Notes: The station was designed by J.W.Livock and constructed in Jacobean style from local stone. Originally the line was single with a teo-storey station house with three gable ends facing on to the platform. The line was doubled in 1846 and a second platform contained simply a waiting room. The two platfrorms were staggered with no overlap.
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In common with stations built on this line the goods yard was on both sides of the line and was accessed by wagon turntables connected by a line across the running lines at right angles to them. The platforms were offset and this line ran between them, with a large goods shed adjacent to the main building. Later a further running line was added in the Peterborough |
direction and more sidings were added curving away into a new goods yard, using double slips off the running lines.
The yard also had a 5-ton crane.
Initially there were three trains a day, rising to six by 1883. Since the station lay outside the town an omnibus or post horse could be hired from the Talbot Hotel.
By 1926 the goods yard had been changed with new sidings and a new goods shed. Now the yard was sited largely on the up side of the line so the two wagon turntable were no longer required and were removed.
After closure in 1964 the station was used for schools
specials at the start and end of term at Oundle
School until 1972. The station closed to goods traffic on 6.11.1972
The final passenger train into Oundle was organised jointly by Peterborough Railway Society and the RCTS, It was booked to use two three-car Class 125 DMUs, based at Finsbury Park. Unfortunately, in the event, only five vehicles arrived - a complete three-car unit and a second one that was missing a driving motor - leading to considerable overcrowding! This was the |
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last train, other than track recovery trains, to run between Peterborough and Oundle.
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BRIEF HISTORY OF THE NENE VALLEY RAILWAY
The London & Birmingham railway was completed by the autumn
of 1838 and immediately started considering expanding its territory
to Northampton (which it by-passed by some 5 miles due to the
hilly nature of the town) and then down the Nene valley to Peterborough.
In 1843 the L&BR was given parliamentary assent to construct
a line from Blisworth in Northamptonshire to Peterborough.
Twelve stations were built in an old English or Tudor style:
the names on opening (some changed later) were Northampton,
Castle Ashby, Wellingborough, Ditchford, Higham Ferrers (later
renamed Irthlingborough), Ringstead, Thrapston, Thorpe, Barnwell,
Oundle, Wansford and Overton. The line shared the Peterborough
terminus with the Eastern Counties Railway in return for 'running
powers' over the line to Northampton, giving it access to the
Midlands and the North.
The Northampton to Blisworth section was officially opened
on Tuesday 13 May 1845 and the complete track was opened on
Monday 2 June 1845. On 16 July 1846 the London and North Western
Railway was formed by merging the London & Birmingham Railway
with a number of other companies and
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during the mid 1800's,
the development of iron ore mining in the area was reactivated
having been suspended for 200 years by law due to the lack of
wood for charcoal. All available wood being required for the
Navy.
The Great Northern Railway opened a line from Stamford to a
junction with the Nene Valley line just east of Wansford on
9th
August 1867 and Wansford became a major junction when the
LNWR opened their new line from Yarwell Junction (just west
of Wansford) to Seaton on 1st November 1879. The 1923 grouping
took the line into the London Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS).
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During the first half of the 20th century the line formed an
important connection from Norwich, Cambridge and eastern England
to Northampton and the Midlands. The line was generally acknowledged
to be a secondary mainline and regularly saw heavy through traffic
but operating costs were high with a large number of manned
level crossings. |
With the closure of many of the mines and the popularity of
the car both passenger and freight traffic was in decline after
WW2 and in July 1963 the withdrawal of passenger service between
Northampton Castle and Peterborough East was announced. Despite
a vigorous campaign against closure culminating in a public
meeting at Thrapston, little could be done. A petition was started
and action committee appointed but when the committee asked
for a collection to meet their expenses only £1 18s 3d
was raised! The line was formally closed on Monday 4 May 1964.
Iron Ore trains continued to use the line until 1966 with through
freight traffic finally being withdrawn by British Rail in 1972.
In 1974 the Peterborough Development Corporation bought a section
of the Nene Valley line between Longville and Yarwell Junctions
and leased it to the Peterborough Railway Society to operate
the railway. Between 1974 and May 1977 the line was upgraded
to passenger standards and on 24 May the Railway Inspector passed
the railway as fit for passenger |
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carrying operations and the
Nene Valley
Railway between Wansford and Orton Mere was officially opened
on 1 June 1977.
In 1986 the line was eastwards to a new terminus at Peterborough
Nene Valley just short of the East Coast Main Line making a
total running length of 7.5 miles and a new station is currently
under construction at Yarwell Junction at the western end of
the line. There are also proposals for a link with the ECML
which would allow trains to run into Peterborough Station.
Tickets from Michael Stewart. Route map drawn by Alan Young.
See also: Nene
Valley Railway web site. Ticket from Neil Shepherd
Further reading: The
Nene Valley Railway by Christopher Awdry ISBN: 1 85895 170
4
To see other stations on the
Nene Valley Railway click on the station name: Northampton
Bridge Street, Billing,
Castle
Ashby & Earls Barton, Wellingborough
London Road, Ditchford,
Irthlingborough,
Ringstead
& Addington, Thrapston
Bridge Street, Thorpe,
Barnwell, Elton,
Wansford, Castor,
Orton Waterville,
Peterborough
Nene Valley & Peterborough
East
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