Saxby railway station was a station serving the villages of Saxby and

Freeby Freeby is a village and civil parish in the Melton district of Leicestershire, England, about east of Melton Mowbray. As well as the village of Freeby the civil parish includes the villages of Brentingby, Saxby, Stapleford and Wyfordby. The ...

, Leicestershire. It was located between the two villages.

Access

The older station was accessed along a turning from the B676 road, now known as ''Old Station Drive'', whereas the newer station building was accessed off the Saxby to Stapleford road on the right before the railway bridge. Inter platform access on the newer station was via three sets of stairs to the road bridge.

History

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 ...

was opened in stages; the third and last section of line, between and opened for goods traffic on 20 March 1848, and for passengers on 1 May 1848. The station at Saxby opened on 1 February 1849, and was at the north end of a tight curve around a corner of

Stapleford Park Stapleford Park is a Grade I listed country house in Stapleford, Leicestershire, Stapleford, near Melton Mowbray in Leicestershire, England, which is now used as a hotel. It was originally the seat of the Sherard and Tamblyn families, later the Ear ...

. The curve was considered unsuitable for express trains running between

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) of ...

and

Nottingham Nottingham ( , locally ) is a city and unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east of Sheffield and north-east of Birmingham. Nottingham has links to the legend of Robi ...

via the Manton loop, so an easier curve was built in 1892 together with a new Saxby station, which opened on 28 August 1892. The original station on a stub of the original line continued in use for goods. Saxby became a junction when the

Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway The Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway (M&GNJR) was a railway network in England, in the area connecting southern Lincolnshire, the Isle of Ely and north Norfolk. It developed from several local independent concerns and was incorporated ...

(M&GN) opened on 1 May 1894. The new line was Midland Railway property as far as Little Bytham junction, between and . The M&GN line closed to passengers after the last train on 28 February 1959, although the section between Saxby and remained open for goods trains. The station closed on 6 February 1961. The last parts of the new station were completely demolished in late 2014, whereas the old station remains as a private house.

Routes

References

*
Track plans and Photographs Former Midland Railway stations Disused railway stations in Leicestershire Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1849 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1961 1849 establishments in England {{EastMidlands-railstation-stub