshire, west of Nottingham city. Until 1974 it was part of Beeston and Stapleford Urban District, having been in Stapleford Rural District until ...

. Sunday passengers services finished in 1939, and it closed completely in 1964. From

Ilkeston Ilkeston is a town in the Borough of Erewash, Derbyshire, England, on the River Erewash, from which the borough takes its name, with a population at the 2011 census of 38,640. Its major industries, coal mining, iron working and lace making/texti ...

the line climbed through West Hallam to a summit at Morley Tunnel before descending towards

Breadsall Breadsall is a village and civil parish in the English county of Derbyshire, . The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 773. Breadsall Priory is nearby. History Breadsall was mentioned in the Domesday Book as belonging to Henry ...

.Higginson, M., (1989) ''The Friargate Line:Derby and the Great Northern Railway,'' Derby: Golden Pingle Publishing

Present day

Most signs of the railway have disappeared apart from the station building itself. Part was demolished on closure, but the main part is now a private dwelling known as 'Station House'. The large cutting which took the line from the station past Stanley was filled in using spoil from the neighbouring former Stanley colliery so that the route of the line can only be established by using field boundaries today.

References

{{coord, 52.9636, -1.3680, type:railwaystation_region:GB, display=title Disused railway stations in Derbyshire Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1878 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1964 Former Great Northern Railway stations Beeching closures in England Borough of Erewash