Luffenham railway station is a former station of the

Syston and Peterborough Railway The Syston and Peterborough Railway was an early railway in England opened between 1846 and 1848 to form a connection from the Midland Counties Railway near Leicester to Peterborough, giving access to East Anglia over the Eastern Counties Railway ...

serving the villages of

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north ...

and

South Luffenham South Luffenham is a village in the county of Rutland in the East Midlands of England. The population of the civil parish at the 2001 census was 432, increasing to 455 at the 2011 census. The village lies largely on the north side of the A ...

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 ...

History

The contract for the erection of the station was obtained by Groocock and Yates of Leicester in 1847. The station was opened on 20 March 1848 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 ama ...

and situated adjacent to a level crossing on the North Luffenham to

Duddington Duddington is a small village in Northamptonshire, England. It is by the junction of the A47 and A43 roads, and is southwest of the town of Stamford. The village is on the east bank of the River Welland which is the county boundary of Rutland ...

road. It was about 0.8 miles from each village by road, although only 0.5 miles from South Luffenham by the public footpath that was soon established (and which still exists). It also became the junction for the London and North Western Railway's

Rugby and Stamford Railway The Rugby and Stamford Railway was an early railway in England built in 1850. The London and Birmingham Railway had already built a branch from Blisworth to serve Northampton and extend to Peterborough. The success of this, the Northampton and ...

in 1850. The substantial station buildings were of Italianate design and there was a goods shed next to the platform. There were three lines through the station, that for the main platform being a loop. There were sidings to both sides and originally two signal boxes, one of which was removed in the early 20th century. All of the local trains and many of the semi fasts called at the station. It closed to goods in 1964 and to passengers in 1966. At

grouping Grouping may refer to: * Muenchian grouping * Principles of grouping * Railways Act 1921, also known as Grouping Act, a reorganisation of the British railway system * Grouping (firearms), the pattern of multiple shots from a sidearm See also ...

in 1923 it became part of the

London Midland and Scottish Railway The London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMSIt has been argued that the initials LMSR should be used to be consistent with LNER, GWR and SR. The London, Midland and Scottish Railway's corporate image used LMS, and this is what is generally ...

. The line from Seaton was closed and lifted in 1966, but the main Midland line is still in operation for trains from Leicester to Peterborough.

Station masters

*J. Smith until 1861 *Isaac Neale 1861 - 1864 (formerly station master at Saxby, afterwards station master at Yate) *H. Simms from 1864 (formerly station master at Helpstone) *A. Fewkes until 1872 (afterwards station master at Kildwick) *Orlando Sims 1872 - 1877 (formerly station master at Ilkeston, afterwards station master at Denby) *J. Camberland 1877 - 1879 *J Sampson 1879 - 1898 (formerly station master at Armathwaite) *George Thomas Spires 1898 - 1925 (formerly station master at Ashwell) *Harry Aiers 1925 - 1936 (afterwards station master at Woodville) *J.A. Hodson ca. 1944 *Peter E. Collins 1951 - 1954 *P.A. Jepson from 1954 (formerly station master at Edmondthorpe and Wymondham)

Reopening proposal

Th
Welland Valley Rail partnership
has proposed the reopening of Luffenham station and reinstating the 3.5 mile section of track between Seaton and South Luffenham on the Rugby and Stamford Railway route. This would enable a service to be introduced from

Kettering Kettering is a market and industrial town in North Northamptonshire, England. It is located north of London and north-east of Northampton, west of the River Ise, a tributary of the River Nene. The name means "the place (or territory) ...

, through

Corby Corby is a town in North Northamptonshire, England, located north-east of Northampton. From 1974 to 2021, the town served as the administrative headquarters of the Borough of Corby. At the 2011 United Kingdom census, 2011 Census, the built-up ...

, Luffenham, Stamford,

Peterborough Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire unti ...

, Whittlesea,

March March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. It is the second of seven months to have a length of 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of March ...

and terminating at a rebuilt station at Wisbech.

References

Former Midland Railway stations Disused railway stations in Rutland Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1848 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1966 Beeching closures in England {{EastMidlands-railstation-stub