Widmerpool 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 ...

serving

Widmerpool Widmerpool is a village and civil parish in Nottinghamshire, about 10 miles south-south-east of Nottingham and some 7.5 miles north-east of Loughborough. It is one of Nottinghamshire's oldest settlements and is just over a mile west of the A46 ...

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 ...

. It was situated on the Nottingham direct line of the Midland Railway between London and Nottingham via Corby.

History

The station was opened for goods (1 Nov 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 always minimal, a situation not helped by the station being situated one and a half miles from the village of its name, and it 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 being handled at this station in 1956: G, P†, F, L, H, C and there was a 1-ton 10 cwt crane.

Stationmasters

*Thomas Sanders 1879 - 1883 *G. Lamberts 1884 - 1888 (afterwards station master at Whitacre) *James Brindley 1888 *William Henry Higginson 1888 - 1890 (afterwards station master at Fiskerton) *William H. Turner 1890 - 1893 (afterwards station master at Carlton) *Samuel Oughton 1893 - 1895 (formerly station master at Edwalton, afterwards station master at Whitwell) *John Thomas Tye 1895 - 1903 *George Edward Cramp 1903 - 1916 (formerly station master at Hykeham, afterwards district station master in Nigeria) *Harry Horbutt Russell 1918 - 1921 *Thomas Alfred Mason 1922 - 1937 *Harold Crompton 1937 - 1939 (also station master at Upper Broughton, afterwards station master at Ipstones, Bradnop and Winkhill) *William Simmonds from 1939 *Arnold Naylor *Frank W.E. Clarke 1945 - 1947 (afterwards station master at Rolleston Junction) *E.J. Bloor 1947 (formerly station master at Westhouses) *John Abel 1947 *George Jones 1948 - 1956 *Fred Saunders 1958 - 1960

Present day

Following the closure of the line as a through-route in 1968, the track between Melton Mowbray and was converted for use 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 ...

. 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 was also used for testing London Underground 'S Stock' trains. The station's Up platform remains in existence, as does the Down platform waiting room although the platform itself was removed during electrification work in 2000. The main station building was converted into a pub and restaurant c1966 before the line closed. It was originally called the Schooner Inn and later the Pullman Inn. Following closure of the business, Network Rail purchased the building and surrounding land in order to secure access to the test track infrastructure. The building was unused from 2016 to 2022. The buildings were demolished in August 2022. The timber goods shed survived until electrification in 2000. Just to the north of the station site lies Stanton Tunnel, long. Site of demolished Widmerpool Station building

Site of demolished Widmerpool Station building

References

External links

Pictures of Widmerpool station over the years

{{DEFAULTSORT:Widmerpool 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