Private railway stations were a logical development of the rapid growth in railway transportation during the 19th century. Whereas financiers looked to place their stations so as to balance the cost of the construction with expected revenue from the nearby populace, wealthy people utilised this new mode of transport by creating a halt solely for the use of their family, guests and staff.

Examples

The earliest recorded such halt is Crathes Station in

Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire ( sco, Aiberdeenshire; gd, Siorrachd Obar Dheathain) is one of the 32 Subdivisions of Scotland#council areas of Scotland, council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the County of Aberdeen which has substantially differe ...

, built for Sir Robert Burnett of Leys in 1853. Such was his family's authority that even messenger trains run when

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

was in residence at Balmoral had to stop there, just in case he wanted to get on. There were many such

laird Laird () is the owner of a large, long-established Scottish estate. In the traditional Scottish order of precedence, a laird ranked below a baron and above a gentleman. This rank was held only by those lairds holding official recognition in ...

s, although some were rather less willing to pay for their station once it was safely constructed. Some wealthy land-owners wanted the convenience of a bespoke station but did not want an unsightly intrusion onto their land, while others wanted their station to be seen from far and wide. The practice spread to Ireland and abroad: both Bermuda and Austria creating exclusive stations for upmarket hotels. Some such stations exist in rural Wales but others designed to ferry the more budget-conscious to holiday camps have disappeared as increasingly such customers ventured abroad. The uses for private halts was as diverse as their appearance: to transport farm produce, access a golf club, a remote firing range, hospital or an aircraft factory. Many took great pride in their private fiefdoms and most are remembered with great affection.

"One of the stops on the Black Isle Railway line was a private halt opened in 1894 at
Rosehaugh Rosehaugh plc was a major property developer in the City of London and the Docklands in the 1980s and 1990s. Accountant Godfrey BradmanMacLaran, Andrew ed., 2014. Making Space - Property Development and Urban Planning. Abingdon: Routledge. Pag ...
, near
Avoch Avoch harbour Avoch ( ; from the gd, Abhach – meaning mouth of the stream) is a harbour-village located on the south-east coast of the Black Isle, on the Moray Firth. History Origins Ormond Castle or ''Avoch Castle'' was a stronghold built o ...
for the estate owner, Mr James Douglas Fletcher. In its early days it was a great success. The only alternatives, even for a laird, were horse, bicycles or Shanks Pony but once the motor car came into its own however, the station’s use dwindled and it eventually closed in 1951". ::Elizabeth Marshall, ''The Black Isle-Portrait of the Past''

Today the term is often used jokingly for an underused station such as

Emerson Park Emerson Park is a suburban neighbourhood near Hornchurch in the London Borough of Havering, east London. Predominantly affluent and residential, it is located approximately north-east of Charing Cross. It is part of the Hornchurch post town an ...

or mistakenly about remote highland stations, where it would be uneconomic to stop for the minuscule number of per annum passengers, unless requested. Many are now only remembered because of the diligent recording of railway enthusiastsPhotograph of former site
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References

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Examples

See also

References