The Rushden, Higham and Wellingborough Railway is a branch line

heritage railway A heritage railway or heritage railroad (U.S. usage) is a railway operated as living history to re-create or preserve railway scenes of the past. Heritage railways are often old railway lines preserved in a state depicting a period (or periods) ...

operated by the Rushden Historical Transport Society in the town of

Rushden Rushden is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the North Northamptonshire district, in the ceremonial county of Northamptonshire, England, around east of Northampton. The parish is on the border with Bedfordshire, north of B ...

in the county of

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire ( ; abbreviated Northants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Leicestershire, Rutland and Lincolnshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshi ...

, England. The aim of the society was to reopen most of the former

Midland Railway The Midland Railway (MR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844 in rail transport, 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 ...

branch line from

Wellingborough Wellingborough ( ) is a market town in the North Northamptonshire, Unitary Authority area, England, from London and from Northampton, north of the River Nene. Originally named "Wendelingburgh" (the stronghold of Wændel's people), the Anglo ...

Higham Ferrers Higham Ferrers is a market town and civil parish in the Nene Valley in North Northamptonshire, England, close to the Cambridgeshire and Bedfordshire borders. It forms a single built-up area with Rushden to the south and had a population of 8,82 ...

, which had been closed completely in November 1969. As of May 2025, approximately stretch of the line is operated between Rushden station and Prospect Avenue. The society plans to extend the line to a halt at

. They are unable to extend back towards

due to developments that have taken place along the route of the old branch line.

Rushden station

Rushden station has been preserved by the Rushden Historical Transport Society. The station building is fully intact and open with no admission fee although donations are requested. The

footbridge A footbridge (also a pedestrian bridge, pedestrian overpass, or pedestrian overcrossing) is a bridge designed solely for pedestrians.''Oxford English Dictionary'' While the primary meaning for a bridge is a structure which links "two points at a ...

is currently missing, and a

level crossing A level crossing is an intersection where a railway line crosses a road, Trail, path, or (in rare situations) airport runway, at the same level, as opposed to the railway line or the road etc. crossing over or under using an Overpass#Railway, o ...

divides the platform into two sections. A replacement footbridge similar to the original is awaiting installation, at which point the missing section of platform will be replaced. On operating days trains use a separate platform slightly to the east. There is a

signal box A signal is both the process and the result of transmission of data over some media accomplished by embedding some variation. Signals are important in multiple subject fields including signal processing, information theory and biology. In ...

on site also. To the west immediately after the station there is a bridge missing. To the east, the line ends adjacent to Prospect Ave, and is used throughout the year. Since the late 1990s, Rushden Station bar has been home to a series of resident cats. The most recent station cats, Alfie and Thomas, have achieved minor fame on social media.

Rolling stock

On site can be found a main-line diesel, Class 31, 31206, a number of

Mark 1 Mark 1 is the first chapter of the Gospel of Mark in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. It recounts the proclamation of John the Baptist, the baptism of Jesus Christ, his temptations and the beginning of his ministry in Galilee. Text ...

carriages and a Gresley buffet car. In addition the line has a few industrial steam locomotives and some small diesel shunters. Frequently a number of preserved buses and coaches can also be found on the site. *Steam Locomotives ** Andrew Barclay No 2168 "Edmundsons". Built in 1940. Undergoing overhaul. ** Bagnall No 2654 ''Cherwell''. Awaiting funds for major restoration. *Diesel locomotives ** BR A1A-A1A Class 31 no. 31206. Operational. BR Railfreight Built in 1960. ** BR Class 03 no. 03179 ''Clive''. First Capital Connect purple. **4wDH Diesel-Hydraulic Sentinel shunter no. 10159. Operational. *Diesel multiple units **BR Class 121 no. 55029 (977968) Network Rail Yellow Built in 1960. **BR Class 142 nos. 142084 and 142091. *Coaching stock **BR Post Office Sorting Van NSA 80334 built in 1969. **BR Post Office Stowage Van NTA 80413 built in 1957. **BR High-security General Utility Van NKA 94102 built in 1959. **BR Brake Gangwayed NEX 92363. Used for passenger services. built in 1957. **BR Mark 1 Tourist Second Open no. 3918 built in 1954. **BR Mark 1

BSK BSK is a three-letter abbreviation that may refer to: Sports * OFK Beograd, Serbian football club * FK BSK Borča, Serbian football club * FK BSK Batajnica, Serbian football club * FK BSK Banja Luka, Bosnian-Herzegovinian football club * FK BSK ...

no. 34004 built in 1951. **BR Mark 2 Tourist Second Open no. 5166. Used for passenger services. built in 1966. **LNER Gresley Buffet Carriage no. 24279 built in 1937.

References

External links

The railway website
{{coord, 52.2946, -0.5977, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title, format=dms Heritage railways in Northamptonshire Midland Railway Rushden

Rushden station

Rolling stock

See also

References

External links